Turning Around | Net Worth Update - April 2018

Net Worth | Balance Sheet | Equity | Financial Independence
April 2018 Net Worth Update
While cash flow is more important when it comes to financial independence, it's still good to look at the balance sheet too, which is why I provide these net worth updates.  Since more and more of my net worth is tied to the markets, there's a larger correlation between my net worth and the markets, but in the long run as I continue to save and invest the net worth trend should be higher even though short term fluctuations can vary wildly.  As a dividend growth investor I'm not overly concerned with the short-term gyrations as long as the dividend stream remains in tact, but the markets' effect is noticeable.

After February and March's declines for the S&P 500 I have to say it was good to see a bit of relief in that department.  The S&P 500 increased 0.27% during April and likewise my net worth showed a tick up as well thanks to the markets, dividends and most importantly savings.

During April my net worth increased $7,369.50.  

Total Assets: $721,041.95
Liquid Assets: $250,728.00
Total Liabilities: $-178,291.66
Net Worth: $542,750.29

It sure was great to see the net worth climb higher after the two months of declines.  Hopefully this will be the start of a new streak of monthly increases, but only time will tell since the movement in the markets will still play a large role in that.  

For the month my net worth increased 1.38% and thus far in 2018 my net worth has climbed 1.54%.

Our main financial target for 2018 is to pay down our non-mortgage debt.  There's a variety of things that just kind of came up as life happened.  Some medical debt, a vehicle, an unexpected new air conditioning for the house.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but burdensome nonetheless.  

With taxes now behind us, and a fairly solid refund, we're now going to swap into cash hoarding mode until we get about $10k of cash on top of the expenses that we know are coming up namely 2 vacations.  Then it's full steam ahead with debt pay down.  A rough estimate would likely see the non-mortgage debt gone sometime in Q4 of this year and then it'll be back to savings and most importantly investing.

At this time I don't see much reason to pay extra on the mortgage given our relatively low interest rate as well as the tax break on mortgage payments and think we'll come out much further ahead investing the extra cash flow.  Actually I'm considering trying to do a refi sometime during Q2 or Q3 but time will tell on that since interest rates are moving higher.  So the liabilities side of the net worth equation will be slow moving.  However, once the FI portfolio is able to get to a self-sustaining level of dividends then the plan is to aggressively pay down the mortgage.

As of the end of April we have 26.2% equity in our house based on our purchase price from 2013.  However, according to Zillow our house has increased in value around $43.1k from our purchase price which is a nice bonus, although I keep the purchase price as the value in the net worth equations.  Based on Zillow's estimate the equity in our house is 38.4% thanks to the appreciation.

The following chart shows my assets and liabilities, as well as my net worth, since January 2012.  While I have accurate records for my net worth dating back to July 2010, I didn't keep track of my assets and liabilities on a monthly basis until the start of 2012.
net worth | balance sheet | equity | financial independence
Net Worth History through April 2018
I've started including a % breakdown of our net worth with each monthly update.  The assets are broken down into cash, taxable investments, tax advantaged investments (401k, Traditional & Roth IRAs), house (using our purchase price) and other which covers things like our cars and various collectibles from when I was a kid (they don't really move the needle at all but I have them in my spreadsheet because I was bored).  

The liabilities are much simpler and fall into either the mortgage or a personal loan that we have.  Although I do need to gather more information on the various medical, funeral and other debts that total around $20k to give a more accurate representation of our liabilities.
net worth | balance sheet | equity | financial independence | assets | liabilities
Net Worth Breakdown - April 2018
Since I write so much (or at least try to) about investigating companies as an investment I figured it'd be fun to see how our balance sheet looks.  As of the end of April our debt to equity ratio is 33% and our debt to total capitalization is 25%.  Not bad, but I'd love to get that debt down to ZERO!
capital structure | personal finance | net worth | equity | debt
Capital Structure - April 2018
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How did your net worth play out for April? 

Please share your thoughts below!

Comments

  1. Still down a little bit from the market peak of January JC. But, my dividends have been growing nicely. Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom,

      Our net worth took a bit of a tumble then too, but we're moving in the right direction again thanks to solid savings and the markets recovering. That dividend growth sure does help too. I can't wait to see what June's total comes to.

      All the best.

      Delete
  2. You're making really good progress, keep chipping away at that debt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr. Income Master,

      I can't wait to be rid of the debt because it will free up so much monthly cash flow and best of all make it so there's one less thing to worry about each month.

      All the best.

      Delete

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