Net Worth Update - March 2019

March 2019 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 S&P 500 continued to climb higher after the dump in December last year.  During March the S&P 500 added 1.8% and since a large portion of our net worth is tied to the whims of the market the direction of our net worth typically follows suit.  Of course receiving over $1,300 in dividends sure did help.

During March my net worth increased $21,376.13.

Total Assets: $764,589.02
Liquid Assets: $289,236.09
Total Liabilities: -$187,100.67
Net Worth: $577,488.35

For the month my net worth climbed 3.8% and its up 13.3% YTD.




The rebound in the markets throughout Q1, as well as some solid cash flowing months, has seen a huge rebound for the balance sheet.  March marked the 3rd straight month of $20k+ increases to our net worth and both our assets and investments are back to all time highs that were previously set in September 2018.  Our net worth is still ~$14.5k short of the high from September primarily due to the Hyundai Tucson that I purchased with financing in December.

Our main goal for 2019 continues to be reducing our non-mortgage debt.  As of the end of March we have a roughly $29k of non-mortgage debt balance so we'll have our work cut out for us.  However, for the time being conserving extra cash is going to take precedence since we have a new baby on the way coming in April!

At this time it doesn't make much sense 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.  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 March we have 27.6% equity in our house based on our purchase price from 2013.  However, according to Zillow our house has increased in value around $36.1k 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 jumps to 37.9%.

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 History through March 2019

In order to give you a general idea of the breakdown of my net worth I include 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 and deeply discounted (they don't really move the needle at all but I have them in my spreadsheet because I was bored).  

Net Worth Breakdown - March 2019

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.  At the end of March our debt to equity ratio is 32% and our debt to total capitalization is 24%.  Not bad, but I can't wait to get that debt down to ZERO!

Capital Structure - March 2019

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How did your net worth fare during March?  What about for the first quarter of 2019?

Please share your thoughts below!