Do you want to increase your net worth? Well, so did we. Let me tell you how we did it.
One fall night in 2010, my wife Nicole and I were watching the Suze Orman Show. (Yes, I used to DVR it). There was this fun segment where someone would call in and Suze would analyze that person's financial health and give them a grade. It was called How Am I Doing?
One term that we kept seeing over and over again in this segment was “Net Worth”. Since we were personal finance newbies, we had no idea what this meant. Nicole and I were making a combined annual income of $130,000 so we figured our net worth must be HUGE.
After the show was over, we decided to see how rich we really were. There was no doubt in our mind that we’d be better off than most of the jokers that call into the show and get an “F” grade from Suze!
We walked upstairs and started to write down all of our numbers on a big whiteboard. By separating our “assets” (what we owned) and our “liabilities” (what we owed) into two big columns, we started to discover that we weren’t rich.
We were kinda broke.
Although we were making a solid income together, our liabilities were much higher than our assets.
Here is a snapshot of what our numbers looked like back in 2010 (rounded educated guesstimates based on me losing some of our data along the way):
There’s no way we were going to get an “A” grade on Suze’s show with a –$50,000 net worth!
This epiphany moment was just the jolt of reality we needed to start making progress on our finances. Our short-term goal was to increase our net worth and get into positive territory ASAP!
It was time for us to make a change.
The Steps We Took to Increase Our Net Worth
Track Your Net Worth
Nicole and I quickly realized that we couldn’t improve our financial situation if we weren’t tracking our net worth. This number was going to be the barometer for our future financial success.
We took all of the numbers off of our whiteboard and inserted them into an Excel spreadsheet. From that point on, we updated our asset and liability totals to track our progress. Even just seeing the numbers helped!
(Side Note: Empower wasn’t around back then, but if it was, it would have made the whole net worth tracking process a lot easier. It’s free and it automatically updates your net worth by syncing up your accounts. We use it now and it is the best free tool out there for this.)
** Net Worth Total (September 2010) = -$50,000 **
Live on a Monthly Budget
Another monthly habit Nicole and I adopted around this time was living on a budget. We got the idea after reading Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. He talked about the importance of living on a zero-based budget and giving every dollar an assignment.
Getting on the same financial page with Nicole before each month began was important for us as we started our marriage.
Each month, we’d do the following:
- Review our spending, saving, and debt balances
- Plan out next month’s budget
- Discuss our financial dreams and goals to ensure we’re headed down a path we’re both excited about
We eventually learned about a couple's budgeting tool called Monarch Money which automated the budgeting process much like Empower did for our net worth tracking. This tool has saved us a ton of time!
Related Content: Best Budget Apps for Families
** Net Worth Total (January 2011) = -$35,000 **
Eliminate Your Consumer Debt
After being inspired by Dave Ramsey’s debt-crushing ways, we decided that becoming consumer debt-free would be an excellent way to increase our net worth.
I hated having student loans and wanted them gone as soon as possible. My 6.8% interest rate did not help the process either.
Nicole loved her 2008 Audi A4 and thought it would be incredible to own it outright with no payments.
Through our monthly Money Date, we discovered we could eliminate both of these debts by the end of the year. This would require us to live on my income and use Nicole’s to pay off the debt.
The plan worked! We were consumer debt-free by September 2011 and increased our net worth into positive territory.
After making the final payment on Nicole’s car, we took a joy ride in her paid-for Audi A4 on a beautiful fall night in Michigan.
** Net Worth Total (September 2011) = $20,000 **
Spend Less Than You Earn
At this point in our marriage, we were a month away from having our first child. Our financial standing was looking pretty solid. We increased our income to around $170,000 by the end of 2011. Our little Zoey would be born into a debt-free family. That made us proud.
We liked our current home, but we started thinking about our family growing from 2 to 3 (to eventually 4). Getting into a good school system was very important for us. That being said, we knew that homes in our desired school district were expensive!
Our new goal became saving up as much money as possible for a big down payment on our dream home. We planned to save 50% of our income and live on the other 50%.
** Net Worth Total (January 2012) = $45,000 **
Increase Your Income
Luckily, 2012 was an outstanding year for us income-wise. We were both working full-time at our jobs and brought in the most money we’ve ever made as a couple together in one year … $280,000!
I had a commission-based sales job and achieved the company record for the most annual revenue brought in on our most important account (it was a small company).
We ended up saving way more than 50% that year. Here are some highlights of what we did with our money:
- Saved over $100,000 cash
- Updated my bachelor pad into a family home
- Bought my first car with cash
- Funded our daughter's 529 Savings Account with $10,000 when she was born
- Traveled to Puerto Rico for a nice getaway over the holidays
** Net Worth Total (February 2013) = $210,000 **
Get a 15-Year Mortgage
When we finally bought our dream home, the cash savings we amassed allowed us to have a 45% home down payment. This cut our new mortgage principal by a sizable amount immediately.
