Net Worth Update: February 2008

January finished with a very impressive and unexpected 8% networth increase.

Things progressed nicely on the liabilites end of things and that was expected.

Total credit card balances are now under $5k, and I’d have to say it’s been over a decade since I was last able to say that. It feels good and I can finally see the finish line. By next month, my total non-mortgage debt will be under $10k. It’s exciting.

The cash reserve on the assets side is due almost entirely to the fact that January was a three paycheck month for me, so the numbers are slightly skewed.

The last minute recovery of the market lessened the blow considerably as well. At one point I was down over $6k this month but it finished up down only $2290. Is it just me, or has it been a routine for the markets to recover lately at the tail end of each month? It sure seems that way to me.

Housing slump? What housing slump? The value of my home skyrocketed this month. I’m not 100% sure why.

Back on January 9th, when I initially checked in on the numbers, it had dropped $12k. Ouch.

But last night, when preparing this post, it had made a nearly $30k swing in the opposite direction?! The fluxuation is making me consider dropping the home value from these updates again, but quite honestly, I haven’t noticed a housing slump in my part of the country.

Homes that are on the market are selling, and for prices higher than I’d ever pay for them, so for now, I’ll take the good with the bad. And this month, it’s all good. Besides, even omitting the huge increase in home value from the totals, I still somehow mustered a 1.4% net worth gain this month.

Here’s to hoping I can keep up the progress in February…