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.

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

We saw some financial setbacks in May and June which resulted in our net worth creeping up fairly slowly. We spent tons of money– some optional, some not. Find out where the baby-related hole in the boat was the past two months!

In our June 2017 financial statement, our net worth increased by 2.96% (Oof)!

OK, so an approximate 3% net worth increase over two months isn’t exactly great.  There were a couple items that accounted for this.  First, I bought some serious dad-in-training camera equipment. Though I budgeted for it and had planned the expense, it does affect the bottom line. Still, I chose it and I own this decision. I don’t regret it, and I’m psyched to capture some priceless memories of Baby Vagabond when he or she arrives in the fall.

Related, our pregnancy accelerated plans we had to replace the flooring throughout our home. The entire place is filled with 15-year-old, doggy-dander-infested carpet, and we opted for a more dog and child-friendly vinyl plank floor.  A big portion of the new credit card balance is the replacement of the flooring, and the rest is camera equipment and expense reports. As always, we pay off our credit cards in full every month, so this will diminish over the next two months.

I reallocated some of my investments this month into cryptocurrency (predominantly from my taxable investments). It has been crazy-profitable so far, but since it’s effectively a gamble, I chose to categorize it at an asset rather than retirement savings. I expect to hold this investment until I lose my nerve, or into early next year, whichever comes first. I’ll write more about this decision this month. It’s not for everyone, but it has paid off for us so far.

The next few months, our spending should be back at normal. The repairs we have left to do before baby arrives are much, much smaller and largely DIY. Hopefully we’ll be back to large net worth jumps up on August 1st!

I want to hint at something today, as well– we are going to be making some major lifestyle and life changes in the coming ten months. I can’t be specific, but I honestly think they will surprise you a bit. Some of the trends in our net worth go to those plans, but I can’t explain them until we are ready to make those changes, which will come after the baby arrives.  Expect our net worth to fluctuate, and maybe even go down. Expect the safe monthly retirement income to drop a bit as our assets move around. More soon. Stay tuned!

Blog Income

As I mention 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 the month of May and June, I earned the following:

• $100 from Personal Capital affiliate payments
• $54.13 in Google Ad revenue

The blog made an average of $77.06 per month for the past two months. That continues to be a teensy profit each month! Nice!

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 $11,234.27 this month. Our goal remains to hit a net worth of $450,000 this year, which still seems plausible.

With equity and bond accounts totaling $210,932.80 at the end of March, a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate would allow us to take out $703.11 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:  $1,689.11 (-$10.44 since Last Report)

% to Goal: 33.78% (-0.21% since Last Report)

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.