Debts:
Debt sucks, period. Most people accept debt as normal, and I have personally found arguing with them to be taxing. Most people just accept it, but I fight it. Still, I have debt. I have worked to alleviate some of it, but I will likely come into more debt due to my housing situation. So here goes:
Car #1 (my car): $10028.96 (maturity: 6/2021, $240 / mo.) interest = 1.9%
Car #2 (her car): $18,044.33 (maturity: 10/2020, $475 / mo.) interest = 1.5%
Student Debt: None. Eliminated as of 10/2016.
Mortgage*: None at present.
Revolving debt / credit cards: None at present, credit cards are paid off monthly.
Total monthly payments = $715 + revolving
At the end 2015 is when I first started actively tracking my debt. At that time it was approximately $46000. Today it stands at a total of $28073.29. In less than two years we have managed to eliminate just under $18000 worth of debt, including student loans totaling $7000+ (to be fair, my wife had done a lot of work on this already before I decided to squash it). Currently, we pay my wife's car in exact amounts, and I pay a little extra on mine. The dates listed are estimated by the loan company, my goal is to finish them in advance.
* = We are in the process of buying a house. It was determined this is necessary, mainly because of future space constraints we will have related to a mini-Gremlin. This will be discussed in the future. At present we expect to close on a house next month, and will begin the journey of home-ownership. For now, that number is $0, but not for long sadly.
Income:
My wife and I both work, however with the advent of mini-Gremlin in the future, there will be a slight time gap concerning her paychecks. I have steady employment, at a solid firm, doing niche work that is needed and not easily back-filled. To date I have received a small pay increase, and likely will receive another one later this year. In addition, I work a second job at a brewery, and have plans to take on a third line of work using the internet (not here). At present the extra cash goes towards investments, but it may end up shifting towards debts in the future.
Assets:
This is the fun part. Current assets that are to be considered are my taxable investments, Roth IRA, IRA, 401K, and other retirement savings. Cash, Health Savings Accounts, and miscellaneous assets are not counted unless they fit into another category. I work to shield liquidity this way, and separate out what is needed versus what can be invested. Assets including cash in accounts:
Taxable Invested Assets: $31021
Roth IRA: $17993
Traditional IRA: $34211
401K: $6707
Wife's Retirement / Pension: $10915
Total = $100847
At the beginning of 2015 the total stood at $47000. At the end of 2015 it was $54000, and at the end of 2016 it was $87000. Since the start of 2016 both my rate of investment and the market have been on tears. Purchasing a house will stifle this, but only briefly. This past month is the first time our total assets broke $100000, so time to double down. It is my goal to make this number hit $150000 by end 2018.
Total Net Worth = $72773.71
Goals:
My short term financial goals are - eliminate one car loan in the next two years (early) and increase my taxable investment account by $10000 per year (in addition to Roth and 401k additions). My income goals are to increase my take home pay by acquiring more useful certifications and adding extra income / employment where needed.
My long term goal as always is financial independence. There will always be bumps in the road, but those are the times to double down - not to change course.
Conclusion:
At the moment we are doing well relative to our peers. However, though our peers represent a good metric, they are not what I want to use to measure my life's progress. The primary drive will be to substantially increase general income and use the proceeds to bolster investment accounts.
- Gremlin
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