By: Revanche

A Day of Reckoning (2009)

December 31, 2009

From December 2008 to December 2009, after the layoff and continuing unemployment, I’ve recorded a 47% total increase. The progress was distributed pretty well across the board: retirement accounts (aka untouchable money), emergency cash to alleviate recessionary anxiety.  The relatively low increase in the short term cash isn’t a surprise; that money is saved in advance for spending throughout the year – I still haven’t decided if I’m going to change how that money is represented in the net worthing.  Ultimately, I like seeing that I’ve kept a fairly even keel in terms of pursuing all my goals. 

I’d forgotten that I established my cash expense account earlier in 2008.  That reminds me that this process of building a solid financial foundation has been slow and steady, and not the work of a few weeks or months.  It’s hard to say when the most progress was made, I guess that depends on how you measure progress?  Straight numbers?  Debt reduction?  Asset building?  These are all parts of the same puzzle.

These snapshots tend to reflect only what I saved, and not the income and spending.  The first half of 2009 I was on a mission to reduce monthly costs down to the $2200 range. We had obstacles along the way like the truck payment until we sold it, getting the family car out of hock and then losing it in an accident.  We also had happy expenses like marrying off a friend, planning baby showers, taking care of people, and bought some stock.

Oh yes, then I separated from my job!  (Didn’t lose it, I know exactly where it went.) Went on a mess of trips: NYC, San Diego, Miami, Hawaii.  Good grief, I’d lost track of everywhere I went in the latter half of 2009.

What I’m saying here is that I spent a whole lot. And you can’t expect me to keep track of all that! I kid, I kid. I’m just too tired to pull together a real spending report, but I’m going to say that it was in the range of $30-40,000.  I think what I’m going to do for 2010 is tailor Excel spreadsheets to track spending my way.  I just haven’t been terribly happy with all the templates out there.

In blogging, and no small thanks to Twitter, I’ve become much more at home here in my corner of the PF blogosphere this year, and appreciate the community and friendships – deeper than I would have ever have imagined to blossom from a purely online relationship.  The Internet’s been an integral part of my life since childhood(ish) but I couldn’t have predicted the candor and wisdom to be found here.

I’m grateful to you, my readers and friends, and wish you all a very Happy and safe New Year’s Eve (New Year to my international friends)!  

6 Responses to “A Day of Reckoning (2009)”

  1. Congrats! You’ve really got it together – a big rise in net worth even after the misplacement of your job. I take my hat off to you!

  2. Serendipity says:

    How amazing to have that sort of increase! You are truly one of my pf blogger role models. 🙂

  3. Just wonderful. Well done, and I hope 2010 brings more and better things your way.

  4. L.A. Daze says:

    Good job! That’s a huge increase. Happy new year! Yesterday when somebody said “here’s to the new decade” I also had to think twice about it. To me, the end of 2010 would signal a new decade, not the end of 2009.

  5. Money Funk says:

    A mess of trips… did Miami remind you of San Diego? I went there for a conference last year… I still felt like I was back in So Cal. LOL.

    Your spreadsheet never seizes to amaze me. Great job! Keep it up. 😉

  6. Revanche says:

    @The Lost Goat: Thank you, building it up was really the work of earlier in the year, now I need to not spend it down. 🙂

    @Serendipity: Aw, thank you!

    @FZ: Thank you, and the same to you!

    @L.A.Daze: Thanks and Happy New Year! I’ve thought it over and I guess it seems like 2010 is the start of the new after all because it’s ten years from 00-09.

    @Money Funk: Noo not at all. It was so muggy I felt like I was swimming when we were out on the town. Yechhh.

    Thanks! And you’re doing quite well on your projects, too!

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