June 2007 Net Worth Update (+$3,860)

After a near record month in May, I had a less than stellar month in June. Income was up, expenses were up, and investment returns were negative -- in the end I was able to add about 1/2 the amount I typically add to my monthly net worth. Given all the changes currently happening I probably should be grateful I am able to save anything. The next several months should be just as unpredictable with relocation spending, wedding spending, honeymoon, etc.

Assets	May-07	Jun-07	Change	%
Cash & Savings	$ 28,747	$ 35,785.81	$ 7,038.60	24.48%
Taxable Brokerage Accts	$ 67,420.60	$ 65,267.97	$ (2,152.63)	-3.19%
Roth IRA	$ 36,982.78	$ 36,702.60	$ (280.18)	-0.76%
Pre-tax Retirement Accts	$ 138,322.94	$ 140,698.21	$ 2,375.27	1.72%
Stock Options	$ 10,600.00	$ 9,520.00	$ (1,080.00)	-10.19%
ESPP	$ 35,805.03	$ 35,351.59	$ (453.44)	-1.27%
House #1 - Rental	$ 160,000.00	$ 160,000.00	$ -
House #2 - Rental	$ 128,225.00	$ 128,225.00	$ -
Receivable (Payable)		$ 1,517.00	$ -
Other Assets	$ -	$ -	$ -
Total Assets	$ 606,103.56	$ 613,068.18	$ 6,964.62	1.15%
Liabilities
Credit Card Balances	$ 11,163.78)	$ (13,025.97)	$ (1,862.19)	16.68%
House #1 Mortgages	$ 115,954.54)	$ (115,767.95)	$ 186.59	-0.16%
House #2 Mortgages	$ 102,830.99)	$ (102,729.88)	$ 101.11	-0.10%
Rental Deposits	$ (1,000.00)	$ (2,800.00)	$ (1,800.00)	180.00%
Additional Tax Liability	$ (2,650.00)	$ (2,380.00)	$ 270.00	-10.19%
Other Liabilities			$ -
Total Liabilities	$(233,599.31)	$ (236,703.80)	$ (3,104.49)	1.33%
Net Worth	$ 372,504.25	$ 376,364.38	$ 3,860.13	1.04%

Highlights for June

All credit card debt (except current month's purchases) is in the form of 0% APR balance transfers earning interest in my savings accounts.

My focus for the next year will be to save up a down payment for our next house. To this end I added a healthy $7k to my cash savings.

In another step to my fiancee and I merging our lives (and finances), she left her job to finish planning for the wedding and to eventually join me on my international assignment.

With everything going on, my fiancee and I put on hold our efforts to read Smart Couples Finish Rich.

I reached another financial milestone by converting my 2nd house into a rental property. Among the benfits is a reduction in fixed living expenses (at least for the duration of my assignemnt) and positive cash flow from the property.

I signed up for a Capital One Credit card to use during my international assignment. Between this credit card and my HSBC Savings Account ATM card I should be able to manage expenses abroad.

Additional Stock Investments June (Outside of 401k & ESPP):

$25 in ConocoPhillips DRIP
$100 in USG DRIP
$250 in Vanguard Roth IRA
$50 in Pfizer DRIP

You can see my previous monthly net worth updates here.

Related in Net Worth Archive:

May 2012 Net Worth Update (-$28,098) (Jun 10, 2012) Highlights for MayWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. Our properties are listed on our...

April 2012 Net Worth Update (+$2,763) (May 09, 2012) Highlights for AprilWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. We received $1,000+ in rewards cash...

March 2012 Net Worth Update (+$22,032) (Apr 11, 2012) Highlights for MarchWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. We are close to earning ~$1,000...

Comments (9)

Quick question: where did the $7K that you added to your cash saving come from?

Keep up the good work on your blog... I always enjoy!

Posted by Lau | July 5, 2007 10:05 AM

I received a couple one time bonuses/reimbursements from my employer which boosted my income this month. This along with a reduction of cash expenses and $1.8k in security desposits boosted my cash. Actaully I shouldn't be counting the $1.8k in security deposits so my cash increase was closer to $5k.

Posted by 2million | July 5, 2007 10:28 AM

Your Pre-tax Retirement Accts shows $ 38,322.94 for May and $ 140,698.21 with a difference of $ 2,375.27.
I'm guessing May should be 138,322.94?

Still, looks good!

Posted by tatlow | July 5, 2007 10:41 AM

It seems like for 0% BTs, the fee has increased. Citi has $250 bt fee max now. Can you recommend me a card with better BT fee ?

Posted by Jose | July 5, 2007 3:49 PM

When I found your blog, it had a sigh of relief. Your already doing what I'm trying to do, but I'm way behind. Keep going at it and keep us updated, because after reading your blog, I'm a little more motivated.

Posted by Tommy gunz | July 6, 2007 7:55 PM

You are doing fantastic on your finances. Not too many people look at money in terms of net worth. You are going to reach your goals in no time. :)
My Debt Free Goal

Posted by Amy Bass | July 9, 2007 1:28 PM

You mention that you use 0% credit cards to take cash out and park it in a savings account earning 5% or so. I do the same thing, however, instead of parking the money in an savings account ( paying 5%) I buy a Canadian Trust that pays me a monthly dividend. These kinds of trusts are failry safe (as safe as investments come) and you can make double what you would parking the money in Emigrantdirect or INGDirect.

The one I invest in is PrimeWest Energy Trust (NYSE: PWI) - $.23/shr, however, there are many of them so just do some DD and I'm sure you'll find one that works for your style of investing.

other than that .... great job!

Posted by Felipe G | July 13, 2007 5:19 PM

I like the Canadian trusts since they were oversold and I agree with Felipe about getting a nice monthly dividend stream with appreciation. I own PGH, CNE, and AAV. Take a look at their recent yields in case you want to take a bite. They are yielding double digits currently and with energy prices as high as they are, they seem quite safe IMO.

Posted by Daniel Manfre | July 17, 2007 10:20 PM

I'm wondering how you increased your cash & savings by this much if you stated in a previous post that your take home pay is around 5k / month? You would have to save every penny and then some. An explanation would help. Thanks!

Posted by Jake | July 20, 2007 1:51 PM