2016 Wrap-up

This is the first, complete year I've kept records of all my financial activity. These financial "records" are essentially via my spreadsheet(s). I have several spreadsheets: the main one tracks all of my expenses, paychecks (so net take home), and savings/investment contributions (minus any interest/capital gains/losses); the next most frequently used only tracks my net take home pay, and savings/investment accounts (including interest/capital gains/losses).

In the beginning of the year, I made significant changes to my lifestyle in an effort to reduce my spending by cutting unnecessary expenses. I estimated I could get through a year on about $25-26k. Well, sadly, that didn't happen. I ended up spending $33.4k during 2016. However, there is a "bright side". I probably could have only spent my target if not for many of the unexpected (and costly) emergencies that arose. I don't want to get into the details, but most of these large expenses were due to a family member experiencing...uh...major set backs and nearly self-destructing. Needless to say, I came to their rescue. There's no way I can turn my back on this family member. Now that they seem to have emerged from this trouble, I think many of those kinds of expenses will be behind me in the coming year.

In addition to the expenses mentioned above, I had some pretty pricey vehicle expenses for a Jeep Wrangler I was using as my daily driver. It wasn't so bad because I was telecommuting 3 out of 5 days, so my gas bill was down. This changed around September, when a new manager decided to do away with any telecommuting privilege I had. (Yeah, fuck him!) Fortunately, I parked the Jeep and started driving a 2001 Honda Civic I bought last year. (Anyone out there wanna buy a 2004 Jeep Wranger?)

One expense, which wasn't really that expensive (well, kinda) was a vet bill for putting down my precious cat, Loki, toward the end of November. He was a much-loved member of the family and his predicament was sudden and sad.

Let's take a look at 2 snapshots for comparison: one from the beginning of 2016, the other at the end of 2016.

12/31/2015 Net Worth

12/31/2016 Net Worth

As you can see, I started 2016 with $41,641.71 and ended the year with $78,449.56. That's a difference of $36,807.85!

Now, that's not all strictly from contributions. That difference includes interest and capital gains/losses. According to my spreadsheet (the one that only tracks my contributions), I managed to save $33,293.78. A difference of $3,514.07 in interest and capital gains/losses. Still, that $33k is pretty damn good, I think. My savings rate for the year was 64%. It would've been higher if not for the expensive emergencies I dealt with throughout the year.

Last year, I set a goal to reach a net worth of $77k, so I managed to hit it and then some. I have 2 projection spreadsheets that each have a goal of reaching $100k by September. Hopefully, I will reach it earlier. But, my wife and I will be moving to Albany, NY in June, so that may set back my plan/progress. We'll just have to see what happens.

Also, I expect I may lose my job very soon. There are some red flags that've presented themselves with a restructuring of my team (especially a new, asshole boss), and I think my days are numbered. I've already started circulating my resume to try landing something fairly soon to help mitigate as much time out of work as possible. Again, we'll have to see how everything goes.

Despite the unexpected expenses faced this year, I think I did really well reaching my goal. I hope to stay the course and reduce some of my expenses in 2017. If things go well, I'll be closer to being financially independent.

Here's to a prosperous and happy 2017!