Moneystepper’s 2015 Savings Challenge Update #3
It’s time for an update on the MoneyStepper’s 2015 Savings Challenge. Actually it’s overdue, but because we took a spring break last week I’m not feeling too bad.
I’ve signed us up for it as a fun way to build up our net worth and savings. The two main goals of the challenge are:
- Grow Your Net Worth
- Save % of Your Net Income
For 2015 our family will do our best to increase our net worth by 25% and have a 15% savings rate.
March Net Worth and Savings Results
March went by way too quickly – it was my first month back to work since having the baby. Even now, my work schedule changes every two weeks until I can find something that fits.
I’m currently doing a pseudo-split shift where I work in the morning for a couple of hours and then finish up in the evenings after my husband comes home. Not sure if I want to keep this schedule.
Otherwise the only other difference with March versus the previous month is our tax refund. It was smaller than precious years (we’ve gotten better with estimated tax payments with my work), but big enough to bump up our savings.
For those curious, here are our numbers for March:
- YTD Net Worth Improvement: 8.9%
- YTD Savings Rate: 27%
I’m really happy about this, especially with the big changes around the house.
Savings Challenge
Graham, though, had a different take on my progress. After I submitted my numbers and gave him an update on what was going on, he sent me a proposal for the challenge:
Given that you are currently 42% ahead of your pro-rata net worth goal and 80% ahead of your savings rate goal, perhaps we should re-evaluate your annual goals in order to keep them relevant and to ensure that you are really pushing yourself.
From our discussions to date, you’ve had one off events in Q1 …. which may not be repeated again in 2015.
Also, the markets up to the end of March have seen the FTSE 350 increase by 3.6% and the S&P 500 increase by 0.5%. Neither of these are hugely anomalous, and so these shouldn’t really factor into our re-evaluation decision.
Therefore, I would recommend that we alter your goals to:
- Net Worth Increase: 30% (5 percentage points increase compared to your original goals)
- Savings Rate Increase: 20% (5 percentage points increase compared to your original goals)
I know that this will be a challenge, but it is called the Moneystepper Savings Challenge after all…!
What do you think?
My first reaction was “What? Are you crazy?!” LOL
We had a baby, I got a new workload, still trying to figure out this schedule…
When I took a day to think about it, though, I saw Graham’s suggestion differently. I began to see this as a way to push us to be more financially fit and get rid of the student loan.
We might not reach this new goal, but I believe at the end of year it will get us closer to financial freedom. So I emailed him back and told him we’re in. Hopefully next month’s review will show us meeting this new challenge.
Thoughts on Our MoneyStepper Progress
I’d like to hear about you and your family about your goals and progress so far. Have things been going well? Have you had to deal with any set backs?
