Fabulous Financials

My net worth for May 2008 is $151,701. I passed the $150k hump - yay!! This is a $3,203 or 2.16% increase over April 2008. Most of it can be attributed to my 401k. There was a lapse in contributions to my other investment accounts due to payroll issues at the new job, but we’re back in business. I’m still a long way from my annual net worth goal of $200k, but I’ll keep hope alive. *pumping fist in the air* What? Miracles can happen! LOL

INCOME & EXPENSES

May was a decent month, but don’t let the numbers fool you:

Net Income: $6,423

Total Expenses: $5,334

• Saved: $759
• Bills: $2,261
• Necessities: $1,216
• Non-necessities: $1,098

Net Cash Flow: $1,089

Based on the cash flow, it appears as if I did an excellent job controlling expenses, but I shall not tell a lie. The $900 stimulus rebate provided a buffer, most of which was promptly donated ($500) and the rest ($400) was spent on…umm…I plead the 5th. LOL

But wait, I’ll be honest about something. I exceeded my monthly spend plan in several categories. For one, the friggin’ cell phone bill was $115 higher than usual! When I saw it, I was like what the what?!?!?! Unfortunately, I can’t even blame BabyGirl this time. Darn! Other overages include:

• $350 on medical expenses
• $250 on vet visit (future post comparing annual pet expenses)
• $260 on personal pampering (money well spent)
• $185 dining out (includes Crackbucks obsession)
• $90 in parking (need to add regular line item in spend plan)
• $245 on vacation planning

See. The details tell the truth. But you know what? It’s ok because I can track every dime, I didn’t incur any debt, and all of it was money well spent - especially the personal pampering. *daydreaming* Woo-wee! If I had to do it all over, I wouldn’t change a thing.

That, to me, is financial freedom!

My net worth is $148,500, an increase of $4,363 or +3.03% over March 2008.

As reported in March, I wasn’t paying very much attention to my finances. Well guess what? I really slacked off in April! Fortunately, I ended March with a $3.8k net worth increase, and again in April with a $4.3k increase. Wow, imagine what I could do if I really paid attention! LOL! Thank goodness for automatic contributions and market performance! With 8 months left in the year, I still need $51,500 to meet my 2008 net worth challenge. This will require an average monthly increase of $6,400 through December. Hmm…stranger things have happened. LOL

By now, I think all of the categories are self explanatory. If not, let me know and I’ll answer all questions in the comments.

INCOME & EXPENSES

April was a very difficult month for me. A few weeks ago, I publicly confessed to emotional spending, then forced myself to transfer an extra $500 to savings before I hit rock bottom.

Net Income: $5,565

Total Expenses: $5,247

• Saved: $1,289
• Bills: $2,407
• Necessities: $504
• Non-necessities: $1,047

Net Cash Flow: $318

I have no idea how I ended the month with positive cash flow because 80% of the ‘non-necessities’ were incurred within the last two weeks of the month. Had I realized there was more, I probably would have spent that too. LOL

I considered providing a more detailed explanation of my thoughts and feelings that led to the emotional spending spree, but I don’t know if it will serve any real purpose for you. Besides, May blossoms are all about new beginnings and I need to work on my $6,400 net worth increase!

My net worth is $144,137, an increase of $3,823.10 or +2.72% over February 2008.

I haven’t been paying much attention to my finances lately. So other than what’s on auto pilot, I can’t take credit for doing anything special. The market has rebounded (sorta), but it’s still playing tricks with people’s emotions. In Jan and Feb ‘08, my retirement increased by only ~$500. This month, the increase is more than $3k. I contribute the same every month so of course I’m happy about it, but I ignore the reports of doom and gloom anyway. One day, I’ll write about my opinion of the impending recession and how I plan to deal with it by doing…umm…nothing.

Under ‘property’, I reduced the value of my car (kbb.com), which is something I plan to review quarterly. And the ‘liabilities’ consist of my real time credit card balances as of March 31st. It’s not a true reflection of my credit card debt per se’ (my only real “debt” is a mortgage) because the “statement” balances are always paid in full - usually between the 20th and the 22nd. However, to keep my NW report honest, I will capture the existing CC balances anyway.

INCOME & EXPENSES

As mentioned last month, I’ve completely separated business income and expenses from personal income and expenses for banking and tax purposes. Currently, I’m only reporting the personal cash flow, so the numbers below may appear lower than usual.

Net Income: $4,642

Total Expenses: $4,120

• Saved: $668
• Bills: $2,188 (68 under est.)
• Necessities: $701 (91 over est.)
• Non-necessities: $563 (313 over est.)

Net Cash Flow: $522

The ‘necessities’ $91 over est. is due to my lovely daughter’s lack of planning. Gotta love it when your kid tells you on Thursday that something is due on Friday. This one is special and she “totally can’t miss or it’ll be popularity suicide.” Her words, of course. *blank stare* What is so important you might ask? The band’s spring field trip. *roll my eyes* But oh, she’s “really sorry” for not reminding me, but “please ma, can I go?” *sigh* I tell ya, she better be glad we’re not living paycheck to paycheck or this lack of planning would cause her to miss out on a lot of things.

The ‘non-necessities’ $313 over est. is umm…err…uh. Hmm…I have no idea.

Ok, I’ll admit. I hadn’t been shopping in a month of Sundays, so my little spring shopping spree was long overdue. It wasn’t in the budget, but I did plan for it in my thoughts. Yea, that’s it. I just forgot to write it down. Mmm, hmm…my story and I’m sticking to it.

My net worth is $140,314, an increase of $7,234 or +5.44% over January 2008.

The market is volatile, so my investments are still taking a beating. Although I invested over $1,600 (excluding 401k match) this month, my retirement accounts increased by only $562 and non-retirement by only $108. Not the type of gains I’d prefer to see, but since my diversification is consistent with my risk tolerance, I’ll keep taking advantage of DCA.

Most of the NW increase can be attributed to cash, thanks to the long overdue bonus that JUST showed up in my check. I’m told a glitch in the HR system was affecting the bonus structure - nearly two months later than expected, but I’ll take it.

INCOME & EXPENSES

Although cash flow is tight, I survived the month spending less than I earned. This is also the first month I’ve completely separated business income and expenses, so the following will track earned income and personal expenses only.

Net Income: $4,600 (excluding bonus)

Total Expenses: $4,203

• Saved: $718
• Bills: $2,203 (83 under est.)
• Necessities: $1,181 (571 over est.)
• Non-necessities: $101 (149 under est.)

Net Cash Flow: $397

Not bad, not bad at all. It’s pretty cool to see the results of living paycheck to paycheck (on purpose). If it wasn’t for buying new tires, I would have been under budget in every area. That’s a first! I’ve considered spending the remaining $400 on a splurge, but I’m proud of my discipline and happy to report that I haven’t been shopping all year. When I’m chilling in Paris this summer, it will be worth the temporary delayed gratification.

Dear January,

I survived. Now good riddance!

With No Love,