Net Worth 2018 Q1
It has been a crazy year and I ended up skipping the past 3 quarterly updates. The purpose of this website is to track my financial journey to financial independence so I am going to keep it at that.
With all the financial changes I had in the past year, I also will not have % changes as this is what I am calling a “reset” year and I will post comps in 2019.
Anyways, I am just a normal guy, working an average corporate job, working hard to get out of debt, save and invest well, and reach financial independence as soon as possible.
I realized that I have not been making tangible financial goals so I will begin to write those down here. Financial independence to me means I have enough passive income so I have the choice to leave work and never have to go back again. I imagine this passive income primarily coming from investments and dividends, and recently I have been thinking more about getting rental properties. Being a landlord does not especially appeal to me, but I will never know unless I try. I have been learning more about real estate and the potential to increase my net worth via owning my home and renting properties is very hard to pass up.
Right now my assets/liabilities are pretty simple. On the asset side, I have my 401k and HSA from work, a Roth IRA, a couple brokerage accounts and my back account. On my liabilities side, I have my student loan, and my car loan that I took out last year.
For my 401K, I contribute enough to get the maximum match from my company, which is 5%. I contribute a small amount per paycheck into my HSA and I actually have never used it and see it mostly as another tax advantaged savings account. I stopped contributing to my IRA for a while to focus more on loans but I am going to start again this year. I also have not contributed anything to my brokerage accounts over the past year and a half. I do not have much of a emergency fund but I am slowly building it up but focusing primarily on paying down debt.
My liabilities include my student loans which I refinanced last year which is now at 3.625% and I bought a used car which I financed at 5.95%.
ASSETS (Over last Q)
| Retirement savings accounts | Brokerage account | Liquid cash | |
| Q4 2017 | $39,154.23 | $9,787.53 | $6,561.76 |
| Q1 2018 | $41,126.85 | $10,978.61 | $5,970.66 |
| % Change | +5.0% | +12.2% | -9.0% |
Current Assets = $61,536.31
Again, I am only actively contributing to my work accounts and prioritizing paying off debt for the time being. I do not expect assets to increase significantly until I pay off loans hopefully in the next 2 years.
Liabilities (Q over Q)
| Student loans/CC | Car | |
| Q4 2017 | $27,372.21 | $24,269.79 |
| Q1 2018 | $25,704.39 | $23,416.47 |
| %Change | -6.1% | -3.5% |
= –$49,120.96
I use a couple credit cards for the cash back and pay off the balance every month. The car loan has the higher interest rate so I will be paying off that balance before the student loans.
Net worth: 61,536.31 – 49,120.96 = $12,415.35
I am adjusting to changes in my life. With these changes, I will be having more income to put towards extra loan payments. My goal for loans is to finish paying them off in 24 months. I will be doing this by moving to a new house with roommates, hopefully lowering my living expenses by half, spending less on food by eating out less, and spending less on discretionary things like entertainment.
As far as assets go, my 401k continues to grow at a healthy clip with the 5% match. I am ok waiting to contribute to my other accounts to finish off my loans. I am still working on learning about investing and will hopefully continue to grow my brokerage accounts organically. If I am able to do that, once I finish paying off my loans my plan is to start saving for a down payment on a house for my primary residence. I am interested in a multifamily property like a duplex but we will see when the time comes as I am at least a few years away from that.
At times, it definitely feels like I am behind where I should be when I look at both my savings and debt. However, there is nothing I can do about the past and I know I am making decisions that give me a good probability for success in the future. I will be 28 years old next month and I reached a positive net worth for the first time in my life this year. There is a lot of positives that I am trying to focus on and I am excited for the future.
I know I say this every time but I am just a normal guy who made some poor financial decisions in early adulthood but I am showing that with wise decisions and time, anyone can turn their financial lives around and some day achieve financial independence. Thank you for being a part of my journey.
*The numbers were as of 4/1/18