Net Worth Update - October 2019

Net Worth Update - October 2019

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 climbed higher once again in October.  Apparently there was nothing to be scared about.  The S&P 500 added 2.0% during the month and so goes the markets, so goes my net worth.  Of course I did my own part as well by saving and reducing debt to push our net worth higher.

During October my net worth increased $13,792.68.

Total Assets: $828,854.77
Liquid Assets: $316,567.64
Total Liabilities: -$175,303.1
Net Worth: $653,551.68

That represents a 2.2% increase compared to September and pushes the year-to-date change to +28.2%.  Compared to October 2018 my net worth has seen a rise of $86.0k+.




Our main goal for 2019 continues to be reducing our non-mortgage debt and while we didn't make as much progress as I'd have liked we have gotten rid of one car loan.  One down one to go.  After October's accelerated payments our non-mortgage debt balance is down to just under $19.1k.

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 October we have 28.5% equity in our house based on our purchase price from 2013.  According to Zillow our house has increased in value around $48.3k 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 41.5%.

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 October 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 - October 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 October our debt to equity ratio is 27% and our debt to total capitalization is 21%.  Not bad, but I can't wait to get that debt down to ZERO!

Personal Capital Structure - October 2019

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.  If you prefer Pinterest or Facebook I'm on there too!

How did your net worth fare during October?  Did it continue to climb higher along with the markets?

Please share your thoughts below!