MMS Friends

My Trek Towards Financial Freedom

I am a 25 year old New Yorker and member of Generation Debt who is working towards financial freedom.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

March Net Worth

At long last, here is a summary of my net worth as of March 31, 2005:

2/25/05 3/31/05 % change
ING Emergency 3870.30 4000.53 103.36%
ING Other 32.22 302.22 937.99%
Checking 403.42 1449.62 359.33
Roth IRA 924.00 14232.40 154.05
Stocks 931.95 801.55 86.01
401(k) 8546.00 8716.81 102.00
Student Loans (21298.79) (21285.62) 99.94%
Credit Card (488.00) (542.50) 111.17%
Payable 1 (935.00) -95535.00%
TOTAL (7077.90) (6089.34)


Overall, my net worth increased $988.56 since February 25th. A few things are out of the ordinary, which I explain below. In the future, I intend on updating my accounts from the last day of the month, and posting them a few days into the new month.

First, in March I received three paychecks, instead of my usual two because I am paid every other week. I worked overtime, so I had extra income. I contributed $500 to my Roth IRA, and I need to contribute $2000 more for my 2004 tax year contribution. I hope to contribute $500 more in my mid-April paycheck and "borrow" the rest from my emergency savings. To that end, I have reluctantly decided to stop contributing to my 401(k) plan for a while effective my mid-April paycheck. I was reluctant because I wanted a $10,000 balance for the "feel good" effect. But reality set in. I don't receive an employer match, and since I am already having trouble maxing my Roth IRA, I decided the best use of my limited funds would be to focus on the Roth. It was a tough decision, but I think it was the right decision.

Here are some general notes of interest on my net worth:

1) I have a small off-line business. I've had it since 1998. My income generated generated directly directly correlates to the amount of time and effort devoted to the business, but I've generally made money off of it. I have a separate checking account and credit card for my business. For my purposes here, I try not to co-mingle my personal and business accounts very much except for my personal draw. However, from time to time, I do pay my business bills with my personal accounts, especially if my business checking account is running low.

2) My payables are usually utility and rent payments which have not cleared.

3) I usually pay off my credit card every month, but there's usually a balance showing. That is the amount currently posted to my account.

4) My brokerage account is lower than last month, but it's not because my stocks plummeted, it's because I took some money from my money market balance and added it to my ING account.

5) I actually added $300 more to my 401(k) account so it has declined in value in March.

6) I currently keep track of all of my finances in Excel. I will purchase Quicken (most likely) or MSN Money in the next few weeks.