July 2017 Update

Well, here we are in August, so it means it's time to look at how my finances fared since July. I'm still unemployed (more on that later), so I'm trying my damndest to hold onto what I was able to accumulate previously. Let's take a look at the numbers, shall we? My net worth at the end of July was...

$77,322

Last month, I ended up with $77,876. That's a difference of $554. Hm, not too bad, I guess. I'm nearly through my cash reserves. I've got about $1,300 remaining in my HYSA, but I don't want to completely deplete them.

It's been 2 months now since we moved from the south to New York. I've been looking for a new job during the past 2 months and I gotta say, it's not fun at all. I enjoyed not working since January, but now it has all caught up with me since I'm not financially independent. I've got to get a job or risk dipping into my brokerage account, which is perfectly feasible, but something I definitely don't want to do. At this point, I've managed to float pretty comfortably on my cash savings. Using money from my investment accounts would be a psychological blow to me though.

Usually, when I post my net worth update, I reference my spreadsheet, crunch numbers, and give details as to where my money went. Honestly, I haven't touched my spreadsheets since...I don't even know when. It's been months. I just don't have it in me to track my spending. Although I've been doing pretty well by not spending what little money I have frivolously. I think the screenshots of my net worth can attest to that.

However, I have spent some money on some big ticket items. A couple anyway. Once we settled in our apartment, I purchased our new entertainment system from a furniture showroom. It set me back about $1,500, which went on store credit; a limit of $3,000. It was a good deal with 0% interest for the first 6 months. I've already made 2 payments, reducing the amount owed to around $780. I'll end up paying it off well before they start to charge interest.

I also had to pay for brake work shortly after we arrived and then there were fees to register my vehicle and have it inspected. So, that was a few hundred dollars there. Of course, these were fees that should've been reported in my last update. Whatever.

Point is: I've been pretty tight-fisted with my money. My wife, however, seems to spend more casually. I can't really blame her since we moved here because she got a new job paying a hell of a lot more than she was previously making. Nearly 30-40k more! But, since our finances are separate, this is about me and I'm not making shit. It's difficult to go to festivals and out to eat while trying not to spend any money.

I've leaned on my credit cards a little more than I have in the past, but not too much. I'm still in the habit of paying off the balance before the statement arrives to avoid paying any interest. My score dropped because I added a new card and I got the store credit when I purchased some furniture. The good news is that my score is beginning to recover and I've increased my credit limit quite a bit.

Aside from trying to adapt to a new location and find employment, that's about all I have to report, I think. I'll try to do a different post about how demoralizing looking for work is and facing rejection after rejection. I know I'll eventually find something, but it's messing with my psyche and I feel a need to vent. It just makes me long for early retirement even more.

Fingers crossed that I have good news about work when I report in next month. Until then, take care.

Net worth for July 2017