January Net Worth

As it is already evident, I've fallen off the wagon with staying current blogging. I've continued to be good offline tracking my day-to-day spending and calculating my networth, but have only signed on to update these monthly stats. Even with the lack of time spent around here, maintaining accountability is important to me. With that said, here is my January networth:

	December	January	Change
Assets
Checking	$ 113.06	$ 196.61	73.90%
Savings	$ 10,586.64	$ 12,406.37	17.19%
Retirement	$ 4,899.33	$ 4,705.76	-3.95%
Investments	$ 738.13	$ 718.78	-2.62%
Total Assets	$ 16,337.16	$ 18,027.52	10.35%
Debts
School Loan (Grad)	$ 20,296.00	$ 20,296.00	0%
School Loan (UG)	$ 16,042.05	$ 16,042.05	0%
School Loan (Parent)	$ 1,809.31	$ 896.75	-50.44%
Total Debts	$ 38,147.26	$ 37,234.80	-2.39%

The close of January completed my three months since I started blogging and set my initial goals. I'll will follow up with another post to see how I progressed throughout this time.

Beyond Your Horizon

December Net Worth

Well after a depressing look at my monthly spending, a peek into my December networth offers a ray of hope.

	November	December	Change
Assets
Checking	$ 561.66	$ 113.06	-66.49%
Savings	$ 9,383.91	$ 10,586.64	6.02%
Retirement	$ 4,731.80	$ 4,899.33	1.6%
Investments	$ 561.23	$ 738.13	13.61%
Total Assets	$ 15,238.60	$ 16,337.16	3.5%
Debts
School Loan (Grad)	$ 20,296.00	$ 20,296.00	0%
School Loan (UG)	$ 16,042.05	$ 16,042.05	0%
School Loan (Parent)	$ 2,571.84	$ 1,809.31	-17.4%
Total Debts	$ 38,909.89	$ 37,974.55	-1.0%

Slow and steady... that is my mantra!

Beyond Your Horizon

November Net Worth

Right on the heals of my November spending, below is my updated networth status.

	October	November	Change
Assets
Checking	$ 78.51	$ 561.66	6.2%
Savings	$ 8,634.52	$ 9,383.91	8.7%
Retirement	$ 4,966.83	$ 4,731.80	-4.7%
Investments	$ 586.87	$ 561.23	-4.4%
Total Assets	$ 14,266.73	$ 15,238.60	7.1%
Debts
School Loan (Grad)	$ 20,296.00	$ 20,296.00	0%
School Loan (UG)	$ 16,042.05	$ 16,042.05	0%
School Loan (Parent)	$ 3,371.84	$ 2,571.84	-23.7%
Total Debts	$ 39,709.89	$ 38,909.89	-2.0%

Although it's not huge progress, at least each sector is going in the right direction. Right now, my mantra seems to be slow and steady. I'll continue to work at this, and keep you updated!

Oh, and I'm still having issues with the header and my graphic .. so if anyone has any advise on how to fix it, I'm open ears.

Beyond Your Horizon

Personal Finance ... Exploring the "Personal".

Of course, I would love to just jump right into stating my short and long term goals. But with the fear of burning out too quickly or being unrealistic, I will be taking baby steps to get there. Before setting financial goals, it is first necessary to understand my current financial situation. This requires being honest with myself regarding my assets, debts, incoming funds and spending. Now, I find this easier said then done, especially in a public realm. Putting myself on display to the whole world (albeit anonymously) is a little challenging, but more so because I have to honest with myself about the reality of my funds.

Since I have not yet determined how to link-in an excel file, I'm starting small with writing out my current standings. Proceeding onto baby step #1:
Assets:
Checking - $78.51
Savings - $8,634.52
Retirement - $4,966.83
Investments - $86.87
Car - $7,220.00
Total $20,986.73

Baby step #2... being honest about the debts. I fortunately have no credit card debt, as I pay off my credit card monthly. However, I have alot of educational debt ... which before today, have not totaled it up.
Debts:
School Loans (undergrad) - $16,042.05
School Loans (grad) - $20,296.00
School Loan (parent) - $3,371.84
Total $39,709.89

Ouch. The parent loan is listed up there seperately, as it is a plus loan my mother took out for me to assist me through the undergrad years. I feel that it is my responsibility to resume payments, and my goal to pay off first, which it is why I list is seperately.

I've actually recently graduated with my masters degree, and will start working in two weeks. With that said, I haven't yet estimated what my monthly income will total.

Then, like everyone else, there are fixed expenses that I am trying to currently reduce. I intend on looking at these on a monthly basis to offer insight to where our money is being spent. I know in advance that the expenditures I will be portraying will be skewed in comparison to my goals. I am responsible for maintaining all the finances in my household between my fiance and I, and will display our spending as such. However, the assets and debts are solely mine. I will talk about this most likely at a later time.

So, I welcome anyone who wants to join me on my journey and welcome any comments or advice. This blog is like my personal diary, and hope to use it to my advantage to learn more information and better my financial self.

BeyondYourHorizon