2022 Summer Update: August 17th
Retirement Savings:
Summer 2016: $85K. Now it is $415K (we've continually contributed, just not enough to compensate for the down market)
Debts:
Summer 2016: $70K owed on student loans and $14K on a car. Student debts are paid off; we owe roughly $25K on a new (2022) car that will get us to retirement.
Daycare:
Summer 2016: $800/month. Now we just pay for an occasional camp (less than $500/year)
Kids' College:
Summer 2016: $6K total. Current total is $33K, which is 66% of the way to our $50K goal.
Net Worth (Retirement Accounts, Brokerage Account, Cash, CDs, Home Equity, but not Vehicles, Checking
In summer 2016, it was $118K. Now, it is $580K (down market)
Still, we cash flowed travel (Alaska and Colorado) as well as some work to our house. My $230K home valuation is VERY conservative; our home is easily worth $260K in this market. All in all, it was a good year!
EDITED JULY 8, 2021: For the past few summers, I've been revisiting my first thread from summer 2016, so I figured let's keep it going.
Retirement Savings:
Summer 2016: $85K. Now it is $422K.
Debts:
Summer 2016: $70K owed on student loans and $14K on a car. Those are all paid off now.
Daycare:
Summer 2016: $800/month. Now we just pay for an occasional camp (less than $1000/year)
Kids' College:
Summer 2016: $6K total. They now total $28K. Goal is to get Kiddo #1 $25K (starts college in 3 years) and Kiddo #2 $30K (starts college in 6 years)
Net Worth (Retirement Accounts, Brokerage Account, Cash, CDs, Home Equity
In summer 2016, it was $118K. Now, it is $591K.
This year we've opened a taxable brokerage account, maxed out our Roth IRAs, and cash-flowed two (overdue) vacations. We will likely need a new (used) vehicle in the next year or two (mine is 18 years old) and the house needs some maintenance (siding, gutters) but we should be able to cash flow all of that.
EDITED AUG 2, 2020: Well, after 4 years on the forum, here's a summary of our progress in different areas. It's a quick snapshot into our lives 4+ years ago, just around the time I started posting in the forum.
Retirement Savings:
In summer 2016, it was $85K. Now it is $295K. We've maxed out IRAs five years in a row.
Debts:
In summer 2016, we owed $70K for student debts. The balance is down to $23K now.
In summer 2016, we owed $14K on one of our cars. It's been paid off or a while now.
Daycare:
In 2016, we were paying $800/month. We've been at $0 for the past two years now (would have had summer costs for youngest this year, but covid-19 crushed that)
Kids' College
In summer 2016, the kids' college accounts totaled $6K. Now they total $22K and we have monthly contributions on autopay (this is an area we need to do better in)
Net Worth
In summer 2016, it was $118K. Now, it is almost $421k (with a goal of hitting $500k by Dec 2021, but the markets will mostly decide that)
What have biggest influencers in our progress?
1) No more daycare. Daycare costs really devastate budgets for dual-income couples w/ kiddos;
2) Health insurance costs decreased for us (my wife gets a sweet deal for health insurance, it's amazing; and
3) Focusing on investing so that our money makes money. It's become automatic for us now.
EDITED JUNE 12, 2019: I wanted to provide an update summarizing progress we've made in the almost three years I've been on the forum. The main reasons are:
1) To thank the awesome people on this forum for being such a wonderful support system.
2) To show other folks posting in Case Studies, many of whom might be seeing the light bulb click on for the first time, that progress is absolutely doable!
3) To give myself a boost in comparing the crappy situation we were in three years ago with the not-great-but-not-nearly-as-crappy situation we're in now.
Retirement Savings:
In summer 2016, it was $85K. Now it is $219K. We are both on pace to max out our 401ks this year. We've maxed out IRAs four years in a row.
Debts:
In summer 2016, we owed $70K in student debts. Now it is down to $37K.
In summer 2016, we owed $14K on car. Now it is paid off.
Daycare:
In 2016, we were paying $800 month. We've been at $0 for the past year. (although we will have summer camp costs)
Kids' College
In summer 2016, the kids' college accounts totaled $6K. Now they total $18K and we have monthly contributions on auto pay.
Net Worth
In summer 2016, it was $118K. Now, it is $320k (with a goal of hitting $500k by Dec 2021, but the markets will mostly decide that)
I am NOT the most financially savvy guy in the world, but I feel like I've learned a tremendous amount being on this forum for three years. We've learned how to hack better for vacations. We saved money negotiating with the bank for a lower % when we bought our new-to-us-house two years ago. We've learned to prioritize retirement savings. I will drive my 16-year-old vehicle until it dies (or I pass it down to my daughter). Perhaps most importantly, we have hit our stride in our current jobs, and are enjoying work/life balance that others strive for.
Thanks to all who have helped!
EDITED JULY 17, 2018: I wanted to provide an update showing the progress we've made in the two years I've been on these forums...
