Keeping up with a blog is hard! I’m doing a crummy job of producing regular posts, but I figure at the very least I can continue posting about my net worth and cash flow. As I get closer to finishing fellowship (and, uhhhhh, once I actually have a job lined up), I expect that I will have more to talk about. This blog has always been about capturing the transition from trainee to attending, and i still fully intend to do that. With that in mind…
Budget/Cash Flow
This is a little prettier than last month; with most of the holiday gift and travel expenses out of the way, we were able to rein in our spending a bit. Still just barely on the net-negative side of things, so obviously there is some work to be done. Since most of the ‘shopping’ category is made up of basics of child-rearing and home maintenance, I still think that the food budget is the most obvious place to trim some fat. We also have subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify, which could all go if they absolutely had to.
Net Worth
These charts are where the real heartache comes in. A month-over-month loss of almost $5,000 thanks to the down market. Granted, the closest expense that any of those investments are earmarked for is still 16 years away, but it does hurt the ol’ net worth number. This is why once people are on a stable road to retirement, with a decent income and good saving habits, they only check their net worth quarterly, yearly, or less.
Mostly I hope it doesn’t drop any more just so I don’t have to update the axis.