September 2016 Update

After a crappy week at work, this is one of the little things I was looking forward to. (The weekend was another.) A chance to sit down and gauge where I stand after another month on the path to financial independence. It looks like it was a pretty good month. Let's get to it, shall we?
My net worth (officially) as of today is:

$69,889

The last time I reported, I was at $65,849, which makes a difference of $4,040. Not too bad. That isn't an accurate representation, though. It includes my contributions as well as any market gains/losses, but since I got paid yesterday, it doesn't reflect my 401k contribution from that check, which was $681.95. However, I make it a point to only report what is showing in my accounts through Personal Capital on the first day of the next month, which is why I said "official" net worth earlier. Again, this is only my savings accounts and investment accounts (401k, Roth IRA, and a brokerage -- screenshot below). I don't consider anything else in my net worth reports.

Technically, I've broken the $70k threshold, but that'll have to wait for next month's update.

Some of the highlights this month include:

Receiving 3 paychecks instead of the customary 2. Yay! This was one of the two months out of the year where I receive an extra check. I always plan for these "extra" checks to be nearly 100% invested, although that's not always the case. It wasn't this time, but I was able to squirrel away a good chunk of it (about 37%). The wife and I are going on vacation next week, so I kept some aside to spend.

Another positive is that I applied for an increase in my credit and was approved. I'm in the process of rebuilding my credit score and have 2 credit cards now. Each has an abysmally low credit limit: $300 on a Capital One card and $400 on a Secured Visa card. I've had the Visa longer than the CapOne card and decided to see if I could get an increase in the credit limit. I applied online and was shocked to discover that not only was I approved, they jumped my limit to $6,000! Woohoo! It's a cash rewards card, too, so that's a plus. This will definitely help bump my credit score by several points. Now, I'll just use the one card each month, putting a couple hundred bucks on it and pay it off every month like I've been doing.

Fortunately, the market closed Friday with gains. That's always good to report. However, it fluctuated up and down as always during the course of the month. It's not something I try to concern myself about because I've only just started on this path. I don't see the larger gains/losses of people who have considerably more in the market. But it does still make me cringe when I see those drops, those losses. I just remind myself that it'll go back up again and try (if I have the money at the time) to invest more.

Right now, I just need to concentrate on shoveling as much money as I can into my accounts, into the market. The gains don't really make up for my own ability and determination to accumulate higher wealth at this point. I don't think I'll start to see any significant market gains until I cross the $100k threshold. Meanwhile, I just keep shoveling, keep squirreling and pigeon-holing my money. I'm slightly ahead of schedule to cross the first big milestone by mid-2017. I'm anxiously awaiting making that announcement.

And now for the screenshot of this month's progress up and over the craggy peaks of Mt. Financial Independence. Enjoy.