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. CashAfter 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. RetirementThe 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-RetirementMy 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. LiabilitiesMy 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 WorthMy 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. |
End of September 2009 Financial Status
Posted in Financial Status.
– September 30, 2009