March 2019 Update

I made it to the end of the month with a job. Let me clarify that: I was having a really crappy week at work for a number of reasons and I was nearly at my wit's end. The stress was getting to me and I was ready to throw in the towel and walk away. Instead, I listened to cooler heads and, so far, I've prevailed. Hopefully, next week will start out better tomorrow. We'll see. Anyway, that's something big that needs to be mentioned here as I'm no where near financially independent (although I could technically go several years without a paycheck and be fine) and socking away money is in my best interest. Now that that's off my chest, let's get down to the net worth report. At the end of March, my net worth is...

$171,713

February's net worth was $166,947; a difference of $4,766. Of the difference, I managed to save away a total of $4,133.46. Two 401k contributions of $741.73 (1483.46) and $2,650 split between both of my HYSAs (1,325 Am Ex/Ally). The remaining $632.54 is from market gains and interest. So, not bad.

I would have socked away an additional $1,500, which was budgeted for. However, I finally had to pay my share of our lodge dues and my share of our trip to Scotland at the end of May. Since I wasn't able to put that money into savings this paycheck, I moved it to the next paycheck to ear mark it for next time. Of course, depending upon my spending between now and then, I may have to tweak those numbers. Hopefully, I can increase the amount slightly.

The sum between my HYSAs is $23,434.39. My goal is to bring the total balance up to 30k, so I'm currently $6,565.61 short of the mark. Ultimately, I'd like to have about 50k in cash so if any catastrophe should happen, like I lose my job, I've got a really nice buffer to cover me for about 2 years without touching any of my investment accounts. But right now I'm concentrating on baby steps.

Speaking of a contingency plan, I want to start posting my liquid position in these updates (or at least once or twice a year). This would be the money I can access at a moment's notice without incurring any penalty should the shit really hit the fan and I find myself in dire straits. This is the cash in my high yield savings, my brokerage account, and the principal in my Roth IRA. So, as of today, my liquid cash position is: $95,289. The principal in my Roth, is currently $35,300 and my HYSAs and Brokerage accounts are shown in the screen shot. It's interesting to note that my current liquid position is just about my annual gross salary. Shy by about $1,100.

If I'd been able to make that second deposit this month into my HYSAs my liquidity would be more than my annual gross salary. It's interesting to see that, but I'm a little bummed I didn't get to put that money away. Of course, I'll admit, being able to go to our mountain lodge whenever we want or taking the trip to Scotland in May are things I definitely don't want to give up either. So, it's worth it.

Aside from the membership and future travel expense, there wasn't any major spending to report this month. We went out with friends to see a movie, Jordan Peele's Us (meh) and then dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (I picked up mine and my wife's bill). I also ordered some books to send to my son.

My credit score is in the excellent range, > 750, but still hasn't surpassed 800, which is what I ultimately want.

I started doing our taxes yesterday. Prior to sitting down to do it, my wife said a lot of people were upset because the new tax reform screwed so many people. She warned that I would probably end up owing this year, but I was confident I wouldn't. After all, I max my retirement accounts, so my taxable income is lower. Well, I'm happy to report that after I entered my information, we were due a refund from both the state and federal government. However, when I entered her information, we ended up owing more than $8k. I stopped before trying to add any deductions (which I don't have, but this is where my wife enters her charitable deductions, etc. to try to lower the amount owed). I'll end up filing sometime next week probably and she'll have to initiate another payment plan with the IRS like she did before.

Taxes are something me and my wife have discussed previously (namely last year when she also ended up owing). She isn't financially focused like I am, which is partly why we keep separate finances. No matter how much I try to encourage her to increase her retirement savings to lower her tax burden, she ends up getting defensive, so I stop. She feels anxious talking about money. But she's also accustomed to her subscription services, etc. Eh, to each their own. As long as it's not affecting me or my finances, I say: just leave her alone about it. She knows my goals of becoming FI and then retiring as soon as possible. She's supportive (for me) to do it, but she's not interested.

Net worth March 2019