2011 Year End Update - 2012 Here We Come

Another blessed year comes to a close and despite the rocky road, we are still gaining...slowly.

2011 brought a lot of hills and valleys and especially with the portfolio. I believe this is due to the insurance/investments in the precious metals.

Even though Gold is solid and remained in the 11year uptrend finishing up 10%, silver on the other hand started the year at $30.67oz and ran up to $48.70, only to finish down around 1% at $28.18. With that, we saw the net worth move  upwards fairly fast and downwardly fast.

One place I feel like we might have mismanaged was more in cash and less in stocks/brokerage account.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Looking back on this year, I have to say that I probably mismanaged this area a bit. I really wanted to to get to 50K in cash. The reason for this is that we are still trying to get our core position for our in PMs. Our goal in 2012 is to get 50k sitting in cash in this bucket.

Stocks/Brokerage: 2011 saw a payoff to some selling of a few of our stocks. Eldorado Gold Corp(EGO) $269.67 +53%,  Fronteer Gold(FRG) $517.38 +64%, Avalon Rare Metals(AVL) $886.82 +189%,  Quicksilver(ZQK) $20.73 +42%  Stocks sold for a loss - Proshares Ultra Silver(AGQ)  -$55.54 -19% Ultrashort S&P500 Proshares(SDS) -$139.46 -34%.

Overall, what we sold this year, we were up $1209.46 a gain of +59%.

Here are the gains/losses based of percentages this year. Currently down 8% for 2011, I try and keep a level head and not get to excited or depressed on prices, investing in commodities/energy you see wild swings in the market. We saw our uranium stock drop 50% after the Japan earthquake this year.

The list of stocks we currently own: (AAU)(AG) (AUY)(FSM)(LYSCF)(MRO)(PAAS)(SSRI)(SLW)(SVM)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(DNN)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX)(RGLD).

*As you can see we are heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets and assets in the ground. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that 16 trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Precious Metals: (Spot : Gold - $1531.00 / Silver - $28.18) (Gold/Silver Ratio: 54.32)(Dollar cost - 29.94)  Precious Metals took a huge dive going into the end of the year. Gold was still up 10% and Silver down 1%. We remained dollar cost averaging in the whole year. Every 2-4 weeks we would purchase regardless of the price. The dollar cost averaging has allowed us not to try and time the market but just purchase as we get paid. The downside to this is that we purchased at the very top at $49. Even though we have made purchases when it was under $30 as well.

As it stands right now, we have a core position, and will be making purchases on dips and occasional times just to pick up some here and there. We are about half way to where I think we should be and this will increase with our overall net worth and the economics of the world/US.

...we are currently investing mostly in silver which I plan to sell and purchase gold when the silver to gold ratio is 30/1 then 20/1 the finally 10/1 if it makes it that far which I do believe it will at least reach 16/1(its historic ratio). I plan on always owning silver and gold bullion to pass along to my kids/grandchildren. We own silver as an investment and we hold gold as an insurance policy on our investments. We currently prefer to keep a percentage of our wealth in PMs instead of federal reserve paper(dollar bills).

Retirement 401k: This will jump up an bit more as I haven't been counting my wife's retirement this year. I believe it should be around an extra 5k.

Retirement IRA's: This category didn't have a great year and we actually were negative...I have been sitting in cash in some of this and the emerging markets and total stock market funds along with the precious metals funds didn't seem to perform particularly well this past year. I am currently looking to use some of the cash on the sideline go to work in their dividend paying funds. Current funds we are in: (VDIGX, VWELX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: The plan remains to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: We currently do not hold debt in this category and prey that we never have to. 

Car Loan:  First vehicle is paid off, it is currently 5 years old and is going to be the family car going forward since it is a SUV. After long debates and figuring out what is best for our family, we decided to purchase a new Prius. Our reasoning being that was that the second car was getting old and needed more and more service, but yet it still had good trade in value. Also with a kid on the way, a two door just wasn't going to cut in any longer. We travel to family and to the beach a lot and we just were not going to have the room to pull it off any longer. We decided on a gas efficient car since we travel to family and I travel to work everyday. We also believe that gas is not going be cheap(relatively) ever again.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

Hard to believe 2011 came and went as fast has it has and that we are still doing such a great job with our finances. Even a small 6K jump in our net worth, which is a bit deceiving, since we went 22k into the vehicle debt. I feel like we are on the right path and we just need to keep doing what we are doing.

Headed into 2012, we now have a kid on the way now and the stakes are starting to get a bit more serious and real. We have decided to go back onto a budget and try and live off my salary only. Hopefully we can pull it off and save a lot over the next five months before the kid arrives.

We are starting to raise as much cash a possible and hopefully we will have close to a year worth of savings(salary) saved for when the kiddo comes. Well, guess this is it for 2011, welcome 2012!

