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3rd Quarter Net Worth Increase [+$19,096]


Premier High Yield Savings

Doubling Dollars Net Worth Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2017

I’ve hit another high increase of quarterly net worth! *Trumpets and horns* (plus balloons falling from the ceiling)

You know what an important thing to be doing is if you want to increase your net worth? Track the damn thing!

Seriously, watching those numbers will motivate you to have them ever increasing. It’s just like playing a video game and your net worth is the score. You want to perform as best as you can so you can add your initials to the top ten.

I am so glad that I broke free from a monetary coma three years ago and got down to business. My salary hasn’t increased all that much, but now every dollar has a job to do. The majority of them go to work FOR me making more money babies.

You can change your relationship with money. You can be the master of it, instead of it lording over you. Read. Learn. The knowledge is out there.

Once you gain the knowledge, you change your mindset. You change your mindset, you change your life.

It happened to me. Let me show you in numbers.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission – at no additional cost to yourself – if you end up buying the product or service offered.)


CASH

3rd quarter cash graph

Starting $13,593 Ending $15,277 [+1,684]

I like to have around $10,000 in liquid cash, spread between my different checking and emergency fund accounts. This quarter I quickly opened up an account at CIT Bank to grab a 1.35% interest rate on my emergency fund. This sure beats my .75% I was getting at Capital One!

Not that I am going to get rich off it, but it negates a pretty good chunk of inflation. This whole journey towards financial independence is just about maximizing the efficiency of your money. Grabbing a larger interest rate is a VERY easy way to do it. You should check out CIT Bank and make that emergency fund more efficient. The signup process was easy and painless.

Open a Premier High Yield Savings account and get a 1.35% APY (on balances up to $100k.) See site for full terms and conditions on this offer.

I’m building up a bit of a cash surplus so that I can drop $5,500 in my IRA the first business day of 2018.


INVESTMENTS

3rd quarter net worth growth

Starting $72,781 Ending $81,897 [+9,116]

Through my work retirement plan, I invest approximately $1,000 per month into index funds. The rest is additions to my brokerage accounts. I have two, my main one is Robinhood but I often find companies that Robinhood do not trade. To invest in those companies I have another brokerage, but it costs a commission. Not Robinhood though! That’s why I prefer to do all my trades with them.

If Robinhood interests you, sign up using this link to get a free share of stock (I will too). Even a share of Apple or Facebook is possible, worth over $150.

This quarter my star investments were STRL [+36%] and two junior lithium companies – OROCF [+58%] and GALXF [+96%].

Oh, and that spike down? That was a glitch in Motif Investing on July 4th.



Real Estate Investing Platform

MORTGAGE

Starting $62,577 Ending $61,526 [+1,051]

This is the only thing I pay interest on (credit cards are paid in full each month), to the tune of about $175 per month. Still, I would rather that amount be zero. But I see the benefit of investing for growth higher than the mortgage interest rate.

So I pay a little extra on the mortgage and invest the lions share. I’ve always been the type of person to compromise between two different ways.

A small mortgage (and corresponding payment) allows more flexibility in life. Not as much as say living in an RV, just more. I could basically do any job and earn enough to live. I have low overhead.


ASSETS

Starting $186,707 Ending $192,448 [+5,741]

Three cars and a house fall under this asset category. I know some people will rail that a house is a poor investment, but not me! I love it because I researched and bought smartly.

I know Zillow is not exactly accurate, but I purchased my house 3 years ago for less than $100K and now it is at $175K. You can subtract $12K for renovations, but that is still a very good return. Plus, it is all tax-free if we choose to sell since we have lived in it for over 2 years.


All together this comes out to a net worth of $227,556!

A TOTAL QUARTERLY INCREASE OF $19,096!

This may or may not seem impressive to you, but let me put this into perspective. During the 3rd quarter, I earned a GROSS total (before taxes and deductions) of $16,598.03 from my job. My wife is a stay at home mom, and I have two kids.

I think I am doing very well.

You might ask how can a person increase their net worth more than the total amount of money they earned? Well, that is the beauty of investing. You get your money working for you. I also work hard for my money by doing a few different side-hustles. The final piece is to live way below your means, change your mindset from just that money buys things to money is time. You’ll find that buying things don’t interest you as much. 

That’s really all there is to it.

THE BIG PICTURE

3rd quarter 2017 net worth increase

I started the year with a net worth of $173,276. So far this year it comes out to a net worth increase of 31.3%! And there are still three more months to go.

From just the second quarter of this year, my net worth is up 9.2%.

I am not special. I just changed my money mindset and now look where I am.

On the first of January, 2015 I had a net worth of $81,249. That is what I accumulated over 33 years of life.

In less than 3 years I have increased that to $227,556 – or a gain of 180%

So 33 years = $81,249

Changed my money mindset.

The next 3 years = $146,307

If I can do it, so can you. Heck, you probably can be doing better than me.

What are you waiting for?

How is your journey to financial independence going? Let me know in a comment below.



20 comments

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  1. Gabe @ The Shiny Dollar

    about 10% in 3 months ?? Anyone not impressed is insane! Awesome job!

