Net Worth Update - May 2013

Despite a rough last trading day of May, the markets continued their climb higher.  As more and more of my net worth becomes tied to the markets, the gyrations have a greater effect on the value of my net worth.  In the end, I'm focused on the long run and increasing the cash flow from my dividends.  While I like to see the combination of a high savings rate and positive market moves increasing the value, a temporary 10% cut to my portfolio would be much appreciated.  The change in value was due to around $1,240 in combined 401k contributions, $900 in ESPP withholding, over $6,550 in savings from my take-home pay, and then dividends, interest and market appreciation accounted for the rest.

Current Assets: $253,919.78
Curent Liquid Assets: $134,195.02
Current Debts: -$16,975.43
Net Worth: $236,944.35

It was a solid month with an increase of $11,133.35.  I've actually hit greater than $10k increases every month so far in 2013, although June will be more dependent on the markets to hit that level again.  So far in 2013 I've increased my net worth by a total of $80,992.17.  I know the markets have helped a lot with this increase, but the groundwork was laid last year through consistent savings and investing.  This was a 4.93% increase over April's net worth and is 80.99% of the way towards my goal of a $100k increase for the year.  I'll be increasing the target with my mid-year goal update although I'm still not set on what level to shoot for.  After all, it needs to be a realistic target.

My after-tax savings rate for May ended up at 81.40% which was actually my lowest so far in 2013.  June will see a dip below 80%, thanks to lower income but I'll do my best to save as muh as I can.  I'm now averaging 83.51% for 2013 so far which is a great start towards my 80%+ after tax savings goal for this year.


I decided to also add one more chart to my monthly updates.  This chart will show the number of years that my liquid net worth, essentially cash/checking/savings/brokerage accounts, would last based on the spending for the corresponding month.  For May, this number came to 7.99 years.  It's pretty comforting to see that if I could no longer work I could still support myself for almost 8 years based on my bare minimum expenses.


I've updated my Progress page to reflect May's changes.

How was your May?  Did you do better or worse than you expected this month?  

Comments

  1. Looks like another great month and it looks like you're killing it btw. Our May went really well and I sold a holding recently to take some profits. It'll be interesting to see what happens this month with the market.

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    1. John,

      Thanks and I do my best. I know there's going to come a time when a mortgage, possibly during the second half of this year, and children will eat up more of my income so I'm taking advantage while I can. Glad to hear you had a great May as well. This market sure has thrown a wrench in my plans for building up the dividend stream, although the net worth improvement has been nice.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. You had another great month of boosting your net worth. Hopefully June will be just as good for you.

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    Replies
    1. MyFIJ,

      Every month this year has seen $10k+ increases. Actually May was the worst with only a $11k increase. No complaints from me on that. With more of my net worth tied to market gyrations, I'd actually prefer to see a decrease in my net worth for a month because there'd be some better bargains available.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I hit over 80% savings for the first time in May and was absolutely thrilled with that. I can't believe how you are able to do that on a regular, consistent basis each and every month. That is insane! I was only able to do that b/c I banked a bonus from work and the second rental property finally started paying me. Your hard work is definitely paying off!

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    Replies
    1. FI,

      Congrats on surpassing 80%! It's a big accomplishment especially since most people are only saving 3% or less of their take home pay. A lot of the consistency is due to the high income, but I'm playing pretty good defense as well.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Great month! Your Net worth chart really shows the progress you have been making.

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    1. Gareth,

      At some point I know there's going to be a decrease because the markets will take a dive, but as long as I'm continuing to save as much as possible then it'll all work out in the end. This year has been way better than I expected though thanks to the market's big move higher. I didn't expect to have an $11k increase be the worst of the year so far.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. That is an incredible change in your net worth for the first half of 2013! WoW...

    Hope the next half of the year turns out just as well.

    The Stoic

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    Replies
    1. Stoic,

      I expected to have a good year, but didn't expect anything close to this. The markets' big run has helped a lot with increasing my net worth but the high savings rate helps too. I just wish I could have got more capital invested before the markets went on this run. At some point they'll cool off and I'll probably start to see flat or possibly negative net worth growth but that just gives me a chance to set myself up for the next leg higher.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. Nice progress mate! I fear this summer is not going to be kind to us equity investors though. Let's hope things don't fall off a cliff like the seem to every year for the past several years in the summer! Come join the FS forum. I think you'll enjoy the investing discussions.

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    Replies
    1. Sam,

      I also expect the dog days of summer to wear on the markets. I'm notoriously bad at timing the market, I've been expecting a pullback since February and we all know how that's worked out. I saw that the forum was rolled out so I'll stop by soon to give it a looksee.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

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