November 2011 Net Worth: Update

Sorry, I have been extremely busy at work and have not had the time to devote to maintain the site on a weekly, much less a daily basis. My last update was June and from the chart above you can see the last few months have been an roller coaster ride for our net worth. These have been the most wild swings since I have started to log our net worth. This is mostly because our exposer to the precious metals, they swing pretty violently depending on what is happening in the world. Right now, I have us set up in the the McAlvany Triangle which is the 1/3 the "Foundation" – Precious Metals,  1/3 in "Savings" – Cash, Bank Accounts, and 1/3 "Growth/Income" – Stocks, Bonds, & Mutual Funds. Anyways, I have to admit that I have to ignore the everyday noise of the market and look at the long term. I still feel very good at the plan of attack and will change accordingly as we get closer to the crisis window.

Next month I will try and have a break down for our net worth.

May 2011 Net Worth: Down -1.39%

Sorry I took last month off net worth even though it was one of best months we have had in 2011. That being said we came off last month and had our first down month of 2011 which was down -.97% on our assets and overall our net worth was down -1.39%. This was all because of the surge in silver the month before when it ran up from $36oz. to $49oz. and back down to $33oz. Needless to say that our portfolio has taking a wild ride over the last couple months. Hopefully it has stabilized, but I have a bad feeling that this summer is going to take us for an even crazier ride with all markets. Think we might be on the edge of another downturn and will wait and see what the Fed does once the market heads south.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Small growth in cash, we are going to start to raise a little more cash in the next coming months. I think there might be an opportunity to buy some cheaper stocks or that we could see a slow down with the economy. Still trying to get to that 50k mark...

Precious Metals: (Spot : Gold - $1542.00 / Silver - $36.29) (Gold/Silver Ratio: 42.56) Saw a huge hit to this bracket with the run up and then crash. This is good for us as I still believe over the next 3-5 years silver will break $100.00 and we want to keep dollar cost averaging in a lower prices (we are sitting at around $28.00 cost average). So we have done fairly well with this so far...

...we are currently investing mostly in silver which I plan to sell and purchase gold when the silver to gold ratio is 30/1 then 20/1 the finally 10/1 if it make it that far which I do believe it will at least reach 16/1(its historic ratio). I plan on always owning silver and gold bullion to pass along to my kids/grandchildren.

Stocks/Brokerage: Sitting tight with our brokerage accounts right now. Raising some cash to and watching some oil, gold and another rare earth company. Also looking a purchusing some Whole Foods.

Also looking to purchase some oil companies if we get a pullback. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths, and Oil are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued. Gold and Silver mining stocks are so undervalued right now, my only concern is if we see a big stock market pullback then these stocks will get crushed. Once institutions come into this sector the gains could be huge, so we will have to wait and see which way the wind blows.

The list of stocks we currently own: (FVITF)(SLW)(SVM)(SSRI)(PAAS)(AAU)(DNN)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)((LYSCF)(RGLD)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: Couple more units in our new development have sold so this is good. 6 out of 8 homes have sold and they are looking to break ground on a new set of town homes. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from couple monthly purchases - will be paid in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. When it hits 3k I might just write a check and pay it off. Will see how the economy and money goes the next couple of months.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

We are almost at the half way mark for the year. We are feeling pretty good about our situation. These summer months the wife will not be getting a pay check so the cash might be a tad bit tough to save as much as we have been. Battling between saving up 50k in cash vs. buying silver while the price is still relatively cheap. Still trying to figure all this out and will remain nimble and remain learning every month. Till next month...

March 2011 Networth: 4.73%

March is in the books and another month of growth. Nothing to interesting going on. We had a couple trips and have been spending more freely. So to see a jump is good for us but mostly through our precious metals and s stocks. We did not see much in our cash savings. I have added the break down of Precious metals below so that I can start to keep myself in check as this market is starting to heat up.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Small jump in our cash savings. This would be jumping a lot more but we are currently putting a percentage of our savings in Precious Metals as our insurance of our fiat paper. I feel that PM's are a store of wealth where our cash is only a currency.

Precious Metals: Keep adding to this with bi-monthly purchases. The thought process before here is that we were investing in 8% into my 401k. This was going into mutual funds that I have very little to no management over. My company matches up to 5% so I decided to drop my 401k investments back to 5% and invest the 3% into something that might be more liquid. This allows us to use this money to invest in ourselves or just keep accumulating wealth. Right now I am just dollar cost averaging every couple weeks into bullion. At this point mostly silver which I plan to sell and purchase gold when the silver to gold ratio is 30/1 then 20/1 the finally 10/1 if it make it that far which I do believe it will at least reach 16/1(its historic ratio). I plan on always owning silver and gold bullion to pass along to my kids/grandchildren.

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks had a slight jump this month with some more purchases and that the silver/mining stocks are on fire right now. We purchased FORTUNA SILVER MINES INC (FVITF) this month and still waiting for some pullback in silver stocks before purchasing some more...

