Summer has Ended. August Net Worth 2021

Steve Cummings

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August net worth 2021

As August has come and gone, we must look back to see how the August net worth 2021 has increased or decreased. Many things go on when living life, and one cool thing is controlling your time and your money. If you are unable to manage your money, you will live as a slave to it. 

This month of August, we were able to save 75% of our income. That is a considerable amount for most people around us, and I cannot fathom how we did it as efficiently as we did. If you look at July, we were at approximately 74% savings rate then as well. When you put your mind to things, you can make everything possible. 

Remember to control your spending, get more pay, and use the savings to increase through investing. This month of August, we got more payment through a bonus, a better tax rate, and even our tax refund from the Taiwan government. This means we had more money. We did spend a bit more money on other things, but keeping our budget at such a reasonable rate is great. 

It all starts with living below your means. Since we made more money, we could have spent more, and the opposite happened. We just stayed the same in spending. It is a helpful tool not to inflate our lifestyle. We traveled and saw some folks on the weekends, and this is a needed excitement. 

Travels for the Weekends:

One of the most significant spendings we did was travel, and for Taiwan, it was pretty cheap overall. As we go out and try to see people, we want to be also mindful of our spendings, time, and the connections we build with folks. 

My wife and I visited a friend in the central part of Taiwan, and it is an excellent time to visit and build those relationships. Due to her being busy, we were also able to see a couple in Taichung, Taiwan. We were able to visit some friends at the beach in Yilan as well. I was able to do some boogie boarding, as our friend caught some waves. Yes, the beaches are back open.

boogie boarding in Yilan

Bonus Season!

My wife and I have contracts with our school from August 1st – July 31st each year. Upon completion, we will get a bonus if we score above an 80% on our final evaluation. I scored a 92, and my wife scored a 93. That is pretty good. 

These bonuses are a big deal. Taiwanese work hard for their bonuses. Ours is a one-month salary that is untaxed. We usually use it as our travel money. In August, we do not need to show up for work, so we typically go off and travel while taking some unpaid leave. This year is different due to covid, so we worked instead. 

Our bonuses added a good chunk of cash to our income for August. We then had an extra $1,000 for getting our taxes back from the Taiwan government too. This is huge to us. This means more savings, more tithing, and the ability to invest more money in the coming months. 

The Budget For August:

Since we had a 75% savings rate and more income, our budget items look pretty small. I am hopeful that it would be cool to continue this 75% savings rate for a whole year one day. A guy can dream. 

Our budget was relatively low, and many items like our rent, food, and transportation. We are very generous people and tithe 10% of our money to our church, charities, missionaries, or blessing others. My wife was able to bless our staff with some sandwiches for her birthday, and the staff was gracious enough to bless her with a beautiful birthday cake. So it was a win-win. 

The biggest expense that we had for August was healthcare. My wife has been going through some fertility treatments. They are not covered by Taiwan insurance. So they can be pretty expensive. As a foreigner, we are not given any subsidies to have fertility treatments. Taiwan is advocating their population to have more babies. We just don’t fit in like that. 

If we were in a western country, the cost of these treatments would be much higher. We had spent around $300 for August on these treatments. We are hopeful to one day have a baby through these treatments, but we shall see how it all works out. 

August Net Worth 2021 Breakdown:

After reviewing all the numbers, our net worth went up to $11,259!! Our net worth number is up to $212,201 with a liquid net worth of about $160,000. So about $50,000 is sitting in our retirement funds, and we have been growing our stash of investments in the taxable brokerage account. 

My favorite asset is owning stocks through simple index funds. These index funds have done tremendously throughout 2021, but I know the more I invest early, the more time the investments have to compound.

Cash: +$6,281

We had increased our cash by quite a lot in August, and I am not sure we will see this increase until August of 2022 next. Who knows, maybe this blog will take off in the next 12 months and bringing in much more. 

As our cash reserves have hit a high, we are now going to be sending some of that cash back to my U.S. bank account to do more investing. I believe in putting my money to work. As inflation increases, I cannot sit on this cash idly. It is time to have our money work for us. Time in the market is much better than timing the market. 

Taxable Brokerage Account: + $3,960

As we continue to invest, this raging bull market keeps helping us to create more income. Our investment portfolio keeps rising, getting us closer to a good coast fire retirement number. Everyone talks about being a millionaire, and it will be so cool. As our brokerage account continues to grow, our time to the millionaire status continues to be a possibility. 

It is so possible for people to hit a million dollars, and you need to invest $6,000 into a simple total market index fund every year for the next 35 years. The earlier you get started, the more time this amount can compound. 

My wife and I may not have started early enough, but we are tossing in as much as possible to grow and accumulate our wealth. It is never too late to start. 

Roth IRA: +$140

My Roth IRA keeps chugging along. I was amazed to see it grow so much. When I started it out, it was with the Robo-advisor Wealthfront. I didn’t think the investments were simple enough. For some reason, the dividends were not getting reinvested, so I made the intelligent decision and changing it over to Vanguard, in which I invested it all into VTSAX. It is my favorite index fund, and it keeps doing great work. It is always better to learn from your mistakes. 

My Wife’s Super: + $743

My wife’s retirement is in a Super Annulation Fund in Australia. It keeps chugging away as well. We first took it over in September of 2020. It has grown over $10,000 in AUD, but as the AUD fluctuates in value, so does my wife’s account. So I just let it grow and do its thing. It is invested in index funds. Do you see a pattern?

Our Liabilities: -$33

It seems that we started to spend a bit more on our credit cards, and it is not that much more. I have been doing some investing into my blog recently to help it grow. So that is not a bad thing, and investment in oneself or business can reap some good rewards. 

Final Thoughts:

August was an excellent month for our net worth; we have to remember that we will not always have those big windfalls of bonuses each month. So we have to be vigilant in our spendings. 

This bull market will not always be as high as it is in 2021. There could be a crash, but if that happens, it just means it is time to buy more stock. We are ready to continue to buy more stock as we continue to build our net worth. 

You must also realize that life is short and you need to enjoy moments with people. As my wife and I visited several friends. It is always good to strengthen the relationships around you. Have a great month. Continue to save, invest, and make a strategy to achieve your wealth goals. 

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