Well, I’m about 15 days late with March’s Net Worth Report.  Surely I could come up with a hundred excuses about how busy I was, and how much I had going on.  But you wouldn’t really care about that now would you?  March was a good month in some regards, but I ended up with a 2% drop in my net worth.  What happened to cause the drop?  Let’s dig in and take a look:

Liquid Assets

Taking a 13% hit to my liquid assets is never a good thing, especially in these times.  Most of this can be attributed to my taking $220 to have my rear patio extended.  What was once a 100 square feet patio / porch, is now a 600 square foot patio.  Once I get this furnished ( slowly! ), it will be a great place for cookouts and leisurely hanging out in the evenings, after the hot Texas sun has gone down.

My Cars

A 12% improvement here, as I march toward a total of $6k in negative equity.  Hardly an epic goal, but it’s one step closer to zero equity.  It sure would be nice to *not* have a huge drag on my net worth by this big negative number.

My House

I’ve decided to stop my home value writedowns for now.  Month after month, Zillow decides my home is worth more.  While I don’t put 100% faith in Zillow’s appraisal of my home, it does have some use.  At this point, Zillow says my home is worth more than I do, where in the past it thought it was worth far less.  So for now, I’ll take a 1% increase in equity.

Retirement

6% up is fair.  I’m still down 13% year over year, which is horribly painful. 

Business

I have 8% more cash in my business accounts this month.  I “paid” myself less in March, so that certainly helps.  But I’m also keeping spending under control here, which helps.

Overall

I can’t be particularly thrilled with a 2% drop in my net worth. After all, I want to improve my finances month after month, every time.  Still, considering my new patio out back, I don’t feel too bad.  I’m tackling this project in baby steps, so all the cost doesn’t hit me at once.  And it’s all being done in cash, so there’s no chance of credit card debt piling up.

This summer I may stagnate somewhat in growing my net worth.  There are a few projects that have been nagging me, and it may be time to start slowing taking them on.  Just about every home improvement project costs money, which I don’t feel that I have enough of.  So I’ll have to remind myself to move slowly, and not spend every dollar I can find.  Plus I have you guys to keep me honest, and not go overboard.  So, with that, on to April, my favorite month of the year.  Why?  My birthday is in April, of course.