Will keep looking to add here...I am looking for SLW to pull back to around $37 to purchase some more. Also looking to purchase some oil companies if we get a pullback. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths, and Oil are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued. Gold and Silver mining stocks are so undervalued right now, my only concern is if we see a big stock market pullback then these stocks will get crushed. Once institutions come into this sector the gains could be huge, so we will have to wait and see which way the wind blows.

The list of stocks we currently own: (FVITF)(SLW)(SVM)(SSRI)(PAAS)(AAU)(DNN)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)((LYSCF)(RGLD)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: Couple more units in our new development have sold so this is good. % out of 8 homes have sold and they are looking to break ground on a new set of town homes. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from couple monthly purchases from work and such, will be paid in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

More of the same o'l same o'l and we will take it. I just want to be in the business of growing our wealth each and every month. We are extremely blessed and cannot be happier right now. I see a storm on the horizon and not sure when it will hit, but we remain doing what I feel is best for our family at the moment. No one knows what is going to happen, but hopefully we will be prepared to weather the storm. Not sure how long we as a country can remain to ignore the challenges that we face and star them in the face. We need to take control of our situation and realize we are going to have to make sacrifices. We have to take control of our debt.

February 11 Net Worth: 11% Growth

Wow, two months already into the year...time is flying by. Sorry about not posting, but am really focus on doing what I need to set my self up later down the road. I just don't have time with work and really doing research for investments. I'm still not sure how everything still plays out, but I feel good with what we are doing with our money.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Another jump in our cash savings. This would be jumping a lot more but we are currently putting a percentage of our savings in Precious Metals as our insurance of our fiat paper. I feel that PM's are a store of wealth where our cash is only a currency.

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks jumped this month with some more purchases and that the silver/mining stocks are on fire right now. One of my mining stocks (Fronteer Gold) got purchased my Newmont and the the stock jumped. I sold it with a percentage gain of 65%. I also sold Avalon Rare Metals with a percentage of 196%, this was a speculation buy so figured I should take my gains and reinvest them.

I've purchased SSRI, PAAS, AAU and DNN in the last couple months. I also added to my position of RGLD. Will keep looking to add here...looking to purchase some oil companies if we get a pullback. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths, and Oil are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued.

The list of stocks we currently own: (SLW)(SVM)(SSRI)(PAAS)(AAU)(DNN)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)((LYSCF)(RGLD)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: So this is a new category, based off getting 100% financing, right now its not even an asset based of not having any equity in our home. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from couple monthly purchases from work and such, will be paid in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

There you have it. We remain being blessed and keep making the right moves with our money. I am still keeping a close eye on what all is going on with the stuff going on in the middle east. These oil prices are going to effect our economy and could do even more if the Dollar keeps falling like it has over the past couple months. Until next month, wish us luck.

Year End Update: Net Worth and More

What a year...

End of last year our total net worth was 43k, this year we have more than double it. Partially because my wife and I combined finances. Another reason is that the stock market has had an incredible run(I believe I read somewhere the Dow was up 10%). Our investments have worked out really well across the board and are keeping on budget and saving money.

If 2011 is anything like 2010, we will be well on our way. That being said, I am still overall bearish and looking for another major crisis between now and 2015. Whether it be a debt crisis, dollar collapse or peak cheap oil, I will try and put ourselves in a position to hopefully not only survive the crisis but hopefully prosper. We remain blessed but our attitude remains to still prepare for the worst and prey for the best.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This grew this month based off a year end bonus along with saving. Which is really nice considering that December is money pit usually with Christmas and such. Our first goal remains to get about 50K in the bank(cash) for saving before we really start putting our money to work. This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. It also holds our monthly budget in it which is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, mortgage, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Wow, what can I say...This is the first year I have been managing a stock portfolio outside my 401k. I have been studying and listening to financial sense (www.financialsense.com), I have been listening to analysts who are interviewed and when they throw out a stock I research a little and see if it is worth a purchase. I am absolutely floored how well I have done with these stocks. Maybe its beginners luck, maybe it real that I believe in these stocks that I purchase and I hope 2011 will be as good as 2010. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued.

Here are the gains/losses based of percentages this year. I am currently up 22%, I try and keep a level head and not get to excited. I keep reminding myself that I need to be nimble and be ready to sell if the trend changes. The latest stock we purchased was Lynas Corp and am thinking of selling off some of my Avalon Rare Metals based off the run up lately:

The list of stocks I currently own: (SLW)(FRG)(SVM)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: So this is a new category, based off getting 100% financing, right now its not even an asset based of not having any equity in our home. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from Christmas, will be paid off without any interest.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. I was blessed enough to receive a pay raise and with this I will add to my monthly payment to my vehicle and see if I can get this paid off earlier than the end date.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

Not only did we surpass 100k, we went beyond it by 6k. I just feel so blessed and we are thankful everyday to have a good jobs in this economy. It is nice to have the success that we have with our personal finances at the moment. I am not taking anything for granted and definitely not trying to get big headed, but I am certainly proud of us in 2010. We had a wedding, attended a few out of town weddings, traveled, honeymoon, and purchased a home all along while saving somewhere between 25-30% of our income. I cannot imagine, even though it is a goal, that we will be able to do this (kids and etc...) down the road, so we will try and remain saving and investing for our future.

