A Millennial Millionaire’s Monthly Tracking Series
In the vein of BudgetAreSexy.com by J-Money, I figured it is time to start tracking my net worth monthly so that people can follow the bread crumbs, dissect, analyze or even hold me accountable for my numbers.
This year started out normal but by mid-February the pandemic shifted everyone’s plans. My fiancée and I was thankfully employed and other than working from home, unaffected. We did get a puppy but it didn’t work-out but we did find him a better home.
Since this is the first installment, I’ll briefly recap 2019, review 2020, and cover the ongoing format. Don’t worry it will be brief synopsis and an ongoing series. The biggest questions that you will see every month:
- What went well?
- What didn’t go so well?
- What am I working toward?
The 2019 flashback:
2019 was generally a good year. The biggest change was getting engaged. The process was costly, just as a general alert for the person proposing. Money will start evaporating into the ether for love.
We also traveled to “12 countries in 14 days” and spent some time in Canada during the Toronto Raptors NBA Finals victory. I really recommend a trip if you live in the NE of the US, slide by Vermont if you can and looking up Niagara-on-the-lake.
I was able to write and publish over 66 articles on LinkedIn and started crafting a plan for a website, podcast and YouTube. My fiancée was able to upgrade her job by putting in a ton of work to add an accreditation. She earned a new job shortly after. If you can’t cut any more expenses; consider adding more income.
By the end of the year, the Fiancée and I started the process of commingling finances to tackle 2020.
Our cash reserves dwindled a bit and our collective credit card debt increased by 35%. Our investments grew by 40% and overall this ended up being a net increase of almost 51%.
Net Worth Increase North of 50%
Mid-2020 Summary
2020 was a hard pivot. The first couple months were well enough but we took a sharp dive into the Hunger Games Territory.
Though we didn’t want to, we were forced to cancel our may 5 countries travel plan that would have taken us to Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany and Portugal. We adopted a dog and paid for his upbringing for 2 months to the tune of $2,500 from food, toys, and shots. It was not cheap and they don’t tell you about that part.
Beyond that we cut back on gym and travel costs but increased in food costs. There were nothing but green on image #2, since we didn’t panic and stayed consistent. Additionally, we didn’t buy the dip because we technically have been paying for the wedding in November. If we didn’t fork over about $15,000 of wedding expenses, we would have invested it.
My Fiancée hit a milestone. She became completely debt-free by her 30thbirthday. Our cash reserves increased by almost 20%, credit card debt decreased by 12%. Our other liabilities which is my TSP loan decreased by 35%. Not too shabby net worth increase of 18%.
1. What went well?
Lifestyle changes. The pandemic forced all these micro expenses and stressors to decrease overall. There were no mandate to go do anything because nothing was available. We were able to spend more quality time together.
Mindset. Entered into a period of intentional and thankfulness. I challenged myself to understand investments more. And really strive to create a wedding that focuses on substance over material flaunting.
2. What didn’t go so well this year?
Physical activity. Though I have spurts of super activity. I’m going back and forth with laziness. I was never a fan of working from home. Still not a fan since the change of scenery helps me.
Staying in touch with friends and family. Been drifting into the world of purposeful living, and it’s forcing me to reevaluate friendships. If time is happiness, I don’t think I want to waste any more of it being idle. For that some people had to go, so that I could move quicker.
Time management. I have terrible time management and need to work on completing all of my assignments and then some. I also need to work on my time attitude since I have to understand that everyone doesn’t value their time the same way.
3. What am I working toward?
Got to be more purposeful. My goals for the remainder of the year include:
- Establishing systems and processes. In order to get more done, I’m going to have to be regimented and excited. I will also need to play and rest accordingly.
- Creativity and dollar conversions. Working on better IG posts, website with articles, and maybe a few workshops that I can use for passive income.
- Wedding Planning. Definitely need to do my part and get going because November is coming.
- Working on investing at least $10,000 in M1 Finance Brokerage focused on Dividend Income that generates at least $1,000 in passive Income for starters in 2021. Check out the portfolio in real time. If you like the platform and want to start investing, I have the $10 for $10 referral if you need it — https://m1.finance/SYdqDJ2SyADC.
Last Rounds
I’m learning. I’m failing. I’m getting back up. I’m failing again and I’m growing, There is truly nothing new under the sun vs just people trying to get better. I’m learning to get better and trusting the Net Max Financial Plan for Couples. It’s working for my household. Now I need to work on me.
Check out July 2020
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Originally published at https://theneighborhoodfinanceguy.com.
