Did you know that 84% of all stocks are owned by the wealthiest 10% of American households? That means the stock market plunging into the red over Trump’s tariff stance had absolutely no impact on the majority of the population’s personal finances.
But it also means that the majority of the population didn’t benefit from the 10-year rise in the stock market where an unprecedented amounts of wealth were created.
So, I write today taking pride in the fact that my personal economy was indeed impacted by the recent stock market sell off. I didn’t reach the net worth numbers I was aiming for because I’ve reached a point where I have a lot more money in the stock market than I do sitting in cash. And since I’m no longer a newbie to investing, I used the downturn in the market to buy more of what I already owned and to buy any stocks on my watch list that were now on sale.
Forever the optimist. I think June will prove to be a better month for my net worth. I’m back to only having mortgage debt and I made a few adjustments to my automatic deposits that I’ll discuss below.
May 2019 Net Worth Update
Assets
Cash Accounts
Checking $ 550.00 (+$50)
Savings $ 4,050.00 (+$50)
Business $ 3,785.00 (+$715)
MM/E Fund $ 12,050.00 (+$650)
Taxable Investment Accounts
Ally Brokerage $ 10,254.00 (+$549)
Investing MM $ 273.00 (-$419)
Vanguard $ 462.00 (+$47)
Tax Advantage/Retirement
Bonds $ 15,340.00 (+$329)
SEP IRA $ 9,981.00 (-$182)
Traditional IRA $ 17,129 (-$109)
$73,874.00
Liabilities:
Credit Card: $0.00
- Checking: I ended up with an extra $50 after all the bills were paid last month. I’ll probably throw it into the emergency fund. The rest is just for bills coming out like clockwork.
- Savings (P to P): This account is at a level where I feel comfortable. I topped it off with my tax return. And I won’t be adding anything to it other than the $25 automatic deposit that keeps my account free of charges. This account has no interest at 0.04% but I keep this money here to avoid having to touch my emergency fund. I won’t allow it to go past $4,250. Anything over that amount will be transferred to the emergency fund.
- SEP IRA: This account had big swings this month; it was down $400-plus and came back a little to finish down $182
- Traditional IRA: This account is 80 percent invested in an S&P 500 total market fund and basically did what the market did. It was down more than $600 but my monthly $500 deposit and a slight market upswing, left me down $109
- Business Account: I didn’t have to pay the accountant or a huge credit card bill, so the business account is on track to reach new highs over the next few months. The money in this account is being saved for an investment property. I’m not looking forward to being a landlord but I can’t justify a portfolio built solely on paper assets and I don’t include my home as an asset or liability (unless I’m in the process of selling).
- The E/Fund: I haven’t had any reason to hit up the emergency fund so this continues to grow at a modest pace. The account is only a quarter of where it needs to be before I stop adding to it. I’ll just keep plugging away.
- Stocks (taxable): Added a new stock and added to more to an old position during the downturn.
- Bonds: The interest rate on I-bonds was lowered to 1.98% for the six months and while this is not horrible, currently I get a better rate with my money market that has a current rate of 2.10% and I’ve seen other online banks with rates as high as 2.45%
- Ally Investments: I continue to buy bargains as soon as I see them. It’s going to take me receiving a lump for me to get this account back up to $1000+
- Credit Card debt: Currently stands at $0.00 and I’m loving it. I’m in a no-spend zone because of April and I hope it lasts the entire summer.
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).