November 10 Net Worth 97K: Thankful for

November is done and whew...what a month! If you look closely you will see there is a new value in "Real Estate/Home Value" and in Mortgage. We purchased our first home this month. We did it despite my thinking that the housing market is going remain falling. We are trying to start a life and we found a home that we love. We also do not look at this an investment but more of a home where live and become a family, which is way more valuable than any price of money. We feel we got a great deal and we are not going to look back. We are happy and thats all I have to say...
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: We have been saving up for a house down payment but looks like we got one heck of deal on a home, so we will be keeping most of this. Our first goal is to get about 50K in the bank(cash) for saving before we really start putting our money to work. This has grown despite purchasing some major things for our new home(washer, dryer, and fridge). This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. It also holds my monthly budget in it. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, mortgage, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Has been remained a good run with my brokerage account the last couple of months. I have purchased a few other stocks Silver Wheaton(SLW), Fronteer Gold (FRG) and Silvercorp Metals, Inc. (SVM). I sold off my GLD with a 20% gain from where I purchased and hoping these remaining gaining like they have the last couple months. I am just saving up some cash in the mean time to start dollar cost averaging into these. I am up around 13% in these. The list of stocks I currently own: (SLW)(FRG)(SVM)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month. Steady growth here...(update - the fed announced quantitative easing or money printing and the market has kinda been up and down, will wait and see what happens here.

Retirement IRA's: Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: So this is a new category, based off getting 100% financing, right now its not even an asset based of not having any equity in our home. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt for home stuff, will be paid off without any interest.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. Now that we don't need to save up on the downpayment we might have to start paying a bit more per month even though our mortgage will be higher than we are paying now...will keep you posted.

Home Mortgage: Sending off first payment today, more to come in the next few years :)

I am so looking forward to hitting 100k in net worth hopefully in the next month or two, we have come so far in just two short years. I am blessed to have what I do and during these hard time for most families, we have been able to create a small amount of wealth.

In this time of year we will be thankful for what we have and hopefully spread some cheer over the holidays! We will be supporting a child at an elementary school, along with a family that is in need. My family decided not to give gifts this year but to sponsor a family who's mother is dying. We will try and donate to more as they arise.

September 2010 Net Worth: 90K, I can smell 100K!

August and September are all in the books and things keep looking up despite whats going on. Thats because the wife and myself have combined all of our money. We still have some tinkering to do with her retirement and such but overall we are feeling good. That is another reason I did not put up our net worth last month so bear with me.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Huge jump since last time I posted our net worth, this is mainly due to combining my wife's saving and my savings. We have been saving up for a house down payment but looks like we got one heck of deal on a home, so we will be keeping most of this. Our first goal is to get about 50K in the bank(cash) for saving before we really start putting our money to work. We have to purchase some major things for our new home(washer, dryer, and fridge) so this will be drained a bit over the next couple months. This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Has been a good run with my brokerage account the last couple of months. I decide to go ahead and pull the trigger on Exelon Corp. I am just saving up some cash in the mean time to start dollar cost averaging into these. Overall I am up around 10% in these. The list of stocks I own (EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(GLD)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month. Big tick up this month because of combining...we will wait and see how the stock market plays out come the fall. (update - Fall is here and based off quantitative easing or money printing coming down the line, I am starting to think the market might raise dramatically, as money will have to flow somewhere)

Retirement IRA's: So I have jumped back into some funds as I had a large amount of cash sitting on the sidelines. I put most into precious metals & mining fund(VGPMX). In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 7K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: don't have much to say here! $0.00

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. Now that we don't need to save up on the downpayment we might have to start paying a bit more per month even though our mortgage will be higher than we are paying now...will keep you posted.

I am still extremely bearish on the world economy and the US economy...We are headed for a financial storm and it is very important for all of us to be up to date on current events. It time to be prepared for the worse and pray for the best.

Thing will be getting shifted here and there over the next few months with everything we have gong on with the home purchase and combining finances but overall I feel pretty good and cannot wait to see what happens come of end of year to see how far we have come. Until then good luck with your own budget and growing your wealth.

July 10 Net Worth: $58k Overall 6.59% Growth

Another good month for us with the total net worth jumping up by 6.59%. This is the last month before we join our finances! We didn't have much going this month, we did have to put new breaks on one of our vehicles. We just need to keep this up we are feeling really good about our situation...
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: We saw a slight dip in our cash savings because of the purchasing of stock and PMs. Hopefully in the next few months we will see some growth as were have started to really kick up the saving for a downpayment for a home. This money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck into my money market, savings account and checking. This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: This month we was slight tick up but that is mostly because purchasing of a gold stock Sprott Physical Gold Trust(PHYS) and Penn West Energy (PWE). I have about another 1k in the account which I am eyeing Exelon Corp (EXC) or more Exxon (XOM). As of right now I am holding back and hopefully save up some cash. The list of stocks I own (GLD)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Slight tick up this month...we will wait and see how the stock market plays out come the fall. Until then not tinkering with this.