We planned to pay off this mortgage in 5 years!
We went with a 15-year mortgage through LendingTree and got a super-low 3% fixed rate. This helped us to put more toward the principal balance each month and push toward our goal of becoming mortgage-free.
** Net Worth Total (January 2014) = $359,000 **
Be Flexible Because Life Happens
When our second child (Calvin) came into our lives, we decided it was best to have Nicole stay home and raise our two kids. Since we’d been living on one income for quite a while, it wasn’t that big of a life shocker for us. My income was still very comfortable at around $160,000 that year.
This income change did slow our net worth growth quite a bit, but honestly, those previous few years were unicorns! We’re just happy we saved like we did so Nicole could spend more time with our kids. It was one of the best decisions we ever made as a family.
** Net Worth Total (January 2015) = $385,000 **
Max Your Retirement Savings
In 2016, we decided that maxing out all three of our retirement accounts (401k, my Roth IRA and Nicole's Roth IRA) was a smart move to further increase our net worth. My workplace 401k had been maxed since 2013, but we had not been doing the same for our Roth accounts.
In addition to clobbering our mortgage principal, this tax-advantaged plan helped us break the half-million mark in our net worth journey!
By this time, we were fully into Empower to help us track our progress. It became quite addicting actually. Here's a full Empower Review detailing the free tools included. Their free “investment fee analyzer” was very helpful as we grew our portfolio!
** Net Worth Total (January 2017) = $547,000 **
Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
In November 2017, we paid off our 15-year mortgage in less than 5 years. One year ahead of schedule!
Nicole, Zoey, Calvin, and I had an epic mortgage freedom celebration together that we’ll never forget. We wanted our kids to remember this important moment in our lives so they too could be inspired to live without debt in the future.
After becoming mortgage-free, our net worth has increased steadily. The incredible stock market surge in 2017 helped as well!
** Net Worth Total (February 2018) = $679,000 **
Save For First Rental Property
Although 2018 saw an overall drop in the stock market, we weathered the storm and kept up a high savings rate. Most of our extra money went into a savings account to build up enough money to buy our first rental property.
We also did fun things like updating our home and traveling on some epic family vacations.
** Net Worth Total (January 2019) = $764,000 **
Create a 4-Day Workweek Lifestyle
Recently, we decided that buying our first rental property was not something we wanted to do. The responsibility of managing a rental property (even with a property manager) wasn't something Nicole and I were thrilled about. We weighed the pros and cons of rental properties and decided against them (for now).
Instead, we chose to use our cash as a runway for me to work on my small business full-time (or part-time rather). My goal is to work 3-4 days per week so I can spend more time with family, take care of my health, and enjoy more life today.
My wife has done the same thing too recently! She went back to school to become an esthetician and she's working part-time doing work she enjoys. Her commute is short, her workload is reasonable and it’s a nice change of pace for her.
** Net Worth Total (January 2020) = $917,000 **
Give Back
After becoming debt-free and paying off our mortgage early, we realized we wanted to give more. There were charities and causes that we felt passionate about and given our financial situation we were ready to be the change we wanted to see in the world.
We increased our charitable giving from 1% to 5%. In total we give 10%, but just in our own way. We have designed an alternative to 10% giving which is our unique way of giving on our path to financial independence:
- 5% for charitable giving
- 4% for family and friends giving
- 1% for random giving
While it may seem counterproductive on a path to increase your net worth, we now feel that building true wealth involves some sort of giving. There's a lot for us to learn and explore here and we're excited to see where it takes us.
** Net Worth Total (June 2020) = $1,061,000 **
In Conclusion: After Increasing our Net Worth for 10 Years
We’ve come a long way since our -$50,000 net worth in 2010. I’m so proud of the hard work that Nicole and I put into increasing our net worth. Without my wife’s partnership, none of this would have been possible.
After crossing over the $1,000,000 net worth mark, my first thought was … it’s just a number. On the surface, it doesn’t mean anything. But when you peel back the layers and find out what’s inside, that’s when you discover what our net worth is made of.
Our home, our cars, our retirement savings and our emergency savings are all things that bring our family joy and security. These assets will allow us to live happy, healthy and purposeful lives. They will also allow us to give generously of both our time and money.
With some hard work and a little luck, our kids will see our example and continue to build generational wealth in the future.
Get started on your journey to increase your net worth through Empower. Their free tools helped us immensely on our millionaire net worth path!
What are you doing to increase your net worth? Where are you on your financial journey?
Please let me know in the comments below!
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