While 2015 is the official start of our net worth updates, 2016 is when we made the commitment to monthly tracking. I’m proud to say that we’ve kept it up for 5+ years!

We track our net worth monthly because it’s easy to feel like you’re not making progress until you look back to see where you’ve been. 

Your net worth is your assets (what you own) minus your liabilities (what you owe). Finding your net worth number is the first step on the path to financial freedom, and is helpful information to have. Don’t be intimidated if the number is negative when you first start — information is power! Even if you’ve had financial challenges in the past, you can’t move forward until you have a clear picture of your financial situation.

 

Here’s some context:

In 2016, we were 31 and 32 with one child, aged 14.

We were living outside of the US on a generous expat package, which helped us get started on the path to financial independence. We were on a 2-year contract, living rent- and car-free.

 

Our monthly expenses are <$2,500 and include the following:

  • Utilities: electricity, water, internet
  • Mobile phones
  • Food (groceries + eating out)
  • Transportation
  • Miscellaneous (clothing, home purchases, gifts, etc.)

Note: our monthly expenses do NOT include travel expenses, as we save each month to cover those costs.

 

In 2016 we:

  • Had been living outside of the US for more than one year and loving it!
  • Originally on a 2-year contract, we decided to extend for “just another year”, committing to staying overseas until mid-2018.
  • We continued working with our Certified Financial Planner and met with her regularly throughout the year.
  • We caught the travel bug and started dreaming up all of the places we wanted to visit while on this assignment.

 

We also committed to directing our spending towards our values in 2016, with travel topping the list. One of our priorities when moving abroad was to take advantage to being in close proximity to some of the places we never thought we’d be able to see in person. In 2016, we were lucky enough to get to travel to Thailand (twice!), Bali, Hong Kong, and Australia. We visited 20+ cities, 3 continents, and flew over 40,000 miles over the course of the year!

 

Here’s how our financial picture looked at the end of 2016:

 

And because I find this bit super helpful, here’s the change from 2015:

Cash ($31,440)
Taxable Investments +$105,398
Tax-Advantaged Investments +$70,456
Debt: $0
Total Change: +$144,414

Our cash decreased because we used a chunk of it to start a taxable investment account.

The investment accounts increased partly because we started investing regularly in our new taxable investment account, and also because Mr. Unsettled maxed out his 401k for the first time! But the bulk of the increase was due to good old market returns.