February 2013 Net Worth Update (+1,730.39)

We’re blessed that forward progress continues, even with my wife unemployed.  Our net worth increased $1,730.39 from last month, to a total of $219,680.10 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We contributed a total of $818.88 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $2,854.42 to $85,490.63 total.  That large increase was primarily due to an unexpected $2,061.48 distribution to wife's Traditional IRA from old 401(k) plan.  We also continue to pay our car payment as early as possible so that more is applied to principle.

What Didn’t Work
N/A

Next Month
My wife has been interviewing a lot, so we may see a new job on the horizon.

January 2013 Income Statement

As expected, January was a low income month because my wife was unemployed.  Sadly, we weren’t able to keep our expenses as low as we would have (see attached spreadsheet).

Our income totaled $5,506.34 in January.  In addition to my regular paychecks this month, my wife received $1,800 unemployment.  We also received $50 in credit card cash back rewards and we earned $9.14 in interest income from our online savings account. 

In January, we spent a total of $8,869.22 - about $3,362 more than we earned.  Some of the larger non-standard expenses were: $685 for six months of life insurance (20 year term for both of us) and $551.36 for six months of auto insurance for our two vehicles.

Next month, we should receive a $2,154.27 refund from our mortgage prepaid & escrow.

 

January 2013 Net Worth Update (+5,730.49)

We had a good start to the year, especially considering that my wife is currently unemployed.  Our net worth increased $5,730.49 from last month, to a total of $217,949.71 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked

My 2.25% raise went into effect this month, unfortunately, it was absorbed by the increase in social security tax.  We contributed a total of $1,218.88 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $4,643.05 to $82,636.21 total. 

What Didn’t Work
No complaintsJ 

Next Month
Next month we should receive a $2,154.27 refund check from our mortgage prepaid & escrow.

 

2013 Financial Goals

Every year, we set goals that we hope to reach by the end of the year.  Below is our list for 2013.

1) Increase net worth to $211,000
 Our net worth goal for 2013 is $211,000.  We set these goals 6 years ago based on certain assumptions.  So far, we are WAY ahead of our goals and passed our 2013 in December 2012.  So, unless the market drops significantly in the next 12 months, we have reached this goal before even starting 2013J

2) Pass our 2014 Net Worth Goal 1 year early
We are ended 2012 with a net worth of $212,219.22, passing both our 2012 ($173,200) and 2013 net worth goals ($211,000).  Since we are 1 year ahead of our plan, it just makes sense to shoot for reaching our 2014 net worth goal ($251,900) by the end of 2013.

3) Contribute $15,000 to retirement accounts
 Our goal for 2013 will be to contribute $15,000 to our retirement accounts.  This is a big decrease from the $27,920.48 invested in 2012, but my wife was laid off in November, so we have to keep our goals realistic. Through my employer’s 401k plan, we have $10,645 automatically scheduled to be contributed.  We’ll have to make up the remaining $4,355 via Roth IRA contributions.

4) $100,000 total balance in retirement accounts
At the end of 2012, our total balance in retirement accounts was $77,993.16.  Through contributions and market performance, we hope to end 2013 above $100,000 in our retirement accounts.

5) Grow our family
 We would love to add a second child to our family, either through natural means or adoption.  Our son is a little over 1 years old, so it would be nice for him to have a sibling somewhat close in age.  Our current saves are earmarked for private adoption, should that be the route we go.

Review of 2012 Financial Goals

We started 2012 with 5 financial goals that seemed like a stretch.  We were blessed with reaching 4 of 5 of the goals.  My wife’s bonuses, totaling $28,093.27 gross ($20,683.50 net) really helped us achieve most of our 2012 goals.

1) Increase net worth to $173,200 SUCCESS
 We began 2012 with a net worth of $164,821.70 and reached our $173,200 net worth goal in August.  We ended 2012 with a net worth of $212,219.22, exceeding our 2013 net worth goal of $211,000.  It’s a HUGE blessing to be 1 year ahead of our plan.

2) Furnish our new home SUCCESS
 We purchased a 5 bed / 3 bath house in January 2012 and, while the overall task of furnishing our new home was larger than originally expected, we were successful.  The furniture, appliances, décor, etc. added up to over $30,000.  We had to put ~$9,000 on a 0% interest credit card, but paid the balance off in July before incurring any interest.  We are thoroughly enjoying our new home.

3) Rebuild savings account balance to $15,000  FAIL
 We ended the year with $12,213.11 in savings.  Passing $15,000 just wasn’t in the cards, especially considering that we pulled $3,000 out of savings for an auto down payment in July and paid off ~9K in 0% interest credit card debt.

4) Contribute $24,000 to retirement accounts SUCCESS
 We exceeded this goal, but in an unexpected way.  We contributed $22,244.42 to our retirement accounts during the year.  In November 2012, my wife’s company laid off the entire national sales force and, as part of the separation package, 100% vested her company 401(k) match and in profit sharing.  This increased our retirement accounts by ~$6,000 and brought our 2012 total retirement account contributions to $27,920.48.

 5) Increase son's 529 Plan to $6,000 SUCCESS
 We reached this goal right at the buzzer.  We began 2012 with $3,158.24 in our baby boy’s 529 Plan, but did not get anywhere close to the $6,000 mark until the end of the year.  Sure enough, God blessed us with two amazing quarterly bonuses from my wife’s company, helping us reach this and other goals.  We ended 2012 with $6,018.02 in our son’s 529 Plan.

I’ll be posting our new 2013 goals shortly.

December 2012 Income Statement

December ended up being a pretty good income month considering that my wife was laid off at the end of November.  However, we spent more than we earned.

Our income totaled $9,427.56 in December.  In addition to my regular paychecks this month, my wife received a $4,128.20 separation package from her company.  In addition, my wife received a $25.00 in company reimbursement for internet, we received $260.00 in gifts, and we earned $6.54 in interest income from our online savings account.  My wife began unemployment this month and received $1,350.

In December, we spent a total of $10,120.01; hard to tell my wife just lost her job, huh?  Some of the larger non-standard expenses were: $1,326.72 pool pump, $1,058.06 in supplemental tax, $250 range membership, and $235.48 in clothing.

Next month my 2.25% raise kicks in and my wife will receive her first full month of unemployment.  We may also receive a refund check from our prepaid and escrow account in January or February.


 

December 2012 Net Worth Update (+4,299.05)

Our net worth increased $4,299.05 from last month, to a total of $212,219.22 (click on spreadsheet below).  This puts us at 122.53% of our 2012 net worth goal of $173,200.  Our best year end finish yet.

What Worked
I received a 2.25% raise at the end of December that goes into effect in January.  We contributed a total of $1,369.81 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $3,440.23 to $77,993.16 total.  We also contributed $250 to our son’s 529 Plan this month.

What Didn’t Work
As I mentioned before, my wife was laid off and is now officially unemployed. 

Next Month
Next month should be relatively normal except for my wife being unemployed.