I just updated the net worth numbers on our Google Sheet & blog, replaced the screenshots of the robo-advisor portfolios and checked the StocksCafe portfolio on our blog pages. Despite the recent stock markets correction, our net worth increased by S$25,000 to S$1,088,000 i.e. percentage increase of 2.35%. There was quite a bit of capital injection late last week as we bought the dip on local and US stocks & ETFs and cryptos. This contributed heavily to our positive net worth change. Otherwise, it would probably have been flat or negative.

Asset allocation remains roughly the same. When our investment portfolio value went down, we used some of our cash to buy into the stock and crypto markets. So it kind of evens out in terms of the proportion. Anyway, these few months are going to be bad in terms of cashflow as we have to pay both the rent of our current 3 bedroom apartment and the mortgage of our previous 2 bedroom apartment. This double cashflow drain only stops after the sale of the latter is completed in May 2021.

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After that, we expect our cash and CPF balances to get replenished from the sale proceeds. But we don’t plan to include the top-ups into our net worth numbers when that happens. Because they have been set aside for buying our new place eventually. In the meantime, I’m hoping that my bonus for last year that should be paid out by end of this month can buffer against the double cashflow drain.

It doesn’t help that my bonus should be worse than the year before because of the impact of Covid-19. And that I have already spent quite a bit setting up our rental apartment with the fixing of defects, purchase of new furniture and paying of the security deposit. Even though May 2021 is when I can stop paying the mortgage, it’s also when the childcare fees of our son start as he enters pre-school. Bills never stop and they just keep putting you under financial pressure.

I have been going out so much this week that I’m actually glad the rainy weather today made me stay in to sleep and rest. I also had time to update my Google Sheet for the Dec 2020 net worth numbers and do a review of our financial progress for the year 2020. Other than in Mar 2020 when our net worth stayed flat, it has been increasing by an average of more than $20,000 every month. Mainly because of the lump sum investing we did then that boosted our investment portfolio when the markets recovered subsequently. And that we didn’t lose our jobs due to the recession so we retained our salary income.

From 30 Nov 2020 to 31 Dec 2020, our net worth has increased by $22,000 or 2.17% to $1,038,000. As for our asset allocation, cash has gone down to 28% while investments have gone up to 40% as I invested some cash into individual stocks in the last few weeks of Dec. Insurance stayed constant at 5% since the net surrender values of our wholesale life insurance policies only increases slightly with each month’s premium payment. Retirement funds have gone up to 27% due to the crediting of the CPF interest.

Overall, I’m happy with the financial progress we have made this year. It’s getting faster every year with the compounding effect of investing as long as we can maintain it. I’m hoping a more aggressive investing strategy will help us to speed this up. It gets exhausting to keep pushing all the time and I worry that we will run out of energy at the rate we are going. It’s tough managing everything even with just one kid and it will get worse if we decide to have another kid. Doesn’t help that household expenses only seem to climb with us renting a bigger apartment and sending our boy to childcare. Though we are still looking forward to what the new year 2021 brings for us!

At the beginning of the year, I had a stretch goal in mind. Which is to reach $1m in net worth by the end of the year. It would have required an annual increase of $240,000 or average monthly increase of $20,000 to reach that goal. I didn’t think it was possible during the 1st half of the year. Especially with our household expenses climbing as spending on the baby went up, bear markets due to lockdowns from the virus crisis and increased retrenchment fears because of the recession.

The situation started improving in the 2nd half of the year as our household expenses stabilised, markets rebounded due to improvements in the virus crisis and lowered retrenchment fears because of the recovery. This goal came back into focus and I finally reached it with my end Nov 2020 net worth update. 1 month before the end of the year. $1m represents an achievement in many ways. Most importantly, it shows that our approach to personal finances is working. Nothing fancy, just a consistent and disciplined approach to employment, investment and spending.

We are not fast movers but we move patiently and steadily at our pace. Having a balanced state of mind is essential because it’s so easy to get lost in all the noise and comparisons with everyone else. We just believe in focusing on our own progress and learning from others. But it can be difficult and tough to do most of the time. We try not to laugh, poke and make fun of people regardless of how different their approaches and progress are from us. We are all on our own journeys through life and towards financial independence. We also choose what we want to do once we have achieved it. Let’s be kind to one another and share positively in our collective experiences.