It’s the beginning of a new month. That means its time for me to do a little roundup of the month that was and to update our net worth numbers for all you tens of readers.
You can always check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
So, what the heck happened in January?
The chart in the title pretty much tells the tale…
Net Worth: $339,501. Up $24,268 (7.7% growth!!!)
Portfolio Balance: $256,241 Up $10,975 (+4.5%)
Whoa… that is something. The portfolio increase alone is nearly the take home pay for both my wife and I for a whole month! Our money was working about as hard as we were!
But something looks a bit off right? What is that big jump on the 5th?
What the heck is that?
Shenanigans…. Tom-foolery.
A chunk of the net worth increase ($13,800) is due to me finally adding our cash savings accounts into the net worth calculation. These were added on or around the 5th.
One of the accounts I’ve added is my Health Spending Account (HSA) which I am finally maxing out my contributions to. Also, since we paid off my wife’s student loan we have been aggressively trying to rebuild our emergency fund.
Biggest Winners/Smallest Winners?
Nonetheless, the portfolio gains are something to behold. It is nice when your worst performing funds still have sizable gains. Will this last? It certainly will NOT, but they may for awhile and I am perfectly fine enjoying it while it lasts. Stocks have slid significantly over the past couple days, which has dropped the portfolio value a few thousand while I was writing this post, but the returns for the month are still impressive. So, there really aren’t any true losers (but I’ll pick one anyways because I am mean like that).
Top Performers:
- Shockingly (NOT!) our all Stock accounts have done the best. This includes Our Joint Account with Edward Jones our rollover IRA and Roth accounts with Vanguard – Up 6.45 to 7.19%
Bringing up the Rear:
- For the second month in a row, it’s my Edward Jones Roth (73% Stocks/27% Bonds & Alternatives) – Up 4.81%
Thoughts for the Future
Coming up in the next couple months we will continue to stockpile cash with the goal of purchasing a new (to me, not actually new… that would be crazy) car to replace my aging and inefficient truck. I expect, barring a stock market downturn, the net worth and portfolio values will climb into March, then nose dive to reflect the vehicle purchase.
I’m still keeping a sharp eye on my Edward Jones Roth.
This fund has been lagging my low-fee index funds by about 3% since September and my other actively managed accounts by roughly 1 to 2%. This particular account is subject to an Assets Under Management Fee (AUM) that is too high for my liking. The rest of the Ed Jones accounts are “grandfathered” and not subject to the AUM. I am getting closer to taking action here.
This market… again, it’s impressive to watch, but at the same time I feel that valuations are uncomfortably high, even with this recent slide. Purchasing shares at these dizzying price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios) doesn’t line up with expectations of great long-term returns. This is partially why we are pushing to replace my truck and rebuild the emergency fund. However, once the vehicle replacement is secured and the emergency fund replenished we will be jumping back into the market with both feet. Why? There’s the old saying: “The best time to invest was yesterday… and the second best time to invest is today.” I have no illusions that I can succeed TIMING the market, but its in our best interest to take advantage of TIME IN the market.
Til next month!