THE PROFESSOR’S END OF Q4 2021 FINANCIAL UPDATE

This is my post showing how we are saving money both in and out of retirement accounts. I always like to read blogs that give real-life examples of those people practicing what they preach. Going forward, I will try and give a quarterly update of our financial position and the thoughts that go into it. I will warn you, I don’t have huge amounts of money socked away anywhere, but I think we have done a solid job in putting money aside.

Assets:

Cash - $11,324.39 Up $4,209.73

This includes all of our checking and savings account balances. I never was a big believer in the 3-6 months of savings, BUT some life changes forced me to rethink that. We are working our way up to about $25,000 in savings between our checking and savings accounts. I am finding it also gives me piece of mind to have this money just sitting there if a real emergency did arise.

Our goal by the end of this year was $10,000. That goal was reached. Now our goal for 2022 is $25,000.

TD Ameritrade (taxable) - $1,296.93 Down $2,190.85

This is an account that I started so I could buy individual dividend growth stocks. I've sold some of my dividend stocks and put more into growth stocks. This account I am slowly selling off to be able to close and consolidate into other accounts that I have created. One of my stocks in this account, MDP, was acquired by another company so the stock was liquidated. That sounds bad, BUT I ended up making getting about $1,600 from it. Not bad from a $500 original investment! I also sold my GME stock at its most recent high of about $225. I ended up taking about a $250 loss on this stock. Dumb move on my part.

Vanguard (taxable) - $7,101.68 Down $246.07

This is an account that I use to purchase Vanguard index funds. This was going to be my emergency fund, and it kind of is my current "secondary" emergency fund. My plan is to get between $10-15,000 in this account and let it grow and replenish as needed. We are putting in $500/month into this. One of the stocks in this account dropped quite a bit from the end of quarter 3. It's still a winner, but just not that HUGE winner it was at the end of Q3.

M1 Finance (taxable) - $1,123.88 Up $737.84

This is an account that I started so I could buy high growth tech stocks. I also added a "slice" that has dividend stocks as well. All in all, there are 98 total stocks in this portfolio now. The best thing about M1 is that it allows you to build a portfolio and put money into it and buy fractional shares instead of having to wait to save enough to build a position for each stock. Will add money to this as I can.

Crypto Account (Coinbase) - $598.10 Up $98.10

This is the newest account that we made. It is a cryptocurrency account. Crypto is all the rage right now, and I thought I would put a little money in to try and diversify our portfolio. I put $500 into this a few weeks ago. It's currently up almost $100, but the thing about crypto is that it's the most volatile asset you can own. It is not unusual for this to see 40% swings in a matter of a few days. I don't plan on putting massive amounts of money in here. Only small parts of our total net worth.

My 403(b) - $95,716.44 Up $8,183.95

This is my main retirement account. I have been paying into this since I started teaching. Our district currently matches $800 each year into this account. It is kind of small for having taught for 20 years, but my early years of putting money into this account robbed me of many gains. I was invested in annuities with heavy fees and surrender penalties. It's just been in the last 8-10 years that I have really become more knowledgeable about these accounts. 

The market made a BIG bounce back in Q4.

My IRA - $497.36 Up $78.84

This is where I will roll over my 403(b) to when I retire. I added $48 this quarter. The reason was to be able to purchase another share of VTI. I had $180 just sitting in the money market there and I wanted it to "work" a little harder!

Wife 401(k) - $236,763.57 Up $19,067.64

My wife has a good job as a nurse. This 401(k) is from the organization that she used to work for. She switched jobs in December, so this account will no longer be receiving any contributions. With the total amount in the account though, it will definitely continue to see big growth as long as the market is doing well.

Wife 403(b) - $188.32 Up $118.32

This is her 403(b) from her new job. The new healthcare facility she works for also matches her contributions, but she has to be there for one year before she will see that match.

My Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP) - $29,441.43 Up $1,754.73

This is an account through our school that we both contribute to each month. It can only be used for medical expenses AFTER I retire. It has grown nicely the last 5 years. It has also regained all its losses from the collapse and continues to grow and reinvest its dividends.

Liabilities:

Clinic - $1,568.60

It sucks to have low-back pain. We are still paying $400/month on the payment plan. There is NO interest on this so I am in no rush to pay it back. The low-back procedure does NOT seem to be having the same positive effect it used to though, so I do not plan on having it done again.

RAV4 Loan - $10,320.63 Down $1,058.21

We had to add another vehicle to our "fleet" in 2019 due to another driver in the household. We also needed a little bit larger one with two teenage girls. Slowly working this one down.

Corolla Loan - $0 Down $0

This is the loan for the vehicle to replace our previous car that was totaled. It's a nice fuel efficient vehicle. My goal is to have it paid off in the next 12 months. ACHIEVED! Used part of our most recent stimulus check to completely pay this off! One yearly goal accomplished.

My Student Loan - $5,559 Unchanged

This is what's left of my loan for my Master's degree. With the pandemic, I was given forbearance on this loan.

PLUS Loan - $10,014.00 Down $200

And so it begins. This is the parent loan for our oldest daughter's first year in college. This is a loan that we will work to pay off over time, but it will definitely go up each semester that she is in college. Kids.... We will get another $10,000 added to this loan in January for the second semester. I will then be doing a consolidation of my student loan and this loan. The hope is that it will then qualify for the "special" PSLF program that is currently in place. If it did, that would be a huge win. If not, then we will start the long process of repaying these loans.

Mortgage - $101,675.96 Down $1,578.37

This is the mortgage that we have on our home. The house currently appraises for about $207,000, so we do have some equity in it. We signed on our refinance at 15 years and 2.5%. We will have the house paid off just as I am ready to retire from teaching. Great timing!

HELOC - $17,600 Same

No payment on this at this time.

Net worth (assets-liabilities) - $237,243.75 Up $36,346.81

Key Points:

You'll notice that I don't have assets linked for our major liabilities. I do NOT believe that you should include the value of your house or vehicles as assets for your net worth. You only realize those assets if you sell them, and I don't plan on ever selling those things, but I DO have to pay off those loans. I think it gives a clearer picture of how much money you actually have. 

Goals for 2022:

I'm going to keep a couple of goals here. I definitely want to get that clinic bill paid off and also fund a Roth IRA ($6,000) for the year. I was able to continue to grow the Vanguard Index account. I am planning to continue watching the current rental properties available in my area. If I can get one at a fair deal, I will definitely pull the trigger. I want to continue to diversify our portfolio by investing in growth stocks, dividend stocks, and crypto. Consolidating the student loans and applying for PSLF is another big step. 

Another goal that I have for 2022 is creating another stream of income. I have plans in place to move forward with a pretty big project in the spring of 2022. As you all know, education is currently one of the areas that is seeing some major burnout, and unfortunately, I find myself in that category. I have no plans on leaving the profession currently, but I want to create something that could bring in some money and give me options. It's definitely not a sure thing, so I am not going to give out too many details at this time. Hopefully by the end of Q1 in 2022, I will have a little more information.

Quarterly Comments:

Some huge growth in Q4. Most of it was due to a big recovery in the market from Q3. We also did a better job of building our savings and adding to investments. Hopefully the growth continues, but 2022 is looking like it could be a rough year for the markets. Inflation seems to be the big topic of the day.

We are STILL trying to begin saving up money for a rental property, BUT the housing market is just too damn hot right now. There are no deals out there that aren't gobbled up before they even get on the market. I would love to have a rental property or two for the cash flow, but it's just not in the cards at this point. Someday......

So how's your financial situation? Throw some thoughts down in the comments and as always....

KEEP STACKIN!