Well, another three months have passed (almost), so it's time to check out my net worth.
It's been a busy three months, financially speaking. I finally got rid of my old car and bought a new car. So I fully assumed my net worth calculations wouldn't be so great. Even though the car's only around a month old, I still used my standard practice of checking the Kelley Blue Book value to use in the net worth calculations. It's pretty sad how much a car depreciates once it's driven off the lot. Yes, this is a reason you should buy a used car. I don't care, I still bought a new car and I love it. Along with the new car comes a car loan. I actually plan to pay this off well before it's due, but for now, I'm making the standard payments.
My cash accounts are mixed. I didn't put much into cash savings. And by that, I mean I didn't save anything. Not the best plan, all in all. I'm trying to work things so I can put more money into savings every month.
My investments are also mixed. Some went up, others slipped a bit. My retirement accounts are still looking good though, and those are important numbers. I'm continuing my automatic contributions, and planning a nice, comfortable retirement in 30+ years.
In home ownership news, I'm still chipping away at my mortgage, and according to Zillow, the value of my home increased. I expect that to drop slightly. A home across the street is currently on sale and they've had to drop the price a few times. My house has been upgraded more recently (kitchen, flooring, etc), so in actuality, I'm sure my home would bring a higher price, but Zillow would consider our houses similar when figuring out the value.
So what are the end numbers? Well, my overall net worth went up 1.9%. It's a move in the right direction, but it's also the smallest change I've had in a long time. The car purchase was definitely a big hit (I currently owe more than the value of my car, according to KBB), but the cash accounts aren't doing great either. The lesson here is that I need to work more on saving. This month, for example, I spent way too much money going out to meals with friends. It's awesome to spend time with people, but if I'm going to do that, I need to cut back in other areas. It's a theme that you'll see repeated here. I need to work on spending less and saving more.