May 2012 Net Worth Update (+1,636.22)

In May, our Net Worth increased $1,636.22 from last month, to a total of $163,358.76 (click on spreadsheet below). 

What Worked

We increased our savings account $1,550.47 to $5,140.41, thanks primarily to my wife earning a $2,325 gross ($1,937.89 net) quarterly bonus.  We also paid $1,250 off on our 0% credit card debt, which is now down to $7,191.35. I started a small vegetable garden in our backyard.  This is our first step toward growing some of our own food and hopefully saving money long-termJ.

What Didn’t Work
We contributed a total of $2,076.20 our retirement accounts, but saw them decrease $1,462.84 to $50,761.30 total.

Next Month
June may be another good month because my wife receives a third “extra” check.  This should allow us to pay another good chuck off of our 0% credit card debt.  Knocking down that credit card debt is our #1 financial goal right now.

April 2012 Income Statement

Things are starting to settle down a bit.  April brought an average income month and, thankfully, decreased spending (click on spreadsheet below). 

Our total income for April was $7,591.52.  Our regular paychecks saw a bit of an increase this month in the form of a 1% raise for me ($704.60/year) and my wife changing her filing status to M2 ($200.15 net increase per check that began her 2^nd check of the month).  We received $50 in credit card rewards, $43 tax refunds ($41 Fed & $2 State), a $50 gift to our baby’s 529 Plan, and earned $1.77 in interest income from our online savings account. 

Well, our downward trend of spending continues.  In March we spent a total of $7,284.95, higher than our budget of  $6,070.89, but far lower than what we’ve been spending the past 3 months: $22,902.72 in Jan., $14,038.03 in Feb., and $9,560.04 in Mar. 

May should be a good income month, led by an “extra” third paycheck for me.  This extra money should help get us back on track somewhat.  We’ve been putting off having our security camera system installed ($850), but we may get around to it in May.