My Personal Finance Journey

Personal finance observation, musing and decisions in a journey toward financial independence by 2020 with at least $3 million.


By Topics

Overall:
0. About (10)
1. My Progress (139)
2. Car & Home (107)
3. Credit (138)
4. Banking (33)
5. Saving (49)
6. Investing (308)
7. Taxes (89)
8. Spending (74)
9. Misc (97)
A. Archive (49)



MONTHLY ARCHIVE

Feb 2014 (3)
Jan 2014 (6)
Jan 2012 (1)
Apr 2011 (1)
Mar 2011 (1)
Feb 2011 (1)
Jan 2011 (1)
Dec 2010 (1)
Oct 2010 (1)
Sep 2010 (1)
Aug 2010 (1)
Jul 2010 (1)
Jun 2010 (1)
May 2010 (1)
Apr 2010 (1)
Mar 2010 (6)
Feb 2010 (2)
Jan 2010 (7)
Dec 2009 (3)
Feb 2009 (4)
Jan 2009 (8)
Dec 2008 (1)
Jun 2008 (2)
May 2008 (2)
Apr 2008 (5)
Feb 2008 (3)
Jan 2008 (15)
Dec 2007 (32)
Nov 2007 (6)
Oct 2007 (8)
Sep 2007 (9)
Aug 2007 (24)
Jul 2007 (2)
Jun 2007 (1)
May 2007 (3)
Apr 2007 (4)
Mar 2007 (4)
Feb 2007 (13)
Jan 2007 (6)
Dec 2006 (3)
Nov 2006 (7)
Oct 2006 (7)
Sep 2006 (6)
Aug 2006 (4)
Jul 2006 (10)
Jun 2006 (1)
May 2006 (3)
Apr 2006 (2)
Mar 2006 (6)
Feb 2006 (6)
Jan 2006 (3)
Dec 2005 (1)
Nov 2005 (9)
Oct 2005 (8)
Sep 2005 (13)
Aug 2005 (25)
Jul 2005 (16)
Jun 2005 (17)
May 2005 (19)
Apr 2005 (20)
Mar 2005 (24)
Feb 2005 (23)
Jan 2005 (36)
Dec 2004 (40)
Nov 2004 (34)
Oct 2004 (17)
Sep 2004 (21)
Aug 2004 (59)
Jul 2004 (37)
Jun 2004 (31)
May 2004 (29)
Apr 2004 (52)
Mar 2004 (49)
Feb 2004 (49)
Jan 2004 (31)
Dec 2003 (48)
Nov 2003 (52)
Oct 2003 (29)
Sep 2003 (8)
Aug 2003 (5)
Jul 2003 (2)
Jun 2003 (2)
May 2003 (5)
Apr 2003 (2)
Mar 2003 (2)
Feb 2003 (3)
Jan 2003 (29)



 

Monthly Review - March 2005 ($208,333, +$2,991)

Contributed by mm | April 5, 2005 12:50 PM PST

During the month of March, my net worth in the accounting book grew merely $2,991. Yes, an uninspiring number for sure, but it is the result of many forceful drivers, namely:

- The Kia-to-BMW upgrade, which set me back about $3,000. immediately.
- Microsoft stock price continued to be under pressure; the $1.01 monthly drop dragged my stock option account down by more than $3,000.
- On the flip side, I continued to have substantial savings from my regular savings.
- Also, PFBlog attracted a few more advertisers, and such advertising income gave a one-time lift to my bottomline.
- To a much lesser extent, March saw the maturity of another ESPP cycle, and the quarterly ESPP earnings are recognized this month.

All in all, I don't consider the result to be too bad -- taking out the BMW effect, my net worth growth would be $6,000, making it a great month. If MSFT had been stronger, March actually would have been a phenomenal month!

BALANCE SHEET RESULTS

(Starting from 2005, I am comparing monthly results to balance sheet one year and one month ago for better visibility of progress. Please refer to definition of balance sheet line items.)

