Net Worth Update: January 2010 (+$7,014)

Now that’s the way to close out a year and start a new one!

This past month made it 10 consecutive months of increasing my net worth — and for many of the months by a substantial amount. It’s all good…

My last negative month was February of 2009 when my total net worth was $162288. Today, I’m $68934 wealthier.

Economy woes aside, yeah, 2009 was a very good year for me. I’m sad to see it go.

So here are this past month’s details:

Cash:
The big secret is here is that December happened to be a three-paycheck month for me. Those are always nice padding for a new worth report.

Savings:
No more Mickey-Mousing around. I was transfering every last penny that I could into savings in an attempt to get a jump of my financial goals for 2010.

I still have a looooooong way to go but I’m off and running now.

Gov’t Bonds:
Another $300 bond purchase on the last day of the year brought me right up to the $5k maximum. I’m still not seeing the fruits of the last few months worth of purchases but I’m confident that they were “good” buys in the long run.

401k:
Though I’m not earning a match anymore, I’m still contributing the maximum allowed. Not entirely sure why or how long I’ll continue to do so but for as long as I can afford it, I’m going to stay the course.

Home:
It only took a year and now my home’s value is right back to (and above) where it was when the whole mess (reportedly) began.

Auto 1 & Auto 2:
Apparently a new year isn’t favorable to used car values. Who’da thunk?

Credit Cards, Auto Loans, and Other Loans:
Zilch. Zero. Nada.

Mortgage:
Back at it — knocking an extra $175 off of the principle each week. I back off of this strategy for 3 months or so but I really only see an upside to knocking off over 1% of the balance each and every month.

The sooner the mortgage is paid off, in my opinion and for my own peace of mind, the better.