Retirement IRA's: Slow growth here this month. I still think the market is going to correct itself. I pulled back half of my Roth into cash, so have about half my retirement in cash right now. I will keep cash on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 8K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: Breaks on one of our vehicle and flights out to a wedding on the west coast, they will both be payed off by end of the month. I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

May is now in the bank, I am still extremely bearish on the world economy and the US economy...We are headed for a financial storm and it is very important for all of us to be up to date on current events. It time to be prepared for the worse and pray for the best.

One thing I am excited about next month is the we will be combining our finances in August and will be showing it next month...looking for a jump in total net worth. Until then good luck with your own budget and growing your wealth.

May 10 Net Worth: Chugging along...

Another increase in net worth, only by 2.4% but we will take it! This is the first time in last five months that my total assets have gone negative. It fell only -.23% so not a big hit but still not a gain, mostly from stock market pullback. Either way still positive growth overall.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This month we managed to grow by $550.00. Not a lot but considering how much we are spending on the wedding, I feel this is still really positive. This is probably going to take a hit this coming month because the wedding and the honeymoon which has out vacation fun in this bracket. This money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck into my money market, savings account and checking. This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Slight move down for the stocks that I own...mostly Exxon and Chevron with the decline of crude oil and the BP oil spill. With gold movement it is making all the mining and etfs I have go up as well. Still watching Silver Wheaton Corp (SLW) and could pull the trigger if stock/silver declines. As of right now I am holding back and hopefully save up some cash. The list of stocks I own (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Took a slight loss this month in 401k and feel we will be losing a lot more down the line. Think we might be headed for another downturn in the markets until Zimbabwe Ben starts up the printing press again, which should reflate the market.

Retirement IRA's: Slow growth here this month. I still think the market is going to correct itself. I pulled back half of my Roth into cash, so have about half my retirement in cash right now. I will keep cash on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: This is just a more wedding stuff purchased with credit (Wedding outfit), it will be paid off before I am charged - I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

May is now in the bank, I am still extremely bearish on the world economy and the US economy...We are headed for a financial storm and it is very important for all of us to be up to date on current events. It time to be prepared for the worse and pray for the best. I will be saving as much as I can but with the wedding I am going to be running low on cash flow. (sorry used the same statement as last month but I am still in the exact feelings)

April 10 Net Worth:

Another great month even though we didn't see a huge amount of growth. We didn't see the stock market do it normal routine of going straight up daily. Still pushing through and hoping we don't hit a bumpy road with the stock market and wedding expenses.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This month we took a bit of a hit, mostly because purchases of stocks. I am not sure we will see much growth here the next couple of months, the wedding expenses are starting to add up, and do not see it stopping for the next couple months. This money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck to my money market. I do not see this money unless I have a big emergency. It is the money that we are saving for a downpayment on a house.
This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: My stocks seem to perform well for me this month as gold is moving up everyday. With gold movement it is making all the mining and etfs I have go up as well. One of the best performing miner that I hold right now is Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO) I am really happy with the purchase of this and wish I would have bought more. One of the stocks I have on my watch list is Silver Wheaton Corp (SLW) which some think is easily worth $30/share. As of right now I am holding back and hopefully save up some cash. The list of stocks I own (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Saw a nice little jump this month with the stock market. I'm not really checking on this bracket(daily/weekly) as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Slow growth here this month. I still think the market is going to correct itself. I will keep cash on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: This is just a more wedding stuff purchased with credit (Wedding outfit), it will be paid off before I am charged - I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

April is now in the bank, I am still extremely bearish on the world economy and the US economy...We are headed for a financial storm and it is very important for all of us to be up to date on current events. It time to be prepared for the worse and pray for the best. I will be saving as much as I can but with the wedding I am going to be running low on cash flow. We will see how it all plays out here...

March 2010 Net Worth:50K! 100k On Deck

After a few months of saving a little more and trying to get over the $50,000.00 mark, we finally reach another goal. This month was a little crazy with having to pay close to $700.00 in vehicle maintenance. Along with having to pay for a few wedding things. The stock market is really the reason we jumped up this month. We are going to enjoy March because the next few months are not going to be a good to us(at least I believe)
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Still smooth sailing with the cash savings, a nice little $1500.00 jump. I would love to have this growth every month. This has a few fund in it that we are saving instead of reinvesting. For the most part, this money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck to my money market. I do not see this money unless I have a big emergency. It is the money that we are saving for a downpayment on a house.
This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks still seem to be slowly growing. I bought more stocks and sold out of my (FAZ). I have decided to hedge with commodities rather than a leveraged ETF. I bought the rare earth metals I was watching last month (AVARF). I purchased some Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD) at the end of the month as well. The other gold/silver and mining stocks and couple other random ones - (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(ZQK) ZDK finally took off after their earnings report, now I wish I owned more, it is up 103% since I bought it. I am one month from dollar cost averaging in silver every month. I believe that silver is going to be one of the best investments and that it could get up to $100 (spot).

