September 2012 Net Worth Update (+5,243.86)

In September, our net worth increased $5,243.86 from last month, to a total of $188,261.27(click on spreadsheet below).  This puts us at 108.70% of our 2012 net worth goal of $173,200, which means we’re starting to make pretty good headway towards our 2013 net worth goal of $211,000.
What Worked
We contributed a total of $1,445.04 to our retirement accounts, and saw them increase $3,449.87 to $64,262.92 total.  We contributed $275 to our son’s 529 Plan thanks to birthday gifts from family.
What Didn’t Work
Our excessive spending continues to keep us from putting more money away.  As a result, our credit card bill each month has been much higher than usual.  We pay the card in full each month in order to avoid interest charges, but had to pull some money out of savings last month to make it happen.
Next Month
We hope to get caught up a little in October.  I received a third “extra” check that will help cover our large credit card bill without pulling much money out of savings.

August 2012 Income Statement

August was an amazing month - enormous income and large expenses (click on spreadsheet below). 

Our total income for August was $17,679.78, our second largest income month EVER.  The only larger month was December 2011 ($25,449.19, which included proceeds from a recreational vehicle sale).  Our income was huge this month because of my wife’s awesome quarterly bonus ($13,750 gross, $9,839.22 net). In addition to our regular paychecks, my received a $25 company reimbursement.  We also received $50.00 in credit card cash back rewards, a $50.00 gift for my sons 529 Plan, and we earned $3.22 in interest income from our online savings account. 

In July we spent a total of $13,051.92.  We had many rare expenses this month, starting with a $561.81 water bill (broken sprinkler) and $397.03 gas/electric bill (darn A/C). We also went on vacation to Canada($1,865.36), bought a new car battery ($125.91), insurance for our new SUV ($165.97), a portable A/C unit for my son’s room ($173.24 after a $150 gift card), various costs for my wife’s reunion.  We were busy this month!

Next month (September) should be a much more normal income month and hopefully, a mellow expense month.