January 2018 Update

I know, I know. This post is a few days old. The reason for its tardiness is because I was out of state and didn't take my laptop with me. Didn't matter because wifi was spotty out in Colorado where I was. Regardless, it was a nice chance to relax and recharge my batteries. So, here we are. A couple of days late, but an update no less. Let's jump in and see where I stand. After the first month of a new year, my net worth is...

$100,245

At the end of December, I was $93,135. A difference of $7,110!! As usual, most of that gain came from the strong bull market. However, I did sock away nearly half that amount, which is pretty good, I think. Of course, it was up to $103k a couple of days before the 1st, but has since dropped with the market. Sharply! It'll be lower when I refresh my accounts tomorrow in Personal Capital. Doesn't matter. I just initiated a transaction to move $1,200 into one of my HYSAs. I'm still working to bring each of them up to a balance of $6k to replenish my emergency fund.

Okay, so the recent market drops are big news. We'll just have to see how low it'll go. My plan is to just keep doing what I've been doing: moving as much money as I can into my accounts as if nothing has changed. I hope to quickly bring my HYSAs up to their balances so I can start focusing on my brokerage account.

One of my goals since the last update was to reach the $100k milestone. I'm proud to say I crossed that goal off my list on January 17. Although if the market keeps dropping, I may just get a chance to strive for that goal again. If that becomes the case, it shouldn't take me long to hit it again and leave it in the dust as long as I keep my savings aggressive.

Another goal I achieved was reducing my auto insurance. My daughter is out of college and working so she got an insurance policy in her own name. I was initially hoping to save at least $100 a month, but it appears I am saving much more than that. Our monthly premium went from $270 to $58. Uh...yeah. Significant savings right there.

My 403b, if you'll remember, is set to max out this year. I increased my contributions from 10% to 19.4%. My paycheck deductions went from $365.39 to $708.85 per check. Now my 403b balance is growing by leaps and bounds instead of little bumps. That means I don't need to worry about my 403b. I front-loaded my Roth IRA after New Years Day, so that's taken care of too.

All I really need to do is, like I've said, and I know it's getting monotonous at this point, bring my HYSAs up to their predetermined values and then turn all my attention on my brokerage account. The market is gonna do whatever the market is gonna do. It may go down (maybe even WAY down), but it'll always rebound. (As I'm writing this post, the local news is reporting on today's drop. Like everyone's losing their f**king minds!) This is just the beginning of the correction we've been expecting. Stocks are on sale, people. Shovel your money In not Out.

Aside from what I've already reported, there's nothing I can think of that I missed. No major bills, aside from a rental car and buying some toiletry items I neglected to pack, but all that together didn't exceed $100, so it's moot. No major credit card activity. Just plain old savings and a steadily increasing market.

At this point, I'm not sure what next month's update will be. Not with the market behaving the way it is. Will it continue its downward trend? Will it plummet even more sharply? Or, will it take a turn upward and surge? Don't know. Don't care. Not at this point, anyway. We'll just have to keep steady on the course we've plotted and see what happens. Regardless, I'm excited and motivated to continue saving. See you next month!

Jan 2018. Milestone crossed, but market drops. Gasp!
What will the future hold?