Investing
Total investments have grown in two years from $85K to about $168K, so almost doubled, and we're still pouring lots in. Two years ago, my wife was putting 5% into 401k with a 3% match and I had no 401K at all. Now, for the rest of 2018, she is putting 45% into 401k so she will max it out at $18500 at year's end. And I now have a 401K, and I'm putting in 25% each week, or about $380/week. We have maxed out our Roth IRAs for three years in a row (just maxed out this year's Roth IRAs today).
Debts
Two years ago, we had one paid off car, and another with a balance of about $14K. Two years later, we still have the paid off car, and the other car's balance is down to about $4500 and we could pay if off at any time, but because it's at 1.9%, we're choosing to prioritize other things. Student Loans are down from $70K in summer 2016 to $50K in summer 2018, and we're continuing to whack away at pace of $1000/month. Rate is 4.375%, so over $800 per month goes to principle.
Daycare:
Two years ago, we were paying about $800 per month. Starting in August, we will be down to ZERO per month.
Additional Income:
I've earned about $16,000 in book sales since summer 2016. I expect to earn another $8K-$10K for the rest of 2018.
Overall Net Worth
Two years ago, it was $118K. Now it is $231K, so $113K increase in two years, even with flat market the past 6 months. Goal is to hit $250K as soon as possible, and $300K by end of 2019, but I think we can beat that. My wife just earned a $7500 bonus, and our health insurance is actually much cheaper than before due to a HDP (her work tossed in $5K into our HSA). So with no daycare, lower health insurance, two 401ks, maxed out Roth IRAs, a nice newer house with 40% equity, $25K in cash accounts, continuing book income, and the prospect of additional bonuses before year's end, I am VERY optimistic about making a lot of additional progress by next summer, when I'll do another yearly review!
And since these were my goals two years ago...
1) kill the debt (attacking student loans aggressively! they are prepaid for like 2.5 years)
2) up investments big time (almost doubled!)
3) save for kids' college (not much movement, but they will each have $5K in their accounts soon)
I LOVE this site, and I REALLY appreciate everyone who chimed in and helped me turn things around.
(original post)
Yes I'm brand new to this whole MMM thing. Actually, that's just mostly true - I lurked on the boards for about a month before creating my account today.
We are a married couple, 42 (me) and 37 (her), with two elementary school aged kiddos. It just seems like we have SOOOOO many different goals that it's hard to prioritize. We're making some progress but it's slower than I'd like. Here is a rough monthly budget and our balance sheet (est).
Monthly Budget
Take home
$3600 (me) (no benefits - I work for a small office)
$2200 (her) (she puts 5% into 401k with a 3% match)
$700 (me) (from a side job, the amount fluctuates month to month, but usually between $500 to $1000..it is passive income)
$500 (her) (car reimbursement payment from her work)
$7000 most months. I sometimes get a bonus based on the money I bring into the office; the bonus can vary from $500 up to $10,000 per month
Monthly Expenses (these are rounded, usually to the nearest $50, because I don't have all the exact #s with me)
Mortgage $950 (owe about $70K left on a $140K house, we have 11 years left on mortgage)
1 Car $500 (owe about $14K on a $20K car, we're on track to have it paid off in 2.5 years)
Student Loans $800 (owe about $70K, at this rate it will be paid off in 8 years)
Health Insurance $750 (this is for me and the kiddos; my wife is insured through work)
Groceries $1000
Daycare $800 (2 children, part-time, before and after school)
Gas/Oil $150 (tops - our jobs are close and my wife's mileage is paid by work)
Cable $125
Phone $75 (my wife's work pays for her phone)
Utilities (electric/gas/water) $150
Eating out $240
Blow Money $240 (each of us gets $120 per month)
Life Insurance $30
Auto Insurance $100 (2 vehicles, about $600 every six months)
Clothes $100 (mostly for the kids)
Gifts/Charity $100
$6,110
You can see that we have about $900 left most months.
Assets:
House $140K ($70K in equity)
Car 1 $20K
Car 2 $5K
Cash $20K
Investments $85K total in 401k, Roth IRA
Extra in Checking Account $2000
TOTAL ASSETS $272K
Kiddos' college funds have about $3K each (didn't count these as assets)
Liabilities:
Mortgage $70K (paying regular payments on a 15 year mortgage, we have 11 years left)
Student Loans $70K (about 5% rate, paying $800 per month, but we just recently upped it to that amount)
Car Note: $14K left on a $20 car, we're using my wife's $500 per month car allowance entirely on the car, so our payments are a bit higher than required. Will be paid off in 2.5 years at current rate)
TOTAL LIABILITIES: $154K
NET WORTH $118K. This is too low for someone my age!
A word about my bonuses. They vary WILDLY! Some months I get no bonus at all. Most months are between $500 and $1000. But some are big. I have a bonus coming up next month that should be $7000 net. My wife wants to use it to get some work on the house done. The work does need to be done soon, but it's not an emergency. I'd prefer to throw the $7000 on student loans and start punching those in the face. Alternatively, I'd like to go ahead and max out my Roth IRA for the year and start one for my wife. And then we have the kids' pathetic college accounts with hardly anything in them.
How do we prioritize these goals??
1) kill the debt
2) up investments big time
3) save for kids' college (I view this as the lowest on the totem pole as they are both bright and should get scholarships)
Punch away!!