Well March was an interesting month. As it turns out the “Madness” was not limited to the hardwood. While everyone had their bracket busted, we nearly busted our bank account!
As always, you can check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
First, the numbers:
Net Worth:
- End of March Balance: $462,650 Up $14,499 (3.24%)
- Year to Date (YTD): Up $70,812 (18.07%)
- Since January 2018: Up $157,650
Portfolio:
- End of March Balance: $314,130 Up $9,723 (3.19%)
- YTD: Up $50,593 (19.20%)
- Since January 2018: Up $74,130
Everything trended upwards for a third straight month.
Monthly Contributions:
- $4,218 Down 44.81%
- The 401k contributions from the last paycheck don’t show up in the accounts until later this week.
- We had an “oopsie” that resulted in a higher than usual credit card payment as discussed below.
March Highlights
Doubling Down on Credit Card Payments
Imagine waking up and first thing you see is an alert on your phone that your bank account balance has dropped to 0…
A million thoughts started running through my mind. Did our account information get stolen? Did I screw up a transfer? Has the world financial system collapsed? Is it the end times?
Nope. We inadvertently scheduled our credit card to pay twice! Whoops!
#creditcardfail
Since we are always transferring money out of checking into other investment accounts, our checking balance is always fairly low. Let this serve as example 987,987,535 of why it pays to have an emergency fund. Thankfully, we were able to transfer money around and avoid overdraft fees. And because our March payment was bigger than our next statement balance, no payment for April on this card!
Streamlining Bank Accounts
One silver lining in the whole double card payment adventure was that we finally were motivated to do a little Financial Spring Cleaning and close out an old savings account. The account had a minuscule interest rate and required a minimum balance of at least $300. By closing it out, we are able to simplify our accounts and, more importantly, keep that money in an account with a much higher interest rate.
Weight Loss Challenge – Final Results
I started my own weight loss challenge on New Year’s Day. My goal was 27 pounds by the end of March. Well, it’s all over now except for the screaming. I did about this well:
My fail was strong as I only lost 10 pounds and 2.5 inches off my waist. While 10 pounds is nothing to sneeze at, this represents roughly 1/3 of my goal loss weight. So what happened?
One of the main reasons I switched to the Slow Carb diet was that I no longer wanted to count calories. However, I believe lack of portion control contributed to my diminished returns. I was particularly weak when it came to portions of meat and cashews… cashews apparently are my kryptonite.
I don’t want to blame the Slow Carb diet. When I stuck to it rigorously, I saw positive results. There were a number of “special” occasions including an out-of -town work conference, Super Bowl, birthdays, etc. that I used as excuses to deviate from the diet. This cheating is totally on me.
On the bright side, I am much better off than when I started. I feel less bloated and generally stronger than before the diet. I avoided getting sick during the time period, which is saying something as we had a wave of flu run through the household and numerous colds in the family during this time.
Moving forward, I plan to continue to work towards my goal weight. I am considering combining aspects of the Slow Carb diet with some of the portion control measures in the Weight Watchers program. I think I will keep most of the Slow Carb food restrictions, but likely allow some fruit and oats enter the mix.
Coming Up in April
We don’t have any major financial plans in mind currently for April… but you never know!
I hope to continue my weight loss journey with the few tweaks listed above. As the weather warms up, I think I will be getting some more exercise from yard work.
With spring in full swing there are a ton of household projects on my to do list: landscaping, reseeding and fertilizing the yard, drainage improvements and transplanting the vegetable seedlings into the garden. These are just a few of them.
…and as I am typing this the youngest just jumped off the couch and can’t put any weight on her foot. Urgent care here we come! Yet another reminder of why you need an emergency fund!
Thanks for reading and happy April!
Given your financial structure and how your house has been setup, I’d say your double payment was as good of an “oopsie” that you can have.
Great MTD and YTD results! Keep it going!