Welcome to the August 2021 edition of our net worth tracker, where we’ll track our net worth month over month. I first started tracking our net worth at the time this blog was started, which was the beginning of September 2019. I started by creating the Net Worth Baseline report.
You can view Previous Net Worth reports HERE.
It’s August now and the weather was mild, for being the middle of summer. I don’t think we have had any 100-degree days, so we are doing good. Financially, August was a good month, although it may not have felt like anything happened. There were no unexpected events, and we stayed pretty close to budget.
And just like the last few months, I’m not going to talk much about what I did this month because, well, we continued to not do much. It was an overall calm and relaxing month for us with one little birthday party.
Monthly Roundup
There are places that are starting to require masks again. My workplace is one of them. Costco is another. Fortunately, I get to work from home most of the time.
It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Why are we having to wear masks, social distance, and separate ourselves even if we’re vaccinated when being told at the same time that the vaccines are effective?
Second thought, and then I’ll be done. Why are all the businesses staying open and not doing what they did during 2020 for “protection”? Dining rooms are open, plexiglass shields are down, and everyone is going about their business. Yet, it’s the 24% who aren’t vaccinated that is causing the problem? Anyways, I digress….we’re all frustrated at this point.
Overall, life is good.
If you recently had a child, don’t forget to fund your college education. I use the Vanguard 529 plan.
August 2021 Net Worth
Here’s how August compares to last month:
August Account Breakdown
Let’s take a quick look at what happened in August.
Cash ($3,931.73)
Monthly Blurb: This is where our paychecks get deposited. All our income goes into this account, then gets transferred to the proper accounts as set by my budget. As usual, I do the net worth report before transferring money to the appropriate accounts.
Last month I was a little late transferring money around, so our cash balance shows lower. This month I was on time, so the balance is back to the expected end-of-month level for a regular income month.
Investment Cash ($38.07)
Monthly Blurb: All of our cash leftover at the end of the month is transferred here and is considered part of our savings rate.
All of our extra money is going towards investments this month. This is where our leftover income went from July.
Remaining Cash Accounts (Emergency and Sinking Funds) ($2,067.34)
Nothing exciting here. Just the usual. We are just saving up for our property tax bill and HOA fees for when they are due early next year.
I guess the one unusual thing is that we sold a car, and transferred that money to our car savings account. We have that as a sinking fun for when we need to buy a car.
Retirement Accounts
401(k)s (+$6,724.36)
Last month we saw about a 1.5% increase. This month was better than last month. The markets were already at record highs and we saw less volatility. The markets continued reaching higher highs, and our 401(k)’s rose by about 3.5%.
IRA (+$8,006.06)
This increase is all due to the rise in the markets. The rise was better than last month, coming in at around 2.5%.
College Fund (+$1,831.62)
Just like the other investments, the college savings rose as well. Slightly less than the IRA accounts at around 2%.
Net Worth (+$19,705.58)
I’m continually amazed to see how much our net worth can change in a single month. The markets were up this month and our net worth increased by over 5 figures. Compound interest is great, and I’m happy to see it starting to have an impact on my savings.
In total, our net worth increased by about 2.5%.
Accessible Net Worth ($4,975.16)
Monthly Blurb: This is the money we are able to put away, not including the tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Our income was average and our expenses were about average this month. Our accessible net worth increased mostly because we continue shoveling money into our investment account.
Liabilities
Status: None, as usual. They’re a burden, so I avoid them. The cars, the house, they’re all paid for. Student loans…never used them. Credit Card debt? I only use one, and it gets paid off every month, and often I’ll pay it off multiple times per month. Just depends on how many times I think about it.
Passive Income
The tension is building as the break until September continues. As I write this post, it is September! But, no dividends income yet.
There are a lot of companies starting up dividends over the last period, and I’d say most companies are reporting higher than expected profits.
September should be exciting. I’ll be keeping my eye on dividends through the month, and will hopefully have good news to report on my next Networth report.
The interest rate in my savings account is super low, as can be expected. My money is barely making any money sitting in that “high-yield” account earning 0.4%.
Saving’s Rate
I track my savings rate in order to help keep my feet to the fire, so later I can be Gone on FIRE. As a bonus, you get a glimpse into my cash flow by looking at the income and expense rows.
Last year, I had to adjust the savings goal to 50%, which we didn’t achieve. I’m setting the same goal this year, and it’s looking like it will be tough to get there.
Our year-to-date savings rate decreased and is well short of the 50% goal. I anticipate the next few months will have a better savings rates though, and I’m hoping we can stretch for that 50%. Hitting that 50% target is going to be tuff!
Here’s how we did this month.
Income ($9,198.89)
Right now, our only source of active income is through our full-time jobs.
