Our net worth in July rose 7.3% and 9.73% to $51,451 and €46,228 respectively. We cracked $50k for the time being.
The big drivers behind this upward move were my summer bonus and the stock market. With the bonus, we were able to pay for our tax advisor as well as immigration fees from cash flow rather than dipping into savings, while still having a positive savings rate. I also earned some extra money from some extra side work.
Meanwhile, the stock market really went on a tear. Some of my laggard positions started to recover, and some of the German stocks finally had some small rebounds. I'm finally at an overall unrealized gain in the portfolio, which is reassuring.
Trip to U.S.A.
I'm currently in America, and although I'm trying to be judicious, I'm spending more money than I wish I were. Part of it is just social: if friends and family want to do something fun together, it's hard to say no when I only have limited time with them. To be honest, I don't really want to say no, and I don't want them to feel like they need to support me while here.
More surprising: America is really expensive. I'm always shocked by this, but Germany has maintained lower prices pretty well, so everything feels like a price shock when I come back. Beer, for example, is priced absurdly high relative to Germany. I find food in general more expensive. I'm sure there are some areas where there's a less of a difference or even a slight tilt towards lower prices in America, but so far on this trip, I'm getting killed by the high prices.
I'm not looking forward to updating the budget spreadsheet when I get more time for that. But I am having fun, and I'm glad I made the trip.
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