Who has two thumbs and lost their shirt in the stock market in September!
This guy!
You kids want to see a dead body? Come on in for the gruesome details.
You can check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
First, the numbers:
Net Worth:
- End of September Balance: $961,752 Down $56,915
- Year to Date (YTD): Down $102,966 (9.7%)
- Since January 2018 (this is when I started tracking our net worth): Up $656,752
Portfolio:
- End of September Balance: $729,937 Down $63,301
- YTD: Down $144,323 (-16.5%)*
- Since January 2018: Up $489,937*
*All numbers above include contributions and are not indicative of investment returns.
Hey… do you smell that?
Where is that stench coming from?
***Checks arm pits and trash can*** Nope.
***Checks the dog’s whereabouts*** Nope
***Checks on the kids. Lord only knows what they got into*** Not them either. Hmmm…
That’s it! Whew baby, that stock market STINKS!!
September Highlights
Getting that income stream flowing again
As I mentioned last month, we’ve been rolling along the last couple months on less than half our normal income. This is because Mrs. HoF changed jobs at the end of July and didn’t get her first paycheck until the end of September.
Well, I’m happy to report we made it through to her first paycheck. Damn, it feels good to have that income flowing again.
However, the new job only pays once a month.
Like… Why?
It will take us a few months to get used to budgeting for the ebbs and flows of income. Good thing we’ve been tracking our expenses for the past several years.
Emergency Fund – Refilled
Along with her first paycheck, Mrs. HoF got what amounts to a signing bonus. We had to raid our emergency fund to cover some cash flow while she wasn’t getting paid, so the first place we directed funds was to build the fund back to where it was.
Buying Opportunity?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably noticed the stock market has been in free fall. While this is pretty sucky, it does present some more attractive share prices. If you’ve read this blog long enough you might recall that I generally don’t recommend trying to time the market.
But if you’ve REALLY read this blog, you will know: I. Just. Can’t. Help. Myself.
So, we put a portion of the signing bonus into index funds.
Coming Up in October
The Camping SeasonTM is coming to a close. We are hoping to get one or two more outings in while the weather is still warm enough and the nights cool enough. Then, sadly we will need to get the RV winterized. It’s hard for me to overstate how much we’ve enjoyed RVing this summer. We are already getting next summer’s trips on the books.
In other news: We are going to Disney! The kids can’t wait and I can’t either. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to go this year and I’m particularly excited that the kids are old enough to really ride some rides.
Wish us luck and thanks for reading!