October numbers:
- Personal:
- Gross monthly W2 pay: $4,833 (no change from prior month)
- Net monthly W2 pay: $2,834 (-$95, no idea why)
- Total credit card debt: $10,664 (+$443)
- Total other non-mortgage debt: $17,300 (-$819)
- Total mortgage debt: $116,880 (-$720)
- Cash/cash equivalents: $17,418 (-$973)
- Total retirement savings: $131,715 (-$4,466)
- Net worth: $4,290 (-$5,093)
As you can see, this was…not a good month. As noted in prior updates I’ve been doing a lot of spending. Between travel in August/September, financing incidentals for a kitchen fire at one of the rentals out of pocket (more on that later, promise), and (possibly profligate) increases in spending on collectibles for later sale, I’ve been spending a whole ton of money. I’m working on turning that around, so I’m hoping to see improvement through the end of the year as the fire issues get resolved and I sell more than I buy in collectibles.
The other, and certainly larger, factor in my declining net worth has been the big declines in the stock market over the past month. My overall number looks bad because my rollover IRA declined just about $5,000; my Roth declined $206; my brokerage account increased only $10 after a $240 contribution; and on and on. The other numbers are similar – I added funds but the balances reflected the dip more than the contribution. However, I don’t see this as a bad thing because I’m not living on my number yet. The lower stocks go before I reach financial independence the better – it means I’m buying shares more cheaply. Then I just have to hope that the market rises when I actually pull the trigger and retire.
Bright spots this month are that I was still able to decrease my credit card balance despite increases in spending overall, and that my total mortgage debt continues to decline steadily month by month. That’s just an added demonstration that my long-term plan is in effect and working, even if it feels longer term than I’d like.
Ask questions, make comments you lovely little FI nerds!
