Friday, January 05, 2007

End-of-Year Financial Totals

I've fallen way behind in doing financial updates-- this is my first in three months! Although I'd like to be more disciplined about it, the benefit is that my increases look so much bigger...
Savings: $30,238 (up $7,542 or 33.2% since October 4th)
Retirement: $16,157 (up $1,722 or 11.9%)
Debt: $13,645 (down $150 or 1.1%)
Net worth: $32,750 (up $9,414 or 40.3%)


Giving as percent of 2006 goal: 86%

The good:

  • My net worth is over $30,000! It was only around $10,000 a year ago, so it's neat to watch it grow so fast.
  • $16,000 in retirement savings before my 25th birthday isn't shabby.
  • I have $30,000 in savings! That's a lot! It makes me feel like I have so many possibilities-- from actually for real buying a house, to quitting my job and moving to Latin America, to lending my parents the money to pay off their debt in one fell swoop and saying "Oh, just pay me back when you get around to it." In reality I'll probably just continue to be practical with it, but it's exciting to have the possibilities-- and a little incredible to think about how many people in the US and abroad never in their whole lives have as much money to spare as I do at 24. Man, I'm privileged.
The bad:
  • I am currently $425 short of my 2006 giving goal. (I'll try to get that donated soon, and I won't start counting donations towards my 2007 total until I hit my 2006 mark.)
  • I'm way behind on Roth IRA contributions-- I've only put in $1,500, so I need to add $2,500 more by April 15th. Theoretically I try to do $1,000 every three months, which means I'm $1,500 off-pace.
But even if I adjusted my net worth $1,925 because I'm behind on giving and on retirement contributions, I'd still squeak by above $30,000 net worth. And I know I'll catch up on those things sooner or later (hopefully sooner!). So on the whole I'm satisfied.

4 comments:

EasyChange said...

Excellent work. You're right. being so young and doing so well with saving's is huge. I'm a few years older than you and I have 'savings envy'. Those extra couple years will make a huge (hundreds of thousands of dollars) difference at the end if you keep the money invested and diversified.

here's to a great '07!

Tiredbuthappy said...

Good for you, Penny. It feels great to have options, doesn't it?

fin_indie said...

fantastic progress in a year! From 10k to $30k is ridiculously good progress. I wouldn't beat yourself up on a few shortcomings, especially if you plan to make good on them, like the giving goal. Anyway, congrats and hope to see more regular updates from you. :)

http://retiringearly.blogspot.com

English Major said...

Wow--I didn't know you were only 24, and I never would have guessed from those numbers! I'm 23, and this makes you that much more of a financial role model for me (and not just in your dedication to giving). Thanks!