Skip to main content

Net Worth Update for End of June

Net Worth

June has marked a serious improvement for net worth. Largely due to some unexpected income, It was possible to make a serious dent in a student loan. The remainder of this loan is sitting on a zero percent credit card for a few more months and large payments are now going to be directed at it in an attempt to pay it off before the end of the year. That may or may not be a reasonable goal, but I expect that it is.

http://www.networthiq.com/people/easychange

Business investments continue to do well. I'm satisfied with my paypal interest rate as well as the amount of savings that is now accumulated. I'm also happy with Prosper, of late. The total savings means that given a job loss that there is easily 6 months of expenses saved. This is a huge milestone in terms of emergency fund planning. Of course this will continue to go up and down, but knowing that there is a real cash cushion is something that everyone should be striving for in my opinion.

New Thinking

I'm rereading Rich Dad for the third time this year and I am struck by the simple notion that fear and greed are the emotions that trap us when it comes to our money. I find that this is absolutely true for me. Last year I felt afraid and had no control over my financial situation. Now, I feel empowered. I have educated myself and continue to do so. I am continuously working to realize my dreams -- and accumulating the wealth necessary for them.

This has resulted in watching the following Finance Metrics like a hawk:

1. Total Net Worth
2. Total Free Cash Flow (monthly - budgetting)
3. Savings Rate (savings to income ratio)
4. Retirement Projections (contributions and how much you plan to have when you retire - monthly income)
5. Goal Progress (debt reduction)

As a result of tracking all of these metrics, it becomes much easier to find holes in the financial situation. If you are not sure where your holes are in your budget, I'd ask if you are tracking these figures. I feel that tracking these over time gives me real data that tells me if I am moving down the correct path with personal finances AND if I am making enough progress.

The real issue for many is that they aren't moving fast enough and are doing nothing to pick up the pace. Time is a huge factor when you consider compound interest. Once I really understood that, it has made me ravenous in terms of finding additional income and other ways to accelerate my progress.

Net Worth News

In major news, Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world. He has been ousted by Carlos Slim. If you're curious who the richest people in tech are, check out the link:

http://mashable.com/2007/07/04/10-richest-people-in-tech/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Buying a Lifestyle...with a Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Despite all of the back and forth about sub-prime mortgages and the housing bubble, I am feeling just fine. The reason is that when purchasing, I followed some old advice: Don't expect to flip. In general, I've been told by many people that you shouldn't buy a home unless you plan to hold on to it for 7 years or longer. If the market does well and you decide to sell, fine. But if you want to be sure not to lose money, don't buy something that you only want for a year or two. I've been in my current location for more than 3 years. I like it. And I have no intention of leaving in the short or medium term. It seems to me, that real estate, like any asset class, has its ups and downs. But as a practical point, I don't look at my home as an asset per se. Rather, I consider it to be a fixed expense that I need to survive, much like food and water. Therefore, as long as the payment is reasonable and it functions to keep me warm and sheltered and comfortable, that is a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do Better With Your Time

Recently, I've been extremely busy with some work commitments. The interesting thing for me is that this increased work activity has really helped crystallize some of my feelings with regard to time. And these ideas are a critical part about my view on personal finance. I'm curious to know if others feel similarly. Time is money. That is, Time, in some way, contains energy. Money, is also energy. In the act of working, I am able to compound and increase the amount of money that I have. I am exchanging my time and effort and thought which are components of my work, for the productivity that I produce. And this production gets me money from my employer. However, the first dollars that I make each day, week, or month are the most valuable. Then the ones that I make at the end are the most valuable. (Forget about taxes for a minute.) The reason is, the first ones help me have a place to live and food to eat. And the last ones are the ones that I can use to really improve my life lo...
3 comments
Read more

Blogging WealthTrack: Christine Benz (Retire Early? Or not?)

 This morning I've watched an interesting video on Consuelo Mack: WealthTrack. Here, Consuelo's guest, a longtime contributor, Christine Benz, a personal finance expert from Morningstar joined Consuelo for a discussion on issues related to retirement, in particular in the current market environments. This conversation is even more interesting against the backdrop of The Great Resignation. I found Christine's advice to be particularly interesting on a couple of fronts. Her advice in dealing with talking about retirement in general, in particular for people who are in the process of thinking about retiring early gave me pause. She is considering the traditional advice of a 4 percent withdrawal rate to be dangerous and indeed, actually concerning. According to the recent research she cites, a 3% withdrawal rate is a better option. Even more than the four percent rule, I think that her comments on annuities are particularly interesting. While annuities have been given a bad nam...
Post a Comment
Read more