Net Worth Update - August 2014

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.  The S&P 500 was surged 3.77% during August and crossed the 2,000 mark for the first time.  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 and for August my net worth rose with the markets.  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.  I had just under $4,700 in after-tax savings from my paycheck, $700 in ESPP contributions, and just over $960 in 401k contributions counting the employer match.  The rest of the changes were due to dividends received and changes in the stock market.  All in all August saw a $11,444.94 increase in my net worth.

Current Assets: $580,173.68
Curent Liquid Assets: $192,221.19
Current Debts: -$189,307.82
Net Worth: $390,865.86

August's increase was very much welcomed after the unexpected decline in July.  It was great to start moving in the right direction again for my net worth.  I made several purchases in my portfolio and even started a new portfolio with Loyal3 during August.  Liabilities continue to make very little progress and consist of just the mortgage on our house.  I don't see the point in paying extra on the mortgage given our relatively low interest rate and think we'll come out much further ahead investing extra cash flow for the time being.  So we make very little progress on the mortgage each month but we are up to 21.13% equity in our house.

August's net worth increased 3.02% from the end of July and year-to-date I've had an increase of $70,751.64.  My goal for the year is to have a $125k increase but that will require a pretty solid close of the year to reach.  We're now 66.7% of the way through the year and I'm only at 56.6% so I'm a full 10% behind schedule right now and need to average over $13,500 per month increases to hit my target.  The net worth goal is more of a secondary goal since so much of it is out of my hands.  I can maintain a large savings rate and invest those savings but I can't make the markets go up.  And I have no idea where they'll go from here.  If they continue to march higher or even stay flat then there's a chance I can still reach my goal but if they trend down the rest of the year it's probably not likely.  Although I'd prefer that so I can get some better long term values when I invest my capital.

I've changed the chart for my net worth to better reflect our situation now that there's significant debt on the books with our mortgage.  The chart will now show both assets and liabilities as well as the net worth.  I also changed the colors because I didn't notice this until April but assets were red and liabilities were green.  So that's now been fixed.


My after-tax savings rate for August came in at just 62.82% which is unfer my goal of 50% 65%.  I revised my goal higher during my mid year goal checkup and August didn't help much towards the new goal.  I don't expect to have too many other big expenses or items to save for the rest of this year so almost all excess cash flow will be funneled directly into savings for investment purposes.  This should help increase my savings rate throughout the rest of the year.  Although, this is a big drop-off from 2013's 81.31% rate that's because I changed the way I calculate my savings rate.  It's now just savings from my after-tax income that is specifically marked for investment.  I think this gives a "purer" savings rate since it's only true savings/investment capital from my after tax income.


Based on my expenses from August, my liquid savings would last for 5.77 years, a 0.45 year decrease from July.  Despite the net worth increase that wasn't enough to overcome the much higher than normal expenses during the month.  September will hopefully get this moving back in the right direction with hopefully another solid net worth increase and a normalization of expenses.

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

Make sure you sign up to receive new posts to your email so you don't miss anything.  And be sure to follow me on Twitter@JC_PIP to get up to the minute news of new purchases for my portfolio.

How did your net worth do in August?  

Comments

  1. Very strong numbers. 10k plus is monster actually. Your savings rate is very high so I wouldnt be too concerned there. As long as its the right balance there. Cant deny your chart trajectory so stay the course!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A-G,

      $10k increases are great and I'll take those every month if I can. I feel the savings rate is a pretty good balance. There's plenty more that I can afford but honestly not much else I'd like to buy anyways. So the best use is to improve my financial situation. I'm content with where I'm at and don't feel the need to spend more to increase my happiness level.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. You are continuing to make good progress JC! While I don't track it on my site, since my wife and I got married earlier this year, I've been keeping some pretty detailed records for us to monitor and track our overall net worth, as well as liquid net worth. As you've said, the rate of savings is most important, but we also are looking for some specific progress as we move forward with our combined finances.

    Hope you have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. w2r,

      I focus more on the passive income side rather than net worth but obviously I still keep details of my net worth. It's a more basic principle to give a quick snapshot that can relate to anyone's finances. Sell everything you own, pay off all your debts, what's left? I'm hoping for another $10k month in September to be able to jump over the $400k mark.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Congrats JC. Over 11K in net worth increase in a month is wonderful. And I wish I can hit after tax savings of over 60%.

    Congrats and keep it going.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JC,

    Man, an $11k increase in one month is outstanding! I remember it taking an entire year for me to make that much money in my early 20s. :)

    Keep up the awesome work, bud. You continue to kill it.

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. As others have mentioned before... "holy crap!" That's an amazing increase for one month. Keep saving the way you are saving and keep investing the way you are investing. Look forward to more of these inspiring updates.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on an awesome month! That savings rate is impressive, did you build up to that over time?

    Regards,

    ~ISP

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow great month you've had. Congrats. That's an amazing increase in one month. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment