November 2020 Update

In November, our net worth rose 12.04% and 10.91% to $83,765 and €70,155 respectively. This was after two months of greater than 5% declines.

The main reason for this is that the stock market did very well in November. It'd been a rough couple of months leading up to the US election, but November's performance more than made up for that. Some of my individual holdings really just exploded upwards, and some of the weaker positions regained some ground.

The main driver is likely the good news from the various coronavirus vaccines. I wanted Joe Biden to win, but I'm under no illusions about the market rising because of his victory. The virus and the resultant economic pain and disruption are the alpha and omega right now.

This past week was Thanksgiving, which I celebrated only by video chatting with some family in the US. My wife and I didn't prepare a giant meal since we're being good social-distancers, and a couple pizzas were just fine. I remain thankful that we've remained healthy, and that our careers haven't been too negatively impacted. It could have gone differently, but through luck we've gotten through this so far better than many. I'm thankful.

October 2020 Update

Our liquid net worth fell 5.07% and 6.51% to $74,763 and €63,252 respectively in October.

The reason for the fall is entirely because we bought a piano, and they're expensive. We actually ended up getting a better deal than expected, which will save us about 1k EUR, but it meant receiving it now rather than later. To keep myself honest, I've listed it on our balance sheet as a liability since we'll be paying for it over the course of the next year. It's a rent-to-buy: we'll be making payments while simultaneously saving for the lump-sum payment we'll have to make in one year. However, there's no interest accruing, and the price we could have paid all at once was the same as the price for rent-to-buy.

You can see the liability on the chart as a pink mass below the zero line.

Otherwise, stocks performed surprisingly well. We saved some money. I got an automatic raise due to my employment length with the company. It's the kind of raise that helps a little now, but over the course of years it really adds up. My wife is working more hours.

New COVID Lockdown

Yesterday, new coronavirus-related rules went into effect across Germany, which limit certain activities. We're allowed to go outside, and while my wife's profession isn't currently impacted, my company can't earn any revenue for the next month at least. We've been assured that it's not an existential crisis, but of course the mere mention of that idea raises alarm bells.

It's good to have savings in a time like this, though we wish we had even more. I can hear you now, "Then why the hell did you just buy a piano?" And the answer is because it was important for my marriage, which is more important than any one bout of employment. It was clear that this was very important for my wife, and I think my company will most likely survive this.

The alarm bells are nevertheless a good reminder to keep socking away cash.