This is what an average month looks like for us. My wife is changing jobs starting in September, so we’ll have to see what the new normal looks like for us.
Expenses ($5,865.59)
Our expenses were well above average this month. I bought a new laptop! Does it make this Networth report look better? Haha.
Here is a quick breakdown:
1) Home Escrow ($1412.79)
The “new” normal amount we put aside every month.
I should really change this to just “Home” because it’s not just home escrow anymore. It includes the gardners, and cleaners when we have them come.
2) Giving ($919.89)
The usual 10% we give every month.
3) Cost of living ($3,532.91)
Previous Months: July ($2,394.24), June: ($4,283.01), May: ($3,726.16), Apr: ($3,857.24), Mar: ($2,962.72), Feb: ($2,632.65), Jan: ($4,757.43), Dec: (-$1,132.39), Nov: ($1,372.91), Oct: ($6,397.83), Sep: ($2,602.07), Aug: ($2,835.56), July: ($4,283.01)
Running Average: $3,180.79
This includes all our bills (Gas, Electric, Water, Internet, Phone), transportation, food, shopping, car insurance, and daycare. Home insurance is paid for out of our Home Escrow savings account. Like last year, we are going to drain our dependent care account at the end of the year in one lump sum. Doing it that way is less paperwork for us.
We have been driving more, so our gasoline bill is starting to climb. We hit a new peak in August as gasoline prices continue to rise. Our utility bills rose as well since the weather is heating up and we have to cool the house. Not to mention watering the yard.
I mentioned that after February, I should have a pretty good idea of what a normal month looks like. And I’ll know if a savings rate of 50% is likely.
We managed to keep our savings rate above 50% up until May. I expect that to drop throughout the remainder of the year until we hit December.
I was previously hopeful that changes in daycare will help us keep that number above 50%, but the decrease in the cost of daycare was not that significant. Now I’m looking forward to in a couple of years when they start school and are out of daycare.
August 2021 Vs July 2021 Expenses
August and July were pretty similar in terms of expenses, except for the laptop I bought this month.
We’re in our routine for the year, and things are going great.
Hopefully, September stays fairly smooth and we don’t have any unforeseen expenses.
Goals Progress
Financial Goals
Aside from the Roth IRA contribution, most of the financial goals this year are year-long goals.
The Roth IRA contribution is done, and the money has been transferred to the proper accounts.
Aside from the 401k, which is on automatic contributions from my paycheck, I’m still not completely sure how the other goals are going to turn out. Time will tell.
We are on track to save over $50,000 for real estate investing. The year is officially two-thirds over now, and we’ve managed to save nearly 75% of what the year-long goal is. I think we will make this one.
If dividends keep breaking records then I will meet the passive income goal. Currently, I’m on pace to meet the $15,000 goal for passive income. We’ll see if that pace keeps up. I know it looks ugly now, but most of the money comes in at the end of the year; September and December.
The savings rate goal of 50% is turning into a stretch goal, but I still think we can do it. We’ve dropped below 50% right now! And the rest of the year is the challenging part. We’ll see what we can do to upright this ship.
Blog Goal
For 2021, I want to create more content. My goal is at least one article a month. I failed to do that so far this year. I keep saying hopefully next month I’ll get an article posted, but life is just keeping me busy. Honestly, I struggle to find time just to make these net worth reports, but it’s something I’m committed to doing.
Personal Goals
I’m doing a reading goal again this year, but half the number of books. I know 6 books aren’t much, but it felt like a lot. I think I can do 3.
So far I haven’t started.
And then there is my physical health. I didn’t get to where I wanted in 2020, so we’ll try again this year.
I’ve been losing some weight this year, and I’ve been going to the gym again and running. That’s been helping. Just need to eat a little healthier. Yeah….that didn’t happen in August. I gained a few pounds.
August 2021 Roundup
The month of August was a good one, and nothing unusual happened.
I’m excited as we progress into September, and for the rest of the year. We were inching closer and closer towards normal, although some place like my work have started requiring masks again. Even for those who are vaccinated.
Covid continues to dominate the news, as there has been a spike with the Delta variant. Studies are starting to show more and more cases among those who have been vaccinated.
I’m still hopeful that we will be able to stop wearing masks everywhere we go soon. I think public transportation and a few states are all that’s left. We didn’t quite get all our freedom back, but hopefully not much longer.
Stay tuned for next month’s Net Worth update!
FIRE Away!
REMINDERS:
- 2 big items not included in my net worth:
- House & Cars – Their value will be added to my net worth if and when I sell them.
- 2 accounts not included in net worth total (even though they’re listed):
- 529 – This is my money for my babies. Consider it their net worth summary.
- Home Escrow – This is Uncle Sam’s money. We don’t mess around with Uncle Sam and his money.
- Total income only includes our active income, which is currently our full-time jobs.