Net Worth Update: May 2009 (+$7,924)

Another month of gains!

That’s two in a row and that hasn’t happened since August and September of 2008.

Maybe the recession is over?

Okay, maybe not.

But even if it’s not, I’m glad that my finances seem to be continuing in the right direction, even if it’s not quite at the pace I’d like.

I’ve fallen into an auto-pilot pattern of sorts and hopefully the baby coming in a few weeks won’t trip that up too badly.

I don’t expect it too but, hey, it’s not like I’ve got any experience in this sort of thing either…

Here’s the breakdown:

Cash:
Didn’t make as much progress here as I would have liked but that’s because I threw a cool grand towards the U.S. Treasury. That’s right — I had an extra $1k hanging around last month.

Savings:
No longer hitting this like I was a few months ago but still an improvement over last month. I’m basically adding to it at a comfortable level — around $165 per week broken down into $150 every Friday and $15 every Wednesday.

For those with interest-earning checking accounts with Bank of America, you might want to look into transferring money into an ING account on Fridays because it doesn’t come out of your account until the following Monday. Basically, you’re earning interest on the same money in two places for two days.

Unfortunately, I’m not enrolled in one of those interest-earning accounts so this tactic does nothing for me… but it does make me feel extra rich each weekend!

Gov’t Bonds:
Looking to lock in a rate nearly triple that of my ING savings account, I purchased $1000 worth of I-bonds. I have a feeling that I’ll be patting myself on the back in the future for this financial move.

At the same time, I’m also thinking that I probably should have pulled some out of savings and gone this route… Too late now, though — the current rate (0.0%) is terrible…

401k:
Is it just me or is the market on a tear?

Obviously this is the anchor of my finances. I was up over 10% this month!? Still no where near my all-time high (of $68k which was almost exactly a year ago) but at this rate, I’ll be reaching new heights before the end of the summer…

Home:
I’m convinced that this has stabilized.

Oh, and remember that neighbor from hell? They sold their house last month and moved out yesterday.

Sure, it took 10 months but, according to Zillow, they received their asking price in the end. From my standpoint, that’s a great sign.

It’s also wonderful to have them out of the neighborhood.

Auto 1 & Auto 2:
Blah, blah, blah… Nothing to report here.

Credit Cards:
No annoying finance charges this month. Screw you Citi.

Yeah, that’s right. I’m still upset about that $1.87.

Auto Loan:
Nothing to report.

Other Loans:
Another goose egg.

Mortgage:
A bit better than last month. If there’s one place that I’m likely to change things up before the end of this month, it’s here. I want to start knocking 1% of my mortgage out per month at a minimum. We’ll see how that goes…