Updated on August 9, 2021: Net worth was the not the correct number due to lack of some data. Added 2 more rows to the calculations, changing my growth rates and net worth.
Time for another net worth update! This is the 4th update in my series, so let’s look how far I’ve grown my net worth in July!
***An update video has been posted as well at the bottom!
On Net Worth Update #3 for June, I had a net worth of $6,034.39, which is an increase of $752.29. It’s a small 14.24% growth from the previous month, May.
For July, it’s a mixed bag to be honest. It felt like I was spending a lot but at the same time I wasn’t, and you’ll see why later on why I feel that way. So let’s look at how I’ve progressed.
All numbers here are logged in as of July 31 at 5pm. 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 | $954.40 |
| Account #2 | Chase | $1,238.18 |
| Account #3 | PayPal | $1,280.69 |
SAVINGS Details: Before, I had 3 savings accounts. Now, I have 4 and are all still High-Yield Savings Accounts.
| Savings | Bank Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Purposes | Ally Bank | $7,869.82 |
| Personal Savings #1 | Ally Bank | $2,497.69 |
| Personal Savings #2 | PayPal | $1,503.92 |
| Personal Savings #3 | WealthFront | $301.03 |
SUMMARY:
Compared to last month’s cash numbers, July experienced the same inflow of cash from my income, but less in expenses. This is why I was able to get 2 of my accounts above 4 digits while the other, close to $1,000.
As mentioned on my previous article, I expected July’s numbers for my Tax savings account to be smaller, and that is what happened here. This month, this account only grew by around $200, since the high-ticket transaction has already been included in June’s tally.
My personal savings in Ally Bank is consistently giving me interest income. And the prizes I get from my Yotta Savings is also helping the account grow passively.
I added a new savings account as my sinking fund. I’m saving up to upgrade my PC setup and for our planned travel to Hawaii this October. Within WealthFront, I can create sub-accounts. This sinking funds are currently categorized for PC and Hawaii travel, with $100 & $200 inside, respectively.
I contribute $150 every month to my sinking fund. $50 for the PC upgrade and $100 for the travel sinking fund.
My Assets (Investments)
INVESTMENT Details: Before, I had 4 investment accounts consisting of 2 stock market accounts and 2 crypto assets accounts. I added 1 new account for stock investments.
| Platform | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| WeBull | Stock | $7,289.11 |
| TDAmeritrade | Roth IRA/Stock | $1,167.49 |
| Coinbase | Cryptocurrency | $1,307.06 |
| BlockFi | CryptoCurrency | $415.53 |
| Public | Stock | $107.46 |
SUMMARY:
Stocks — I’m actively adding $100 to two of my stock investment accounts, WeBull and TDAmeritrade, to make sure that they are growing every time.
The latest addition to this is Public, which is another stock investing platform, but what makes it unique is its social media element.
Think of Twitter mixed with Robinhood. You can see who in the platform is investing in specific stocks. You’ll also see discussions by other investors and whatnot.
I opened this account in the first week of July with the goal of creating a growth-focused portfolio. I’m not contributing yet to this portfolio every month because I don’t have extra money to commit to it. So, I’m heavily relying for now on the free stocks I get whenever somebody signs up to the platform.
So, check Public out and get your free stock as well when you sign up and fund your account.
Cryptocurrency — As for my cryptocurrency investments, it’s still there. Duh.
I haven’t been doing anything special with my crypto assets. I let it sit there and nothing (yeah, not the best use of resources).
However, BlockFi has been giving me interest on the BTC I’ve been holding there. So far, it has generated around $1 of interest. Not that big, but at least, it’s working.
For both accounts, they have increased in value because BTC’s price had recently surpassed $40,000. And that is why they grew around $400 combined in value.
I know that BlockFi is currently in the middle of some legal battles in 4 states here in the US, but if you’re holding any cryptocurrency right now and don’t like trading in the market, then this is a great alternative in making use of your crypto assets. You can check it out here!
I’m also thinking of trying out CakeDefi to make my assets work for me. But so far, I haven’t really made any moves because I still need to do my research about the platform.
Total Assets & My Comments
My total assets for July is $26,033.22, an increase of only $3,271.61 — a 14.37% change from last month, June.
I can attribute this big growth in assets to one thing — less expenses.
