November Net Worth Update (-$1,523)

November was a less than stellar month for us. Market declines including a sizable drop in the value of my stock options plus some wedding bill stragglers, and lack of any control of our spending in China has driven us to a loss this month.

Assets	Oct-07	Nov-07	Change	%
Cash & Savings	$ 76,941.29	$ 75,360.80	$ (1,580.49)	-2.05%
Taxable Brokerage Accts	$ 71,400.46	$ 74,727.46	$ 3,327.00	4.66%
Roth IRAs	$ 41,554.79	$ 40,257.93	$ (1,296.86)	-3.12%
Pre-tax Retirement Accts	$ 148,007.89	$ 150,379.56	$ 2,371.67	1.60%
Stock Options	$ 18,216.00	$ 9,464.00	$ (8,752.00)	-48.05%
ESPP	$ 33,477.46	$ 31,947.20	$ (1,530.26)	-4.57%
House #1 - Rental	$ 160,000.00	$ 160,000.00	$ -
House #2 - Rental	$ 128,225.00	$ 128,225.00	$ -
House #3 - Primary	$ 116,500.00	$ 116,500.00
Receivable (Payable)			$ -
Other Assets	$ -	$ -	$ -
Total Assets	$ 794,322.89	$ 786,861.95	$ (7,460.94)	-0.94%
Liabilities
Credit Card Balances	$ (11,911.87)	$ (9,487.01)	$ 2,424.86	-20.36%
House #1 Mortgages	$ (115,188.90)	$ (114,997.77)	$ 191.13	-0.17%
House #2 Mortgages	$ (102,390.59)	$ (102,276.29)	$ 114.30	-0.11%
House #3 Mortgages	$ (109,348.03)	$ (109,204.15)	$ 143.88	-0.13%
Rental Deposits	$ (6,447.00)	$ (6,447.00)	$ -	0.00%
Additional Tax Liability	$ (6,375.60)	$ (3,312.40)	$ 3,063.20	-48.05%
Other Liabilities			$ -
Total Liabilities	$ (351,661.99)	$ (345,724.62)	$ 5,937.37	-1.69%
$2million Goal Progress*	$ 435,508.93	$ 433,841.48	$ (1,667.45)	-0.38%
Net Worth	$ 442,660.90	$ 441,137.33	$ (1,523.57)	-0.34%

*$2million Goal Progress - This line item will track our progress to reaching the $2million goal of investable assets - I back out the asset value (and mortgage) associated with our primary residence.

Net Worth - This line item will still track everything including the primary residence. This should keep the transistion smooth and avoid large changes when we move primary residences. Our financial freedom goal can be tracked with this measure as well from this target formula: [$2 Million in investable assets] + [Primary residence asset value] = [Financial Freedom goal].

Highlights for November

All credit card debt (except current month's purchases) is in the form of 0% APR balance transfers earning interest in my savings accounts.
We survived the 1st full month of married life. Finances took a back seat to getting my wife adjusted to living in China with me - she has done amazingly well. I hope in short order to resume talking finances on a regular basis with my wife.
In putting together the numbers for this update I calculated that we spent ~$1,500USD on food, clothing, and misc in November. Part of these expenses were helping getting my wife adjusted - eating good food, buying things that remind her of home, getting extra clothing she couldn't bring with her. However, this is way above what we would have guessed. I think this will be the 1st topic I bring up with my wife in the near future to get the finance discussions started.
As the expenses mounted this month we actually lost sizable ground on the savings for the house down payment. We dipped into about $4,000 of our downpayment savings for this month’s expenses. As soon as we can course correct the monthly expenses, we can resume the monthly progress to the savings goal.
I increased my 401k contributions to try and max out the 2007 contributions.

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

$25 in ConocoPhillips DRIP
$350 in USG DRIP
$250 in my Vanguard Roth IRA
$250 in my wife's T Rowe Price Roth IRA
$100 in Pfizer DRIP
$1500 in Wachovia via Sharebuilder

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 (8)

Looks like even though you overspent in the miscellaneous category, the effect on your networth was minimal.

Posted by SingleGuyMoney | December 3, 2007 7:36 PM

"However, this is way above what we would have guessed." Not me 2Mil. There are two things about marriage which I believe are 100% true. Every couple thinks THEIR marriage will last a lifetime, at the time of the wedding ofcourse. Second, women suck your money dry without much effort. Their rationalization bleeds over to yours. I "need" this to feel at home. I "need" that to wear. Well, you NEEDED your car fixed a while back too, but you didn't pay to have it done- you fixed it yourself instead. You have always looked for every single possible way to save your money. That has now changed. "Every possible" has been changed to "where we can" and "where we can" is now being managed- as in most cases- by the woman. She will decide what is needed and what isn't. If you can't control wedding costs, what makes you think you can control what is to come.
Start it now...www.2milliondebt.com because it's coming.
*Disclaimer: Ofcourse this post is in jest. Ofcourse there is truth in just. You figure which is which.

Posted by David | December 3, 2007 10:53 PM

$1,500 in misc for your wife moving is a small price. Although I am strict with financial discipline, I find that you might cause more harm than good bringing up moving and adjustment expenses in the future. Remember, the goal is financial indepdence.. but don't give up current Quality of Life (QoL) for a future that might be shorter than you anticipate. While you might not intend to sound this way, but you are actually making me feel bad for your wife. One bad month out of the many blockbuster months you've had is no biggie.. Seize the day.

Posted by Martino | December 3, 2007 11:25 PM

As Baron Rothschild said, the time to buy is "when there's blood in the streets." The market for longs is at a steep value right now. Upping all equity contributions is a good idea.

Also online money market APRs will continue to fall with the Fed rate. May want to consider other semi-liquid vehicles with higher guaranteed returns as that rate falls.

Posted by atlas | December 4, 2007 9:46 AM

When you consider the fact that your investments will increase again, not a bad month after all. If you take out the investment fluctuations then things could've been a lot worse.

Posted by Llama Money | December 4, 2007 10:16 PM

I hate to say this but I agree with David - I have tried very hard to save all my life - and I have accumulated a nice net worth and make over 400k per year - and yet my wife (we married before i was worth much of anything) constantly feels like she is sacrificing herself by not being able to buy new clothes, new things for the baby, etc... and the guilt trips will keep on coming --- the only way i could fix it was to give her a budget of her own (ie: an allowance) and have her agree to long-term savings plans... you and your wife need to create common goals, otherwise she will slowly bleed your networth --- it has happened to a lot of my friends...

Posted by Anonymous | December 5, 2007 7:54 AM

[EDITOR:Sorry Buck, Had to Remove Your Comment]

Posted by Buck | December 5, 2007 4:09 PM

I would guesstimate that my wife and I would spend around $400-$500USD/per month in the US on all food/dining out expenses. Having this monthly expense jump to 5 figures was a big surprise. We have started to put some controls in to reel in the spending.

Posted by 2million | December 9, 2007 11:06 PM