    And a super impressive 96% return in GALXF. Killing it!
    Gabe @ The Shiny Dollar recently posted…Got Your Credit Report? It’s Time To Fix These 4 ThingsMy Profile

    1. MrDD

      If electric cars are the future, lithium is going to power them for the foreseeable future. I’ve been watching lithium juniors for a few years and felt the time was right to get in. The thing that tipped me off was when the 3 majors all were crazily overpriced. That lithium investor money had to go somewhere.

  2. Mr Defined Sight

    Awesome job man! I concur about homes being investments. Yes I do bitch about maintenance once in awhile. But having sold a house recently, a person can do well if you buy in a good area, keep it up, and let time do its thing. Even our new place has appreciated already after living in it for just one year. I joked to my wife that if we just move around every few years we’ll be retired in no time haha.

    As far as Zillow goes, they are getting more and more accurate by the day. I don’t take their estimates as gospel but it is fairly close on most occasions.
    Mr Defined Sight recently posted…Market Crashes Provide Life LessonsMy Profile

    1. MrDD

      Yea, my community is similar in age and type of home so it probably is in the ballpark. I’m in the ‘buy a home and pay it off way’ of thinking, but that is location dependent. It’s cheaper to own than rent where I live.

  3. Cody @ Dollar Habits

    Nicely done, Sir! All that side hustling is really paying off. I love those posts, by the way. Getting ready to set up my test drive now. 😉

    1. MrDD

      Heck yeah! Go get some hustle money 😀

  4. Graham @ Reverse the Crush

    Great job and awesome post! I really enjoyed that you broke down assets into different categories. One of the reasons that my dividend portfolio is smaller is because I’m building a cash emergency/house fund on the side too. A 31.3% net worth increase is super impressive! And your 3 year rate is even more impressive. Thanks for the motivation! My journey to FI is going well, but is starting off slowly. The next 3 years are going to be the most challenging, but the snowball should really start rolling after that. Looking forward to future updates!
    Graham @ Reverse the Crush recently posted…A Blog Post about Sponsored Content that’s not full of S—tMy Profile

    1. MrDD

      My goal is to be minimally FI by 2020. As they say in all the good books, such as Think And Grow Rich, you have to be overwhelmingly focused and determined in pursuit of your goal.

  5. Collecting Dividends

    Adding $19000 to your net worth over 1 Quarter is incredible! That is quite the accomplishment! Hope you have a strong Q4.

    -CD

    1. MrDD

      For my salary it is! I will always work my hardest to keep the numbers going up up up. Thanks for stopping by, CD. 😀

  6. fin$avvy panda

    Hey MrDD.

    Your net worth report is very mortivating and inspiring for all of us!

    Man, you’ve done a fantastic job, especially on a single family income. BTW, I’ve read your side hustle posts and I think they’re great (especially the one about road trip travel hack) ?

    I definitely agree with your point about having money work for you. Eventually it comes to the point where money starts working harder than you and that’s the beauty of compounding. ?

    Again, high five to your big accomplishment! ? ⭐️
    I am hoping you do just as great, or even better for your next quarter!! (which I’m sure you will)

    1. MrDD

      Fin$savvy Panda,

      Thank you for the kind words. When I started this blog earlier this year I did so after thinking I had nothing to offer. I mean there are so many bloggers who are just killing it income-wise. IT always seems they are a computer engineer or programmer making 6 figures and then married to another (with no kids).

      Then I realized that there had to be many people out there just like me. People on a much smaller income, with a family and all that. Those are the people I thought I could help by writing about the things that work for me on the path toward financial independence.

      I always strive to do better, but the 4th quarter might be difficult. Still, will give it my best! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  7. dividendgeek

    Congrats! amazing progress. I am 35 and no where near where you are, but I started saving and investing. I need to keep moving ahead. Thanks for the inspiration.
    dividendgeek recently posted…Canadian stock dividend increases (October 30 – November 03)My Profile

    1. MrDD

      Hey, it doesn’t matter if you start early or late as long as you start and never stop again. Just by starting you are already ahead of about 80% of the people. Then by never stopping progress, even if slow, just by never quitting, you will be ahead of the rest of those 20%. It has only taken me about 3 years or so to achieve decent progress for my income level. You can certainly do even better!

  8. FIbythecommonguy

    Awesome quarter!! Keep it up. It is amazing how once things start rolling the momentum and $ start rolling in as well.
    FIbythecommonguy recently posted…Net Worth #7 – Oct ’17My Profile

    1. MrDD

      I’m getting closer to hitting that all-important $100k invested. They say that it is the hardest.

  9. RichestManInLondon (@RichestManInLDN)

    onwards and upwards! keep it goin through 2018.

    Happy new year!
    RichestManInLondon (@RichestManInLDN) recently posted…Wealth Building & Income Update – December 2017My Profile

    1. MrDD

      Thanks! And to you as well, hope 2018 is the best year yet 😀

  10. MattersOfCash

    This is awesome, great job on the quarter, I look forward to future updates!

    1. MrDD

      Appreciate the comment, MattersOfCash – will have to get cracking on the final update for 2017

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