As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Saw a nice little jump this month with the stock market. I'm not really checking on this bracket(daily/weekly) as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Slow growth here this month. I still think the market is going to correct itself. I will keep cash on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: This is just a more car maintenance along with purchase of airplane flights to a wedding that I put on credit, it will be paid off before I am charged - I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next ear. I ended paying near $458.00 dollars in interest last year, but still just contemplating paying off early. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

March was another great month considering how bearish I am on the economy, sovereign debt, and our government. Next few months are going to remain crazy with all the wedding stuff with time and money so we will see how everything goes, would love to keep having months like this one.

February 2010 Net Worth: More Growth

Another month in the books and another positive growth- 4.68% Not quite as good as last month but still growing. Last February my net worth was $35,410.64 that is a growth of around 65% or so. That is real encouraging to me! This is why I add these number every month, to see how my wealth is growing.

I started my taxes and it looks like I will be owing uncle sam this year with the new Making Work Pay Tax Credit. I will not go their because we are happy, but it will effect a lot of people not expecting to owe the government this year. So, the next couple of months might not be as good to us as these last few. I am also hoping that we do not see another downturn in the economy which could start to kick in later this year.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This category jumped this month and I actually thought I would have saved a little more than I did. I did have one of our vehicles worked on for around $400.00 which would have been nice to add. For the most part, this money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck to my money market. I do not see this money unless I have a big emergency. It is the money that we are saving for a downpayment on a house.

This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is pushed back until after the wedding), insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks have been slowly growing over the past few months. I have bought some stocks I've been watching along with with some hedging. I bought some Exxon(XOM) and Chevron(CVX) stocks as a hedge for crude oil prices, which I see going up (I expect 100 a barrel in 2010). I drive around 40 miles to work everyday so gas is a big expense. I bought the stock while crude oil was around 76 a barrel. If crude oil goes down the stock goes down, but if it raises, my stocks hopefully will raise with it. I also have gold/silver and mining stocks and couple other random ones - (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(FAZ)(ZQK) I have also added on to my watch list (AVARF - Avalon Rare Metals Inc.)

As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for us, citizens of the USA.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Saw a nice little jump this month with the stock market. I'm not really checking on this bracket(daily/weekly) as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Not much growth here this month - I still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which will hopefully be maxed out before April 15th. If I still think the market is going to correct itself I will keep it on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. I am currently still waiting with cash on the sidelines - In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: This is just a car maintenance that I put on credit, it will be paid off before I am charged - I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next ear. I ended paying near $458.00 dollars in interest last year, but still just contemplating paying off early. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

February was another great month considering how bearish I am on the economy, sovereign debt, and our government. Next few months are going to be a little crazy with all the wedding stuff with time and money so we will see how everything goes, would love to keep having months like this one.

January 2010 Net Worth: Starting Off Right

The start of 2010 was a good month for us even though the market was down. We have a lot on tap for 2010—our wedding, honeymoon, bachelor party, 2-3 friends wedding. If we can just keep it up in 2010 as we did in 2009 we will be truly blessed.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: We saw cash savings drop 5k, but that was because we paid off our credit cards which were interest free that had my fiancé diamond and our honeymoon. It feels amazing to know that our honeymoon is paid in full. This is why I was didn't see much growth in this area over the last few months. I also bought some stock at the beginning of the month. Hopefully we will start to see some growth in this area over the net coming months, even though with wedding stuff, it might not grow the way I would like. This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is pushed back until after the wedding), insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks have been slowly growing over the past few months, as I have bought some stocks I have been watching along with with some hedging. I bought some Exxon(XOM) and Chevron(CVX) stocks as a hedge for crude oil prices which I see going up in 2010. I drive around 40 miles to work everyday so gas is a big expense. I bought the stock while crude oil was around 76 a barrel. If crude oil goes down the stock goes down but if it raises my stocks hopefully will raise with it. I also have gold/silver and mining stocks and couple other random ones - (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(FAZ)(ZQK)

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Not seeing much growth here this last month. I not really checking on this bracket as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck. This month it jumped up based of my company 401k match which is nice since the match was suspended in 2008.

Retirement IRA's: Overall I lost money this month with my Roth as I have started to dollar cost averaging in to max it out the rest of the year. I still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which will hopefully be maxed out before April 15th. If I still think the market is going to correct itself I will keep it on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: All the credit card debt we had was from a credit card with a 12 month 0% APR. Last month also I had a balance because we paid for our honeymoon, and it was on the balance but we paid it off before we accrued any interest. This is a great feeling even though I could have paid the other credit card off but we had cash sitting in a high yield saving account gaining a small amount of interest.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next ear. I ended paying near $458.00 dollars in interest last year(dang) but still just contemplating paying off early. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

So overall January was a exciting month with our credit card debt being gone. Still kicking up the saving as we have the wedding and possibly home owning in our future.

