Paul’s Net Worth Update – August 2011

Here it is everyone:

I have to say that I’m proud of myself for having nearly $250k at the age of 30. I’m glad that I had parents that taught me the value of money, hard work, and personal savings. Combine that with a little common sense and small personal sacrifices and savings can grow fast. I only started working full time at the age of 23! I wish I knew my net worth when I started out but I don’t. I would guess it was somewhere around $10,000 after taking into account student loans, my car, and an annuity that was a gift from my grandparents.

I’ll go through what makes up some of the current numbers:

• Assets – $363, 542
• Investments – This is my 401k, my wife’s 401k, a Roth IRA, a 529 plan for my son, and a Scottrade account with $100 invested in… nothing.
• Real Estate – Just my home.
• Vehicles – Two cars, a motorcycle, and a popup camper.
• Cash – Various savings accounts at various banks
• Savings Bonds – Series EE U.S. savings bonds. I’m not going to take too much credit for these since they were gifts
• Liabilities – ($123,608)
• Home Mortgage – Loan on my home refinanced a few years ago to 5.15%. A decent rate, but I missed out on the really low ones.
• Student Loans – Both my wife’s and my own.
• Credit card debt – I always pay off the entire statement balance each month.

All that adds up to a grand total of $239,934!

In future posts I plan on discussing certain areas of my personal finances (like investments, mortgage, etc….) in more detail. I will also be discussing simple strategies I’ve used over the years to grow my bottom line, and how I plan to continue growing it into the future.