Saturday, December 5, 2009

November 2009 Progress Report

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I spent Thanksgiving with my family and it was a bit stressful. My dad's dementia and memory loss is clearly getting worse. But I had great meals and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. My net worth is up this month too so I guess I really can't complain about my November this year. :-D



MY DEBT


Starting Debt (6/08)

Last MonthThis MonthDIFFERENCE
Private SL$49,528.99$43,926.89$43,557.31$(369.58)
Fed'l SL$55,852.68$53,828.16$53,717.32$(110.84)
Car Loan
$9,779.33$0.00$0.00$(0.00)
CC
$13,610.75$0.00$0.00$(0.00)
TOTAL
$128,771.75$97,755.05$97,274.63$(480.42)


November was a ho-hum month in terms of debt reduction. With my cc paid off, I could've started snowballing my remaining debt, but I decided to take a break. So I guess November was a spendy month. Either way, my debt's still down and I consider that a "win."


MY SAVINGS

LAST MONTH

THIS MONTH

DIFFERENCE
$8,265.57$8,372.41+$106.84


The savings that is reflected here is my "emergency fund" that I am not supposed to touch unless there is an absolute true emergency. I try to save about $100/month or so into my EF.

MY EARMARKS

I have an additional $5,000.00 or so set aside for "earmarked" spending for such things as car maintenance, Christmas, etc. I don't report my earmarks since it's not a true measure of savings because I intend to spend it. I also hate seeing my numbers go down.

But since someone once asked about the specifics, I'll report it this month. My accounting is a bit insane and some of my categories may not make much sense. (Oh, who am I kidding? It's ginormously crazy.) But here goes:

EarmarkAmount
Survey Snowflake1$82.00
Mom and Dad (emergency, gifts, etc.)$525.00
Car Fund (registration, maintenance)
$573.00
Christmas Fund$833.00
2009 Tax$204.00
Insurance and COLA$942.00
Extra Paycheck2$976.00
Vacation$170.00
CD Ladder3
$303.00
Roth3$300.00
Misc.
$116.00
TOTAL:
$5,024.00

1 -- I am snowflaking the money I get from completing online surveys. Once I hit $100, I think I will start converting these funds into either my EF or other investments like I-Bonds.
2 -- 2 months out of the year, I receive 3 paychecks. I deposit the 3rd paycheck into my savings and distribute 1/6 to myself every month to pay bills. I eventually hope to be able to bank my entire 3rd paycheck without having to spend it.
3 -- My CD Ladder and Roth funds are not "spending items" per se. I created these earmarks to see if I can get into the habit of saving for these items regularly. I was hoping to have $1,000 each in these funds, but as you can see, I'm way short.



MY NET WORTH

LAST MONTHTHIS MONTHDIFFERENCE
$40,389.45$47,358.27+$6,968.82


I guess the market was really good in November. The big spike in my numbers appear to be because of my 401k. It's incredible to think that my networth was -$21,975.91 just a year ago. In just one year, my net worth increased by $69,334.18! But... I realize that this number is exaggerated because of the market crash last year. My 401k is still down -7.18% from 12/31/08. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to start focusing on my debt reduction again.

The breakdown and the history of my net worth can be seen here.

5 comments:

jpkittie said...

up where it needs to be ~ down where it needs to be... I would consider that a great month!!!

444 said...

Your net worth is out of control. Just look at the progress you made in the last year! And I still remember when someone was haranguing you for paying off your car loan. LOL!

Extra paychecks are the best, aren't they? We have one coming up in January.

Ms. MoneyChat said...

lol - okay, the picture of the dog and cat is hilarious!

i'm so proud of you for taking a month off to live a little, and even more proud of you for having the fortitude to get back on the debt payoff plan.

as for the extra paycheck, i have NEVER seen anyone be so diligent and disciplined with managing it. way to go chica!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear that about your dad. My Thanksgiving was a bummer for a similar reason; my dad has terminal cancer. All you can do is try to appreciate the time you do have, even if the quality isn't what would you like. Take care.

Miss M said...

I love that picture, dogs and cats together always make me smile. They have two siamese kittens up for adoption at our vets, alas we are allergic to them.

I'm sorry your dad's health issues are growing more noticeable. I am lucky in many ways, my parents are quite young and I haven't had to face their aging issues yet. Hugs.