July just zipped by in a blur. Two vacations and a holiday later, did we run the financial well dry while we were cutting loose?
You can check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
First, the numbers:
Net Worth:
- End of July Balance: $909,631 up $19,458
- Year to Date (YTD): Up $149,251 (up 19.63%)
- Since January 2018 (this is when I started tracking our net worth): Up $604,631
Portfolio:
- End of July Balance: $773,607 up $20,898
- YTD: Up $157,736 up (25.61%)
- Since January 2018: Up $533,607
July Highlights
Keeping the Good Times Rolling
Our “Blowing Off the Pandemic Steam” tour continued in July. We started with a float trip with two other couples in Mid-Missouri. We had an absolute blast and managed to dodge most of the rain. Our friends’ RV kept us high and dry during the most of it.
One snag though: my Amazon “basic” water shoes transcended to another plane of existence almost immediately on the float trip, leaving me with hamburger for feet. Ouch! Sometimes you get what you pay for.
We wrapped up the month with a few days exploring the Shawnee Wine Trail in southern Illinois. The area was beautiful.
Amongst the highlights was hiking along the sandstone formations in Giant City State Park. We stayed in a very well equipped AirBnb on the property of one of the wineries. It was just an all around relaxing weekend.
Financial Low Water Mark
All this fun had a cost. And boy did we get down to the bottom of the bank account barrel. We ended up within a couple hundred bucks of having to tap the emergency fund. Safe to say we didn’t contribute to our Roth’s! Hopefully, we can get back on track next month.
Another Rung Up the Corporate Ladder
In between trips, I had my annual review at work. On the heels of an incredibly busy 2020 and 2021 so far, I was feeling pretty frazzled and questioning my options going forward.
In a happy turn of events, it appears ownership recognized the work I put in and gave me a nice raise along with an additional deferred bonus. We are also reorganizing in my group and supposedly I will be taking on more management responsibilities.
Coming Up in August
Blowing off the Pandemic Steam, Part III
For the final chapter in our “Big Summer Blowout”, we have a weeklong Gulf Shores vacation planned with my side of the family.
We’ve rented a large beach house to cram four families into it. It’s been over 2 years since we’ve been to the beach, so we are all very excited. Thankfully, this one is mostly paid for already.
Deja Vu All Over Again
Right after we return from the beach, school will be starting up and we will start all over again. The new school year brings with it some uncertainty… again. The COVID-19 Delta variant is raging ***looks around. sighs*** everywhere. Time to unpack those masks again.
Thanks for reading and stay healthy!