November 09 Net Worth: Not Much Changing

November was a another solid month with a 5.89% growth. I am looking forward to breaking down my yearly net worth in January. I didn't do to much this month and don't really see December being an exciting month, as I am going to ride it out the rest of the year, unless gold has a strong decline.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Saw only a small jump this month as we added some cash into our brokerage account. I still do not see much growth in this area over the next 4-5 months with all the wedding and honeymoon stuff that we will have to pay for. This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is pushed back another year), engagement ring, insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 16-17k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: As you can see I sold all my stocks this month. Most all of that $688 is all shorting the financials/stock market and the rest sitting in cash in my brokerage account.

Precious Metals: All the money from selling my stocks I bought gold stocks and looking to buy more on the dip, which we just had, but did not pull the trigger.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Not seeing much growth here this last month. I not really checking on this bracket as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: I have finally moved all my IRA/Roth IRA into the same bracket. I still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which will hopefully be maxed out before April 15th. If I still think the market is going to correct itself I will keep it on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle and Credit still high

Credit Cards: All of this is still the engagement credit card with a 12 month 0% APR, I am not going to put much of a dent into this debt until the 12 month or January/February, when I will pay it off in full. I have that money going straight into my saving account creating a little interest off of it till I pay it in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal next year.

November was great month. It was the third month in a row with positive gain, and five out of last six months, so I cannot complain, especially since this is through this recession.

October 09 Net Worth: Out of Equities into Precious Metals

October was a another good month for me, my net worth was up 10% and broke the 40k mark—50k is on deck with 100k sometime soon!

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: We saw cash saving jump up 3k mostly because of a bonus at work, I am so blessed that my company is doing well at the moment with all that is going on with this economy. I still do not see much growth in this area over the next 4-5 months with all the wedding and honeymoon stuff that we will have to pay for. This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is pushed back another year), engagement ring, insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 16-17k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: As you can see I sold all my stocks this month. Most all of that $688 is all shorting the financials/stock market and the rest sitting in cash in my brokerage account.

Precious Metals: All the money from selling my stocks I bought gold stocks(see previous post)

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Not seeing much growth here this last month. I not really checking on this bracket as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Overall I lost money this month with my Roth as I have started to dollar cost averaging in to max it out the rest of the year. I still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which will hopefully be maxed out before April 15th. If I still think the market is going to correct itself I will keep it on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle and Credit still high

Credit Cards: All of this is still the engagement credit card with a 12 month 0% APR, I am not going to put much of a dent into this debt until the 12 month or January/February, when I will pay it off in full. I have that money going straight into my saving account creating a little interest off of it till I pay it in full.

Car Loan: See last month with starting to think abut paying it off in full at some point—This will probably be next year, as I don't want to take that big of chunk of saving out for it t the moment. I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal next ear.

So overall October was a good month. Still kicking up the saving as I have wedding and honeymoon expenses coming down the line.

September 09 Net Worth: Back on the Train

September was a another good month for me, even though I had a few major events. This included weekend trips to New York and Atlanta, property taxes, and three fantasy football leagues. Seems like every month I have some major expense I haven't accounted for come up and it is really hurting my savings I believe. I am guessing with the holidays and everything else the next few are not going to be so kind to me either. But over all I am back in the black after an accounting mistake last month. Overall up 6.37%, pretty nice since I thought the stock market was going to get hit severely. I still believe that the next few months are going to be hard time for the market and thus my networth? We will see

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Had a few expensive weekends, plane tickets, hotel room that put a damper on this months budget, including fantasy football. Overall though I still saved a little and had a huge month in spending, so overall I cannot complain, I will be looking to have a big month in October. This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is currently on hold again), engagement ring, insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 16-17k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: This shrunk a little bit as I sold off some stocks. My employee stock option plan is seeing some small growth but seems to be up and down all the time. Right now besides that company stock I am still shorting the financial's and as of right now it is a wealth destroyer but I don't have enough to make a huge difference.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Not seeing much growth here this last month. I have rolled my old 401k over to a IRA so will be moving it to the Retirement IRA's bracket below. I not really checking on this bracket as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Had a big month which saw a gain of around $400.00 - wow if I could have some months like that I would be able to see my wealth grow tremendously! Anyways still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which I have been thinking of dollar cost averaging into, as I am still trying to max out my Roth this year.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle and Credit still high

Credit Cards: Most of this is still the engagement credit card with a 12 month 0% APR, I am not going to put much of a dent into this debt until the 12 month, when I will pay it off in full. I have that money going straight into my saving account creating a little interest off of it till I pay it in full. There was a little jump in debt but it is sorta in between stage, we purchased flights up to NYC and the furniture is on the credit card but all will be paid in full before interest is assessed.

