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| Friday, October 16, 2009 |
| Anniversary Net Worth Review |
Back in October 2005 I first started blogging about my Net Worth. I spent a little time this evening taking a look at how far my money has come since then. As you can see in the chart below, my savings increased while my Real Estate and Possessions took a bit of a tumble. That line item includes the two properties I own, as well as possessions like my car and other personal property. My recent car purchase is helping that number at the moment since I own the vehicle outright (no car loan - yeah!)
But the line I am most proud of is my retirement accounts. One of the outcomes of blogging about my money was my decision to contribute the maximum possible to my company 401(k) plan and my Roth IRA. I had been saving in those plans prior to blogging, but in much smaller amounts. Enough for the company match and throwing a bit into the Roth. But realizing how much money I would eventually need for retirement and tracking my progress in this blog made me realize that I had to get a heck of a lot more serious about putting money aside for my later years.
I still have a long way to go. But at least I am seeing forward progress. In the four years since starting this blog I have made many large and small changes to how I spend, save, and invest money. Some of the large ways I have spent cash during this period:
1) Paid off one mortgage (investment condo)
2) Paid off the remainder of my Mother's mortgage
3) Paid cash for a solar PV system on my primary home
4) Paid cash for a new car
5) Been able to lend a decent chunk of money to a family member
I don't think the above list would have happened without blogging about my money. For example, It is much easier to pay a small amount every month on a mortgage than take a large sum out of savings to pay off a note - but tracking my money and seeing how steadily I was saving gave me the confidence to finally take action. It helps that spending so much time reading about money issues meant I was able to run some calculations to see if continuing to pay mortgage interest vr just paying off the note was better or worse.
But this next chart really showed me the value of tracking my money over the years:
The first row is my Net Worth snapshot from the month of October for each of the years shown. The second line is the percentage increase from the prior year and the third line is the dollar increase from the prior year. As you can see, most of my gains were seen in 2006 and 2007. The great recession of 2008 and 2009 along with big expenses (the five items listed above) has slowed my Net Worth accumulation. On the bright side it is still heading upward (which is better than downward) but it points out that I have to keep working harder if I ever hope to reach my retirement number. Then again, if I can keep eliminating liabilities and find ways to reduce my monthly costs, then perhaps I can recalculate and come away with a more attainable number?
Many thanks to readers and commenters over the years. It has been very nice having others weigh in on the many big and small financial decisions. Learning from all of you has made me verifiability better off - see the above chart for the proof :) But seriously, my being a single person trying to figure all of this out was a big reason for the blog - having all of you following along has been a huge motivator for me to stop being lazy or scared or just bored with my money and to instead face it, own it, and figure out how to keep growing it. Thank you. |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 7:57 PM *
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| 14 Comments: |
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That's an impressive increase.
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Mental slip, but you've only been blogging for 4 years (might seem like 5!).
"In the five years since starting this blog..."
Congrats on your progress.
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Congrats Boston Gal! You are certainly an inspiration.
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You're getting to the point that your net worth increases are going to get bigger, provided there aren't any more meltdowns. But the best part is that you are almost debt free. That goes a long way in piece of mind.
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Congratulations! You're doing well and it seems as though you're on track (what do the various retirement calculators say?)
One reason I follow your blog so closely is that our net worths and (I think) ages are quite similar, even though our circumstances are different (2 adults and 4 kids at my house, with a wedding coming up next month for the oldest).
I thought I'd look at my numbers over the same 4 years: Starting net worth: $314K Ending: $530. One of the biggest ways you've inspired me is in retirement savings: went from approximately 25K to 125K and I'm now maxing out both my 401k and my Roth IRA.
Thanks for the inspiration - you know this is going to make a concrete difference in my life and the lives of my kids 25-30 years from now.
Anne
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Great job and thanks for sharing! It's inspiring to see your progress.
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I've followed your net worth charts for over a year, and actually created one for myself. I love seeing the progress, as well as noting when assets fall in value. As long as you are continuing to go up, the losses don't seem so bad...thanks for sharing!
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Congratulations on reaching this milestone, and I'd like to say that paying off your mom's mortgage a generous act of rare magnitude. Even if you don't reach your goal, I'm sure you'll be fine in retirement because you are planning ahead. Personally I think that a lot of the retirement "numbers" are based on living forever. Statistically, this is still unlikely. See you next year!
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i've been reading your blog since october 2006 and i'm so proud of what you've accomplished! you are an inspiration to all of us!
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Not bad progress at all. Congratulations on growing your net worth. What are your financial goals for the next four years?
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Seems you weathered the storm rather well. Good job kid'O. Delayed gratification. But it's worth it in the end. Keep up the good work.
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You're doing great, BG! Your NW updates show that with diligent saving and consistent, strategic investing, one can come out ahead even in an economic downturn. Keep us posted!
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Congrats!! I've been reading since 2006. I must say you've motivated me as well.
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Congratulations B Gal. Ive been reading a long time and always find some inspiration here to knuckle down on my finances some more ;)
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That's an impressive increase.