Current job update

Well, apparently I hate my job but it doesn't hate me. I had my annual performance review last week and hot damn was it good. (My company's fiscal year ends June 30, hence the mid-calendar year review.)

During this pandemic, I have definitely not felt like I was doing my best work. I love working from home, but I need a little more accountability than I currently have. Apparently though, I'm still doing well enough that I was ranked in the highest bucket (now three out of my four years), which resulted in a 17% raise (which brings me up to the salary I've been asking for in interviews - time to up that number!) and a TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR bonus.

Sorry about the all caps, I'm just unbelievably stoked about that number. I've never had a bonus that large before - I think $5k for professional licensing was the biggest bonus I've ever gotten previously. Last year's bonus was just $3k.

I have a relative who works in HR who told me that I can negotiate for a signing bonus from any companies in the offer phase to still get that amount of money even if I leave before the bonus is paid out (which would be September 30, presumably to keep people from quitting). 

Based on my last bonus's withholdings, I'll net about 2/3 of the gross amount, roughly $15.5k. Even that amount of money is staggering to me. I've already figured out that at the time of payout, the bonus amount would be enough to pay off the rest of my credit cards entirely and leave me about $1,500 to do with what I wish. 

Y'all, I know not to count my chickens before they hatch, but I'm already so relieved at the idea of having my cards paid off a full year earlier than expected. At my current rate, it was looking like June 2022 for full payoff. Once my cards are paid off, I can finally start saving heavily for early retirement and travel and all of the fun things I've been avoiding because they're too expensive (like scuba diving!). 

May net worth update

May was another good month. The Affirm loan was finally paid off, and I both went on vacation to Universal Studios and paid off both the package and incurred incidentals. Taking the vacation meant I didn't keep making progress on my debts, but after not having traveled in over a year (with the exception of a couple of road trips to visit my brother, which barely counted since I drove straight down and just stayed in his house hanging with my nephew), it was a welcome respite. 

Here's my introduction post where I broke down my net worth in January 2021, and here's a link to my February, March, and April updates.

Here's where my net worth stands now as of 5/31/2021:

• Checking: $3,822.66 
• Short-term savings: $4,908.61 (This is several savings accounts: car repairs, car insurance [paid every six months], cat savings [I have two approaching-senior cats, and their vet bills are always a kick in the teeth], and vacation)
• E*Trade: $537.35 (this is literally just a few shares in one stock that I've had since I was probably 12 or so?)
• Vanguard brokerage account: $200 (I've gotten antsy with credit card paydowns and wanted to start investing again, so I gave myself $50/month to start doing so - this is my seed money from a savings account that I will put toward a share of VTI once I have enough in the money market fund)
• Retirement savings: $31,841.73 (Roth IRA) and $39,424.77 (401(k) - I'm also not fully vested yet, but the unvested amount is maybe $1k)
• HSA: $1,370.28 cash, $8,458.91 invested = $9,829.19 (my HSA requires at least $1,000 in cash available to pay for expenses - anything over that, I just haven’t invested yet)
• Condo: ~$120,000 (A recent listing for the same layout unit - but more recently remodeled - was listed at $198k.)

Total assets: $210,564.31

• Credit card debt: ($19,558.78) (so stoked to be under $20k! These are due to be paid off by September 2022)
• Student loans: ($21,339.72) (mostly federal, and payments are suspended until September 30, 2021 - roughly $5.1k is private, so that's where I'm focusing my efforts) (private loan due to be paid off December 2022, and federal loans April 2023)
• Car loan: ($457.89) (due to be paid off August 2021, at which point that money will be diverted to a sinking fund for a car replacement)
• Mortgage: ($35,922.12) (due to be paid off November 2038 - before grad school, I made 8 months of principal-only payments that were the same amount as the mandatory principal+interest payments [not including escrow for taxes and insurance] and it cut 2.5 years off the life of my loan, which still blows my dang mind)

Total liabilities: ($77,278.51) 

Net worth: $133,285.80

My prior month net worth was $129,584.90, which means I've had about a $3.7k gain in the past month! This time it was mostly a decrease in liabilities, which I'm totally fine with - the less debt I owe, the less interest I have to pay.

In June I plan to continue paying down the Chase Sapphire and to purchase one share of VTI.