Car Loan: See last month

So overall September was a good month. Looking to have a big month in October as things slow down a little bit and not so many expensive weekends. I really need to kick up the saving as I have wedding and honeymoon expenses coming down the line.

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August 09 Net Worth: Autumn comes earlier

Autumn came a little earlier for me this year, August was the first down month I have had since April and only the second month this year I haven't seen growth. August just seemed to have a lot of cool and expensive weekends along with purchasing a new TV and piece of furniture for the TV. The major loss came in my 401k which I found was an accounting mistake by me. You might have noticed as well that I added "precious metals" under my assets because I am planning on buying some silver and some gold here. I will start small and see how it goes. It will not be a investment to make money but more of a way to start protecting and creating wealth.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This is mostly because I purchased a TV which we paid cash for and a new piece of furniture for it. I also had a long weekend in Chicago for a bachelors party where the money flowed like it grows on trees. Either way I still was able to save a few hundred so I cannot complain! This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is currently on hold again), engagement ring, insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 16-17k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: This saw steady growth and I went to sell my my past employee stock and my account has a hold on it based of updating address and such from moving. I will be cashing out on that this month along with buying a few hundred dollars of FAZ (shorting the financial stocks) even though I have lost a bit with it.

Retirement 401k: As I have been saying if the dow hits 10k or end of september I will roll half of my old 401k into an IRA and let it sit in cash until we see a major pullback. When I went to transfer it to my Vanguard account, I saw where my actual amount was smaller than what the account said, based of not being fully vested with my old company. Not sure why it was showing me the fully vest amount, but it was and that was a $3000.00 difference, ouch!

Retirement IRA: Finally got over the $5000.00 mark! This should jump next month once I rollover my old 401k. Besides that nice steady growth is what I like to see.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle and Credit still high

Credit Cards: Most of this is still the engagement credit card with a 12 month 0% APR, I am not going to put much of a dent into this debt until the 12 month, when I will pay it off in full. I have that money going straight into my saving account creating a little interest off of it till I pay it in full. There was a little jump in debt but it is sorta in between stage, we purchased flights up to NYC and the furniture is on the credit card but all will be paid in full before interest is assessed.

Car Loan: Same story as last month...think I have stopped thinking about selling it.

So overall August was a bad month, but in the grand scheme of things, I like where I am at. September is already shaping up to be an expensive month. I have managed to lower my rent and get my cable bill reduced, so hopefully that will help slightly. I look to be on track the next couple of months and gain in my net worth if the stock market it can hold up. We will see next month!

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July 09 Net Worth: $52k Assets - $35k Overall 9.23% Growth

Little over half the year and we are still rolling and still growing every month. It is such an amazing feeling to see my money growing in such a short period of time. Seems like we have a major purchase every month, and July was no different, we purchased a TV. I know that a TV isn't a need, but our main TV is broken and I need a TV before football season starts up(will save me money on not going to a bar, ha). On top of that, TV's are so cheap and we have the money for it. We have a lot of extra expenses coming up in August so I am not sure this month is going to be so kind to us as the past few. Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: After falling off last month and not making my budget I finally had my budget balanced again. It did not grow as big as it has over the past as I moved over around $800.00 into my brokerage account(thinking about shorting the financials). This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house, engagement ring, insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 16-17k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: This reflects transferring around $800.00 into my brokerage account along with other stocks doing well for the month. I have around $2500.oo in my past employee stock option plan that I am planning on selling if the Dow goes to 10k.

Retirement 401k: We saw increase growth from the stock market last month and it is being reflected here. At the end of the day these are long term investments, so no need to stress or get happy if it loses or gain slightly. I am still throwing the idea around to pull everything back into cash if the Dow goes to 10k which at this point who knows what is going to happen. I have my old 401k with my old company which is the majority of my retirement at the moment. I need to it rollover into my vanguard IRA account. If the dow hits 10k I will roll it over and let it sit in cash until we see what happens. I truly believe we are going to see a major pull back in the market come fall/winter.

Retirement IRA: This area was up big time and it feels great, I cannot seem to get over 5k, but I will once I purchase some shares at the end of year to max out my Roth!

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle and Credit still high

Credit Cards: Most of this is still the engagement credit card with a 12 month 0% APR, I am not going to put much of a dent into this debt until the 12 month, when I will pay it off in full. I have that money going straight into my saving account creating a little interest off of it till I pay it in full. As I mentioned in the overview we purchased a new TV that is where see the extra 1,200.oo, it will be paid in full before interest is assessed.

Car Loan: Same story as last month...slowly paying it off every month. It has crossed my mind to try and sell it(for a used better gas mileage vehicle), I just have a lot going on and really don't want and have to deal with it at the moment.

So there you have it, I am very pleased with where I stand! August is going to be a crazy month with some vacation, bachelor party, and the start of football season, so I am going to have to really watch my budget. Once again I want to show that if you know where your money is going you can start to create wealth. If look at my net work graph on the right it has been growing every month. Hope you are having as much success as myself, remember as long as your working towards saving the more growth you will eventually see!

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