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RSSApril 2008 Net Worth Update (+$14,068)
April brought above average monthly returns for our stock investments but also brought higher expenses as we took a couple trips to explore what we could in Asia. Its been an amazing experience to travel around the other side of the world and in my opinion worth the higher expenses to see it. Its just too bad we can't do this every month - at least not until we hit our financial freedom goal.
| Assets | Mar-08 | Apr-08 | Change | % |
| Cash & Savings | $ 89,820.98 | $ 86,625.21 | $ (3,195.77) | -3.56% |
| Taxable Brokerage Accts | $ 74,725.49 | $ 76,735.92 | $ 2,010.43 | 2.69% |
| Roth IRAs | $ 38,687.73 | $ 42,958.36 | $ 4,270.63 | 11.04% |
| Pre-tax Retirement Accts | $ 156,118.06 | $ 162,055.81 | $ 5,937.75 | 3.80% |
| Stock Options | $ 17,432.00 | $ 18,120.00 | $ 688.00 | 3.95% |
| ESPP | $ 38,337.02 | $ 39,885.58 | $ 1,548.56 | 4.04% |
| 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 | $ 819,846.28 | $ 831,105.88 | $ 11,259.60 | 1.37% |
| Liabilities | | | | |
| Credit Card Balances | $ (15,643.46) | $ (18,524.27) | $ (2,880.81) | 18.42% |
| House #1 Mortgages | $ (114,224.26) | $ (114,028.61) | $ 195.65 | -0.17% |
| House #2 Mortgages | $ (101,930.68) | $ (101,697.03) | $ 233.65 | -0.23% |
| House #3 Mortgages | $ (98,916.39) | $ (93,415.56) | $ 5,500.83 | -5.56% |
| Rental Deposits | $ (6,447.00) | $ (6,447.00) | $ - | 0.00% |
| Additional Tax Liability | $ (6,101.20) | $ (6,342.00) | $ (240.80) | 3.95% |
| Other Liabilities | | | $ - | |
| Total Liabilities | $ (343,262.99) | $ (340,454.47) | $ 2,808.52 | -0.82% |
| $2million Goal Progress* | $ 458,999.68 | $ 467,566.97 | $ 8,567.29 | 1.87% |
| Net Worth | $ 476,583.29 | $ 490,651.41 | $ 14,068.12 | 2.95% |
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.
- We continued to move money from our house savings goal and pay down our mortgage to cancel PMI. Given the return is ~6.7% after tax I think its has a decent return for only giving up a little liquidity. We are now somewhere in the 78-80% LTV and my next step is to call Chase to press them to cancel the PMI.
- My wife and I are starting to wind down our assignment in China by taking as many trips and visitors as possible. This month we hit Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Beijing, and Xian. As a result, our expenses are higher than usual this month and next.
- I reviewed our 2007 passive income
- Here is an explanation why our housing values have remained constant.
Additional Stock Investments for April (Outside of 401k & ESPP):
- April 2008 Investment Report
- March 2008 Monthly Investment Report
- Future Investment Transactions will be covered in the monthly investment updates
You can see my previous monthly net worth updates here.
by 2million on
05/05/08
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Comments (4)
How are things going with the credit card arbitrage? Do you find that a smaller spread is still worth the effort given that you keep possibly 5 figures in play?
Posted by Flexo | May 5, 2008 1:46 PM
Hey 2Million,
Congratulations on breaking $475k, thats way above the national average.
If you have some time, do you think you might comment on which portions of your networth have been the biggest drivers of your overall gain? That sort of case study might be useful for those who think seriously about this sort of thing.
Posted by James | May 7, 2008 2:35 AM
Flexo,
Since the work on the last BT was done before the rates started dropping I haven't really thought about whether its worth it. To me there are so little work - maybe 1hr total time to apply, setup billpay to pay it back that even at 3% interest I am still making $300 on $10k for 1hr worth of work.
Also 0% BTs are harder to come by when rates go up, so by keeping them up and running I have the liquidity available when rates do go up and increase my return.
James,
Thanks for the comment -- are you asking about my monthly gain or overall gain the for the last several years?
If you are asking about this month I think my living expense reimbursement by my employer and stock market gains are the biggest drivers for April.
If you are talking long term that is a post in and of itself. See this post on replicating our net worth as a starting point.
Posted by 2million | May 7, 2008 3:37 AM
Before you leave asia be sure to check out Cebu Philippines....from there also goto Bohol. I spent some time in these locations and it is really quite a nice place to go.
Posted by Jason Dragon | May 17, 2008 6:52 AM