Time for another net worth update!
On Net Worth Update #8 for November, I had a net worth of $21,929.86. November was a benchmark month for me because it marked the very first time for me hitting a $20,000 milestone, and back in my home country, $20,000 translated to a million.
December is a holiday month, so it’s been a crazy one for me. And I’m quite excited to share with you how it went.
This is the 9th update in my series, so let’s look how far I’ve grown my net worth in December!
All numbers here are logged in as of December 31 at 5pm. As always, to make things simpler in my blog, I’m going to do bullet points and quick summaries so that there’s no need to read.
My Assets (Cash & Savings)
CASH Details: I have 3 accounts that I consider my checkings account.
| Checkings | Bank Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Account #1 | Wells Fargo | $1,380.73 |
| Account #2 | Chase | $957.13 |
| Account #3 | PayPal | $1,663.25 |
SAVINGS Details: I have 4 High-Yield Savings Accounts.
| Savings | Bank Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Purposes | Ally Bank | $12,039.67 |
| Personal Savings #1 | Ally Bank | $3,253.31 |
| Personal Savings #2 | Yotta | $2,806.94 |
| Personal Savings #3 | WealthFront | $300.37 |
SUMMARY:
I still have the same 3 accounts that I consider as my checking account: Wells Fargo, Chase and PayPal.
My checking accounts grew this month by $600. And that is good news, mainly because I’ve been using my interest-free credit card for purchases during the holidays. Plus, I also received bonus money that really helped.
That may be the case, but that can also be bad news because I’m still borrowing money to purchase things.
As for my savings, it has grown mainly because of my tax money. I’ve finally reached my goal of $6,000 in emergency savings. So in the meantime, I’m going to put a hold on adding to that.
My sinking funds in WealthFront had changed too because it’s smaller. I decided to use the fund that I set aside for PC upgrades into my holiday spending.
The reason for that is since I use my PC for my business anyway, I would rather expense that to my business than have it as a personal expense. And I will be moving forward in that direction with my PC purchases.
My Assets (Investments)
INVESTMENT Details: I have 6 investment accounts: 3 money market accounts & 3 cryptocurrency accounts. I have added multiple crypto yield farms to monitor.
| Platform | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| WeBull | Stock | $8,146.74 |
| TDAmeritrade | Roth IRA/Stock | $1,675.18 |
| Public | Stock | $103.43 |
| Coinbase | Cryptocurrency | $20.10 |
| KuCoin | Cryptocurrency | $264.34 |
| Wallets | Cryptocurrency | $105.29 |
| BlockFi | CeFi / Interest Accounts | $478.67 |
| Cake DeFi | DeFi / Yield Farms | $500.95 |
| Anchor Protocol | DeFi / Yield Farms | $239.27 |
| Secret Project #2 | DeFi / Yield Farms | $327.11 |
| Secret Project #3 | DeFi / Yield Farms | $185.98 |
| Secret Project #4 | DeFi / Yield Farms | $114.08 |
SUMMARY:
Stocks — The market was quite choppy on December, and that’s just what usually happens. Investors either pull out money from their portfolios to buy holiday things or sell off for tax reasons.
I was quite surprised to check that my dividend portfolio, at the time of recording, grew in value instead. And my Roth IRA grew a little bit too. This is a very welcome sight indeed.
If you’re ever interested in investing in stocks, WeBull and Public are great platforms to start with because they give you signup bonuses. So make sure to check out WeBull for 2 free stocks and Public for a free stock worth $50 or more!
Cryptocurrency — While my dividend portfolio and IRA grew, my cryptocurrency investments barely grew at all.
Some of the projects I’m invested in have not gone up in value at all, but that’s something to be expected.
A lot of people were speculating that we would enter a crypto winter, where a crash in value would happen towards the end of the year.
And that may have contributed to the decline in value in some of my investments because people bought into that and shifted to invest in stablecoins instead.
