Welcome to my monthly net worth November 2020 edition. Another month has come and gone, which indicates a need to review the change in my net worth. For all of the new followers, welcome! I track my net worth monthly to see where I am in comparison to my annual short term goals. Additionally, it is an opportunity to see my progress towards reaching my long-term goals.
November 2020 Personal/Professional Update
Personal Update:
What happened in the month of November for The Financial Engineer? Well, I burnt the Thanksgiving Day turkey. Get ready for a laugh!
We started the month off celebrating our niece's 5th birthday. It was great seeing family members that we have not been with since the start of the pandemic. My oldest daughter is close in age to her, so they were able to play together. The celebration included the destruction of a piñata filled with candy. Apart from this, it was also the first time we met our nephew.
Our youngest daughter is fully mobile. She started to crawl around the house. The new mobility is fueling her curiosity. This rug-rat is keeping us on our toes. It is great to see her develop and learn through her sister.
Like most, we decorated for Christmas early this year. Our decorations came out before Thanksgiving, which I am usually opposed to. However, our oldest had her tonsils removed on the 24th. We knew she would be recovering through Thanksgiving weekend. As a result, she would not be in any condition to help decorate for the holiday for a while. Besides, I think the decorations kept her spirits high while she muscled through the recovery process.
We still celebrated Thanksgiving. However, our Thanksgiving Day looked a little different this year. We celebrated the holiday with immediate family. Although we did not celebrate with others, we kept the tradition of watching the Detroit Lions lose on Thanksgiving (apologies to any Lions fans). Our oldest could only eat selective items. She kept her diet while we tried to deep fry a turkey. I would never recommend placing brown sugar rub on a deep fried turkey. The photo below depicts why you should not.
Professional Update:
I wrapped up my long-term shift work for the other regional office. Our office is getting busy with local projects, which they needed help with. I learned a lot from the colleagues in the other office that will make me more productive. It has been extremely busy for site development project's, which appears to be increasing steadily too. Accordingly, time has been reduced to focus on the website. Nevertheless, I am still focusing on the goal to acquire property for short-term rentals. I will soon share a post on the business model I am considering to form to own and manage the property.
With the increase in my working hours, comes a decrease in time spent on the side hustles. This month had almost no income from side hustles. The focus was needed to meet client deadlines at work. I found that this was a good month to take a break from the time consumed by the side hustle. As such, productivity will increase to finish out the year strong.
Similarly to most of the year, my net worth increased. Although it is increasing, I am focused on liquid cash to utilize in the middle of next year to purchase real estate.
November 2020 Actual vs. Budget:
This month's spending was similar to last month's. Please note, each budget section (listed below) is based upon my salary. It does not include any other income sources. The thought is to save all other income 100%, and not include it in the annual budget. As a reminder, I break out my budget into 3 categories:
- Fixed Costs
- Financial Goals
- Flex Spending
Now, let's take a dive into the difference in fixed costs!
Fixed Costs:
We paid our family's annual membership for the local municipality's recreational center. I was not anticipating this cost during this time of the year. Subsequently, the budget spreadsheet will be adjusted to accommodate this cost going forward. That cost destroyed my budget.
My annual HSA contribution should be maxed after this month. The monthly HSA contribution will be reallocated to the savings for the short-term rental. I will also be investing all funds left over in my HSA account into a index fund.
Next, let's dive into my Financial Goals.
Financial Goals:
Great increases to the children's 529 occurred in November. This was fueled by the typical $280 deposit into the accounts, and an increase in the S&P 500. I am currently contributing $140 / child each month. With this contribution amount (and assumed 7% annual interest rate) each account should hold $60,000 in 18 years. However, it should be noted, the 529 accounts are not reflected in my net worth. Curious to know why? My net worth tracking page explains it all!
I did not reach my monthly saving goal for the short-term rental. This was due to the reduction in the side hustles. I anticipate my side hustles to remain slow for the remainder of the year. However, I have made a couple of flip sales that have brought in an additional $100 this month (not reflected above).
As previously mentioned, I reallocated my vacation and emergency fund monies to the short-term rental savings. These line items will consistently show a $100 savings for the remainder of the year. As previously mentioned, my truck required new tires. I installed all 4 for $800. I used my AMEX credit card to pay for them, and will pay the bill in full by the end of the year.
Lastly, I will share the flex spending evaluation.
Flex Spending:
I always try to meet budget in my flex spending. This section consists mostly of wants, and not needs. My flex spending was reduced to try and balance the overruns for the rec center annual fee and my truck's tires.
Great news, we got closer to the minimal budget for eating out. I am pleased to see a reduction in the overrun number for this line item. The monthly budget for eating out is a stretch, as we are feeding three mouths each time. This budget is set at $125 every month.
Contrary, we spent quite a bit on groceries. This was due to the steak dinner for my niece's birthday and theThanksgiving dinner meal. Turkey's can be expensive. However, it was enjoyable to spend time with family and celebrate with them for her birthday. On the other hand, the turkey was a pretty bad fail.
Let's wrap this month's overview up!
Overall November 2020 Net Worth:
The United States has seen serious spikes in cases. The temperature has decreased since the start of the month. As such, the state and local communities are adjusting. This year has required a lot of adjusting. Adapting and overcoming hard situations is a part of life. However, I want the numbers to decrease as soon as possible. We have recently seen Pfizer and Moderna requested the FDA to authorize use of their vaccines. There is hope on the horizon.
We will see what changes will occur next month in the saga of the Coronavirus. I am excited to see how the economy opens up for the last stretch of the decade long year of 2020.
As always, I have continued to put money into the 401k and IRA accounts. I have focused more attention into the short term savings for the real estate investment. I am staying the course and resisting the emotional decision pressing me to reallocate the investments. Who knows when or how the stock market correction will happen? This is why I am not trying to time the market.
My current contribution to my 401k will remain at 8%. I will also continue to place 2% into my Roth IRA. These percentages will remain the same until we purchase our first investment property. After, I will throw fuel on the 401k investment FIRE! This should occur sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
The Financial Engineer's November 2020 net worth is now roughly $153,694. This was an increase of $7,278 from last month. The change was driven by a reduction in my debt, and increase in income from my engineering job. My HSA grew by $354, respectively. I only made an extra $100 from my side hustles. My 401k and individual retirement accounts increased significantly this month.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the massive increase in my net worth. I will continue to learn about short-term rentals and metrics for the investment. As a result, this will allow us to achieve our financial goals. After reaching the goal, my focus of saving will shift to investing into the retirement funds. Again, it should be noted, the value in my daughter's 529 plans are not reflected in my net worth.
My November 2020 savings/investing rate is approximately 19%. This will continue to increase after the holidays. I expect gifts and celebration meals to impact the growth slightly.
In Conclusion
I was fairly accurate with my prediction for November. Sadly, I anticipated the need for truck tires. In evaluating my numbers, this was a fairly accurate prediction. I negotiated the price of the tires down from $950 to $800. I anticipate December to show a large increase in my net worth. This will be due to added income.
How is you net worth looking?
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