OK listen up, yo! There's a whole doozie of updates I need to blast through before we call it a year...
First things first: Because interest rates had continued their steady decline, it was decided to pull the trigger on a 2nd refinance for my primary residence this year. The rate had already been reduced in March (from 4.0% to 3.125% at no cost), but has now further decreased to 2.75%, all for the amazing low price of $95! I coincided this opportunity with shaving a few thousand off the principal, resulting in an overall decrease of $100/month off PI payments (although property taxes and insurance has stubbornly risen this year). The loan has already closed and first payment will start Feb 2021.
Another piece of good news is a slight 3% bump in annual salary. I know I'm fortunate to receive such a raise when many people out there aren't so lucky, but business hasn't slowed down at all, so it's not much of a surprise. It does help to loosen the noose a bit!
As mentioned before, all credit card debt has been obliterated. I also paid some extra principal to the rental property, which combined with the primary refi puts total mortgage debt just under $500k. Still a long ways to go, but every little advance helps.
The stock market has been behaving, so retirement funds are in a good spot. Property appreciation also continues to trend heading north. Of course there's no guarantees that will continue through 2021, especially if all the negative speculation out there suddenly catches up with us. But if it does, I'll have dry powder ready to either throw into retirement, or buy another rental property (planned for sometime in 2022)!
All in all, 2020 may have been garbage for many people, but personally it was a decent year financially. I didn't quite close out the year with $800k, but that should resolve itself in a month or two, provided stocks and property values hold. My next short-term goal is to reach seven figures by age 45 (18 months from now). It's a super ambitious timeline, but if everything continues to click into place (job, rental, side income, stocks) then it's definitely achievable.
Have a stellar 2021! |