March 2017 Net Worth Update

Net Worth $278,006

Up $12,656 from last month

This month was a little unusual in that we got our tax returns back and it was a significant amount, primarily due to solar tax credits I received as a result of getting solar panels installed in 2016.

That accounts for the huge Net Worth increase up 12.7k this month as opposed to 6.4k last month. If I take away the increase due to the tax returns then we would have netted 5.1k which is roughly 20% less then last month. That is a little concerning considering there wasn’t any major down turn in the markets. However I know what caused this, primarily a couple of expenses that we don’t normally have.

I caved into the Zelda hype (it is a really fun game) and purchased a Nintendo Switch, we also purchased three planter boxes. For the first time we plan to grow our own vegatables. If all goes well and our veggies don’t die, that should help us save money in the future.

I am putting enough money away to maximize my HSA and Roth IRA by the end of the year. I am also contributing enough to maximize my employers match in my 401k. Everything else we can save is currently being thrown at our Rental mortgage. Our goal is to get that loan paid off within a year.

I did take a chunk of the tax return to pay down the solar loan (See the debt reduction in the table below), the way the loan was structured it took into account the federal credits we would receive. In order to keep our 1.99% interest rate from jumping to 3.99% we would need to pay off a certain portion of the loan (presumably with your solar tax credit) by the beginning of 2018. So I paid off just enough to ensure we keep the lower rate. I also added a little more than usual to savings, eventually one of our old beaters is going to die on us and we’ll need to buy a replacement car. I want to have enough savings on hand to purchase a reliable car and still have enough to get by for a few months in case of a job loss.

Everything else we have saved shows up in the Payoff category for lack of a better term. That money basically is earmarked to pay down the mortgage. Our current lender does not allow me to make principal payments during the month, I have to apply the additional principal along with the mortgage payment every month. Everything in the cash category will go towards additional principal when the time comes.

These numbers do not include every single account we have such as all our budget money for the month. Like money set aside during the month for mortgage payments, groceries etc. The reason for this is that I want to reduce noise and bring into focus our key accounts or indicators of net worth.

For historical context check out a graph of our NetWorth over time.

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