Detailed Financial Picture – March 2014

February’s Numbers

As of March 6 , 2014, we are $445,055.54 in debt (that includes the mortgage).  Without the mortgage, we’re at $27,841.81 in debt.  This includes student loans and an auto loan.  We currently have $1,034,763.35 in assets (including our house).  Our retirement accounts are at $363,981.50.  Our Net Worth is $589,707.81 (includes house and mortgage), up from $571,497.88 last month (3.19% increase).

Thanks to J Money, we’re listed on the Ultimate List of Blogger Net Worth.  I was surprised that we were as high on the list as we are, but we live in a very high cost of living area, and all of our numbers reflect that.  Do I wish we had as high of a net worth without our house?  Sure, but our house is a significant chunk of our assets.  If you count the mortgage, but not the house, we have a net worth of -$33,292.24.  As our house can be sold, or we can borrow against it, we have some access to the equity in our house.  In our area, just having more than 20% of your house in equity is a pretty big accomplishment (we have 33% using our last official appraisal, which is probably on the low side since it was over two years ago).

My 401(k) contribution hasn’t made its way into the account yet, so I have money “floating” around the ether until it’s deposited – have I mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of my 401(k) plan?

Dad’s new withholding rate starts on the next paycheck, so we’ll see what it does to our cash flow.  I expect to have $2-300 less per paycheck, but I won’t know for sure until the 14th.  But, it will increase our investment accounts at a much faster rate.

The markets improved in February, with our investments increasing by 5.85% this month.  They’re up 4.94% since the beginning of the year.  I’m hoping for a modest 15% increase this year (remember, our investments increase from both the market and from our contributions), bringing us closer to our early retirement goal.

Debt (in the order we’re paying it down):

  • Line of credit (8.75%): $0.00
  • Chase (4.99% for life): $ 0.00 
  • Student loans (aggregated 5.32%):  $9,294.76 (-882.14)
  • Car loan (0%): $18,580 (-490.00)
  • Mortgage (4.125%): $ 417,180.78 (-678.41)

Total paid off in February: $2,050.55

10 thoughts on “Detailed Financial Picture – March 2014

    1. Mom Post author

      We don’t have another kiddo on the way, that’ll set you back a bit at the beginning! Debt repayment still increases your net worth, and with our interest rates relatively low, just the debt repayment helps a lot. The stock market is even more helpful 🙂

      Reply
    1. Mom Post author

      By law, they have until the 15th of the following month (I’m paid monthly, it may be different for bi-weekly). I suspect they’re keeping all the money for themselves to earn interest for 15 days. I talked to our office manager, and the money was taken out of the company’s account on the 28th (payday), so they have it, it just hasn’t hit our accounts yet.

      Reply
  1. Justin @ Root of Good

    I say if you count the mortgage as a liability, you’re entitled to count the house value (perhaps minus 6% for realtor fees, like I do) as an asset! It’s just not something you count if you use the 4% rule to live off your portfolio.

    That mortgage is scary to me. Our house might be worth $150k on a good day, so you can see why. 🙂

    The good news is that you guys are growing the net worth. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
    1. Mom Post author

      It’s the whole DC area. We live out by Dulles airport, so still pretty far outside the city and we have a ‘middle’-priced home for single family homes. We know we’re not going to be here forever, but since we live in one of the best school districts in the country, we’re thinking staying here through Daughter Person’s high school is likely, but then again, we may turn to homeschooling.

      Reply
  2. donebyforty

    Nice work with the net worth! It’s cool to see where you stack up…you guys are doing great! A 3% increase in one month is incredible.

    Reply
    1. Mom Post author

      So far, we averaged a 2-3% increase every month last year, most of which was a combination of the markets and debt repayment. The debt repayment alone accounts for about .7%, everything else is the markets.

      Reply
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