February 2012 Net Worth Update (-1,556.74)

February was another month of heavy spending, resulting in a drop in our net worth of $1,556.74 from last month, to a total of $158,302.36 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked

We contributed a total of $1,434.26 our retirement accounts, and saw them increase $3,061.88 to $48,947.37 total. Our savings account also increased from $1,830.39 to $2,608.15. Our first mortgage payment went through reducing our mortgage debt by $589.21.

CORRECTION: Our first mortgage payment was for our March bill and should not have been included in our February numbers. I will correct the spreadsheet before posting our March Net Worth Update.

What Didn’t Work

In February, we did something we haven’t done in a LONG time: we went into credit card debt. We ended the month owing $7,065.02 to a zero percent interest card (0% for 15 months) to buy more furniture/house stuff. We have roughly $3,000 more in furniture/house stuff that we need to buy and then we’re done. I promise.

Next Month

March will get us one step closer to getting back on track, but we’ll still be spending more than saving.

December 2012 Income Statement

January was a CRAZY expense month and, thankfully, a very good largest income month (click on spreadsheet below).

Our total income for January was $13,358.37, our 4th largest income month ever. In addition to my two regular paychecks, my wife received $632.86 in Paid Family Leave (had a baby via C-section) and $2,586.22 in paychecks from her company. We also received a $2,050 rental deposit refund, $2,588.75 mortgage refund, $1,000 move in gift, $500 hospital refund, $254.24 in credit card rewards, $100 from selling items on craigslist, and a $20 sitter sittercity.com refund. After wiping out our savings for the down payment, we earned $0.02 in interest income from our meger online savings account.

We spent a total of $22,902.72 in January; by far the most money we’ve spent in one month. We expected this to be the case and sold our recreational vehicle and other items to pay for a great deal of it. Some of the substantial outlays include $12,251.68 for furniture, $3,542.51 for household items (for the new house), $1,010 for our nanny (includes some weekend work), $694.31 for home repair/maintenance items, and $685 for 6 months of prepaid 20 year term insurance for wife and me.

The shopping will continue in February, as we have much more “stuff” to buy for our home. I expect that the spending will begin to settle down in March, and it needs to because we cannot sustain our current level of spending for long. Our income has been much higher than normal the past two months, but should return to its normal level in February.