Net Worth Update 28: March Madness

Wow. Where to begin? March felt more like a year in and of itself. If it was a roller coaster, we’d have thrown up and been begging to get off… and that was only after the first couple weeks. Truly, the world will be a different place after this month. Putting aside the global pandemic, open ended quarantines, the unprecedented cessation of the economy, and burgeoning unemployment rate, how did our finances do in March?

Sure, if you check the news or dwell on our current circumstances it can be easy to think like this:

via GIPHY

It’s true that it is stressful for us both to be working from home while learning to home school our two girls at the same time. I mean, the kids are climbing the walls. It’s been a little over 2 weeks, and already we’ve seen every episode of Mira Royal Detective and Glitter Force, and gone through several months supply of band aids.

There are certainly some oddities. When I go to the grocery store, I feel like Rick Grimes on a supply mission. Insert you favorite toilet paper joke here. Our daughters are using Zoom conference calls for dance lessons and school work. I have never seen so many people walking in the neighborhood.

But all in all, we’ve been VERY fortunate. My wife and I still have our jobs. The plants and flowers are starting to grow. The weather is warming up. We can sleep in later since we don’t have commutes.

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: $519,273 Down $38,952.00 (-6.98%)
• Year to Date (YTD): Down $46,269
• Since January 2018 (this is when I started tracking our net worth): Up $214,273

Portfolio:

• End of March Balance: $356,038 Down $45,163 (-11.26%)
• YTD: Down $59,200
• Since January 2018: Up $116,038

Like I said, a helluva month. Our net worth has been set back to a level last seen… in October 2019. So we’ve lost about 5 months of growth. Which sure doesn’t seem as bad as I thought the number would be.

Monthly Contributions: $6,875

We are still sticking with our original investment plan. Our 401ks and HSAs are set to automatically max out over the year. We have a set monthly taxable account contribution and we have been deferring additional savings into our Roth IRAs. We have not altered our asset allocation for our existing balances or our additional contributions.

Basically, we are BTFD (Buying the F*&*ing Dip) via dollar cost averaging.

March Highlights

HVAC HAVOC

The weather is finally warming up. So much so that we flipped on the AC over the past weekend to try to cool off the house before we went to sleep. Or that was the plan. A few minutes later my wife mentioned she didn’t feel any air blowing. I confirmed it. Yep, no air. But now the furnace and fan wouldn’t come on either.

Obviously, the issue was the thermostat (or so I thought). So I ran out into the wild (aka Home Depot) and picked up a new thermostat and installed it. Lo’ and behold the thermostat was not the problem.

After a lot of checking with a multi meter, I was completely perplexed. Thankfully, I was able to get a local HVAC contractor that I’ve known since grade school on the phone and he guided me through an assessment. It sure is nice to know a pro! The culprit… a bad transformer, caused by a mouse eating through the wires in the AC compressor.

In the end, it was a couple days of scratching my head, a $9 transformer, and a couple wire nuts. (also the fancy new thermostat I now have).

Keeping Spending in Check

We’ve set a goal to reduce spending on certain discretionary categories by 20% compared to 2019. Categories include alcohol, dining out, clothing, general merchandise, and entertainment.

March threw a major curve ball at us. Ahead of the school shutdown, we purchased lots of crafts and items for activities to help keep the kids occupied. I bought that thermostat, and my Fitbit fried (I think due to increased vigorous hand washing) and was replaced. Also, our oldest needed new shoes and some bigger clothes for the summer. On the plus side our dining out expenses obviously dropped. Being short on time this month, we haven’t run the numbers yet. But we suspect we fell a bit short this month.

Finding those Silver Linings

Our oldest had a major break through. One of the activities we’ve had a little more time for with the good weather and quarantine is bike riding. Just this week she rode her bike with no training wheels for the first time. We are very proud of her!

Also, there have been some pretty sunsets recently. Here’s a photo of one from a few days ago:

Coming Up in April

The Tenant’s Out, Now What?

As I write this, our tenant should be moving out of our rental house. In the weeks to come we will be evaluating the condition of the house, making repairs, and trying to decide whether to rent it back out or to sell it.

So far, the global pandemic hasn’t depressed the market conditions too much, but we will be watching this closely as we get to work on the house.

What to do with the COVID-19 Stimulus?

Word is we should be expecting our COVID-19 checks in April. We will need to decide how we want to use that unplanned cash infusion.

Home Garden From Seed Version 2.0

All the seeds in my containers have sprouted and are vigorously growing. Over the next couple weeks I will be slowly acclimating the seedlings to the outdoors. Around mid-April, they will go into the ground. I’ve got a mix of tomato varieties (cherry, beefsteak, heirloom, and San Marzano romas), bell and jalepeno peppers, zucchini, basil and parsley growing. I can’t wait for some home-grown veggies!

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!