It’s been a while since we checked in on my personal net worth progress, and there’s been a bit of excitement these past months — so it’s about time I got with the sharing, don’t you think?
February: +$2,019 or 7.52%
March: +$3,039 or 12.24%
April: +$445 or 2.04%
May: -$393 or -1.84%
June: +$359 or 1.65%
July: -$171 or —0.80%
August: +$301 or 1.40%
September: -$1,092 or —5.14%
TOTAL Change since January: +$4507 or 16.79%
Taxes
Right! So, a nice climb up from where I was in January, don’t you think? My net worth was boosted early in the year by an end-of-year bonus and a rather large tax refund. I hadn’t planned on such a large tax refund — it was a product of the pendulum swinging back the other way after last year’s ginormous tax bill.
The way things are going this year indicates that my taxes still haven’t settled out for me, so in August I adjusted the tax withholdings in my paycheck. I used the IRS Withholding Calculator to figure out how the adjustment, and now I should be pretty close to getting little-to-no refund at all next year (and I have a lot more take-home pay in the meantime!).
The dip in May happened when I used some of my Travel and Weddings (other people’s weddings) savings for a long distance trip.
New Car!
In July, I bought a new-to-me car! My apologies if you had become attached to my Oldsmobile (and her wacky breaking-down-on-the-side-of-the-road-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-whilst-carrying-all-my-earthy-possessions stories), but the costs to repair her again didn’t make numbers-y sense. I bought a used Camry that actually has more miles on it than the Olds (by a few thousand), but is eight years newer and in much better shape, inside and out.
September
So why the net worth dive in September? Well, the Camry has been quickly depreciating in value since I bought her! September took the biggest hit, because I drove the Camry back up to New York to visit my family. According to Kelly Blue Book, the car lost $964 in value in September alone. Eep!
And I spent actual cash-y money on the trip as well — hotels, meals, a concert, two zoos, two museums… all out of my Travel savings, though! Oh, and just to add to the pain, September’s when my car insurance premium is due, so that took a chunk out, as well.
Also in September, I bought some furniture so that my apartment looks like a real person lives in it. Matching shelves to hold all the books, movies, and video games, and a shelf unit for my TV to sit on, so that it’s not on the floor anymore! (Seriously, it’d been on the floor since Christmas.)
My New Lease on… Life?
One last major event that’s happened — I renewed the lease on my current apartment for another year, even though my rent is increasing by more than $100/month. Why? Because in searching for other apartments, I found that it’s not just my complex that raised the rates — everyone around here did. And my complex was actually giving me a great deal on renewing: more than $100/month less than new leases on 1-bedrooms in this complex. It’s frustrating, but it seemed like the best choice, given the situation.
Happy Birthday!
Oh, right! That other thing that happens every September happened — my birthday! No presents for me, though — this year, as in years past, I “gave away” my birthday and asked for donations to help fund clean water infrastructure in Rwanda instead of material gifts.
It went smashingly! We busted right through last year’s fundraiser and raised $1,735 by the end of the day on my birthday — enough to provide 26 people in Rwanda with the infrastructure for clean water. If you’re interested in helping, my birthday fundraiser will still accept donations through the end of 2012:
Stephonee’s 26th Birthday campaign on charity: water
If you have any questions about my net worth or how it is calculated, feel free to ask them in the comments.
WOW…I just read how much your car depreciated on the trip to NYC. THAT’S CRAZY!! I would never have imagined nearly a $1K drop from one trip!! I drive from Florida to Virginia several times a year. Just bought a 2013 Explorer….I don’t even wana know how much that would depreciate on my next trip. haha!!
Far From It
Yup! It was a surprise to me, too! It was actually not to New York City, but to Western New York – about 360 miles each way, plus driving around all week while there. I make the trip several times a year as well (since that’s where my family is), so it’ll be interesting to see how much it drops the next time I make the trip. We’ll see!