August 2008 Net Worth Update (+$14,078)

August turned out better than expected for us despite a 5% decline in IBM stock which we made up for with better than usual cash savings thanks to timely expense reimbursement from my employer. Its feels good to get back to the monthly growth range I had expected to be at for most of this year.

Assets	Jul-08	Aug-08	Change	%
Cash & Savings	$ 100,910.82	$ 111,890.87	$ 10,980.05	10.88%
Taxable Brokerage Accts	$ 79,115.84	$ 81,022.75	$ 1,906.91	2.41%
Roth IRAs	$ 41,399.27	$ 43,361.87	$ 1,962.60	4.74%
Pre-tax Retirement Accts	$ 162,061.91	$ 165,519.26	$ 3,457.35	2.13%
Stock Options	$ 28,248.00	$ 22,704.00	$ (5,544.00)	-19.63%
ESPP	$ 32,339.12	$ 30,625.70	$ (1,713.42)	-5.30%
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)	$ 9,726.00	$ 9,726.00	$ -
Other Assets	$ -	$ -	$ -
Total Assets	$ 858,525.96	$ 869,575.45	$ 11,049.49	1.29%
Liabilities
Credit Card Balances	$ (26,914.14)	$ (25,709.34)	$ 1,204.80	-4.48%
House #1 Mortgages	$ (113,436.14)	$ (113,236.80)	$ 199.34	-0.18%
House #2 Mortgages	$ (101,460.55)	$ (101,341.20)	$ 119.35	-0.12%
House #3 Mortgages	$ (91,938.69)	$ (91,779.22)	$ 159.47	-0.17%
Rental Deposits	$ (9,330.57)	$ (9,980.57)	$ (650.00)	6.97%
Additional Tax Liability	$ (10,169.28)	$ (8,173.44)	$ 1,995.84	-19.63%
Other Liabilities			$ -
Total Liabilities	$ (353,249.37)	$ (350,220.57)	$ 3,028.80	-0.86%
$2million Goal Progress*	$ 480,715.28	$ 494,634.10	$ 13,918.82	2.90%
Net Worth	$ 505,276.59	$ 519,354.88	$ 14,078.29	2.79%

Highlights for August

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 wife and I spent have half the month back in the US on a home trip. While spending was above average for us when are back home due to visiting friends, cramming in dr visits, buying clothes and supplies to take back with us, we were actually able to spend less for the month than we typically do while on assignment.
Cash grew above average this month due to timely expense reimbursment and rerenting one of the rental properties.
August investment report will be published shortly for now see our July 2008 Investment Report.

You can see my previous monthly net worth updates here.

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Comments (6)

Hi- I love reading your updates. Could you tell us- are you changes in net worth mostly driven by value/changes increases in stock/real estate values, dividends, debt paydowns, or something else?

In short, you seem to be making nice progress of around $10k a month added to your net worth. It would be great to understand where you are getting the most "bang for your buck" in terms of net worth growth.

Any comments?

Love the blog, thanks for writing.

Posted by Anonymous | September 3, 2008 9:40 AM

I'm always impressed by your progress. It's very inspiring for us readers. I just have a couple of questions: how are you able to save such a large amount of cash each month (are you receiving a living allowance on top of a standard meal allowance while working abroad) and are you rotating into new 0% APR credit cards as the old ones' promotions expire? Has this affected your credit score at all?

Posted by Blogging About Money | September 3, 2008 1:46 PM

Yeah, I'm curious too about the saving amount! In any case, love this stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by Ray | September 7, 2008 7:27 PM

I agree with the previous comments. +10%/month in a "savings" account is very strong growth.

Are you living dramatically below your income level, and saving a lot compared to your take home pay?

Or is your "savings" account actually a brokerage account making capital gains?

I would love to see a household budget, if you have one, so I can compare it with my own (I made one using the blank forms you've posted previously).

I would also love to read more about how you and your wife make spending/saving decisions (do you make them all, and how do you deal with situations where one person wants to save more and the other wants to spend more?)

Posted by Thisson | September 8, 2008 5:01 PM

I do provide investment transparency through the investment reports - you'll know if I am making or losing money there.

If you look at previous months you will notice that this month is an outlier for cash growth - its a couple things -- quick expense reimbursement from my employer,re-renting rental properties so there might be overlap of multiple security deposits, my wife and I also had a home leave trip back to the US which switches our primary means of spending from cash to credit cards which will provide a temporary boost to our monthly cash growth.

Posted by 2million | September 8, 2008 8:32 PM

Wow, thats a lot of jump in savings. Do you consider having a financial advisor for your stocks/funds?
How do you find time for managing three rental properties? Is it in the same area you live?
Thanks
Tapan
http://inquisitiveaboutfinance.blogspot.com

Posted by Tapan@inquisitiveaboutfinance | September 19, 2008 8:35 PM