Asset Milestones | Net Worth Update - November 2017

net worth, balance sheet, equity, financial independence
November 2017 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.

The bull market continued on its way during November with the S&P 500 gaining 2.81% for the month.  While I'd prefer to see lower prices if I was buying, I can't say my net worth is disappointed with this bull run in the least.  November's move higher boosted my assets across the $700k mark which I can honestly say I didn't see coming at this time last year.

During November alone my net worth increased $19,086.47.  

Current Assets: $703,472.78
Current Liquid Assets: $250,957.40
Current Liabilities: $-179,642.07
Net Worth: $523,830.71

My net worth increased 3.8% during November and has climbed over 11.4% YTD.

While it's great to see the net worth over $500k and assets over $700k, the thing I'm most excited about is that we're back to being cash flow positive by a few grand each month.  That extra cash flow will be aimed at the bit of debt that we have to free up our income to go towards savings and investing instead of towards debt.  We'll likely be a bit conservative with our debt pay down for the next month or two in order to get a bit of a cash buffer, but after that it'll be full steam ahead.

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 after Q1 is over.  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 November we have 25.6% equity in our house based on our purchase price from 2013.  However, according to Zillow our house has increased in value just over $32k 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 35.2% 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 November 2017


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).  

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 $40k to give a more accurate representation of our liabilities.
net worth, balance sheet, equity, financial independence, assets, liabilities
Net Worth Breakdown - November 2017

Since I write so much about investigating companies as an investment I figured it'd be fun to see how our balance sheet looks.  As of the end of November our debt to equity ratio is 34% and our debt to total capitalization is 20%.  Not bad, but I'd love to get that debt down to ZERO!

Non-Work Cash Flow

Each month I like to examine the state of our non-work cash flow.  Since our goal is to become financially independent the monthly cash flow has to come from somewhere in order to cover our expenses.  

Truly passive income, dividends and interest, totaled $263.98 during November which was about a $22 decrease from August.  Although there was a decline it was just due to the timing of dividend payments.  *Dividends are from my taxable accounts only.  

With my writing taking a back seat the past few months the EBIT from blogging/writing was a big, fat ZERO for November.  So total non-day job income for November stayed at $263.98.  YTD I've received $6,129.19 in non-day job income.

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Is your net worth riding the bull market wave to new heights?

Please share your thoughts below!

Image courtesy of holohololand on FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Comments

  1. Hey PiP
    What a great set of milestones you achieved! Yeah, the bull market was a great tailwind I guess for all of us. On the other side, it makes new stock acquisitions more and more expensive and risky. I keep some additional cash (maybe even too much) to take profit when the markets dive.
    And after all, what really matters is a growing passive income stream.
    Keep up your great work and all the best!
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FS,

      As FV noted below I didn't even notice that we crossed the $250k liquid assets level either which is pretty cool to see. That's just taxable accounts and cash which I think is pretty awesome.

      All the best.

      Delete
  2. PiP -

    Congrats on being over these milestones. What a strong push to the finish line for the year. December is looking positive already, pumped to read!

    -Lanny

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lanny,

      It's pretty awesome to reach some big round number milestones. As long as the markets don't get the yips next week then we should end up very nicely for 2017. I hope that 2018 is even better although I don't expect as much progress on the net worth front, surely the markets won't have a big run again, and we'll also be focusing on some debt pay down for 1Q and maybe 2Q. But overall we'll be in much better shape than we started and that's all I can ask for.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. The 1/4 MM liquid networth is quite tidy. You are well on your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FV,

      Damn, I didn't even catch that. $250k liquid, $500k net and $700k in assets. All of those were milestones passed over the last 2 months.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Awesome progress on all fronts, PIP. I especially love the upward trend on the net worth chart. Things should really start ramping up after getting cash flow positive by such a healthy margin again. Continued success to you as we get ready to enter 2018!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ED,

      There's been some minor blips from time to time, but for the most part it's steady and consistent progress. Getting back to cash flow positive, not counting extra debt payments, is key. I'm glad to finally be back at those levels so we can knock out the non-mortgage debt that we have. I can't wait to get back to investing my capital each month or at least having the choice of what to do with it.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. It's pretty awesome to get to 500k - i'm right near there right now myself buddy! The graph looks good and you're well on your way to get that debt load off your shoulders eventually. Throw a couple extra payments at it here and there and it'll be gone before you know it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TITM,

      It's pretty cool to pass that $500k level. That's a huge milestone and we're well on our way towards $1M. Most of our debt is our mortgage, but there's some small-ish debts floating around that we really need to just get cleared off our books.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

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