Monthly Update: April 2008 (-$49,955.13, +$3,212.10)
We managed to blow through the first quarter of 2008 in good shape considering all the changes we have undertaken.
The slight bounce in the financial markets helped overshadow a lack of new contributions to our savings and investments. Our net worth is now above the -$50,000 level for the first time since December 2007.
Here are the results for the month ending in April:
My Guidance to these numbers is as follows:
The interest earned on our cash savings continues its fall in April.
This is no surprise as the Fed has been dropping interest rates for the benefit of the economy as a whole. The optimist in me reminds us that this is still an extra $200/month in our pockets thanks to the generosity of the credit card companies and thier 0% balance transfer offers.
In what we hope will not become a trend, we also made a small withdrawal from savings to help cover the expenses for our upcoming move.
It was nice to see some gain in our investment portfolio in April.
I don’t get too excited about these short term changes in our portfolio. They help make our net worth numbers look better but they have very little influence on our day to day finances.
I have invested very little time and effort here and used the services of an uncle who is a financial planner.
The quarterly statement for my consolidated school loans arrived
It added another ~$800 to the balance for my school loans. It has been disheartening to watch this balance grow and to not make any payments on it. That will change this fall when I begin repayment on this loan.
I am happy with our Net Worth numbers for this stage in my career
The real challenge for us over the next 12 months will be maintaining enough of a cash flow to avoid having to dip into savings.
Our family has benefited greatly from having my wife at home with our daughter. However, our lifestyle and upcoming move are likely to bring expenses that we will not be able to cover on a single salary alone.
