Tuesday, August 09, 2005

How Much Do I Owe, Anyway?

Although the overall debt situation is better than it was last month, I've noticed an ugly downward trend in our net worth over the past couple of years. Since we had several clients finally pay, we were able to pay off a loan my father had made to us, and to get all of the credit cards, except one, paid off. Last month, our net worth (excluding the value of and mortgage on our home) was at the lowest level since I started keeping track in 2000.

Not counting our mortgage debt, things aren't looking too pretty:
AccountAmount
Credit Card$1,414
401(k) Loan #1$12,906
401(k) Loan #2$4,800
Total$19,120

Both of the 401(k) loans are being paid off according to schedule, and if we don't pay anything off early, we'll be debt-free some time in 2009. If this "life changing" job turns out really to be as profound as our client says, then perhaps we'll be able to get things paid off early.

The last time we had a positive net worth was over two years ago, when we were working a big job for a client. It was steady work, and we were getting paid. Unfortunately, our client was mismanaging money he'd received from his customer, and in the end he stopped paying us for our work. He kept promising to pay, and didn't. Ultimately, we got ripped off for $14,000 by this guy.

We've really been scrambling, financially, ever since. I hope the tide changes, soon!

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