But there's been a "decoupling" of the two since my father's car crash in February. My net worth rocketed upwards while my emotions have taken a free-fall.
Now that my finances are under control (or, at the very least not as dire as it used to be), I guess I'm experiencing the diminishing return on happiness for every dollar increase in my net worth. I hate thinking that way since it makes me very unappreciative and whiny.
Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge that I am a VERY lucky woman. I earn a damn good salary with damn good benefits. I got a windfall in December, while many people were unemployed or experiencing cut backs. I also got a bonus in March that was completely unearned and undeserved. I need to improve my attitude in my professional as well as my personal life. At the end of the day, I want to say I earned my good fortune and deserve a good life.
To those who are curious, below is my recent embarrassment of riches.
MY DEBT
Starting Debt (6/08) | Last Month | This Month | DIFFERENCE | |
| Private SL | $49,528.99 | $40,481.01 | $39,111.05 | $(1,368.96) |
| Fed'l SL | $55,852.68 | $53,321.08 | $53,170.49 | $(150.59) |
| 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 | $93,801.09 | $92,281.54 | $(1,519.55) |
I've been up and running on my snowball since January. After interest, I've been paying down my debts by over $1,470+/month, or 1.5%+. Woo hoo.
SAVINGS
| LAST MONTH | THIS MONTH | DIFFERENCE |
| $8,779.98 | $8,883.55 | +$103.57 |
The savings I report here is with respect to my emergency fund savings only. I have an additional $18,036.59 in an unreported "earmark" fund for expenses, such as tax, car maintenance, IRA, etc. etc. I don't report my earmark funds here, or in my net worth, since it's money I intend to spend eventually.
MY "X"-FUND
| LAST MONTH | THIS MONTH | DIFFERENCE |
| $20,212.37 | $24,272.43 | +$4,060.06 |
In addition to my savings and earmark fund, I've created an "X"-Fund, which is reported in my net worth as "other property." I came across a significant windfall (~ $33K) in December. In January, I allocated $20,175 of my windfall into what I call my "X-Fund," since I don't know yet whether I'll need to use it as an emergency fund or a down-payment for my first home. Either way, it's money that I don't intend to touch unless I absolutely need to or unless I reinvest it.
In March, my company also paid me a bonus (net ~$9,711.61), which admittedly was not deserved. I put $4,000 of my bonus money into my X-fund, hence the big jump this month. I don't expect any future big jumps.
MY NET WORTH
| LAST MONTH | THIS MONTH | DIFFERENCE |
| $82,329.51 | $98,184.22 | +$15,854.71 |
The increase of my net worth has been on an incredible trajectory. And it's so ironic that my emotional state has been on a recent downward spiral.
The breakdown and the history of my net worth can be seen here.
2 comments:
I'm sorry to hear that things haven't gotten any better with your parents. Still, I think you should celebrate your PF accomplishments - there are plenty of people earning great salaries who are still drowning.
Hope things get better! *hugs*
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