Net Worth Update: €45,361 (+0.59%)

This month's net worth update!

With another month gone, it’s time to update my net worth. I do this every month to keep track of my own progress, but also as a way to give you guys a clear window into what the road to financial indepence means money-wise.  Let’s get to it.

Since publishing my net worth last month, a lot has happened. On the one hand I had a fantastic month savings-wise, but on the other the markets took quite a nosedive. So while I managed to save over €1,500 in September, the drop European stocks experienced over the past two months made it so my net worth didn’t budge that much.

As a result of both September’s savings and the drop in the market my net worth currently stands at €45,361, which is only 0.59% higher than last month. It’s crazy to think that, even with my relatively small portfolio, my investments almost have a larger impact on my net worth than my ability to save.

Please don’t forget that I list all my investments in Euros only, even if the underlying stocks are traded in other currencies. I use the last-known exchange rate to convert foreign currencies to Euros. Because of this approach, the US stock market drop from the past few weeks doesn’t really show in my portfolio. It’s true that most US stocks experienced lower price points, but the weakening Euro and falling EUR-USD rate made up for most of that loss.

 

Dividend growth stocks

After buying my first individual stocks in August, I’m starting to slowly but surely grow my dividend portfolio. The first passive income from dividends in my account definitely gave me a big boost to continue down this path. That’s why I’ve added 22 shares of General Electric (GE), 33 shares of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and 20 shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) since the previous net worth update.

By purchasing a stake in these hiqh quality companies my yearly dividend income increased with about €55 after taxes. While €55 doesn’t seem like much, it’s about 0.22% of my net yearly income. At my current savings rate €55 is almost 0.85% of my yearly expenses, which means I’m slowly moving closer to living off my investments.

The cost basis for each position includes the price of the shares, a 0.25% stock market tax and brokerage fees. Even though the value gain of my dividend portfolio doesn’t matter too much, I’ve added it here for the sake of completeness.

Ticker Company Shares Cost basis Mkt. value Gain
T AT&T 37 972.16 993.71 +2.22%
DE Deere & Company 7 452.61 467.67 +3.55%
GE General Electric 22 450.70 420.79 -6.64%
GSK GlaxoSmithKline 33 610.15 557.49 -8.63%
JNJ Johnson & Johnson 6 473.79 461.95 -2.50%
MCD McDonald's Corp 14 1,003.47 1,012.22 +0.87%
PG Proctor & Gamble 9 575.36 596.79 +3.72%
RDSB Royal Dutch Shell 20 585.25 560.00 -4.01%
KO The Coca Cola Company 17 540.05 588.79 +9.03%
FP Total SA 20 971.96 876.00 -9.87%
ULVR Unilever 29 968.01 920.03 -4.96%
Total 7,603.50 7,456.45 -1.93%

 

Exchange-traded funds

Just like last month I haven’t been able to buy into my ETFs because most of my free cash is going to dividend growth stocks. My next purchase is slated for some time in december, even though I’m itching to jump into the iShares Core MSCI World ETF now that it’s price has significantly gone down over the past few days.

Exchange-traded funds clearly show the volatility in the market when you look at them on a monthly basis. When I published my first net worth report, both my World and Europe ETFs were in the red. Last month, however, they jumped back into the green. Now they’re lower than ever before.

Ticker ETF Cost basis Mkt. value Gain
IWDA iShares Core MSCI World 4,982.96 4,970.16 -0.26%
IEMA iShares MSCI Emerging Markets 1,214.59 1,247.94 +2.67%
IMAE iShares MSCI Europe 3,561.94 3,344.00 -6.51%
Total 9,759.49 9,562.10 -2.33%

 

Other

My other holdings include a tax-advantaged pension fund, a savings account through an insurance firm with a guaranteed yearly return of 3.15%, and an emergency fund.

Name Cost basis Current value Gain
Pension fund 760.00 730.00 -3.95% and 30% tax break
Savings account N/A 17,612.75 +3.15% guaranteed yearly
Emergency fund N/A 10,000 N/A
Total 28,342.75

 

Going forward

When considering all of the above it becomes clear that every downside has an upside. Even though my investments are down from last month, I still managed to get ahead by saving rigorously. The dividend growth investing strategy is also turning out great with my future income climbing ever higher, even though the market currently experiences a slump.

Because lower prices also mean a higher yield for future purchases, I can’t wait to use October’s savings to purchase some extra high quality corporations. Pouring extra money in stocks also brings me closer to reaching my goal of having €20,000 in the stock market by the end of the year. With three more months to go I’m pretty sure I’ll make it!

Thank you for reading and for your support.

28 Comments

  1. NMW,
    Nice mix of stocks and ETFs here. I like to see that you are building your dividend growth stocks fairly weighted between 10 holdings. I made the mistake of only buying one or two companies early on. Had I diversified more, I’d probably be wealthier today. 20k goal for the year looking good!
    -RBD

    1. RBD,

      Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated.

      Since my broker gave me about 20 free transactions until the end of the year I’m trying to diversify my dividend stocks as much as possible. Next year I’ll probably invest more in every single position to keep costs down.

      I’m pretty sure I’ll make my 20k goal, unless the stock markets continue to plunge.

