Net Worth Report #17, December 2018

Welcome to the seventeenth net worth report here at NMI!

Another year come and gone, and so quickly.  It felt like it wasn’t that long ago that I was writing the last December net worth report.  And talking about how 2017 looked like a big ‘ol dumpster fire:

 

 

As bad as 2017 was, 2018* was even worse.

*we’re still waiting on the photo of the 2018 dumpster fire.

The end of 2018 was rough.  The stock market was jumping around like crazy.  It seemed like everyone was talking about a recession – and they were talking about it like it was imminent.

There were a lot of really dramatic, overblown tweets 😁

 

As you watch the stock market fall, and see your portfolio rapidly decline, it’s natural to feel a little worried.  But what good does that do?  We can’t control the market.  So I decided that I’m not going to worry about it.

As long as my job is going well, and my side jobs are continue to bring in money and improve, I’m going to basically push the market out of my head.

Besides, how could I not be happy?  December was my most profitable month ever as far as side income, with income coming from my freelance client, a couple of Etsy orders, and a very late check I received on January 2nd for some consignment pieces that sold in December*.

*I’m including it in my income now because the pieces sold in December and the money is in my bank account as we speak.

I also sold some of my personal collectables on eBay during December – and I was surprised at how quickly they went.  Now I’m looking into selling more stuff on eBay.

As bad as the year appeared to be, for me, this year was one of great growth, and I am so excited for 2019 to blow my 2018 stats out of the water!

 

For those new to my net worth reports, I’d like to give you a few minor details. I get paid semi-monthly, which means I get paid on the 15th and the last day of the month. 

Sometimes my money isn’t made available to me until two or three days after the month has already changed, so in order to ensure the most accurate net worth reports, I will always include both incomes.  As such, my reports will be made available on the third or fourth day of the following month, possibly a few days after. 

In rare circumstances in which I fail to get paid on time, I will either wait until that money is made available to report or I will include it in the following month’s net worth report.

You can find the latest and/or past reports here.

These figures are accurate as of the end of the day, January 6th.

 

 

MY INCOME

JOB INCOME

December was a little slower than it’s been lately, but we’re still doing pretty well.  The last few months were able to keep us well ahead, even if it slows down a little.

 

 

SIDE INCOME

For the eighth month since doing these reports I have some additional side income to report!  I actually had four different sources of side income this month, my most ever!

 

ETSY

My Etsy store sold $160.16 worth of merchandise in December.  Not too bad!  I had one repeat customer and a rather large $100 order.

 

FREELANCE

I also got my first and second payout for my freelance job in the amounts of $115 and $303.33!  I’m super happy with how it’s going.  My client is great and everything is going smoothly so far.  I’m mostly doing copy-editing for articles on his site.  I’ve been really enjoying it.  I’m hoping that I can have freelance work be a constant side job from now on.

The only downside is it’s led me to not update much on my own blog.  I’m spending an hour a day on my client’s blog, which has been keeping me from updating my own.

But my blog ain’t making me $418.33 every month – so you know which one I’m going with!

 

 

EBAY

I even sold some stuff on eBay, for quite a bit of money too!

The very first post on this site was about these Power Ranger action figures that I bought as my first investment.  They’ve been steadily going up in price for years, but I figured it was finally time to part with them.  I could use the money, I’m not using them for anything, and I’m trying to declutter.

Here they are and what they sold for!

 

 

 

CONSIGNMENT STORE

I also received a check totaling $417 for two of my recently sold items at the consignment store!

Here are the items that sold, and what they sold for:

 

 

 

I also had a ceramic dog that I got from the owner of the store – I don’t actually have a picture of that, but it looked kinda like this:

 

 

And here’s the proof it happened!

 

 

 

 

TOTAL INCOME

 

 

MY ASSETS

 

SAVINGS

I really decided to beef up my savings account this month.  Because I had so much income, it was easy for me to squirrel it away without it affecting my finances too much.  I have a plan to utilize a new budget in 2019 to help me save even more money.  I’ll be detailing that in my “2018 year in review post”, coming soon.

 

INVESTMENTS

I’m pretty surprised!

The past couple months have been down for almost all of my investments.  It’s nice to see crypto coming up a little bit, even though I’ve basically forgotten about it.

I haven’t updated my crypto-experiment in months.  Sorry about that.  It’s just been so boring.  It’s not really fun to watch or report on when it’s worth 10,000% less than its original value.  At that point I don’t even care.

But the major cryptos seem to be rebounding a little bit.

My other investments haven’t really been doing much else, but hey, at least they’re not worth much lower than last month 😁

 

Remember, when it comes to cryptos, never part with more money than you’re willing to lose!  I’ve learned that the hard way!

Here’s a link to my article on cryptocurrency that every beginner should check out before jumping in.

*I decided to try an experiment in which I purchased 43 different cryptocurrencies (worth about $900.00 total) in the beginning of 2018 with the intent of holding onto them for one full year.  You can check out the initial post here.  I will be posting updates to that portfolio around the 15th of each month.

 

 

MY LIABILITIES

 

 

December was an expensive month.

I spent probably a little over $500 on Christmas presents this year.

I also spent a couple hundred dollars on furniture pieces from an auction that I’m waiting to get into the store.

I plan on taking the $441.21 out the next paycheck I get (but who knows if I actually will 😉 ).

I’m pretty happy with how little I increased my Citi bank credit card balance this month.  My plan is to take on that balance after paying my Christmas presents off.

I’m also happy with how my Chase balance is going down.  I’ve been paying a little extra for the last couple of months – it’s nice to see it almost in the five-thousands!

 

I really recommend automating all of your bills, especially if they allow you to pay with a credit card.  You set it up once and you don’t have to worry again.  The only ones I don’t automate are accounts that need a checking account – you want to be sure the money is in there before it gets debited.

 

 

MY NET WORTH

 

 

A INCREASE of + $1,147.22!

Yes!

Finally, a positive month!  Which is actually pretty surprising the way the market has been behaving.  The last two months have been way down, and I did not want to repeat that thrice.

The third time is not always the charm, I say.

This just goes to show you how important side income really is.  If I hadn’t had any of that, I would’ve been down by over $300!

I’m hoping that I can continue this positive trend well into the New Year.  My plan is to keep making money on the side and socking it away!

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

And that wraps up the end of the year net worth series here at NMI!

While it certainly was a volatile year, with some heavy losses, I had a lot of personal wins that I’m proud of, including opening an Etsy store, getting some freelance work, and starting my eBay side business.

Check back soon for my 2018 year in review, including wins, losses, and my new budget and goals for 2019!

So – how was your 2018?

 

          – NMI