October Net Worth Update and Resolution Review

I’m going to try something a little bit different with this post, attempting to mix two of my personal update type posts into one, to save a little time and a little writing while still sharing my personal situation.  So, this post will cover both my net worth update for the month of October, and review my resolution progress for the last six monthly (my quarterly report for the second quarter got a bit preempted by my research needs, so this will have to make up the difference).

First, let’s cover my financial standing.  It’s been an interesting month, as I attempt to find a job and all.  On the plus side, the stock market seems to be doing pretty well, which has helped to keep things from collapsing too much.  On the minus side, there’s quite a lot on the expense side of the equation right now and not much available for the income side (more on that in just a little bit), so it’s been a pretty rough month.  How rough?  Well, let’s look over my current financial report to see:

Overall, not too bad a month.  I needed to take more money from my Roth to cover the expenses for the next several months, which should hopefully cover things for a while.  My other investments did fairly well, and my debt is still about where it has been for a while.  My overall net worth went down a bit, unfortunately, and my Alexa score took a pretty healthy hit as well.  So, Resolution #1, Getting My Alexa Score Under 100,000, still has a pretty long way to go.  Let’s go on, to see where things stand with my financial goals:

So, not much better news on Resolution #2, Eliminate $5000 in Credit Card Debt.  I’ve managed to add over $7000 to my credit card debt, although I’ve held it there for a while.  If I can get my alternative income up higher, I should be able to pay more of that down.  (Although, I also need to put more into the charitable donations, so it might be tough getting things all in order.)

That leaves one last resolution, Resolution #3, Finish Graduate School and Get a Good Job.  Alright, it’s technically a two-parter; I’m nearly finished with grad school (the thesis is nearly written, and the presentation is being built as we speak), and the good job thing is taking longer than I was hoping (although, as I was hoping to get a job several months ago, I suppose that’s not saying too much).

In conclusion, my finances could be better, my resolutions have taken some damage in the past six months, and it’s generally been a pretty rough time here in Casa Amateur Financier.  Here’s hoping for more success in October.