Cracked 500k net worth

[FrugalUndercover]

Updated net worth spreadsheet today. Including home equity, and only just reached the level, so will vary with the stock market, but still.  Just wanted to share with the community that made it possible (MMMers and EREers)

[matchewed]

Congrats. :)

[Honest Abe]

Great job, congrats!

[arebelspy]

Way to go!

[Reepekg]

Huge congratulations and respect! This is my (seemingly far off) goal.

[plantingourpennies]

Congrats! We did the same thing last week according to Mint.

The number is getting increasingly abstract, and out of our direct control.

When it represents such a large multiple of our monthly income it is possible for a great month of savings be completely wiped out by a swing in the market. At the same time, a raise in the market can cover all types of errors in savings.

Do you track income and balance sheet monthly now, and will you continue to do so going forward?

Best,
Mr. PoP

[FrugalUndercover]

I have been updating my spreadsheet figures monthly recently. But I do track daily spending with an app on my phone. It makes me much more conscious of my spending (and future spending decisions). I don't want to get too obsessed with tracking numbers, but it is always good to look back on data. And it definitely highlighted to me the disconnect (or inverse relationship?) between spending and happiness (at least to my pre-mmm self)

[icefr]

Woo!!! That's awesome!

[Reepekg]

When it represents such a large multiple of our monthly income it is possible for a great month of savings be completely wiped out by a swing in the market. At the same time, a raise in the market can cover all types of errors in savings.

This is kind of terrifying for someone like me who gets a kick out of putting away money and watching the net worth tick upwards.

Does it work to get excited that stocks are on sale when your net worth trends downward?

[Inquizator]

First, congrats to the OP!

When it represents such a large multiple of our monthly income it is possible for a great month of savings be completely wiped out by a swing in the market. At the same time, a raise in the market can cover all types of errors in savings.

This is kind of terrifying for someone like me who gets a kick out of putting away money and watching the net worth tick upwards.

Does it work to get excited that stocks are on sale when your net worth trends downward?

In our monthly tracking I track savings and net worth increase separately, so that I always capture truly how we did with savings. I feel that making that number (and the percentage I calculate from it) the focus and goal helps keep me from getting caught up in market swings, etc.

[arebelspy]

Does it work to get excited that stocks are on sale when your net worth trends downward?

Yeah, I hate when my net worth goes up due to gains in my portfolio.

I want it to go down every month for my accumulation phase for a long time before it shoots up.

For me it's real estate right now instead of stocks, but when my net worth is shooting up due to my properties being worth more, it SUCKS!  That means I can't buy properties as cheap.  I'd much rather have a lower net worth and be picking up amazing deals.

I'd be very happy for a down/flat market (real estate and equities) for my whole accumulation phase, and have my growth in net worth be 100% due to savings.

[FiveSigmas]

Yeah, I hate when my net worth goes up due to gains in my portfolio.

I want it to go down every month for my accumulation phase for a long time before it shoots up.

For me it's real estate right now instead of stocks, but when my net worth is shooting up due to my properties being worth more, it SUCKS!  That means I can't buy properties as cheap.  I'd much rather have a lower net worth and be picking up amazing deals.

I'd be very happy for a down/flat market (real estate and equities) for my whole accumulation phase, and have my growth in net worth be 100% due to savings.

That sounds like some sort of variant of #FirstWorldProblems -- maybe #SeniorMustachianProblems? :-)

BTW: Congrats, OP.

[Baylor3217]

What age, if you're willing to share?

How long have you been saving?

[FrugalUndercover]

29, DINK. But there was definitely some lucky timing with share investments. Saving stepped up since discovering ere through jacobs book early 2011, then followed the torch here

[happy]

Fantastic, congratulations! Way to go at 29!

[plantingourpennies]

When it represents such a large multiple of our monthly income it is possible for a great month of savings be completely wiped out by a swing in the market. At the same time, a raise in the market can cover all types of errors in savings.

This is kind of terrifying for someone like me who gets a kick out of putting away money and watching the net worth tick upwards.

Does it work to get excited that stocks are on sale when your net worth trends downward?

Sure! But there is still something lost for us when the direct link between saving more and watching your net worth grow is lost. We may start doing the balance sheet quarterly and just track out expenses; we're currently using inquisinator's method and concentrating on the direct savings at the end of each month.

But if somebody knows how to quantify and track happiness, I'm kind of looking into that as well.

PAW Problems- http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3u0swi/

Best,
Mr. PoP

[arebelspy]

But if somebody knows how to quantify and track happiness, I'm kind of looking into that as well.

I've seen a few different methods.

My suggestion is to just be happy all the time, and when you notice you aren't happy, start being happy.  No need to track it.

Think of it like being thirsty.  Your normal "thirst" state is fine, and you do things that keep you quenched (drinking water). Set your normal "happiness" level to fine, and do things that keep you happy (pleasurable and satisfying and meaningful things).

Your default state then is fine, not thirsty (aka happy). When you notice you are thirsty, you drink more. Similarly, when you notice you aren't happy, do more happy making activities.

In that situation, would you track your thirst?  Would you say "let me see when I'm thirstier, and track if my thirst levels are improving?"  That seems silly to me.  Instead, just fix it when you aren't thirsty.  Happiness is much the same.

YMMV. :)

PAW Problems- http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3u0swi/

I showed that to my wife and she bust out laughing!

She loves that meme, and that one is so applicable.  Thanks for sharing!  :D

[Kriegsspiel]

But if somebody knows how to quantify and track happiness, I'm kind of looking into that as well.

I've seen a few different methods.

My suggestion is to just be happy all the time, and when you notice you aren't happy, start being happy.  No need to track it.

This is a very effective method.

[icefr]

For me it's real estate right now instead of stocks, but when my net worth is shooting up due to my properties being worth more, it SUCKS!

How often do you update your properties' value in your net worth? Do you do a comparative market analysis online every 6-12 months or so and then update your net worth? Redfin says my condo has gone up 18% in the last 10 months, which seems like a pretty significant increase to me, while representative of the adjusted value of my unit against comparable recent sales within a block of my building. At the same time, I don't want my net worth to be an inaccurate representation of my assets by keeping the condo value at the purchase price.

[arebelspy]

For me it's real estate right now instead of stocks, but when my net worth is shooting up due to my properties being worth more, it SUCKS!

How often do you update your properties' value in your net worth? Do you do a comparative market analysis online every 6-12 months or so and then update your net worth? Redfin says my condo has gone up 18% in the last 10 months, which seems like a pretty significant increase to me, while representative of the adjusted value of my unit against comparable recent sales within a block of my building. At the same time, I don't want my net worth to be an inaccurate representation of my assets by keeping the condo value at the purchase price.

Monthly, with the rest of my net worth.  I use the online valuation sites, which I would never do were I actually selling.

However I'm okay with not doing it accurately, because I don't care about accuracy, but rather want a consistent number.  Using a site like Zillow or Redfin, which is inaccurate, works fine to track NW if you use it consistently.  Even if your NW is off, who cares, as it's just a number anyways, but it'll at least be fairly consistently off (typically) if you use it regularly in the same way, just for tracking growth.

But yes, were I to care about accuracy in numbers, rather than in growth, I'd do it quite differently.

That's my thoughts on that, YMMV.

[dragoncar]

My suggestion is to just be happy all the time, and when you notice you aren't happy, start being happy.  No need to track it.