My net worth update for August 2024… I feel like I’m going in the right direction but…
This was one of those months that will drive you nuts if you don’t understand how the stock market works. At one point early in August I was down almost $40,000 (mostly because of my concentrated position in Apple), but then Apple came roaring back and I ended the month up $14,000.
Here’s a quick photo of what I’m talking about…
I was never truly “worried” because I know that the stock market will always come back, but that doesn’t make these huge drops any easier.
Which begs the question… why do I keep such a concentrated position in Apple stock? More on that later.
For those of you that are new to the blog, this is my third month of posting about my net worth. I actually started tracking my net worth sporadically way back in 2017, and have posted all of my monthly numbers here.
If you would like to check out my first net worth post from June 2024, click here.
My Net Worth Update for August 2024
It has now been 6 weeks since my wife and I separated, and I’m still trying to get a handle on my finances. There were a couple of expenses this month that I hadn’t expected, which cut into my debt payoff plan.
These expenses included:
- My wife had scheduled all three of my kids for the dentist this month unbeknownst to me. This was a $400+ bill that I wasn’t anticipating.
- I held out as long as I possibly could, but finally had to purchase a TV and a piece of furniture to put is on. This amounted to almost $500.
- I continued incurring up-front expenses to make my townhome livable. But many of these things were one time expenses, or else things I won’t have to buy again for a long time (such as cleaning supplies, kitchenwares, and items for the kids).
- The gas bill and tolls for my car was significantly higher than normal due to a trip to a family reunion at the beginning of August and the frequent trips I am now taking to shuttle the kids around and travel to BJ’s on a toll road. These were things I didn’t have to quite as much before the separation.
However, on the flip side, I made it through a ridiculously hot June and July and my monthly utilities (which I estimated to be around $500), came in at a tad over $250. I chalk this up to extensive use of ceiling fans and keeping the air conditioning off until mid-afternoon, and only then turning it down to between 72-74. Winter may be more of a struggle as I get cold easily.
Ok, let’s review my assets and liabilities.
Assets
Real Estate: (-$3,740) This is my primary home that I received in my marriage settlement. It is currently rented out until August 2025. The value of this property is an average of Redfin and Zillow. Who knows what it will actually sell for… I guess we will find out next year when I put it on the market.
Retirement Accounts: (+$14,000) This is all market appreciation for my accounts at Fidelity and Schwab. I’m focused on paying off debt right now and will not be contributing to these accounts until my consumer debt is paid off.
Investment/Savings: (+$155) I’m going to sound a little like a hypocrite here, but I’ve decided to start contributing $100 per month into my after-tax investment accounts. These accounts are small, and are invested in total stock market index funds.
Checking Accounts: (+$3,000) This is the balance of my account after I got paid in August. I pay myself on the last day of the month, but for cash flow and budgeting purposes I treat is as if I get paid on the 1st of the month. This initial cash inflow is used to pay my bills through the 15th of each month, as well as to pay off the credit card that I use for spending from the prior month (more on this in a bit). I take a second draw from my businesses on the 15th to cover additional debt payments.
Car: (-$52) I plugged my car into Monarch Money, which I use to track my spending and net worth on a daily basis. The software automatically tracks the value of your car. I don’t envision this ever going up!
Liabilities
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I am aggressively paying down my debt right now. I wasn’t able to pay down as much as I would have liked this month due to the increase in unexpected expenses I outlined previously.
So here is what happened this month…
Mortgage: (-$678) Since I’ve had this mortgage, I always round the payment up to the next hundredth. Doesn’t mean a whole lot in the current month, but were I to keep this house it would probably knock a couple of payments off the end of the loan. But my interest rate is an unfathomable 2.85% so I have no reason to pay this sucker off anytime soon. If I every find myself in the position to have extra money in any given month (after my debt is paid off), I will likely just max out my retirement and put the rest into an index fund.
Promissory Note: ($0.00) Interest doesn’t start to accrue until next year, so no movement on this for the time being.
HELOC: (+$2,100) This went up by the exact amount of my mortgage payment. Here’s how this works. When I get the rent payment from my tenant, I put the entire amount less $100 to pay HOA dues onto the HELOC. Around the 10th of the month, I transfer enough back to pay the mortgage. (I can pay my mortgage up to the 15th of each month without penalty). The rent payment went up by an extra $100 in September, so I’m hoping this number will start to come down.
Auto Loan: (-$435) The payment on my car is currently $607 per month. Part of me thinks this is way too much and that I should sell the car and get something cheaper. But I drive back and forth to see family a LOT (3-4 times per year) and it is 600 miles each way. So I want to have a dependable car. It’s a pre-owned Honda Pilot and I can see myself keeping it for the next 10-15 years. So for now I’m keeping it.
Personal Loan: (-$1,111) Payments are $1,300/month and I have 17 payments left if I don’t pay it off early. Most of the payment goes to principal at this point.
Credit Card Debt: (+$92) I’m down to two credit cards that have balances on them that I’m working to pay off. However, I should not that I also have two other credit cards that I pay off each month. One is a BJ’s card that I use for gas and groceries (at BJ’s, of course), and the other is a Capital One card that I use for everyday spending (not at BJ’s) which gives me points. I keep the spending on these two cards low and in line with my budget so that I can pay these cards off each month. I may remove them from the spreadsheet next month If I can continue to pay them off in full (which I believe I can). If I removed the credit cards that I will be paying off each month from this balance, then I paid off roughly $1,600 in debt this month – bringing my credit cards with balances on them to $18,723.
Student Loan: (-$289) Only 4.5 payments left! Woohoo! Hard to believe that after paying my student loans for the past 26 years, the finish line is in sight!
How I Plan to Track My 2024 Net Worth Goal
For years I’ve been adding up all of my accounts in a Google Sheet and tracking my net worth manually each month.
But recently I discovered Monarch Money.
Monarch Money allows you to see your net worth in real time, every day, without adding everything into a spreadsheet.
Not only that, you can track your spending to make sure you aren’t going out of whack.
So far I love it.
I’ll talk more about Monarch Money in a future post, but for now you should use this link to check it out and see if it will make it easier to track your net worth.
FYI, this is an affiliate link. Which means if you sign up for Monarch Money, it won’t cost you anything extra, but it will help to support my blog.
Thank you in advance!