      Best wishes,
      NMW

    1. DD,

      That’s exactly my plan! The only way is up in the long-run.

      Thank you for stopping by and for your support,
      NMW

  2. Great progress. Impressive that your networth increased even with the down stock markets. That shows that you’re doing very great. Stocks in the red really doesn’t matter right now, this only allows you to purchase more stocks at a cheaper price.

    1. You’re absolutely right, Tawcan!

      Cheaper stocks now means more profits in the future. I can’t wait for my next paycheck to roll in and buy some more quality companies!

      Cheers,
      NMW

    1. Henry,

      Both September and October turn out to be rough months indeed. Both my US and European stocks are way down (even though the USD-EUR exchange rate doesn’t reflect it as much on my US stocks).

      I think it’s just a temporary thing because of a string of bad news the past couple of weeks. The only really worrisome trends are inflation levels and economic growth in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  3. Great job again NMW. Don’t worry too much about the down market, at age 25 you have decades of investing stretching out before you.

    1. Thank you, Noonan!

      Losing money on paper never is fun, but the stock market will turn around soon enough and continue its upward march. Since I started investing about half a year ago I’ve seen my portfolio go from negative to positive and the other way around more times than I have fingers, which really shows how volatile the market can be.

      Have a great weekend over there,
      NMW

    1. Emily,

      I’m not going to lie, it’s discouraging. However, I don’t want to play the “what if” game because it’ll only drag you down. I was happy to buy my stocks when I bought them, so I got my money’s worth. I know they’ll go up in the long-run.

      Thanks for stopping by,
      NMW

  4. Nice one NWM. The most important thing is consistency do not be distracted by the distractions. I am sure you will stretch well in years to come.

    Cheers & Good Luck

    1. Thank you, Steve!

      You’re right in that the current market drop is but a mere distraction. Apart from the worrisome European economy, I see no reason why stocks dropped this much. Especially for US stocks the decline doesn’t make any sense.

      If you keep investing you’ll come out on top eventually!

      Best wishes,
      NMW

  5. Great update NMW – still an increase in your networth despite the stock markets nosediving – well done! Really good to see how your share portfolio is coming along too and how your dividends will continue to grow. Also, I work for one of the companies whose shares you’ve recently bought! 😉

    1. Weenie,

      Thank you for the kind words! I think this will be one of the last times I’ll be able to grow my portfolio by saving rather than the return on my investmens. It actually feels great.

      Also, now that I own shares of your employer, I have to say this: work for me, minion! 😀

      Cheers,
      NMW

  6. NMW,

    Great job with the recent stock purchases! Adding some solid dividend income to your total. 🙂

    It’s a wonderful position to be in when your portfolio creates larger swings in your net worth than your savings. That’s when things start to really move along for you.

    Keep it up!

    Best regards.

    1. Thank you, Jason!

      You’re right about the solid dividend income. I was actually surprised to find how much future dividends this month’s purchases added to my income stream. Sometimes I’m still baffled by the strength of DGI.

      Negative swings in your net worth never are fun, but it also feels good to know that my portfolio has grown to a sizeable amount and now impacts my net worth more than my savings.

      Hope you are doing great over there,
      NMW

  7. NMW,
    your net worth is looking solid dude, good job on keeping the saving rates up and being able to increase your net worth even with the decline in the Market. Having said that, the extra cash that we saved up will only benefit us for when we are ready to make some purchases with all these companies at discount prices.
    take care!

    Ace

    1. Hey Ace,

      Thank you!

      I like your term discount prices, makes it seem like stocks are on sale. Many dividend growth investors probably can’t wait until they have some free cash to invest some more with the current decline in the market.

      Cheers,
      NMW

    1. SAD,

      Appreciate the kind words!

      Cheaper prices to invest at will surely help out a lot in the long-run. What’s not to love about higher yielding stocks?

      Thanks for stopping by,
      NMW

  8. Well you have faired not too bad. I’m afraid to look at mine but will have to soon. Now the dividends paid on these stocks, are you dripping them, such that the cost basis includes newly purchased stock from the dividends? My dividends go into my cash account and then when I have enough cash my broker buys more stock. Unfortunately it makes it hard to see the gains on a per stock basis. I haven’t figured out how or if I will try to track that yet. Nice interest rate on your 17K of cash. :drool: 😉

    1. Debs,

      At the time of writing this comment I think you can look at your portfolio again since stocks have gone up to their old levels. 😉

      My broker doesn’t allow traditional drip, but I use the dividends I receive to buy new stocks myself. That way I can also diversify my portfolio better instead of having some positions balloon because of their DRIP shares.

      You should take a look at the resources page on top! It contains a link to the Excel file I use to track the value growth and total gains on a per stock basis.

      The savings account (actually a kind of life insurance account) offers an excellent interest rate at the moment! 🙂 Don’t think I’ll drop that any time soon.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  9. Net worth is a great measure to gauge yourself. However, month to month changes in stock prices can really put a damper on the total net worth value. But, the same holds true when the market goes the other way. Keep the faith.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer

    1. Thanks for the encouraging words, Robert! It sucks that stock market drops have such a great effect on my total net worth, but you won’t hear me complain. Upward swings boost my net worth up bigtime!

      Cheers,
      NMW

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