It’s been 32 months since we set a goal to pay off the mortgage (on our condo) and to have a net worth of at least $1M by 2020. This is the 32nd update on the progress of the goal. If you’re wondering why we set this goal, click here.
This month, I’ve been focusing on trying to get back into shape and making some progress towards my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon by 2020 (hasn’t been going well so far).
I started a lifting program called StrongLifts 5×5. It’s really simple and consists only of 2 workouts ((squats, overhead press, deadlift) and (squats, bench press, barbell row)). You start low and add weight incrementally by 5 lbs for each workout. You do 5 sets of 5 reps except for the deadlift (1×5). If you can’t do all the reps, you de-load the next time until you hit it. I’ve been enjoying it, and I even think it’s been helping my running (stronger legs and body).
I wanted to incorporate some weight training into my gym routine, but I was a little bit afraid because I had no idea what I was doing. I got the 5×5 app, and there are great instructional videos and articles on StrongLifts website. I highly recommend it no matter what level you are.
I was inspired by a friend who joined the 1,000lb club at 36. It’s the sum total of bench press, squat, deadlift. For example, 250 lb bench press, 350 lb squat, and 400 lb deadlift would work.
I love setting goals where you can track incremental progress, so I’m going to try to join the 1,000 club too. I’ll track my progress monthly along with my net worth and mortgage goals.
Here’s this month’s update:
Net worth calculation:
Total Assets: $1,117,860.55
Condo (Rental property): $330,000
Primary residence: $520,000
Cash on hand: $18,821.08
Investments (including retirement): $249,039.47
Total Liabilities: $482,200.75
Mortgage on Condo (Rental property): $107,437.12
Mortgage on Primary Residence: $374,763.63
Net worth = $1,117,860.55 – $482,200.75 = $635,659.80
100% of our debt is mortgage debt at 3.25% interest; the condo is on a 7/1 ARM (starts adjusting in 2022) and our primary residence is on a 30-yr fixed.
Net worth progress:
Tracking your net worth is a good way to assess your financial health and see how you’re doing each month. I use Personal Capital to help me track my net worth. I highly recommend it.
Net worth = assets – liabilities, or everything we own minus everything we owe. I’m not including our cars here, which are both paid off, to keep the calculation a little simpler. I am including an estimate of home equity.
I am using my knowledge as a realtor to provide estimates of value for our real estate.
Our net worth increased by $4,177.05 to $635,659.80.
| Date | Home equity | Investments | Cash | Net Worth |
| 2/19/2016 | $140,695 | $149,076 | $21,813 | $311,584 |
| 3/19/2016 | $145,519 | $164,791 | $23,512 | $333,822 |
| 4/18/2016 | $150,007 | $171,697 | $17,457 | $339,161 |
| 5/17/2016 | $153,000 | $171,305 | $21,672 | $345,978 |
| 6/20/2016 | $160,100 | $174,881 | $23,094 | $358,075 |
| 7/19/2016 | $162,000 | $185,621 | $27,689 | $375,311 |
| 8/22/2016 | $163,000 | $192,479 | $24,437 | $379,916 |
| 9/20/2016 | $261,403 | $144,694 | $3,657 | $409,754 |
| 10/27/2016 | $261,806 | $151,425 | $5,735 | $418,966 |
| 11/21/2016 | $262,855 | $155,877 | $10,364 | $429,096 |
| 12/19/2016 | $264,290 | $162,281 | $11,432 | $438,004 |
| 1/19/2017 | $285,534 | $172,862 | $8,751 | $467,147 |
| 2/17/2017 | $286,865 | $178,666 | $12,980 | $478,511 |
| 3/17/2017 | $286,718 | $181,893 | $18,413 | $487,023 |
| 4/19/2017 | $290,196 | $184,580 | $16,472 | $491,247 |
| 5/15/2017 | $290,941 | $189,092 | $11,453 | $491,487 |
| 6/19/2017 | $293,950 | $187,627 | $21,135 | $502,712 |
| 7/17/2017 | $301,391 | $196,288 | $19,292 | $516,971 |
| 8/17/2017 | $312,523 | $195,913 | $21,981 | $530,417 |
| 9/19/2017 | $320,769 | $200,956 | $16,914 | $538,639 |
| 10/19/2017 | $326,848 | $204,144 | $10,283 | $541,275 |
| 11/20/2017 | $328,010 | $210,841 | $11,490 | $550,340 |
| 12/19/2017 | $334,171 | $213,215 | $8,695 | $556,081 |
| 1/18/2018 | $335,335 | $216,656 | $8,074 | $560,064 |
| 2/20/2018 | $336,502 | $218,847 | $12,813 | $568,162 |
| 3/20/2018 | $337,672 | $223,416 | $16,135 | $577,223 |
| 4/19/2018 | $339,365 | $229,208 | $26,035 | $594,608 |
| 5/16/2018 | $346,063 | $235,332 | $22,790 | $604,185 |
| 6/19/2018 | $349,393 | $247,582 | $24,915 | $621,889 |
| 7/19/2018 | $355,604 | $251,277 | $25,325 | $632,207 |
| 8/20/2018 | $358,819 | $248,135 | $21,200 | $628,155 |
| 9/19/2018 | $366,555 | $247,659 | $17,269 | $631,483 |
| 10/19/2018 | $367,799 | $249,039 | $18,821 | $635,660 |
This month, we reduced the principal by $535 to $107,437.
