Here we go, once again. I’m revealing my soul to the world. Here’s my monthly Net Worth Update.
The bottom line number looks pretty good. It makes me a little giddy when I look at it…as long as I don’t spend too much time analyzing its makeup. Too much of that spoils the fun.
I’m pleased to report a 3.58% increase in the bottom line.
My total debts only dropped by about $100. Most of my debt pay-down for the month went to medical bills. I paid about $3,300 toward medical expenses during the month, but then I received another bill for about $1,700. Life just isn’t fair, sometimes.
The cash balances in my bank accounts are up about $1,000. I’ve been successfully building my accounts up so that when the bills become due, the money is already available to make the payment. This is especially useful for taking advantage of the rewards credit cards. I put the funds into a savings account before I swipe the card for a purchase. When the bill is due, the money is already there.
The 401k is the primary source of my gains. January was a great month. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that the gains are real. Though it’s been great watching my investments steadily growing, I have a gut feeling that the market is artificially inflated, and were about due for a significant correction.
If that happens, I’m prepared to ride it out. I’ll enjoy buying more investments at the “sale price”.
I’m getting so close to the half-million mark, I’m starting to get excited about reaching that milestone. A few more solid months of stock market growth would get me there well before the end of this year. A market correction could delay it until 2019.
I can see that my investment makeup puts me very strongly at the mercy of whatever the market is doing. I’m ok with that for now. My first focus is on clearing debt. After that, I’ll take a look at diversifying some of my investment into hard assets – maybe real estate.