April 2007 Net Worth Update (+$17,394)
Wow -- April turned out to be an unexpectedly strong month. The markets did well and helped me achieve my 2nd highest monthly net worth gain ever. IBM stock price rise also contributed to the monthly increase.
| Assets | Mar-07 | Apr-07 | Change | % |
| Cash & Savings | $ 73,741 | $ 50,695.03 | $ (23,045.59) | -31.25% |
| Taxable Brokerage Accts | $ 61,785.86 | $ 65,202.00 | $ 3,416.14 | 5.53% |
| Roth IRA | $ 33,372.75 | $ 35,443.64 | $ 2,070.89 | 6.21% |
| Pre-tax Retirement Accts | $ 129,277.34 | $ 133,740.18 | $ 4,462.84 | 3.45% |
| Stock Options | $ 728.00 | $ 6,256.00 | $ 5,528.00 | 759.34% |
| ESPP | $ 31,660.25 | $ 33,981.19 | $ 2,320.94 | 7.33% |
| House #1 - Rental | $ 160,000.00 | $ 160,000.00 | $ - | |
| House #2 - Primary | $ 128,225.00 | $ 128,225.00 | $ - | |
| Receivable (Payable) | $ 3,061.00 | $ 3,061.00 | $ - | |
| Other Assets | $ - | $ - | $ - | |
| Total Assets | $ 621,850.82 | $ 616,604.04 | $ (5,246.78) | -0.84% |
| Liabilities | | | | |
| Credit Card Balances | $ (64,784.68) | $ (41,062.54) | $ 23,722.14 | -36.62% |
| House #1 Mortgages | $ (116,337.04) | $ (116,146.24) | $ 190.80 | -0.16% |
| House #2 Mortgages | $ (103,053.07) | $ (102,942.33) | $ 110.74 | -0.11% |
| Rental Deposits | $ (1,000.00) | $ (1,000.00) | $ - | 0.00% |
| Additional Tax Liability | $ (182.00) | $ (1,564.00) | $ (1,382.00) | 759.34% |
| Other Liabilities | | | $ - | |
| Total Liabilities | $ (285,356.79) | $ (262,715.11) | $ 22,641.68 | -7.93% |
| Net Worth | $ 336,494.03 | $ 353,888.93 | $ 17,394.90 | 5.17% |
Highlights for April
- All credit card debt (except current month's purchases) is in the form of 0% APR balance transfers earning interest in my savings accounts.
- I was away on a 2 week business trip in April so my monthly expenses for food, entertainment, and gas were lower than normal.
- I got hit with a late fee when I missed the due date on a 0% balance transfer offer I was taking advantage of and immediately paid off the balance to control any damage from interest charges.
- I made an investment in a new medical technology to help me control my diabetes.
- I recently helped plan a funeral and revealed what our funeral expenses were.
- Life has been getting crazy busy for me and I continue to wrestle with the time vs money arguement.
Additional Stock Investments April (Outside of 401k & ESPP):
- $25 in ConocoPhillips DRIP
- $350 in USG DRIP
- $250 in Vanguard Roth IRA
- $100 in Pfizer DRIP
Comments (11)
Wow, that really is an awesome month. Congratulations. How are you feeling about your $2million goal? Do you have a time target?
Posted by LAMoneyGuy | May 3, 2007 10:33 AM
Great job this month!! FYI. Primary Residence is not considered to be a Financial Asset. See World Wealth Report.
http://www.us.capgemini.com/worldwealthreport06/
Posted by Susan Geist | May 3, 2007 10:36 AM
While I can agree sort of not counting a primary residence as not part of the net worth - does that mean you don't count mortgage as a liability either? I probably do the same thing as 2million, I book the value of the house at cost (and write it down if necessary) but don't book appreciation. I think not counting the value of the house as part of the net worth is also inaccurate as it favors renters vs buyers. I guess there's no perfect solution.
Posted by dong | May 3, 2007 1:33 PM
A thought on your tax liability calculation. Seems to me that if you've got $134K in a pre-tax retirement account, its contribution to net worth should really be calculated on an after-tax basis, since when you access the funds you're going to get hit for the income tax on the withdrawals. Obviously this is subject to future tax legislation, etc, etc, etc. But it strikes me that carrying _no_ allowance for taxes due on those assets overstates your practical net worth pretty significantly.
Posted by bdm | May 3, 2007 5:19 PM
I argue that your home may not be a financial asset, but it is a part of your networth. I agree that networth should include fixed assets, such as cars, furniture, etc.
Posted by SavingDiva | May 3, 2007 5:22 PM
I don't think the World Wealth Report makes up the rules of what counts as a financial asset. If I had Lebron James' home, you better believe I'd be counting that as an asset. Then I'd instantly liquidate it and invest the profits.
Posted by Lazy Man and Money | May 3, 2007 7:13 PM
Nice month 2mil!
How I wish houses were ~150k in Hawaii! Hey btw, grats on the stock options as well. IBM stock finally going up. Nice to see that.
Posted by financial freedumb | May 3, 2007 9:27 PM
Yup - I still wrestly with including my home as part of the reported net worth -- you'll note I state in my goal $2million + the value of my primary residence so it doesn't necessarily make much sense in reporting it when you compare it to my goal.
However -- this is a debate for a future time. I include my current residence because I am in the process of converting it into a rental property -- leaving it in my net worth helps keep things consistant during the transition.
Posted by 2million | May 4, 2007 9:07 AM
I see the argument for not including it, but I think it should be included as it is an asset that is at least somewhat tappable, through HELOC, reverse mortgage, or simply if you sell and decide to rent.
As an asset it might not be the greatest as it doesnt appreciate as well as stocks, which is why I plan on selling my house and renting when I retire.
Posted by Alex | May 4, 2007 9:29 AM
Great blog! I'd like to start one myself but it looks like its a fair amount of work...
Would you consider writing a HOW-TO on how you create and maintain this blog? For example, how are you creating and tracking this data, both on the personal front (do you use Quicken, etc) as well in converting this to blog-form.
For example, are you doing it all in Excel or Quicken? Do you use any blog badges or widgets that update this stuff for you (e.g. to simplify cut-and-paste from Excel tables to MovableType)? etc
Posted by Serafin | May 6, 2007 1:38 PM
This might interest your readers. This Dividend Calendar displays companies by their Ex-Dividend Date:
http://sp500.us/dividends.php
You may also sub-sort the list by Stock Symbol, Company Name, Market Cap, Yield, Rate, or Payment Date.
Posted by Sabine S. | May 6, 2007 4:51 PM