Monday 4 May 2015

April 2015 Net Worth: $551,000 (+0.4%) and Goal Tracker

It's once again time to update my net worth and this month has seen some serious swings in the composition of my net worth even though the actual numbers didn't change all that much.  I continue to keep track of my 'future liabilities' (see this post for an explanation of them).  As at the end of April my future liabilities sit at $43,000 (down from $52,000 in March).

April 2015 Net Worth: $551,000 (+0.4%)


Value
% Change
Assets
$965,000
+0.0%
Liabilities
$413,000
-0.4%
Net worth
$551,000
+0.4%

My performance this month at the headline level was actually quite lackluster and didn't quite live up to the modest $553,000 goal I had set at the end of last month.  However under the rather flat result there were a more movements and portfolio changes than I have had in a very long time. I've outlined some of the changes that were made this month below:
  • A significant re-organisation of my share portfolio
    • Recently I have been talking pretty consistently about how much the Australian share market has run and how I have been starting to get uncomfortable with being invested at these levels
    • Well in the last month I put my money where my mouth is.  I sold some pretty big parcels of shares...some of which I wrote about and others which are just a continual re-balancing of my portfolio
    • In the month I sold ~$30,000 of shares and made a significant profit...however from a net worth standpoint it was actually a negative
    • This is because I account for the current market value of my shares in my net worth however it is only when I sell them that I actually generate capital gains liabilities
    • Selling the shares therefore didn't increase my asset value but it did increase my liabilities to the tune of ~$4,000
  • I increased the amount I'm holding in cash
    • I re-invested a portion of the cash that I received from selling my shares but I actually took $15,000 out of my share market portfolio and have decided to hold it in cash in the short term as I'm finding it harder and harder to find good investment opportunities
  • I paid for much of the reduction in our future liabilities balance
    • Last month I got a significant free kick from the fact that my fiance was the one paying for wedding expenses which reduced the future liabilities balance
    • This month most of the expenses we paid for came from my assets
    • She still paid for some of the expenses which were a positive impact on my net worth
  • The soft share market at the end of the month was offset by increases in my superannuation and employee share plans
    • The share market really came off in the last few days of the month which affected the value of my portfolio however this was offset by my regular contributions to my superannuation and employee share plans
  • Additional expenses on my new car actually started to add up
    • I had budgeted $15,000 cash for my new car and the proceeds from the sale of my old car
    • I haven't sold my old car yet as we are keeping it for a short while (while we have visitors for our wedding) which means I am funding excess expenditure on my car out of my cash balances
Overall, although my performance for the month wasn't brilliant I'm not managing this portfolio for month to month performance.  I'm glad with the re-positioning that I did over the month and this will continue in the coming month.  In the next month I'm hoping to get a small increase once again and my target for the month is $555,000.

April 2015 Goal Tracker

This year I'm tracking my goals rather than every dollar I spend and save.  A quick note on the value of my share portfolio - although it looks like a big decrease in value it's actually because (as mentioned above) I have been taking profits as the market continues to break new records.   


GoalApr 152015 Total2015 TargetRemainingAchieved?
#1: Get Married+$0$5,000$5,000$0YES
#2: Honeymoon+$6,000$9,000$20,000$11,000No
#3: Home Deposit+$0$0$40,000$40,000No
#4: Emergency Fund+$833$3,333$10,000$6,667No
#5: Share Portfolio-$18,258$250,006$276,000$25,994No



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5 comments:

  1. I really enjoy these posts and the goals part of it is really working from a simplicity aspect.

    Am interested to know what you look at when valuing the Aussie share market, sure you may have done a post or 2 on this before, is it a P/E ratio and/or what else would you typically look at?

    All the best on hitting that target :), it's all about the process and enjoying the ride right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jef - great question on how I look at and value the Australian share market.

      I don't actually have one single measure that I use or one indicator that I can point to. My measure is far more subjective and goes something like this: "How easy do I find it to find good value shares that I would be willing to put my money into"

      A few years ago I had more options than money. I was having to make a decision between good investments and consider what was going to give me the highest return.

      Currently I'm finding it quite difficult to find any options or I'm having to make much more bullish assumptions to get myself to see value in particular stocks.

      So when I say I'm finding it hard to see value in the Australian market it's more from a micro point of view rather than a statement about a broad based index of shares.

      Delete
  2. Oh okay, so you're saying you see that most shares are fairly valued, if not over valued?

    I'm sure there'll be many more questions coming from me, I am definitely interested in learning more about this and also assisting others.

    Congrats again on your net worth growth though :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most shares that I can find that I am comfortable valuing seem to be overvalued. It's not that I can't find any value...it's just much much harder than it has been in the past.

      I suspect there is value to be had in the resources / oil space but I am not that good at valuing those type of stocks. I am trying to get my knowledge up in this area though.

      Keep asking the questions. It's half the reason I write this blog...

      Delete
  3. Oh I'll certainly keep asking questions :)!..
    I'm putting together a document now on "financial independence" not sure that it'll be released to the public however will be useful checklists for me..

    Still have to reply to your email as well.. I'll get round to it :)

    ReplyDelete