August was a roller coaster for the stock market. With the market dropping 600 points and Donald Trump fanning the trade flames in a trade war with China, I thought for sure this was going to be my first down month. But instead, the market turned around and I finished the month in positive territory.
Fueled by all the unsettling news, I decided to reevaluate my portfolio. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything in my power to reduce or eliminate, if possible, any financial trauma from a drastic market down turn/recession. I’m happy to report, after doing a deep dive into my finances that I like where I am and where I’m headed financially. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I’m comfortable with the amounts of money being allocated toward emergency savings, retirement and investing.
But just as I was about to pat myself on the back, I came across an article asking, “What would your net worth be if the internet suddenly went out?”
This was too horrifying for me to think about. The question immediately brought to mind a scene from Billions, where the FBI was coming to raid Axe’s home. He and his wife had to quickly clear out their home vault, which was filled with millions in cash, gold and silver for such an emergency.
I don’t have a when-s%$t-hits-the-fan fund. Should cold, hard cash, physical gold and silver be a part of everyone’s portfolio? A lot of critics say if we are all starving cash, gold and silver will be worthless. I’m not so sure that I agree with that. What if s$%t only hits the fan on a personal level? It was now clear that my portfolio wasn’t perfect after all : ( So, I decided to add a bit of CGS to my portfolio in August and will continue to add a very small amount monthly. Where do you stand on making CGS a part of your portfolio or is it just for the paranoid?
Okay, enough of my dystopian money prepping. Time for the net worth update:
August 2019 Net Worth Update
Assets
Cash Accounts
Checking $ 500.00 (no change)
Savings $ 4,203.00 (+$2)
Business $ 5,297.00 (+$406)
MM/E Fund $ 13,599.00 (+$472)
Taxable Investment Accounts
Ally Brokerage $ 12,538.00 (+$1,141)
Investing MM $ 639.00 (+139)
Vanguard $ 698.00 (+$66)
Acorns $ 479 (+69)
Tax Advantage/Retirement
Bonds $ 16,031.00 (+$230)
SEP IRA $ 11,439.00 (+$210)
Traditional IRA $ 19,582.00 (+$474)
$85,005.00
Liabilities:
Credit Card: $258.00
- Checking: All savings/bills are automatically deducted from this account. Any money left over after deductions is sent to Acorns and the emergency fund.
- Savings (P to P): This account is hovering around $4,203.00. No big changes here.
- SEP IRA: The stock market sputtered at the end of July taking back most of the gains that I made.
- Traditional IRA: Decent gains this month but the automatic deposit kept it heading upward
- Business Account: This account is finally headed in the right direction and if things work out the way I plan, I’ll be introducing a new stream of income to this account soon.
- The E/Fund: Haven’t had any reason to hit up the emergency fund. It continues to grow at a modest pace.
- Stocks (taxable): Purchased a few shares of BAC (Bank of America) but I still have a long way to go before I double last year’s dividend earnings.
- Bonds: As you know, the interest rate on I-bonds was lowered to 1.98%. This is still way above what most major banks are offering.
- Ally Investment money: Still chasing my dividend goals so there is almost no chance of me saving $1000.
If you don’t know how to get started on your journey start with figuring out your net worth. Knowing my net worth has made all the difference on this journey. My goal is to make certain that it goes up every single month. This is something that I’ve managed to do for more than two years. The tool I use and recommend for calculating your net worth is Personal Capital.
It is a fight to build wealth no matter where you are in the process. Everything around us conspires to take money out of our hands. But you must fight the good fight. Continue to save, invest, and grow your net worth even when it seems impossible. Save your pennies (copper) until they become dollars (cotton).
