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RSSNovember 2008 Net Worth Update (-$9,819)
November was another down month for us, but a significantly better than October. At least we could sustain losses like this for a longer duration then we could if we continued to see $50k losses like we did in October. I hope the upward trend continues.
| Assets | Oct-08 | Nov-08 | Change | % |
| Cash & Savings | $ 114,246.57 | $ 116,632.83 | $ 2,386.26 | 2.09% |
| Taxable Brokerage Accts | $ 68,121.80 | $ 64,956.81 | $ (3,164.99) | -4.65% |
| Roth IRAs | $ 34,504.40 | $ 32,768.21 | $ (1,736.19) | -5.03% |
| Pre-tax Retirement Accts | $ 137,337.59 | $ 133,960.71 | $ (3,376.88) | -2.46% |
| Stock Options | $ 1,840.00 | $ - | $ (1,840.00) | -100.00% |
| ESPP | $ 24,177.52 | $ 20,703.71 | $ (3,473.81) | -14.37% |
| House #1 - Rental | $ 160,000.00 | $ 160,000.00 | $ - | |
| House #2 - Rental | $ 128,225.00 | $ 128,225.00 | $ - | |
| House #3 - Primary | $ 109,510.00 | $ 109,510.00 | $ - | |
| Receivable (Payable) | $ 6,318.61 | $ - | $ (6,318.61) | |
| Other Assets | $ - | $ - | $ - | |
| Total Assets | $ 784,281.49 | $ 766,757.27 | $ (17,524.22) | -2.23% |
| Liabilities | | | | |
| Credit Card Balances | $ (20,515.94) | $ (14,031.46) | $ 6,484.48 | -31.61% |
| House #1 Mortgages | $ (112,835.30) | $ (112,633.14) | $ 202.16 | -0.18% |
| House #2 Mortgages | $ (101,091.93) | $ (100,981.42) | $ 110.51 | -0.11% |
| House #3 Mortgages | $ (90,024.11) | $ (89,779.43) | $ 244.68 | -0.27% |
| Rental Deposits | $ (9,980.57) | $ (9,980.57) | $ - | 0.00% |
| Additional Tax Liability | $ (662.40) | $ - | $ 662.40 | -100.00% |
| Other Liabilities | | | $ - | |
| Total Liabilities | $ (335,110.25) | $ (327,406.02) | $ 7,704.23 | -2.30% |
| $2million Goal Progress* | $ 429,685.35 | $ 419,620.68 | $ (10,064.67) | -2.34% |
| Net Worth | $ 449,171.24 | $ 439,351.25 | $ (9,819.99) | -2.19% |
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.
- November was not a great month for our stock investments, but we did start to take advantage of the low valuations by making sizable investments in some index funds.
- We saw a slight boost this month from some leftover expense reimbursements from my job.
- We received confirmation from the mortgage company that we will meet the criteria to cancel PMI on December 4th for House #3. I'll eventually post more details on this, but we should start realizing ~$41/mo savings in our cash flow.
- We are currently actively searching for a house and are in negotiations for one. I am optimistic we might reach an agreement soon.
- November was another bad month with our investments, but we did beat our benchmark - I will post our November investment report shortly.
You can see my previous monthly net worth updates here.
by 2million on
12/03/08
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Comments (6)
2mil - I don't know if you've touched on this, but is it really necessary for you and the wife to live in a $300k to $400k house? Your family already 'owns' three homes, and you have enough in cash to pay off over a third of your mortgage debt. Long-run I can't imagine residential property appreciating more than inflation, and the larger home comes with significant expenditures for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. I know your analysis includes school districts, etc., but you don't have any kids at all, let alone children of school age. I know you lived in at least one of the homes and your wife in one of the others, so the neighborhoods can't be that bad.
Assets feed you and liabilities eat you.
Posted by CPA1298 | December 3, 2008 10:30 AM
great website hopefully things start to turn around when i retire i want to have a 401k not a 201k
Posted by Charles | December 3, 2008 11:29 AM
CPA1298 - Great comment. This has been a tough subject for both us because its part trying to reach what we have invisioned for us and trying to merge that with reality. Right now we are living in House #3, but the reality is its not sized for both of us - its only 2 bedrooms, all of my wordly possessions are in storage except for a few clothes, and its a townhome - something I personally despise. Short term its ok, long term its unacceptable to me. As for the other houses, they not what my wife is looking for, and don't make sense for us to raise a family in at least at this point. We could if we have to, but we would need to make a lot more comprimises than we are willing to at the moment.
Now merge that with reality that the economy is down the crapper and it been tough for us to figure out what the best move is to make. We are leaning on assuming the econmy will turn around and things will improve - if thats the case we are looking for what we want in a home which will cost a little more $$.
Posted by 2million | December 3, 2008 12:47 PM
2mil - I would think a 2-bedroom townhome would be enough room for a couple w/ no kids. Maybe you can look at downsizing your investment in 'worldly possessions' via Craigslist, Ebay or yard sale and live a more minimalist lifestyle ala the blog ZenHabits. My wife and I have lived in a studio apartment, a 1-bedroom condo, and a 4 bedroom home, and we miss the days of simplicity in our 550 square foot condo.
If you save aggressively, I could see you paying cash for a house in your target range in just 2 or 3 years. Given the market, I doubt you'll miss out on any appreciation between now and then. I hate to see people take on so much debt for their personal residence, which is such an inferior 'asset' class.
I live in a 30-year old suburban brick ranch, and my property taxes + insurance alone are 2% of the appraised value of my home. Repairs and maintenance are on average at least another 1% to 2% of the home's value per year. Taken together, these costs of carrying the property equal or outweigh the long-run appreciation potential.
Just my thoughts. I've been working for a financial instituion the past few months (after leaving my CPA career) and seeing so many people gorging on debt is making me want to adopt a debt-free minimalist lifestyle for my family.
Posted by CPA1298 | December 3, 2008 5:59 PM
yeah, i am a little surprised that you are looking in the 300 range and that you have things in storage because 2 bedrooms isn't enough i agree with cpa1298, and just today there was mention that there may be a 4.5% interest rate available to new home buyers. it is probably in your best interest to go slow and see what happens to the market..certainly prices will continue to go down.
Posted by dj | December 4, 2008 2:41 PM
I have experienced the same problem on the house part. I bought a house that was a little too big during all the real estate hype thinking I could flip when the prices got out of control but the wife fell in love with the house... you get the picture.
But downsizing as you get older is the smartest thing anyone can do. You save on so many fronts... energy, maintenance, etc./
Posted by Bill M | December 9, 2008 5:42 PM