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December 2013 Net Worth and Earnings Update

Brrr. Here in Denver, we are in a record cold streak that has never been seen before in the city’s history. But I won’t have to deal with the cold for long. I have some big news to share.

I’m Moving to Portland!

This Friday, I will hit the road for my big move to Portland, Oregon. I start a new job one week from today! The position is a promotion and comes with a nice raise, so I am very excited to get started with a new, great company.

My fiance and I visited Portland over the summer. We loved our weekend there and decided it could be our next home. I have been in Denver since I was five years old, so it is a big jump for me to pack up and leave. We decided it would be a great experience and this is the best time for us to try something new together.

Banking, Debt, and Investments

Nov2013NetWorthChart

While last week wasn’t great, overall my investments have performed great this year. I am on track to max out my Roth IRA at the end of the year. As I am moving jobs, I am going to rollover my 401(k) when the paperwork comes through. I already have a rollover IRA account at Schwab, so it is as simple as a balance transfer. I am going to re-balance my investments there when the cash comes in to focus on a combination of low fee target date funds, dividend growth funds, and other diverse investments.

One new challenge I am going to have is my health insurance. My new company’s health insurance doesn’t start for 90 days, and I don’t want my coverage to lapse in between jobs. My two options are continuing my current insurance with COBRA for about $450 per month or looking to the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange from Obamacare. I did some research, and a comparable Obamacare policy would cost about $170 per month. It is a bit of extra work to change insurance twice, but to save almost $900, it looks worthwhlie.

I’ve seen great results over the last few months with Lending Club. My account has now led to an account balance of $977. I turned off the automated investment at Lending Club and have begun investing more with Prosper to get a better view of P2P lending so I can make better recommendations to you. My net annual returns at Lending Club are 12.37% and I have no plans to withdraw a cent in the near future. I currently have 47 active loans, 0 in funding, and 19 fully paid, and I have earned $162 in interest.

If you want to know exactly how I make 11+% with Lending Club, check out my in depth guide to making money with Lending Club. I have $150 only a few loans with Prosper, but the selection process is less transparent than Lending Club. One of my A rated loans at Prosper has not paid since July and is in collections, making my annualized return there -8.74%.

I have no plans to slow down my overall investing in the near future. My biggest focus in general is my automatic investing in my retirement accounts.

Liberty Fund Update

I have a $30,000 savings goal for my liberty fund. I MADE IT! SUCCESS!

It took me about 18 months to save that much, which took a lot of work. I cut back on spending and put a bigger focus on side income so I could save even more. After my November income, I crossed the finish line.

The bulk of my liberty fund is in a combination of high interest savings accounts and a stock investment account. I suggest 360 Savings from Capital One 360 for this type of savings. I began this fund with a $5,000 emergency fund goal and have expanded it to give me more flexibility and a bigger cushion. Just don’t have too much cash in your emergency fund, and occasionally re-evaluate if your emergency fund is too big.

Side Business Income

Narrow Bridge Media – All Blogs and Online Activities

Revenue

  • Private Ads, Freelance Work – $2,437
  • AdSense – $37
  • Affiliate Payments – $97
  • Premium Plugin Sales – $57 (will be reported only when paid by Code Canyon)
  • Book Sales – $0

Expenses

In total, I brought in over $2,500 in revenue, well above my $1,000 goal. I love beating my goals!

I created a new WordPress plugin a couple months back to solve a problem I had. I was trying to convert from the Thesis Theme to Genesis (did you notice?) and couldn’t move my Thesis post images as expected. My new plugin takes care of that and is available for $10, of which I get $6 per sale.

I am now listing my web hosting expense as a monthly expense even though I pay annual. I have my most important sites on Liquidweb and other sites on Hostgator.

Denver Flash Mob – Flash Mob Consulting and Planning

As part of the move to Portland, I am looking to sell Denver Flash Mob. I have some promising meetings scheduled and hope to have everything finalized before I move.

Net Worth

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In total, my net worth was up $4,432, or 2.41%. I update my condo value and car value based annually in January. I pay off my credit cards in full each payday.

Image  by pasa47 / flickr

8 thoughts on “December 2013 Net Worth and Earnings Update”

  1. Portland?! Exciting. It’s a nice city, but I have one VERY important question… Can I still refer to you as “Denver Eric”? I’m in a little bit of a crisis right now.

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