Happy April Fool’s Day! This also means that it’s time for March’s Review and Net Worth Update. For those who are new to The Grown-Up Pkmn Trainer, each month I write a financial review to xatu my net worth by writing down my thoughts on the previous and following months. I share these summaries so everyone can gain insight into my personal finances and my thoughts behind them. I started tracking my net worth to measure my progress, inspired by Budgets Are Sexy, which has helped me pay closer attention to my personal finances. I have been tracking my net worth since January 2015 and writing monthly financial reviews for myself since 2016. I recommend tracking net worth because it has been such a helpful tool to see my personal finances stat changes all in one place. Summary of activity: March was a five-paycheck month which meant an extra paycheck to power split across my bills. I filed my taxes this month and learned that I earned more in 2015 than I did in 2016. Besides that, it was a rather calm month of wedding prep and visiting the doctor and dentist.
Income Unusualness: I got paid for the show I designed in February and I received one-third of my tax refund. Overall Budget: I thought I adapted to my $25/week groceries budget, but this month I was reminded why it was $30/week. Groceries are just more expensive in this neighborhood and I’m currently too busy/lazy to find affordable alternatives. So, I'm going to try one last month at $25/week and see if I can still do it or if I need to sharpen it back up. I saved some extra rent money for the next couple of four-paycheck months. Budget changes: I got a newer phone this month, so my phone bills will be higher and thrash about until I pay it off. I also created a stashed section to track rent money I stockpiled in March for April and May. Net Worth: I am glad to see a sharp increase this month. I feel like every five-paycheck month should increase since I have an extra paycheck to razor leaf bills with. I think April and May may receive some recoil damage from putting my medical bills on my credit cards. I also see financial whirlpools ahead as we surf closer to our wedding date. Savings Accounts: The wedding account is still going strong, and our line of credit to savings ratio is still positive, which is good. I expect this to change since we have at least one trip a month during the next three months to finish onsite planning while attending other friends' weddings. We're reaching our victory road of wedding planning. Ally grew some from my design-gig paycheck and it could finally swallow the money stockpiled to pay taxes. It will also be quick guarding the other two-thirds of my tax refund when it arrives until I can figure out what to do with it. Egg, HM02, and unemployment accounts are on hold until after the wedding. Investments: My Roth IRA, still all in Nintendo stock improved. One option for my other refund money is to put it in here. My Acorns is currently giving me a market gain of 5.69%, with a total loss of 3.39%. It's not great, but at least it's doing more than a magikarp splash. Because of my newer phone, I haven’t signed into the app and just spent the month blindly letting it do whatever. I was quite refreshed to see it is doing fine. Although I liked my other portfolio better, this one is doing fine. I won’t see a real change until it's time to change again. Blackrock went down, but it just flows with the market. I haven't started an UTMA investment account, or saving for one, for my nephew yet, and don’t know when I'll get to it. Credit Card Relationship: I used all of my pp for both my Amex and Visa this month. I did a good job not using them until the second half of the month when I needed to pay for my dentist and doctor visits. I also spent some on small things. Credit Card Extra Thoughts: Another option for my other refund money is to pay back some of my credit cards. Student Loans: UAS and ASP continue going down while Nelnet goes up. My total seems to be a consistent decreasing stat change which is great to see. I used my one third tax refund money to double this month's payment for my UAS loans. We'll see the damage from that move come into play next month. I may also use the rest of my refund money towards Nelnet. Those loans are speed boosting and I know that all of that money will be go straight to paying off interest, which will be handy during tax season next year. Other notes: The blog is going well. I have no worry seed about getting income from it quite yet. Right now I am enjoying it being ad free and just focusing my attention on my content. Although I haven't received my other refund money yet, I am struggling to figure out where to direct it to do the most damage and be the most helpful in the long run. I have the ability to grow my retirement, attack either my credit cards or my student loans or a little of all three. It was a lovely plusle of a month. I’m ready April, let’s battle! How was your March? Have you finished your taxes yet? What do you think I should do with my other refund money? Further reading: Rockstar Finances Blogdex Net Worth Tracker- over 200 other bloggers’ net worths February 2017 Review and Net Worth Update- Last month’s review and update *A few notes about my net worth* My net worth only tracks my personal assets and liabilities. My fiancé’s finances are not included. I include our wedding accounts on a separate line because it’s a gray area I haven’t figured out yet. The numbers are taken from each month’s statements. I don’t use dollar signs because looking at just the numbers helps me focus energy easier for analyzing because I can look at just the numbers without any attachment, emotional or otherwise. (In my excel file, I don’t use commas either.) I use plusle-red, and minun-blue for illustrative purposes. (In my excel file they are all in black.)
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