2008 Net Worth Results!

Well, this post isn’t as exciting as the title makes it sound.  My net worth did not grow in 2008.  In fact, it is down 3.09%.  

My goal was to grow my net worth by 25%, which was a lofty goal to begin with, but I never thought I would fail this spectacularly.

What happened?  Well, that’s obvious.  The market happened.  Overall, the value of my investments dropped by almost 30%.  That really hurts when I consider that I contributed to my Roth IRA and TSP this year.  (Overall, my TSP grew well, my Roth… did not.  I will have to seriously which funds to invest in this year.)

That said, I was a good little saver!  My savings increased a significant amount, and I will continue to keep that in savings accounts and CDs.  One thing that helped was getting a roommate mid-year.  I am hoping she will want to stay after she finishes grad school in May.  I know I can always get a new roommate, but this one is working out so well, and I have to admit, the idea of bringing in a random roommate from Craigslist scares me a little bit.  So if she decides to move, I will have some decisions to make.

Even with the overall loss, I’m really happy with 2008.  I made some very smart spending decisions and became a much more frugal person than I have ever been.  I certainly don’t feel like I’m scrimping on things, but I’m spending my money on things I truly want and need, not just something that catches my eye.  I’m amazed at how easy a transition it’s been.  Sure, there have been slipups, but I don’t feel deprived, and I’m clearly managing to put away more money than I thought possible.

Here’s to an even better 2009.  Perhaps even one with returns in the black!