It’s been 44 months since we set a goal to pay off the mortgage (on our condo) and to have a net worth of at least $1M by 2020. This is the 44th update on the progress of the goal. If you’re wondering why we set this goal, click here.
This month was a month of spending. Yay! Who doesn’t like spending money?! We prepaid for most of a two week trip to Hawaii early next year. We’ll be staying in Maui for a week and Big Island (Kona) for a week. We are also taking my parents, and it will be their first time. We went for our honeymoon 7 years ago and absolutely loved it. I’m looking forward to eating poke and trying out Mama’s Fish House this time.
We also bought a new fridge this month and went on an overnight staycation in DC (my mom flew in to watch the kids). It was nice to have some time away from the kids.
I have been enjoying getting back into running. I ran the Herndon Half Marathon earlier this month. My time wasn’t super fast (1:46:43), but I was happy with the progress I’ve been making since getting back into running about 4 months ago. The Boston Marathon Qualifying (BQ) times are getting faster and faster, but I’m still pursuing it. I’m pretty far off right now. I think my BQ time is 3 hours, but when I turn 35 next year, I’ll get 5 extra minutes (3:05).
Related post: I Will Qualify For The Boston Marathon by 2020
I’ve been watching some ultramarathon documentaries (Billy Yang Films) and have been inspired. I am attempting my first trail ultramarathon in a couple weeks. It will only be 50k (~31 miles). I say only because the ultrarunners that I follow/watch routinely do 50/100/200+ mile races. They make a 50k look easy. It won’t be easy for me, but I guess this is one way to develop my mental toughness for my marathon in March next year.
I’ve started to care less and less about the $1M net worth goal. Hopefully, it will come some day, but there are so many other things that are more important or that take priority right now. I feel like frugality has gotten us to a point where we feel financially comfortable and have a nice cushion in a taxable account. One of the main reasons I wanted to pursue FI was because I wanted the freedom to be able to leave my job. It will be 11 years at the same job at the end of this month. It is definitely not the most exciting or rewarding job, but I felt a deep sense of gratitude this month for the lifestyle it has afforded me. I have time to work on my side hustle (real estate), go to school, and spend ample time with my family. Being a patent examiner isn’t easy, but most jobs aren’t. Gratitude can fix a lot of things if we practice it.
Here’s this month’s update:
Net worth calculation:
Total Assets: $1,044,521.19
Primary residence: $570,000
Cash and cash equivalents: $21,236.08
Investments (including retirement): $453,285.11
Total Liabilities: $308,361.71
Mortgage on Primary Residence: $308,361.71
Net worth = $1,044,521.19 – $308,361.71 = $736,159.48
All of our debt is mortgage debt on a 30-yr fixed 3.25% mortgage on our primary residence.
Net worth progress:
Tracking your net worth is a good way to assess your financial health and see how you’re doing each month. I use Personal Capital to help me track my net worth. I highly recommend it.
Net worth = assets – liabilities, or everything we own minus everything we owe. I’m not including our cars here, which are both paid off, to keep the calculation a little simpler. I am including an estimate of home equity.
I am using my knowledge as a realtor to provide estimates of value for our real estate.
Our net worth increased by $8,078.18 to $736,159.48. I gave the house a $10,000 increase in value this month based on the market.
