September 2017 Review and Net Worth Update

​Welcome to October!  The first week in October means that it’s time for September’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.

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Summary of activity:  September was a very busy month.  We went to RuPaul's Drag Con NYC which was a mega beak blast, but it left my posting schedule burnt.  I went to the dentist, my teeth are looking healthy and I got a 50% discount for paying out of pocket!  My sludge wave cleanup is almost complete.  All I have left to do is a little rock polishing on my budget and restoring my Digit and Acorns.
 
As for work, it was a month that started with a swords dance, but ended with a horn leech.  I finally caught the raise I have been after since May.  It’s not quite the increase I wanted, but I am satisfied with it.  Then, near the end of the month, my newest supervisor announced he was leaving after the first week in October.  Now, I will double team the best I can until that position is filled again.
 
Income Unusualness:  My base income increased this month along with a rare beast boost from overtime.  Along with my raise came the requirement to work 40 hours a week, so I no longer have budget required hours.
 
Overall Budget:  I have returned to paying bills on Friday or Saturday.  The only exception in September was Drag Con weekend when my bills and blog posts flinched.
 
Due to the restructuring of my financial pokémon team, my rent got split into four different places.  It was a substitute in my older primary checking account to protect it from stray bills while my newer primary checking account used follow me.  It was also split between my older rent savings account and my newer rent savings account.

Budget for October 2017

Budget changes:  With my new raise I have approximately $100 more to budget for each paycheck.  October's budget took me some time to settle.  I researched on how I adjusted my budget the last time I got a raise, in 2015. Then I checked my financial diary for my financial goals to develop a plan.
 
I started with my latest budget and added an extra Amex payment.  I budgeted a few extra dollars to both credit card payment totals to give them a nice little tailwind speed boost.  I added a line of different places to save money to for each paycheck.  I increased my rent by $25 to slowly build a rent savings light screen.  I’ll see how it holds up and make needed adjustments next month.
 
Net Worth:  This is the first time that my net worth has increased since March.  Although I am proud of some success, I know I need to keep working on it.  I would like to see skill linked fury swipes for another five-month streak before I start to think I have everything under control.  At this point in my life, it is still harder to rebuild than take a hit.  Hopefully, my raise can be my metronome.
 
Savings Accounts:  I have traded my rent savings from a savings account for a money market account.  I will be able to write rent checks directly from it and earn 0.90% interest each month.  I also switched the statement date on my Ally savings to be at the end of the month to accurately reflect the month’s progress, instead of the month before.  I made some deposits in my Ally savings from unbudgeted raise money.  As for my Way2Save account, I am keeping it as a way to save fun money.  Digit, has yet to be restored, or closed.  It is one of my projects for October.  I now have money budgeted for my Way2Save, Ally, Wedding and IRA Roth accounts.
 
Investments:  My Roth IRA, is doing well.  I noticed I received some dividends which I was not expecting from my Nintendo stock.  It is almost a year since I started my retirement account and bought my first stock, and it has made a great return so far.  Now that I have received a raise, I plan on investing more into it each month.  Anything is more than I have been saving monthly over the last year.  My additional investments also mean I will need to start researching stocks to invest it in again.
 
My Acorns is currently giving me a market gain of 11.28%, with a total loss of 0.71%.  For not receiving any new deposits since June, I find this remarkable.  One of my financial projects for October is to get this restored so I can begin encouraging my Acorns to sprout.   Blackrock went up this month as it just surfs the market.
 
Credit Card Relationship:  I was very responsible with my credit cards this month, which I can see reflected in my net worth.  I used only the 2PP for each card this month and nothing more.  October may be a little tricky with our honeymoon in the middle of it, but I will do my best.  My Visa's limit was automatically increased again, but I hope, as I usually do, that I will not need that increase and I will lower my balance.
 
Credit Card Extra Thoughts:  I am so excited to see how my raise will affect my credit cards.  I hope that it lowers them and gives me better control over my credit spending.  I have included a way to hold cash for potential purchases in my restructured financial pokémon team to hopefully encourage less credit spending.
 
Student Loans:  These continue to be sturdy.  My student-loan net balance went up a little in September, but I think that with my raise I can continue lowering the balances.  It is almost time to reapply for my Income-Driven Repayment plan for my Nelnet loans.  Once I reapply, I will find out what my payments will be for 2018 and I can apply my raise money to my student loans more strategically.  Until then, I'm just going to keep focusing it towards my credit cards.
 
Wedding accounts:  We used our wedding savings to payback some wedding credit card debt, since the 0% interest rate has ended, and our line of credit.  We intend on using some of the money on our honeymoon.  As for our line of credit, we will continue chipping away at it.
 
Other notes:  My restructured financial pokémon team is in place with new accounts up and running and other accounts closed down.  So far, I think I am really going to appreciate the changes.
 
I am bummed that I wasn’t able to post more often in September.  Drag Con weekend caused my posting schedule to flinch and I struggled to get back on track.  My friend Artist Samira and I are working something out to keep posts posted while I’m out of the country for two weeks.  We think we have it all figured out, but only time will tell.  I will be doing the Tweeting, Instagram, and Facebook updates whenever I get internet access.  If you want immediate updates when the next two posts are live, please subscribe for email updates.
 
 
It was an interesting plusle month.  All right October, let’s start battling old debt with new income and revamped financial pokémon team.
 
Let’s chat:  How did your finances hold out in September?   How are you prepared for the fall?

Further reading:
Rockstar Finances Blogdex Net Worth Tracker- more than 400 other bloggers’ net worths
August 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 husband’s finances are not included.  I include our wedding accounts on a separate line because it’s a gray area for me.
 
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 by removing any prior attachments, emotional or otherwise, so I can look at the numbers as just numbers.  (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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