Welcome to the January 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.
In November I thought all the political mayhem was over for a while. Ha, did I think wrong. Hopefully it’s over for a bit now.
I’m not going to talk much about what I did this month because, well, we haven’t been doing much. It was an overall calm and relaxing month for us, aside from having to drive to Nebraska twice, and the car needing repairs.
Monthly Roundup
Normally, I kinda go through my month, and go over the highlights. This month I’m going to be doing it a little different. I think I can sum up my whole month in one or two paragraphs.
Our January
Wow, January was not a typical month for us. First, I noticed a couple drops of oil in the garage. I thought it was one car, but turned out to be the other car. Took it to the shop, and they were able to quickly find the problem, as well as two more problems. And that’s where my stimulus check went.
The second big thing that happened is that Grandma slipped and broke her leg. At least, that’s the news we first heard. We later found out that it just snapped due to cancer.
The family pulled together an we made plans to go see her late January or early February. That accelerated quickly and we had to go visit her the second week of January. I’m thankful that we were able to make the trip, as she passed away the night after we left.
Looking back at the time family had together, and even at the funeral, there are lots of things I hope happen when I pass away. First, there were very few tears. Grandma kept saying, “Be happy for me!” If you don’t know Jesus, that might be hard to understand, but that leads me to the second thing. Just about everyone at the Funeral does know Him.
And that’s what I hope my legacy is. That my family all serves God.
January 2021 Net Worth
Here’s how January compares to last month:
January Account Breakdown
Let’s take a quick look at what happened in January.
Cash (-$5,390.47)
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.
Really, I don’t remember why our bank account was so high last month, but this was still a good month for us. We had an extra paycheck, and had a stimulus check to help out with the car expenses.
Our spending was a little above average this month. (Thanks car!)
Investment Cash (+$11,679.90)
Monthly Blurb: All of our cash leftover at the end of the month is transferred here and is considered part of our saving’s rate.
This is where our leftover income went from December. It was a lot! We finally finished paying our medical bills! Unfortunately, we had a big car bill to offset that. Seems like there is always something, doesn’t there?
I’m still waiting for some opportunities to come up. The foreclosure moratorium was supposed to lasts until the end of 2020, but it has now been extended for most of 2021. I expect the market will be flooded with properties a few months after the moratorium ends. The longer it last, the more severe it is going to be. If they extend it indefinitely, home owners will eventually stop renting out houses and their will be a bigger crisis.
Remaining Cash Accounts (Emergency and Sinking Funds) (-$10,207.57)
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. It was January, so we had to pay the HOA fees and property taxes. Next month should look more normal.
Retirement Accounts
401(k)s (+$10,425.62)
The markets continue to rise. I’m a little surprized, as I exxpected a drop for at least one month, but I was wrong. Still though, we have to be in some sort of bubble, right? The markets have basically been on a bull run for 12 years. Yes, I know that their has been a recession, but they were short lived.
And what’s going on with cryptocurrency? I’m curious how that’s going to play out over the next few years as more companies begin to adopt it.
IRA (+$11,977.12)
Again, all market performance. I do plan to transfer in money for our 2021 ROTH contributions, so there will be a big increase in these accounts next month.
That’s a gain of about 5.5% between the 401k and IRA’s. How long are these types of gains going to last?!
College Fund (+$2,936.41)
The college fund is invested just like the IRAs; in mutual funds. The gain is equal to about 4.5%. Not a bad month.
Net Worth (+$28,702.40)
Our net worth continues to grow by impressive amounts each month (at least to me). Last year I was doubtful because it was an election year. I don’t exactly have a reason this year, but I’m still doubtful were going to remain in a bull market. It’s just been too long!
In total, our net worth increased by slightly over 5%.
Accessible Net Worth (+$6,299.66)
Monthly Blurb: This is the money we are able to put away, not including the tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Our income was great and our expenses were a little above average this month. Our accessible net worth increased as a result.
Liabilities
Status: (Other than the hospital bills.) 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
December was a near record month for dividend income, and 2020 was a record year. We are about 25% of the way to being able to live solely off the dividend. And it’s suppose to grow exponentially, right? SO, Financial Independence here we come!
That said, January is a very boring month for dividends. At least for what I own. February will be about the same. Hopefully March will be exciting.
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 now earning a measly 0.3%.
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 acheive. I’m setting the same goal this year.
This month we failed to reach that goal! I’m going to blame the car repairs.
On the downside, next month is a normal paycheck month, and I’m not sure we will make enough money to raise our savings rate above 50%.
Here’s how we did this month.
Income ($12,500.13)
Right now, our only source of active income is through our full-time jobs.
This is what a high income month looks like for us, plus we got that stimulus check. That was a nice little boost.
Expenses ($7,067.44)
Our expenses were slightly above average this month. And by slightly, I mean this is the most expensive month we have had since I started tracking monthly expenses! I had to do a double take.
Here is a quick break down:
1) Home Escrow ($1060.00)
The normal amount we put aside every month. This is going to go up slightly next month because we plan to hire a gardener.
2) Giving ($1,250.01)
The usual 10% we give every month.
3) Cost of living ($4,757.43)
Previous Months: Oct: ($6,397.83), Sep: ($2,602.07), Aug: ($2,835.56), July: ($4,283.01), June: ($3,031.71), May: ($2,957.92), Apr: ($2,164.31), Mar: ($3,078.52), Feb: ($2,474.38), Jan: ($4,708.98), Dec: ($2,749.98), Nov: ($1,242.44)
Running Average: $3,068.62
This includes all our bills (Gas, Electric, Water, Internet, Phone), transportation, food, shopping, 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 paper work for us.
Our gasoline bills was high thanks to the two trips to Nebraska. Hopefully that will be more normal in February. We are also right in the middle of the coldest part of the year , so our water bills is pretty low, and electric/gas bills are high. The next few months is where our gas bill is high, since we have to heat the house. I’m finding I keep it a little warmer having two kids, than I did when it was just me and my wife.
The car repair and annual Dog vet appointments were the other two big ticket items. After February, I should have a pretty good idea what a normal month looks like. And I’ll know if a savings rate of 50% is likely.
January 2021 Vs December 2020 Expenses
All the medical bills are paid now! Phew, was that a hassle for most of last year. January started off a little rocky, which made it more expensive than December.
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 should be done, I just have to transfer the money. I’m putting all that investment money we had in December towards the Roth’s.
Aside from the 401k, which is on automatic contributions from my paycheck, I’m not sure how the other ones are going to turn out. Time will tell
Blog Goal
For 2021, I want to create more content. My goal is at least one article a month. I failed to do this for January. Oops, but I did get the goals made!
Personal Goals
I’m doing a reading goal again this year, but half the number of books. I know 6 books isn’t much, but it felt like a lot. I think I can do 3.
And then their is my physical health. Well, I didn’t get to where I wanted in 2020, so we’ll try again this year
January 2020 Roundup
The month of January was a a good one, even with a few negative things that happened. The car needed repaired, but a few more issues were discovered and as a result, we are less likely to get stuck on the side of the road.
I’m excited for February, and to get back to normal. I’m curious how our cash flow will look for a normal month. It’s been a while since we had one of those. Haha. Also, I’m hopeful that we will be able to stop wearing masks everywhere we go soon. Hopefully by March? Maybe?
Stay tuned for next month’s New 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.