Net Worth: April 2014
April 21, 2014
Change from March: 5% increase
Change from January/1st Quarter: 20% increase
It was just a minor increase this month from last month, so I had to mess around with numbers some more to make myself feel better about our progress. Spoiled by last month’s bump which wasn’t going to happen again with just a regular month: making the money, saving the money, spending the money. In that order, mind you. Part of both our paychecks have been set to go to savings first, before anything is spent.
I’ve been doing that since I started working, just after I got out of the “didn’t have a penny to spare and savings had to pay the bills” phase.
I’ve also set up a couple automatic payments out of the checking account for the first time. I don’t trust companies to regularly take money out of my accounts without trying to sneak in extra fees or overcharging, but this works because the checking account is set up to send checks, not allow auto-withdrawals.
At some point, we’ll start experiencing that thing where only truly major spending or saving moves the meter. Obviously that’s a good thing but it’s hard to viscerally accept the prospect of being bored with my money. More obviously, I don’t have to settle. I’m going to go find something new and exciting to do to make money once the routine stuff truly doesn’t take up any time or brainpower.
This is actually really important because a) Baglady Syndrome, I have it; b) My job is, more than most in the past, not guaranteed. Our lifestyle, while not lavish, is quite comfortable and I don’t want to jeopardize that by getting too comfortable & lazy, and income-less. So I’ll just get right on that ….
Happily, PiC’s job is in a really good place right now and quite stable for the nonce so we can take that a little bit more for granted. (For now.)
I think Baglady Syndrome is more common than most people think. I also think its perpetuated by all the negative financial news that seems to go on 24/7. I am comfortably retired, yet if I let the news determine the emotional status of my financial situation, I’d be scared to death. I am invested in the market as it is the best way that I know of to grow money, even given the fact of market corrections. I have a balanced portfolio and the downturn of 2008 cost me about 25% (on paper). I rode it out and have profited from my ability to stay the course. It was a good lesson, but IMO, the best lesson is to avoid debt like the plague. Divorced at 50, I sold a large house and used the equity to purchase a smaller house mortgage free. That was the best financial decision of my life. I spent the next 13 years growing my retirement accounts and retired at 63. I have made other financial decisions that I think have been beneficial but if I listened to the financial media, god only knows where I’d be. Years ago, I read “Your Money or Your Life” and while I didn’t go the extreme route some readers embrace , it was a tremendous influence on my relationship with cash.