July 2016 Financial Statement

According to my Integrity Policy, I want to let you know that this post contains Personal Capital referral links. Personal Capital is a free service. They are looking for high-net worth individuals as possible customers for their financial advisory services, but the expense tracking and retirement planning tools that I recommend are free of charge.

February 2016 Financial Statement

It’s all about the Benjamins. And Jacksons. And Lincolns. And Washingtons.

Silly Net Worth, you’re supposed to go up more than that!

AccountLast MonthBalanceChange
Personal Checking$2,646.07$5,332.83$2,686.76
Business Checking$1,079.63$2,799.63$1,720.00
Real Estate Operating Account$2,771.46$1,244.10-$1,527.36
Real Estate Cash Flow Account$256.34$7.03-$249.29
Credit Cards-$2,094.11-$11,995.38-$9,901.27
Retirement - HSA$1,497.49$2,752.91$1,255.42
Retirement - After Tax$45,592.16$47,353.04$1,760.88
Retirement - 401(k)$96,465.39$101,775.01$5,309.62
Retirement - Roth IRA$8,636.23$9,103.05$466.82
Asset - Home$500,000.00$500,000.00$0.00
Asset - Rental 1$42,199.00$42,112.00-$87.00
Asset - Rental 2$66,164.00$66,240.00$76.00
Asset - Rental 3$84,270.00$85,065.00$795.00
Mortgage - Home-$381,630.27-$381,386.67$243.60
Mortgage - Rental 1-$44,380.37-$44,320.62$59.75
Mortgage - Rental 2-$48,046.31-$47,980.85$65.46
Mortgage - Rental 3-$57,904.74-$57,830.73$74.01
Student Loan 1-$22,111.91-$21,969.99$141.92
Student Loan 2-$13,744.98-$13,657.13$87.85
Student Loan 3-$4,496.26-$4,401.27$94.99
Net Worth$277,168.82$280,241.98$3,073.16

On our July 2016 financial statement, our net worth increased by 1.10%!

Thanks to the market reaching all-time highs all month, we managed to absorb the cost of our wedding, for which the final bill was due this month. Our wedding is what I’ll call “Silicon Valley Frugal,” in that we spent just a fraction of the $55,000 average for the area… but it wasn’t cheap either. We’re still renting a nice venue, having 80 people present, and treating everyone to a great meal, booze, dancing, and the wedding party to an overnight stay.  It could have been worse, and it’s going to be a great night.  By our next Net Worth update, we’ll be a married couple!

I published an article on living abroad on $1,200 per month or less this month, and it was picked up by both Rockstar Finance and The Globe and Mail. As a result, this was the best-ever month for the blog, and over 22,000 visitors dropped by.  If you’re a new reader, thanks for coming back! Introduce yourself in the comments!

July was also a bit of an introspective month as we work through some issues with family, and on those who are conspicuously absent with our wedding coming up.  I wrote about how the shortness of life brings new urgency to our quest for FIRE, and about how hope is the essential trait of all those seeking financial independence.

Blog Income

As I mentioned in my Integrity Policy, I want to make sure I share any and all professional relationships and compensation I make as a part of this blog.

In July, I earned the following:

This month, the blog made $142.38! This is the best the blog has ever done, and I’m so, so grateful to those who click our ad links or use our affiliate links when they’re relevant to their needs. As ever, I want advertisers or affiliates of this blog to align with the best interests of the readers, and hopefully I’m striking the right balance.

If you’re looking to start your own blog or web site, please consider using my referral link for BlueHost. I’ll get a little cash to help pay hosting expenses, and you’ll get a great hosting provider (the same one I use) starting at about $3.95 per month.

Retirement Update

Our net worth is up $3,073.16 this month. With the wedding paid for, our net worth should hopefully go back to rising at a slightly higher rate. I have to go back to Bangkok for my very last dental tourism trip this month, and that should be this year’s last major expense.  Then it’s all savings for the rest of the year!

With equity and bond accounts totaling $160,984.01 at the end of July, a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate would allow us to take out $536.61 per month. Our rental properties, after all expenses, vacancies, and short and long term maintenance are considered, produce $986.00 of safe cash flow every month.

Safe Monthly Income: $1,522.61 (+$29.31 to Last Month)

% to Goal: 30.45% (+0.58% to Last Month)

Want to Know How to Track Your Expenses?

It’s really easy. Sign up for a Personal Capital account, which is completely free. It’s how I track my balances across time, and allows me to project all my retirement progress without doing any work at all. As a disclaimer, if you sign up with Personal Capital, this site may get a referral fee depending on the size of your portfolio.

5 thoughts on “July 2016 Financial Statement

  1. Ten Bucks a Week

    Glad your blog is taking off, I really enjoy the retire abroad articles. Can’t wait to see you live in the places!
    Our wedding was about $15,000 for everything including engagement ring and 150 people, not cheap but not insane either, it is a very special day and nice to celebrate with others.

    1. The Vagabond Post author

      Thanks, TBaW! We’re trying to keep it to about that budget too, which has proven challenging in Silicon Valley, but we’ve found some savings, too. A friend is marrying us, I’m flying an old college friend into town as she’s a professional photographer, and it’s cheaper to use a few points than to pay someone! Still, the venue, food, and booze add up!

  2. Penny @ She Picks Up Pennies

    I’m so happy that your blog is starting to generate income. And holy page views, Batman! Our wedding wasn’t frugal, but we wouldn’t change a thing. Especially the not going into debt over it thing 😉 I figure it’s probably the best party I’ve ever thrown, and I wanted to spend our money on our guests. Can’t wait to hear details and read more of your blog!

    1. The Vagabond Post author

      Penny, thanks so much!! We’re super excited to get married in a few weeks, but soooo much to do before then! Like you guys, we’re not going into debt for it, which made it challenging, but not impossible. Still, it’ll be good to have things settle down a bit starting next month! Our party is gonna be awesome!

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