| Date | Months left | Intermediate goal | Actual balance | Principal reduction |
| 2/19/2016 | 58 | $179,304 | $179,304 | – |
| 3/19/2016 | 57 | $176,700 | $174,481 | $4,823 |
| 4/18/2016 | 56 | $173,600 | $169,993 | $4,488 |
| 5/17/2016 | 55 | $170,500 | $167,000 | $2,993 |
| 6/20/2016 | 54 | $167,400 | $159,900 | $7,100 |
| 7/19/2016 | 53 | $164,300 | $158,000 | $1,900 |
| 8/22/2016 | 52 | $161,200 | $157,000 | $1,000 |
| 9/20/2016 | 51 | $158,100 | $156,597 | $403 |
| 10/27/2016 | 50 | $155,000 | $156,194 | $404 |
| 11/21/2016 | 49 | $151,900 | $155,789 | $405 |
| 12/19/2016 | 48 | $148,800 | $155,000 | $789 |
| 1/19/2017 | 47 | $145,700 | $154,000 | $1,000 |
| 2/17/2017 | 46 | $142,600 | $153,589 | $411 |
| 3/17/2017 | 45 | $139,500 | $152,178 | $1,411 |
| 4/19/2017 | 44 | $136,400 | $145,746 | $6,432 |
| 5/15/2017 | 43 | $133,300 | $143,909 | $1,837 |
| 6/19/2017 | 42 | $130,200 | $143,471 | $438 |
| 7/17/2017 | 41 | $127,100 | $142,472 | $999 |
| 8/21/2017 | 40 | $124,000 | $137,000 | $5,472 |
| 9/19/2017 | 39 | $120,900 | $129,416 | $7,584 |
| 10/19/2017 | 38 | $117,800 | $124,000 | $5,416 |
| 11/20/2017 | 37 | $114,700 | $123,504 | $496 |
| 12/19/2017 | 36 | $111,600 | $123,010 | $494 |
| 1/19/2018 | 35 | $108,500 | $122,516 | $494 |
| 2/19/2018 | 34 | $105,400 | $122,020 | $496 |
| 3/20/2018 | 33 | $102,300 | $121,523 | $497 |
| 4/19/2018 | 32 | $99,200 | $120,524 | $999 |
| 5/16/2018 | 31 | $96,100 | $119,523 | $1,001 |
| 6/19/2018 | 30 | $93,000 | $118,019 | $1,504 |
| 7/19/2018 | 29 | $89,900 | $117,510 | $508 |
| 8/20/2018 | 28 | $86,800 | $115,001 | $2,510 |
| 9/19/2018 | 27 | $83,700 | $107,972 | $7,029 |
| 10/19/2018 | 26 | $80,600 | $107,437 | $535 |
1,000 lb club goal progress (squat, bench press, deadlift):
I started lifting regularly in October 2018. My goal is to join the 1,000 club (sum total of squat, bench press, deadlift) by the end of 2019. I use the StrongLifts 5×5 program and app and strongly recommend it. I’ll track my progress monthly here.
| Date | Squat (lbs) | Bench (lbs) | Deadlift (lbs) | Total (lbs) |
| October 2018 | 205 | 175 | 185 | 565 |
Photo source: Pixabay
This is so awesome! I’m an Arlington Resident currently saving to buy a house in the burbs (i.e., slightly farther out so we can afford it). I’d be interested in learning of the total amount you can save each month, how much do you put toward your homes, how much do you invest and how much do you save in cash? We put 10% into retirement accounts off the top. So then once we take out our bills, I want to make sure I’m optimizing the rest. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment. We keep an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses and usually put any extra towards the mortgage. We pay only a tiny bit above minimum on our primary residence because it has a fixed rate of 3.25%. We are planning on selling the condo in the spring, so we’ll see how this all goes. I realized that the ROI on the rental hasn’t been great and there’s a lot of equity tied up in there.