Net Worth Update - November 2019

Net Worth Update - November 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.

It seems like groundhog day with the S&P 500 marching higher once again.  The S&P 500 gained 3.4% for November and with the majority of our investments tied to the markets that meant our net worth climbed higher as well.

During November my net worth increased $20,486.49.

Total Assets: $848,290.11
Liquid Assets: $325,494.45
Total Liabilities: -$174,251.54
Net Worth: $674,038.57

That represents a 3.1% increase compared to October and pushes the streak of increases up to 6 straight months.  Year to date my net worth has risen $164,241.81 of 32.2%.  




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 November's accelerated payments our non-mortgage debt balance is down to just over $18.3k.

At this time I don't believe it makes 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 outside of the car loans.  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 28.6% equity in our house based on our purchase price from 2013.  According to Zillow our house has increased in value around $26.7k 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 36.4%.

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 November 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 - November 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 November our debt to equity ratio is 26% 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 - November 2019

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How did your net worth fare during November?  Are you on track to beat your goals for the year?

Please share your thoughts below!