Happy 2015, world! So if you've been keeping up with my net worth, you'll notice that it's pretty deep in the dumps. Like... seriously, seriously in the red. It's really an ugly number if you ask me.
Keep in mind, all my remaining debt is my amalgamated government student loans that accrues about 5.5% compounded daily annual interest. That's it. Everything else is paid off which means I'm ahead at least in the sheer variety of debt I have or can accumulate. That's a positive spin on debt, right?
But still, even if it's just my student loans, that's a lot of it all by itself.
So what can I do about this hole my education has dug for me in the meantime? Well the obvious answer is pay down the debt, which is something I am working on now that my credit card debt is kaput. But as someone who is incredibly impatient, restless and loves to diversify for no other reason than "Ooh, look at all the numbers!" I've come to the realization that simply seeing my debt number shrink isn't going to be enough for me. I do want to see things grow in the meantime, and not just my emergency fund.
So for 2015 (and hopefully 2016), I decided to set a little, tiny bit of an aggressive goal based on my income and what I realistically think I can do as a means to tackle my overall net worth. Ultimately it's a bit lofty and perhaps a little bit of a stretch, as I've never really accounted for my net earnings for an entire year, but here it is.
For the year 2015, I want to increase my net worth by $15,000.
This is not just through the regular and sometimes aggressive payments of my student loans shrinking my debt over the course of the year, but also in gains from my retirements savings (my work pension plan), investments (TFSA, RRSP and my job's share purchase program) and even my more volatile everyday savings account, an account that includes my emergency fund.
So why $15,000? Because at $15,000 I will essentially halve the total amount of money that is not mine and hopefully put me on track for my two year goal of having a zero to positive net worth to make me feel good about myself with, even if I'm still kicking around a student debt load.
$15,000 is a lot of money for me. It's nearly half of my gross income at my regular job at the moment (never mind my net pay) and with my bills and discretionary spending budget taking up a little more than half my net paychecks a month, the wiggle room is limited to say the least. My freelance income will have to fill any gaps in my life and my savings as a result.
So why do I still feel that this amount is possible and realistic? Because I've come close to bringing it up that much without really trying. My net worth has gone up $10,000 more or less in a little over a year and that's with just doing what I've always done while also spending a ton of money eating out every workday and not keeping a close eye on my money. And now that I am keeping a keen eye on my expenses and savings, hopefully it gives me the ability to find ways to say no or find cheaper alternatives to my time.
Now please note that for now when I calculate my net worth for my pension I account only for the contributions made towards it, and not how much the plan is actually worth. I know that mathematically and realistically this is an incorrect way of doing things. But given that the value of the plan is dependent on the number of years I'm at the company, not to mention future earnings, I'm not about to sit here and predict my future.
And plus, the retirement savings are long term, so it's not like they're going anywhere or losing value. (Well, not unless Western civilization as we know it collapses into a pile of ash)
So there it is. My one and only financial goal for 2015. Well, my overall goal, as any small ones involving my TFSA or emergency fund will inevitably only cater towards the ultimate one. We'll see where I stand after a few months, but I'm hoping it's not a place where I'm ready to dig my head in the sand and cry big ostrich tears.
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