My net worth has plateaued and I've yet to figure out what I can do to get over the hump. Last year, things were cruising along fairly well. Made some records then all of a sudden, I hit a wall. I didn't think the traveling would take the kind of toll it seems to have. I was long overdue for the trip to Trinidad for Carnival. 8 years overdue. I've taken a few other trips this year, even though my grand plan for a new job didn't quite work out as expected.
I don't know. I've never considered myself a spender, and I think most people would agree that I am frugal. I do, however, spend money on things important to me. Such as first class travel over long distances. (I have a medical condition that makes me highly susceptible to DVT, if not flat out predisposed.) Nice cars are a weakness, but I rent rather than own so as to avoid taking on a permanent expense. I've cut back my book spending. Realistically, I've cut as far as I can and save as aggressively as possible without impinging significantly on what is already a spartan lifestyle. (And if I kill another spider in my apartment, which will probably occur later today, I think I'll go nuts.)
Anyway, breaking through the 6 figure net worth barrier seems to get increasingly more difficult. I guess I need to spend more time attacking it from the increased income side as opposed to the savings side. I haven't given them equal mindshare just because the savings angle is more within reach. Something else to add to the to do list. The rest of the month of October will be used to do some deep analysis on these matters.
Aside: Don't EVER think of working for Unisys on a government contract. I'm not sure who I should be angriest at, so I pick Unisys since they ultimately hired and fired me 3 weeks later w/o having a clue what they needed. I could have stayed at my old job for all of that and kept my 3 weeks of vacation. Oh well.
2 comments:
I don't think savings and income are mutually exclusive, but I think you are right that you can get through certain humps by focusing one one over the other. If the income side creeps up, then savings can as well.
On the sork side, consulting can suck, especially if you get a client who has no idea what they are doing, but finds it easy to blame the consultant.
DG,
I don't consider them mutually exclusive. Its just that I have been so focused on expense management, for the most part, and less so on income growth. Once you've cut everything you care to, the only way left is up (on the income). It is a lifestyle choice. I won't go back to living with my parents at age 31, even though I could save an extra $1000/month in rent. (Yeah, my parents would charge me rent and lets face it, $350 beats $1330 any day.)
At least on the positive, as my weekly roundup will show, some things are starting to move positively. I also find myself in the weird position of trying to value a partnership (20% share) in a real estate investment partnership. So maybe my net worth isn't as low as I think it is. Valuation of such intangible assets is always difficult, which is why my default is to just value it at the invested capital for now.
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