A Post about Net Worth

So, lately I’ve been very interested in reading and writing about raising our net worth. Since we just finished our 9 week class that we facilitated for the first time in our home called “Financial Peace University”. We have been following the Baby Steps that FPU teaches since 2011 and have since been able to pay off all of our debt other than our personal residence, replace our cars by paying cash, build up an emergency fund that is at this time 70%  funded towards our goal of $15,000, and lastly, we’ve been able to take multiple vacations debt free because we save up monthly in our sinking fund so that we can pay cash for everything that we want to do. It has been very liberating and frustrating at times throughout our journey. But, I can say, without a doubt, that we are doing good things with our money, and are in a much better place financially, then we ever were at any other point in our lives. 

So, what drives me to want to raise my net worth and grow our finances instead of just spending everything that we make? I am in love with the margin that it creates. Being able to make decisions from a point of opportunity instead of desperation is huge for us. By being able to take more time to make our decisions, we are able to hunt down even better deals then when we feel that we have to have something “now”. 

I have been inspired by another blogger that has been blogging for quite some time and actually openly publishes his net worth from month to month and explains how his money is growing or where he has made mistakes each month. He has been tracking this for 87 months straight at the time of this post and it is truly amazing what he has done! Seeing the authenticity and the accountability that running that blog has created for him has gotten me excited about trying to get on the same track. 

So, where am I at right now? I have been actually tracking my net worth for some time now using a program called Mint.com. As of today, my net worth stands at $67,844.13. My goal for 2015 is to get it up to over $80,000. This is a lofty goal as I started out at $61,998.49 at the beginning of this year. But, I believe that it should be attainable and even if I don’t hit it this year, I will be making great strides towards it and will be further in my quest! 

  

As you can see, it’s not going to happen overnight. We have consistently been working to make this number improve over time. However, as you can see, we have moved in a more upward trend since we have started. Everyone will have their ups and downs and will have to work to make each month better then the last. 

By looking at where I am now, I should try to set a goal of where I want to be. I would love to be able to cross the millionaire mark in the next 15 years as we continue to pay down the house, grow our retirement and continue to live on less then we make.