| Date | Home equity | Investments | Cash | Net Worth |
| 2/19/2016 | $140,695 | $149,076 | $21,813 | $311,584 |
| 3/19/2016 | $145,519 | $164,791 | $23,512 | $333,822 |
| 4/18/2016 | $150,007 | $171,697 | $17,457 | $339,161 |
| 5/17/2016 | $153,000 | $171,305 | $21,672 | $345,978 |
| 6/20/2016 | $160,100 | $174,881 | $23,094 | $358,075 |
| 7/19/2016 | $162,000 | $185,621 | $27,689 | $375,311 |
| 8/22/2016 | $163,000 | $192,479 | $24,437 | $379,916 |
| 9/20/2016 | $261,403 | $144,694 | $3,657 | $409,754 |
| 10/27/2016 | $261,806 | $151,425 | $5,735 | $418,966 |
| 11/21/2016 | $262,855 | $155,877 | $10,364 | $429,096 |
| 12/19/2016 | $264,290 | $162,281 | $11,432 | $438,004 |
| 1/19/2017 | $285,534 | $172,862 | $8,751 | $467,147 |
| 2/17/2017 | $286,865 | $178,666 | $12,980 | $478,511 |
| 3/17/2017 | $286,718 | $181,893 | $18,413 | $487,023 |
| 4/19/2017 | $290,196 | $184,580 | $16,472 | $491,247 |
| 5/15/2017 | $290,941 | $189,092 | $11,453 | $491,487 |
| 6/19/2017 | $293,950 | $187,627 | $21,135 | $502,712 |
| 7/17/2017 | $301,391 | $196,288 | $19,292 | $516,971 |
| 8/17/2017 | $312,523 | $195,913 | $21,981 | $530,417 |
| 9/19/2017 | $320,769 | $200,956 | $16,914 | $538,639 |
| 10/19/2017 | $326,848 | $204,144 | $10,283 | $541,275 |
| 11/20/2017 | $328,010 | $210,841 | $11,490 | $550,340 |
| 12/19/2017 | $334,171 | $213,215 | $8,695 | $556,081 |
| 1/18/2018 | $335,335 | $216,656 | $8,074 | $560,064 |
| 2/20/2018 | $336,502 | $218,847 | $12,813 | $568,162 |
| 3/20/2018 | $337,672 | $223,416 | $16,135 | $577,223 |
| 4/19/2018 | $339,365 | $229,208 | $26,035 | $594,608 |
| 5/16/2018 | $346,063 | $235,332 | $22,790 | $604,185 |
| 6/19/2018 | $349,393 | $247,582 | $24,915 | $621,889 |
| 7/19/2018 | $355,604 | $251,277 | $25,325 | $632,207 |
| 8/20/2018 | $358,819 | $248,135 | $21,200 | $628,155 |
| 9/19/2018 | $366,555 | $247,659 | $17,269 | $631,483 |
| 10/19/2018 | $367,799 | $249,039 | $18,821 | $635,660 |
| 11/19/2018 | $370,187 | $252,190 | $20,452 | $642,829 |
| 12/19/2018 | $371,441 | $247,785 | $22,951 | $642,177 |
| 1/18/2019 | $372,698 | $261,805 | $15,612 | $650,115 |
| 2/19/2019 | $381,959 | $269,694 | $12,227 | $663,881 |
| 3/19/2019 | $415,207 | $272,318 | $4,209 | $691,734 |
| 4/22/2019 | $180,686 | $407,082 | $116,846 | $704,614 |
| 5/17/2019 | $184,560 | $469,911 | $52,925 | $706,596 |
| 6/18/2019 | $205,000 | $469,992 | $24,516 | $699,508 |
| 7/19/2019 | $225,000 | $467,139 | $21,911 | $714,050 |
| 8/19/2019 | $240,000 | $466,210 | $17,344 | $723,554 |
| 9/19/2019 | $249,884 | $469,070 | $9,127 | $728,081 |
| 10/21/2019 | $261,638 | $453,285 | $21,236 | $736,159 |
Graphic: Canva / Jenny Hwang
Hey! Just wanted to say that while I don’t check in frequently, I do follow your blog as a fellow NoVA resident and pursuer of FI. I feel like this post was particularly poignant for me as lately I got engaged and am thinking about my soon-to-be-married life. We own a townhome in Bristow, and while we were recently looking to perhaps upgrade to something a little closer to our dream home, we saw how crazy expensive real estate has gotten. A townhouse in Chantilly for almost 500k??? What happened?? Anyway, seeing what is available in the market does wonders for my level of gratitude for what I have. We bought our townhome so that we could afford it on just my income (I’m an engineer), and that has been a very good move so far.
Sometimes, it is easy to miss the forest for the trees, and lately I’ve just been feeling super grateful. I, too, am not passionate about my work, but I acknowledge that I am very lucky to have this job, and it has afforded me a comfortable, secure lifestyle. Thanks for the wonderful perspective, and keep it up!
Wow, congrats on getting engaged! Yes, real estate is pretty pricey around here, but at least you own a TH now and hopefully take part in the ride up. I totally agree that if we just change our attitude, we can really be a lot happier with the things we have. Good luck on pursuing FI. I’d love to hear how you’re doing every once in a while. Thanks for the comment!