November 2020 Net Worth update

November 2020 Net Worth update: $145,830

The month of November has been an eventful month. There has been lots of positive gains within the market due to great optimism of a change within the leadership in the U.S. plus a vaccine for Covid-19. This November 2020 Net Worth is a good one. 

With much less spending in this month due to less travel, events, and other gatherings, our spending has dropped and therefore our savings rate has increased.

This month alone we have saved around 76% of our take home pay. That is very exciting news. It seems as our income has gone up in this last contract, and our spending has stayed the same we are saving even more money. 

Every month will not have these big gains, but as we consistently save money and invest money we will continue to see a bit of a rise.

We like to tithe:

On a side note, Mrs. FE and I believe we are incredibly blessed. We live in Taiwan where there were no shut downs of the economy, we have kept our jobs, and life as usual has just kept on going.

As Christians we thank God, and give a tenth of our income as a tithe to people, our church, and any other mission focused organization. Our savings should be 66%. That is still awesome!

Vaccine and Election News:

The election is over, people are back to normal, and a vaccine has been announced. Ever since Joe Biden was looking like being the winner of the election there has been high enthusiasm in the air. People are looking to see some better leadership coming out of Washington. 

They are hopeful of a recovery in our pandemic stricken economy. There is a hope of some more stimulus to help small businesses recover in order to get the economy rolling again. 

There has also been news of a vaccine. That really has me and Mrs. FE excited.

We are hopeful to be able to travel again. Traveling is an expense we will spend money on. We are frugal travelers, but love to use our money on expenses. Plus Mrs. FE’s father is having his 70th birthday in April down in Australia. It would be great to visit the family and celebrate.

December is here:

I personally love the month of December. The weather is a bit cooler or summer if I am down in Australia. There are lots of events going on like Christmas movies, Christmas holiday events, and of course my birthday.

My birthday is close to the end of the year, so it seems like a week of celebrations from Christmas, my birthday, and New Years Eve. 

Through this month, I will be breaking down our investments over the past year. There will of course be some mistakes, successes, and new goals for 2021.

We are looking at trying to get our Net Worth close to $150,000 by the end of 2020. Each step is a step in the right direction.

Net Worth Breakdown

Here is the breakdown for November 2020 Net Worth:

Cash Savings: (+$2,607)

We have not moved much money into investments for November, but we have invested a little bit. Our cash savings is now sitting closer to $12,500, and in the month of December we will be transferring more money to our U.S. accounts in order to invest more of it. 

At $12,500, we have enough cash as an emergency fund that could last us a whole year without a job. That is good news.

Taxable Brokerage Account: (+$9,586)

Our investments soared this month. We were very fortunate to keep our strategy of investing and holding. If you are fearful that dips in the market will cause your portfolio to fall so instead you sell you will lose much more money when the market goes back up. 

I know plenty of people waiting on the sideline before the election. It was a big boom for us to buy and hold.

Roth IRA: (+$391)

Our Roth IRA slowly gained momentum as the market went up. There is not much money in it, but we let compound interest slowly grow it. Since I do not live in the states, it is hard to contribute to it without getting a penalty. So I keep building that taxable brokerage account.

My Wife's Super: (+$4,250)

Ever since we took over management of my wife’s super from her father, the funds have gone up farther than expected. The market has gone up, but we switched up the funds.

The yearly return is about 8.25%. The Super was originally in a balance fund which is returning close to 4.5%, and we switched it to an Index-Balance fund which has Austrian Total Market Index Fund and a International Total Market Index Fund. 

Every little bit counts to help us reach our goals.

Liabilities (+$260)

 Our Liabilities are down about $260. I am going to be honest, we just do not spend much money on our credit cards right now. We usually use them to travel, get points, and spend on other items.

Since the start of the pandemic we have spent less money. That is a great thing, but we still love to travel. It is a waiting game to see when we will get a vaccine to be able to travel again.

Getting Close to $150,000 Net Worth:

At the beginning of this year, I never realized how close we would get to $150,000. I think we had about $33,000 in our investment accounts, and a lot of idle cash waiting for a big trip to take. With the additions of the Super, more investing, and less spending, we have made great strides. 

Every month is different with new and different expenses. The market does not always go up month to month, but we are always going to stick with our strategy to buy and hold. We will continue to invest into low-cost index funds that track the total market. It is all about keeping investing simple. 

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment section.

Have a great December and remember to spend less than you make, stay out of debt, and invest the rest.