Life is a bit crazy right now, so this net worth update will be brief, but I still wanted to provide an update.
Monthly Net Worth Update
Assets
We increased our assets by 3.49% or $41,505.92. The main contributors to this increase included an extra paycheck, cryptocurrency gains, and investment gains.
Cash Savings
Dr. SoS took some extra pay to cover some extra expenses after her practice saw continued growth.
Cash Back/Gift Cards
Our cash back increased by 3.5% or $130.63 though our normal spending on groceries, minimal auto fuel purchases, Amazon and Costco shopping, and more improvements to our garden.
Cryptocurrency
Our various cryptocurrency balances made up primarily of bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were up 44.23% or $13,769.42. I finished reading my second book on bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking
By: Saifedean Ammous
Narrated by: James Fouhey
I read this after my fellow value investor from Zurich suggested for perhaps the third time that I read it. I enjoyed it even more than the book I read last month. It provides a wonderful history of money, how governments affect the money supply, the difference between easy money and hard money, stock to flow ratio and why that is important, and an easy to understand explanation of blockchain technology. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding this technology and why it matters to the future of money.
Investments
In addition to my monthly contributions to my 403b, FSA, and HSA, I experienced more success with my weekly index options trades. These generated $10,313.54 after fees and commissions. Our total investment increase was 2.52% or $17,350.16 for April.
We also took part in a second round of funding for the Tuttle Twins cartoon television series. This is the first cartoon series to teach kids enduring principles of freedom, economics, and government that both they, and their adults, actually want to watch. The show is based on the best-selling books, is the first of its kind cartoon series that aims to instruct while entertaining. We own the 12-book series and our 5-year-old daughter loves the stories. I bought them from an ad that I saw on Duolingo before I paid to get rid of the ads.
Last October, we invested by purchasing 3,000 shares. We increased this by another 4,000 shares for the second round of funding in April. This put us in the Wheelchair Time Machine! perk category which gets our names in the credits, early access to the trailer before the show releases, and after the release of episodes 2 and 3, we receive a digital copy of those scripts signed by the show creator, Daniel Harmon, and writers Jonny Vance, Jessica Rigby, Natalie Madsen, Kelly Vrooman and Kellen Erskine.
I know what you are thinking. That does not sound like a good return on our investment. The thing is that we are now part owners in the show. If the show earns enough from distribution revenue, we earn 120% of our investment before the founders take a distribution and then we also share in all future profits with the creators. Doesn’t that make it sound like a better investment?
529
Our balance increased 1.87% to $150.11 after making our monthly $800 deposit and $798 withdrawal.
House
The market experienced another drop in mortgage rates. Home values, in our area, stayed pretty much the same and we kept our home value at the last appraised value of $405,000.
Cars and Boat
Last month, I mentioned how something crazy was going on with used car values. I finally figured out what it was. As I understand it, auto manufacturers are experiencing chip shortages and are not releasing new cars as quickly as in previous years. People are buying used cars since the new car they want may not be available. This pushed used car prices up. The value of my car increased, Dr. SoS’s decreased, and our boat increased. After these changes we were up $85.00.
Liabilities
We decreased our liabilities by 0.31% or a total of $1,121.98 for the month.
Credit Cards
We paid off our credit cards each Friday and before the end of the month, so those balances were zero.
AC Loan
We paid $300 and have 42 more monthly payments to pay off $12,000 at a 0% APR.
Mortgage
We have 29 years 5 months (353 payments) to pay off our remaining $156,047.10 mortgage balance. We paid off $280.99 of the principle at a 2.875% APR.
Student Loans
We have 21 years 10 months (262 payments) to pay off the remaining $195,707.63 balance. We paid off $540.99 of the principle at a 3.125% APR.
Savings Rate
Here are the various savings rates I calculate monthly based on our income and debt payments.
- 10.14% – Percent of Debt Payments / Income earned
- 31.66% – Percent of Personal Retirement Savings / Income earned
- 2.66% – Percent of Employer Retirement Savings / Income earned
- 34.32% – Percent of all Retirement Savings / Income Earned
- 44.46% – Percent of Savings + Debt Payments / Income Earned
The debt payments are for our home mortgage, our AC loan, and Dr. SoS’s student loan. The savings is only what I and my company contribute to my company 403b and HSA, excluding any cash savings.
Summary
As of the first day of May 2021, we are up 5.17% increasing our net worth to from our April 2021 net worth of $823,931.42, and up 32.30% from our May 2020 net worth of $654,973.78.
We compile this information each month to keep us accountable and to hopefully inspire others to spend less than they make, save more, and make wise investment choices. Please leave any comments or questions below.
Thank you for reading!
Mr. SoS