Friday 2 January 2015

December 2014 Net Worth: $568,000 (+1.2%) and Expenditure Tracker

This is my last net worth and expenditure tracker for 2014.  The detail and effort I put into maintaining my budget tracker this years sometimes had me wanting to give up but I'm glad I pushed through with it.  I'm probably not going to include the same level of detail next year for several reasons but it was instructive to go through the process this year.

The expenditure targets in these series of posts come from my 2014 Financial Goals post where I set out a lot of what I wanted to achieve for the year.  This was a 'no saving' year for me - I tried to pack in as many goals that I had been meaning to do for a while (and a few new ones) without dipping into my savings at all.

December 2014 Net Worth: $568,000 (+1.2%)


Value% Change
Assets$932,000+1.2%
Liabilities$364,000+1.2%
Net worth$568,000+1.2%


What drove my net worth performance this month?

I was really surprised at how good my net worth performance was this month given that there were several negative factors to come through.  Most of the factors relating to performance this month were actually expenditure related however there were one or two quirky factors which I have outlined below:
  • Positive factors
    • A quirk in my bonus calculation made up more than half my gain this month
      • My bonus is paid in November and the large step up can be seen in that month.  However in November I had not yet been allocated my deferred compensation so I included a tax adjusted estimate for this compensation in my net worth calculation
      • In December I was actually allocated the number of shares.  These shares are not taxable until they vest in a few years time and I don't include the tax impact on these shares until they actually do vest
      • As a result I got a 'write back' of the tax that I had included in my November net worth post
    • A rebounding share market helped...a lot
      • The last few months have been quite painful on the share market however the December rally definitely helped my performance
  • Negative factors
    • I started paying for my wedding
      • I have been saving for my wedding for the entire year and although most of the expenses will be in 2015 when I actually get married I started having to put down deposits for things like the venue and engagement party etc. 
      • Although I have budgeted for all of these they still impact my net worth as I spend the cash
    • I bought and paid for (part) of my sports car
      • I have been talking about buying my sports car for years and this month I finally did it
      • Again this was fully budgeted and saved for however the cash has actually started to flow out.  As I'm buying it from Japan I haven't paid all the costs yet.  I've paid the Auction House for the value of the car and also the compliance center here a deposit to start the process of bringing it in. 
    • I loosened the purse strings a little around Christmas / Boxing Day
      • I actually spent a lot of money this Christmas on going out and presents but I also spent a lot more than usual at the Boxing Day sales this year.  I bought a new TV and gaming console which set me back $1,500
      • This isn't like me at all but I have been trying to live in the moment more and I gave into a bit of consumerism.

What is my outlook for next month?

Next month I will see a large drop in my net worth.  This is a combination of factors including more expenses on my car and wedding however the biggest factor will be the inclusion of the total cost of my wedding and honeymoon as a liability (whereas currently it only impacts my net worth as I spend the cash).  I know it is going to happen and I'm saving for it so the savings should offset the expenses and leave me neutral.

The calculation of my net worth is also going to become more complicated as I co-mingle my finances more with my fiance. I am targeting a net worth of $500,000 for January 2015 (which will hopefully reflect all the large future expenses that I have coming up).

December 2014 Expenditure Tracker

ItemApr 2014Monthly TargetPerf. vs Target
Accommodation / Living expenses $3,179$2,246+$934
Car expenses$291$692-$401
Health / Well being expenses$472$566-$94
Entertainment / Personal expenses $1,381$1,230+$151
Travel expenses$622$675-$53
Other 'big' expenses$12,001$3,508+$8,492
Savings / Investments-$6,442$1,051-$7,493



If we look at the major line items in my tracker above

  • Accommodation and living expenses
    • My living expenses blew out this month for a few reasons.  I bought my new 55" TV, I finally spent a bit of money updating my wardrobe and I also spent a fair bit on groceries (I do a big Costco shop once every few months and these tend to last me a long time)
  •  Car expenses
    • This was a fairly standard month for car expenses with nothing large or out of the ordinary happening
  • Health / well being expenses
    • Nothing out of the ordinary
  • Entertainment / personal expenses
    • I went out a lot this month and was actually pleasantly surprised to find myself so close to budget here.  I honestly thought I'd blown this particular category out of the water
  • Travel expenses
    • I'm visiting my future in laws a few times before the wedding so there are a few flights in here for next year
  • Other 'big' expenses
    • This is where the exciting stuff starts to happen. I have been saving up for these things all year and finally in December I started to pay for them.  I paid a $1,400 deposit for my wedding venue and ~$8,000 for the auction value of my new sports car.  There will be more costs to come on the car as I import it into Australia
  • Savings / investments
    • I have been saving for my big expenses all year and now that I'm finally starting to spend on them my savings balance is being hit.  I planned for this so it doesn't bother me that this was such a large negative.
After 12 months of tracking every dollar spent I've seen how much you can do by watching every penny.  There is definitely value to be gained from doing this although it can be a real pain in the backside to keep this up to date every day.  Next year I will not be using the same system however I haven't yet worked out what I will be doing yet.

You May Also Be Interested In
2014 Financial Goals
November 2014 Net Worth: $561,000
I'm importing a car from Japan...here's why
Too small to be a member of Costco?  Here are 3 ways you can make it work

1 comment:

  1. Congrats on buying the sports car and the month you've had there.. Looks like you're due for a massive 2015! Looking forward to catching up (hopefully) when I'm down there in March but all the best for a big year

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