Net Worth = Assets minus Liabilities
| Assets | Amount | Change from Last Month |
| Checking/Savings | $12,585.72 | |
| Retirement Accounts | 306,865.28 | |
| Taxable/Nontax Investments | 57,250.07 | |
| Misc. (Gold/Silver/Cash) | 5,000 | |
| Total Assets | 381,701 |
| Liabilities | Amount | Change from Last Month |
| Credit Cards | $5,675 | 0% interest rate. |
| Student Loans | 272,030 | |
| Total Liabilities | 277,705 |
Net Worth = $103,995
Change in Net Worth from last update: $N/A
Total Change in Net Worth Since July 2020: +$152,223
Net Worth Summary
I haven’t conducted a Net Worth summary in quite some time. This update reflects a bit of wonky numbers from my student loans. I’m not sure how they were being calculated by Empower, but now that they have been placed in a new form of forbearance, the uncapitalized interest is now being properly picked up. Because of that, there was a sizeable correction to the net worth this month. The balance of these loans are eligible for forgiveness in another five years.
Relocation Costs
I relocated across the country in Q4 2024 and spent quite a bit of money on furnishing a new apartment. I managed to get a significant amount of cashback and discounts on all of my purchases, but I didn’t go the Ikea route and it turns out that buying high-quality solid wood furnishings is expensive in comparison. The intention was to make “buy it for life (BIFL)” purchases as I intend to stay where I’m at for the long haul. The cost of relocation and furnishings came to about $30,000. While I could likely re-sell many of the furniture pieces to recover their costs, I’m not including the resale value of any of these furnishings in my asset calculation. The travel and associated costs with moving are obviously a sunk cost since they were not reimbursed by my new employer.
Retirement Investments
Since my last net worth update, I’ve moved a sizeable chunk of my assets into retirement accounts via IRAs and Solo 401k structures. These accounts performed very well over the past year and I shifted to mostly money market funds and gold/silver miners when the 2024 Santa Claus rally failed to materialize. Given the current administration’s volatile nature and rhetoric on tariffs, I’m choosing to collect the 4.5% money market yield and capture the upside in gold prices as a result. While I would much rather be fully invested in equities, the risk/reward just isn’t in the bull’s favor this year. The recent CPI and PPI reports are signaling ongoing higher-than-expected inflation and the Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates one time, at most, this year. All this adds up to a likely downside correction, and increased volatility, and I’d much rather avoid it.