I mentioned earlier that it felt like I was spending a lot but at the same time, I wasn’t. That’s because I had multiples purchases for my father’s birthday.
Although the entire thing only cost me less than $150, the purchase frequency made it feel like I was spending a lot. I’m not used to spending money many times, even if it’s a small item, so it felt like that.
But overall, I’m very happy with how my assets have turned out for this month.
| COMPARISON | June | July |
|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $22,761.61 | $26,033.22 |
| Assets Change ($) | $1,536.49 | $3,271.61 |
| Assets Change (%) | 7.24% | 14.37% |
My Liabilities (Credit Cards)
CREDIT CARDS Details: Before, I had 2 credit cards. Now, I have 3 credit cards.
| Issuer | Credit Card | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo Platinum | $954.40 |
| Discover | Discover It | $5.48 |
| Chase | Chase Freedom Unlimited | $129.37 |
SUMMARY:
My Wells Fargo intro APR of 0% is about to expire this August. So on the second week of July, I decided to open a Chase Freedom Unlimited card because they were offering great perks.
I’m not an expert in credit cards, so I might’ve missed better offers out there. But the CFU works well with what I really needed at this moment, which is a balance transfer APR of 0%. Although there is a balance transfer fee of 3%, that is negligible in my opinion because I’ll be saving interest in the long term anyway.
Plus, I can supplement this card with my Discover It card for any cashbacks. Hell, it might even replace it in the future. I’ll make a separate article/review of the Chase Freedom Unlimited card in the future and another post regarding my use of it for a couple of months.
My Liabilities (Student Loans)
STUDENT LOANS Details: 5 student loan accounts — 1 private loan and 4 federal loans.
| Servicer | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| College Avenue | Private | $1,828.34 |
| EdFinancial | Federal | $5,344.78 |
| EdFinancial | Federal | $1,777.45 |
| EdFinancial | Federal | $3,566.68 |
| EdFinancial | Federal | $654.23 |
SUMMARY:
College Avenue has seen a big reduction throughout the month of July. From $2,446.33 at the end of June, it now sits at $1,828.34. Extra payments on top of the $140 weekly payments I make heavily influenced this decline. And I’m going to keep doing this until I pay this off.
Before, I don’t separate my 4 federal loans because they’re being serviced by one servicer. But for the sake of my tracker and transparency, I’m breaking them down moving forward.
While EdFinancial still sits at $11,343.14, I’ve already committed to paying $100 every month when repayment starts again. There aren’t any big news regarding student loans as of the moment, so my strategy will remain the same.
Once I’m completely done with College Avenue, I’m going to do a Snowball Debt strategy for my federal loans. This way, I can reduce the number of accounts faster and redirect as much funds into the target account.
Total Liabilities & My Comments
My total liabilities for July is $14,606.00, a decrease of $692.10 — a 4.52% decrease from last month, June.
The new addition of my Chase Freedom Unlimited card had minimal impact on my liabilities for July. It’s almost as if the debt I had from Discover merely moved to this new card.
No complains about my debt since I’m not adding anything new to it, aside from adding a new credit card. Nothing exciting really, to be honest. But that is how my net worth will grow — through boring, consistent methods.
| COMPARISON | June | July |
|---|---|---|
| Total Liabilites | $15,298.10 | $ 24,203.17 |
| Liabilites Change ($) | $ 107.37 | -$692.10 |
| Liabilites Change (%) | 0.51% | -4.52% |
My Net Worth for July 2021
So my Net Worth for July 2021 is $11,427.22, an increase of $3,963.71 — a 53.11% increase compared to last month, June.
I am very happy with this number because it is in the four digits. But I think I could’ve done better. I expect these numbers to be lower though by August because this is when I will see a small dip in my income.
But if I can somehow find a way to compensate for that loss through other means, then I won’t be experiencing that dip at all. But who knows what will happen in August.
I am excited though because August will be a month of testing out new things for me. I’m going to try some other ways to make money online. I’m thinking of looking into CakeDefi for staking my cryptocurrency and maybe even look at selling digital products on Etsy.
I really want to supplement my income and not rely on just what I’m doing right now. Having a social media agency, or a monthly dividend portfolio is great, but you get to that point where you think about what’s next and what else you can do more of to continue making more money.