End of September 2009 Financial Status

Another month has passed and I’m happy to say I’m back to increasing my net worth again. The increase in my net worth was cash driven, mostly because I didn’t have to make a mortgage payment and I finally received my escrow funds from Wells Fargo. Also, it didn’t hurt that the market went up for the third month in a row.

Cash

After refinancing my mortgage last month, I was fortunate enough to be able to build up my cash asset to my emergency fund level of $10,000. Part of my closing costs consisted of paying for the interest for all of September, which meant I didn’t have a single mortgage payment to make. I suppose this is a glimpse into what it would be like if I owned my condo straight up. Wouldn’t that be nice! I’m hoping to be able to keep $10,000 in cash as my emergency fund, but I don’t know if that will be possible if I want to accomplish all of my 2009 goals. I opened a high interest rewards checking account this month that will earn me 4.15% APR on my cash, so I will be getting a decent return on this asset. I also received a check from Wells Fargo for my escrow account due to the refinance. When you refinance your mortgage your existing escrow gets closed out and a brand new escrow gets set up. The check went straight into my new high interest rewards checking account.

Retirement

The stock market continued to climb for the third month in a row. All of the increases were due to the stock market, as I have yet to add any 2009 contributions. I plan on putting $2,583.62 into my solo 401k account in the next few days. By the end of 2009 I hope to have contributed significantly more to accomplish my goals.

Non-Retirement

My non-retirement accounts consist of my Target stock through Schwab, US Growth mutual fund through Vanguard, Sharebuilder account and Lending Club account. I don’t foresee any major contributions to my non-retirement accounts, in fact I may cash out my Target stock. I have yet to decide what to do with my Target stock, but I may transfer it into my Roth IRA account to provide tax sheltering. I might have to do this if I want to finish furnishing my condo and accomplish my goals.

Liabilities

My car payment decreased by the standard amount, but my mortgage liability did not decrease at all. I didn’t have to make a payment on my mortgage this month. The first payment is due in October, which has me paying around $850 towards principal (check out my new Amortization Schedule).

Net Worth

My net worth increased by 3.7%. It feels really good to get my net worth going back in the positive direction.  I will now be focusing my efforts on investing in my retirement accounts and making more money through my self-employed projects to drive my net worth even higher. I’m also planning on tracking my expenses and income to get a better understanding of what my monthly balance sheet looks like. Hopefully this will allow me to grow my income and decrease my expenses.