Our net worth was $180,483/€167.735, representing a quarter-over-quarter change of -.71% and -.34% respectively. Quarter-over-quarter this was flat performance, but our first-half wealth growth in 2024 remains decent.
The Past Three Months
We've incurred a lot of spending in the past few months, which has slowed our savings rate. For one, our summer travel plans got expensive all of a sudden. We delayed buying our tickets to the US, which caused the price to creep up.
However, there's some spending that's just the result of carelessness. Some money leaks are happening, and I need to figure out where those are. For example, we're regularly exceeding our grocery budget. Some expenses are deliberate choices that nevertheless feel careless. I bought a new iPhone, which is expensive. My wife has doubled some of her lessons. I've been making some purchases in one of my side businesses. Each choice feels small in the moment, but they add together into reduced savings over time.
The stock market was also turbulent the past three months. I contemplated our wealth reaching the $200,000 in my last post, but as I hit "publish", the market gods reminded me not to get too complacent. That said, I wasn't worried about it as it was happening. Since I've adopted the ETF strategy, my mental health around investing remains healthy.
Third Quarter Forecast
I'm glad I waited before writing this post. In the latter half of June and in early July, we were expecting to have to pay enormous sums to the Finanzamt (the German tax authority) in estimated taxes. Because the pandemic depressed our incomes, our estimated taxes also correspondingly fell. When our incomes recovered, the Finanzamt wanted to adjust our estimated tax payments to new unheard-of levels. Thanks to the quick work of our tax preparer, we got the necessary paperwork organized and dispatched, which saved us from having to raid our savings just to cover estimated taxes.
It was a stressful moment, and it reminded me that I need to be more actively saving self-employment money as estimated tax funds. We shouldn't have allowed ourselves to get into that position.
That said, we're still digesting our elevated travel costs from the past few months. This will hamper saving. We also paid an outstanding tax bill from 2022, and that alone may wipe out any savings we accrue. It's hard to say without knowing the future.
Until next time, stay healthy.
