Net Worth Update - December Edition |
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My net worth has edged up so very little this month. It grew from 0.16% from $181,501.19 to $181,787.61. Quite frankly, I’m disappointed. Upon further review there were a number of factors at play that made this happen:
- My Hawaii Trip - Though it was a relatively cheap vacation, it’s still a vacatio. That meant eating all my meals out and other associated costs.
- My home value dropped - I use Zillow as I feel it’s fairly accurate for my area. The drop this month of $2,000 largely eliminates much of my savings. This is okay, because I’m going to hold the home for years. Some day it will recover and I’ll have a fantastic month.
- It was a Short Month - Because I get busy, I don’t do my net worth at the same time each month. Last month, with the trip, I didn’t get it done until the 24th.
- I think I lost money - Poof… gone… I didn’t even get to spend it. When I logged into my bank, it looks like I’m getting the same amount as what I got last pay check. Typically that would be fine. However, I’ve bumped up against the maximum 401k for the year, so only $100 went there instead of the $1,000+. Where did the rest of the money go? I don’t know, but I’ll be looking at my stub later today to find out.
On the bright side:
- My retirement accounts - With new additions and general market gains, things are moving in the right direction
- My Prosper account - I was able to increase that account by 22.58% and I’m now lending over $3,000.
Goal Progress, Net Worth
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December 15th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
[...] Net Worth Update - December Edition [...]
December 17th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
I’m right at the $3k level in prosper as well, although you seem to be a bit more aggressive on the funding side than me (ie. funding riskier loans). My current funded loans are in the 14% range (only $1k), and won bids are in the 17-22% range (the other $2k). Obviously, I’m in the process of adding more risk to my holdings there.
I saw your note on my blog about taking the opposite approach and wondered how you decide to fund or not fund a particular loan. What’s the method to your madness?
December 17th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
For our part, we don’t try to track housing price changes in our “core” net worth calculations. We use the price it was appraised for when we refinanced in 2001, and stick with that. This way, we catch mortgage paydown in our net worth calculations, but don’t have price fluctuations “masking” other things that happen with our net worth.
I do note the Zillow price on the spreadsheet, but it isn’t used in the net worth calculation.
December 18th, 2006 at 12:06 am
I am going a little risky with Prosper. I think it’s because one of my first loans, a relative un-risky B-credit loan, has caused me the most problems by being constantly late. It feels like I’m taking the risk anyway, might as well get maximum interest.
As for my home, I was thinking about not counting it in my core as well. However, the equity that I have in the place is significant. When we get our next house, I’ll likely have to move some savings for the down payment. I don’t want to have that look like I was taking a loss. I realize that the real estate fluctuations do mask the big picture, but there are the same fluctuations in my stock investments. Is it fair to say that real estate market is different than the stock market? Perhaps it is, but right now I can’t figure out how.