  1 Yr Ago 2-Mo Ago Last Month This Month monthly Monthly
  Mar-04 Jan-05 Feb-05 Mar-05 Change Change %
Cash & Equivalent  $         1,603  $         2,642  $         4,090  $         2,716  $        (1,373) -33.6%
Saving  $       12,079  $       40,075  $       38,993  $       16,624  $      (22,370) -57.4%
Brokerage  $       20,174  $       17,284  $       15,960  $       15,045  $           (915) -5.7%
Roth IRA  $       15,269  $       18,435  $       17,896  $       18,275  $            379 2.1%
401(k)  $       13,588  $       33,186  $       38,358  $       43,605  $         5,247 13.7%
Stock Option  $         1,306  $       12,435  $       12,770  $         9,415  $        (3,355) -26.3%
ESPP  $         3,873  $         1,746  $         3,466  $         5,828  $         2,362 68.1%
Home Equity  $       68,798  $       76,618  $       77,471  $       78,324  $            853 1.1%
Other Assets  $         9,250  $       14,722  $       14,472  $       31,375  $       16,903 116.8%
Receivable (Payable)  $         4,278  $         1,182  $         1,787  $         2,091  $            304 17.0%
Reserve Funds  $        (2,334)  $        (5,170)  $        (5,543)  $        (5,793)  $           (250) 4.5%
Loans  $        (2,033)  $        (7,194)  $        (8,649)  $        (3,838)  $         4,811 -55.6%
Tax Liability  $        (3,562)  $        (5,265)  $        (5,728)  $        (5,334)  $            394 -6.9%
Net Worth  $     142,292  $     200,696  $     205,342  $     208,333  $         2,991 1.5%
Liquidation Value  $     116,197  $     168,349  $     171,993  $     173,706  $         1,713 1.0%

IMPORTANT BALANCE SHEET MOVEMENT DISCUSSION

1) Cash/Saving: I bled ~$24,000 in cash primarily because of the BMW purchase and the payback of $4,000+ to Discover Card. My 0% APR deal from Discover Card finally ended in March.

2) Roth IRA and Brokerage: Loss in individual positions is mitigated by my bearish option positions.

3) 401(k): Again, increased level of 401(k) contribution pushed my 401(k) higher every month.

4) Stock Option: MSFT dropped another buck during March, fueling the pretty cruel evaporation of my balance in the stock option account. Anyway, most of my outstanding employee option grants will not expire until the next decade, making it an easy decision to keep holding them.

5) ESPP: About $500 ESPP gains for the quarter was recognized in March; I am ready to sell these shares in the next couple of days.

6) Other Assets: The ~$17,000 increase you see is associated with the BMW purchase.

7) Loans: Finally, I had to pay back the $4,000+ balance and end my 0% APR honeymoon with Discover Card. I am actively looking for the next opportunity for such sweet deals.

8) Tax Liability: Tax liability declined to account for some future tax consequences for my loss in stock option account.

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF EXPENSES

Microsoft Money says we spent a total of $10,269 during the month, compared to $7,120 in February and $5,450 in January. Of course, $3,000+ is related to the purchase of the "ultimate driving machine." Dental bill runs another $600 for the month (for co-payment part). My wife also took a small vacation with her girlfriend to San Francisco -- another $600 bill.

Moving into Q2, it's time to exercise more cost control. While our dental bill will continue to be something we need to live with (I might consider some orthodontic treatment later this year), we expect no other big spend in the next couple of month.

IMPORTANT PERSONAL FINANCE ISSUES IN MONTHS AHEAD

- Sometimes I am dissatisfied with our benefits department. Today is April 5, and I am still waiting for my correct W-2 form to show up in my mailbox. It is very likely that I will file an automatic extension next week. No matter I request an extension or not, I will need to pay about $900 in 2004 tax, which will come from my tax liability account.

- I will dispose the ESPP shares from the Q2 enrollment very soon. This is the first time both my wife and I are eligible for the ESPP purchase, and as you can see from the balance sheet, we have about $5,800 tied in ESPP accounts. I will use the proceeds to refill our banking accounts.

- H1 property tax is due by April 30. I will pay the tax online at http://www.metrokc.gov.

- Again, I need to remind myself to cancel the United MileagePlus Visa Signature card. I was lucky to get this no-annual-fee-in-first-year deal and pocketed the 15,000 MileagePlus miles a year ago. But it is not worth $60 annual fee.

More PFBlog Articles You Might Find Interesting ...



Read More ... 138 Posts In The Same Category










This page was last rebuilt at January 27, 2014 07:41 AM PST.
 

RSS FEED





PERSONAL FINANCE BLOGS I READ

Consumerism Commentary
Get Rich Slowly
My Money Blog
All Financial Matters
The Simple Dollar






.

Error 500 - Internal server error

Error 500 - Internal server error

An internal server error has occured!
Please try again later.



Copyright 2003-2014, PFBlog.com. All Rights Reserved. (Privacy Policy)