Last month, I was excited by the increase in my net worth and projecting only good things for the future: meeting my $100,000 net worth goal for the end of 2008, even exceeding it. I bragged about how I achieved my net worth increase of 2.61% in this market. Well, it has come to bite me in the rear end. Yes, in June, my net worth is down -2.61%. Ironic, no? So what caused this karmic drop in my monetary value?
It's the market, stupid.
Yes, both my 401(k) and Roth IRA decreased in value from the month before even with continuous contributions every month. I had not realized the stock market had dropped that much in value, but the numbers do not lie. In looking at my 401(k) value, it is down 8.9% for the year to date. I know it was only -4% last month so June really knocked down my stock portfolio.
My car isn't getting any younger.
This was the third of my quarterly adjustments in my car value. As this is a depreciating item, I decreased the number listed for my car's value. Lowering the value of my car is expected, but merely compounded the lower asset total for the month.
Otherwise, my cash position is better than last month, my two savings bonds gained a bit of interest and a CD that I had at 5.25% rolled over to a 3.30% APY. I wonder if I might see 5% or greater returns any time soon. I need to focus on being more frugal, resisting the temptation to buy things just because I can afford it and keep on saving. I made some changes to my auto insurance and that will give me additional savings for my future car purchase (and further increase my cash position in July). Hopefully, this month will break even or increase in value over June.
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