That may be the case, but there are a lot of altcoin projects popping up and actually seeing momentum. So it’s just a matter of hodling and looking out for investments that work despite what is happening.
Total Assets & My Comments
My total assets for December is $34,562.53, an increase of $1,778.21 — a 5.42% increase from last month, November.
Good increase I would say despite being $100 lower than last month. But I can’t complain at all.
| COMPARISON | November | December |
|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $32,784.32 | $34,562.53 |
| Assets Change ($) | $1,861.82 | $1,778.21 |
| Assets Change (%) | 6.02% | 5.42% |
My Liabilities (Credit Cards)
CREDIT CARDS Details: I have 3 credit cards. 2 are actively used, while 1 isn’t.
| Issuer | Credit Card | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | Discover It | $647.26 |
| Chase | Chase Freedom Unlimited | $2,150.96 |
SUMMARY:
I still own the same 3 credit cards: Wells Fargo, Discover and Chase.
Yes, you see that right. I’ve racked up an extra $1,300 in credit card debt!
It’s a big amount for sure because I’ve been using my credit cards to buy gifts for my family. I haven’t bought them gifts in a while, so I’m just catching up. I admit though that it’s not the best way to spend money I haven’t saved for at all.
We also went snowboarding in December, so we bought equipment and tickets for it. It was a really good experience actually because I got to practice again and enjoy some snow. Plus, my sister experienced snow for the very first time.
I also realized this time that buying experiences more than physical things are more worth it. I’ve heard about this mantra before, but the more I’ve reflected on the blessings, and even challenges, I’ve had in 2021, the more that type of lifestyle became attractive to me.
So, $1,300 in extra credit card debt in exchange of giving back to my family and creating memories?
You can be the judge of that.
My Liabilities (Student Loans)
STUDENT LOANS Details: I have 2 federal student loan accounts.
| Servicer | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| EdFinancial A | Federal | $5,344.78 |
| EdFinancial C | Federal | $3,154.13 |
SUMMARY:
In December, I was finally able to pay off Group B of EdFinancial. Big achievement, IMO, because I paid off 4 student loan accounts before 2021 ended.
I’m very excited for 2022 because this is the year where I aim to fully pay off my entire student loan.
But there’s a hiccup to my plan for the first part of 2022, and I will be sharing that concern in my student loan update soon.
Total Liabilities & My Comments
My total liabilities for December is $11,297.13, an increase of $442.67 — a 4.08% increase from last month, November.
This is the outlier among all the months. Don’t know yet if this is going to be a theme every year, but let’s hope not.
Looking at the numbers, it’s not a surprise that my total liabilities increased. I will be going on a debt paying spree this January, so it should decline in the next net worth update.
| COMPARISON | November | December |
|---|---|---|
| Total Liabilites | $10,854.46 | $11,297.13 |
| Liabilites Change ($) | -$822.58 | $442.67 |
| Liabilites Change (%) | -7.04% | 4.08% |
My Net Worth for December 2021
So my Net Worth for December 2021 is $23,265.40, an increase of $1,335.54 — a 6.09% increase compared to the previous month, November.
There is still an increase in my net worth despite the purchasing spree for December, and that’s good news.
This year though, I’m expecting a decrease in my net worth probably by end of February, or latest in March, because I will be paying my taxes.
While I may have saved $12,000 for tax purposes, I believe 100% of it is not going to taxes. I still haven’t calculated all the other expenses, and if I do, that will help reduce my tax bill.
If there are leftover funds, I’ll be using it for student loans, to save up for a car, some extra savings and for investments.
I have this feeling that 2022 is going to be a big year for me because all the challenges and lessons I’ve had for the past years seem to have prepared me for something.
I don’t know what that something is yet, but I am staying positive about it. And I’m really looking forward to what I can achieve this year.
I’m going to be posting about My 2022 Financial Goals soon, so stick around for that!