A Brief Net Worth Update |
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Last month, I decided there probably isn't a whole lot of value in sharing my net worth ups and downs with you. If you want to put yourself in my shoes, here's a basic synopsis of my account holdings. I have a little over $200,000 in net worth. About half of that is in retirement accounts. A quarter is invested in a condo. The last quarter is cash and other assets that are lot more liquid.
Each month, I look at how I much money I had the previous month and how much I have today. The quick look this month shows that real estate has a minor upswing in Boston where my investment condo is. I use Zillow to keep track of prices, because it's very accurate for my condo. Since it's one of around 200 identical units - there are enough similar recent sales to get a good trend.
My retirement accounts rebounded slightly this month. I'd like to take a lot of credit for it, but other than asset allocation, I simply let the market go where it wants to.
The real part that control is the liquid portion of my account. It's this area where I can see gains from my alternative income, reducing my spending, and other day-to-day money matters. This last month wasn't a particularly stellar month for me as far as that goes. The biggest expense was eating out. Though it was probably fewer than 5 times for the month, we'd probably be better off with our health and our wallet if we stayed home and cooked almost all the time.
The other expense was a surprise gift of jewelry for my wife. She had been eying a particular piece for some time. She has been extremely understanding of my increasingly frugal nature and it was time to show that being frugal does have it rewards.
This post deals with:boston, jewelry, last quarter, Real Estate, retirement accounts
... and focuses on:Net Worth
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Next: High Interest Checking Accounts
I’ve turned my net worth posts into short and long term planning posts, rather than straight up numbers talk. You might find that’s more interesting to write about…
I find it more interesting to read monthly income reports than monthly net worth reports.
It seems to me that net worth reports should be performed annually in order to avoid the “noise” of short-term market swings.
I stopped my net worth posts a while back since I wasn’t making any headway – seeing the same numbers staring at me really wasn’t motivating me at all. I like Jim’s idea of short and long term planning posts.
Since you have so much of your net worth tied up in retirement accounts, have you considered a self-directed type account? You can invest in income property and many other things that you can’t in a regular IRA or 401K. I’ve helped alot of people set it up. It allows you more diversification and control.
I’ve thought about getting a SEP-IRA and other similar accounts, but I don’t currently have the income to contribute much to it. The IRA and 401K’s are from past jobs.
I’m looking to move my 401K to an IRA where I’d get access to a lot of diversification via low-cost ETFs (REITS, commodities, bonds, are all available). I would move the money today, but it’s a process where my money will not be invested for some time in the transition. I’m worried that the market might rebound in the meantime. I’m waiting for when I feel that things are overvalued again (not necessarily trying to pick a top, but I think we more likely to up than down at this point).