Monthly Net-Worth Update — Nov 2023 — Recollection & Major Major Updates

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Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

How time flies!

I started posting our Monthly Net-Worth Update from Nov 2019. It has been 4 years and I am glad to report that I have not missed one update and I will continue posting.

Over the past 4 years, our journey to accumulate Net-Worth has been bumpy, to say the least.

• Hugely unfortunate event
• Unemployment due to offer retraction at the beginning of Covid
• Not getting paid for my freelancer work for almost a year
• Had to “Chicken out” and accept pay-cut due to financial challenges after one year of earning nothing
• Significant loss on my flat
• Huge loss in stock market
• Painful transition back to Consulting
• …

Financial impact? Easily more than our Net-Worth now, which is as high as it has ever been!

Mental impact? Torturous!

Physical impact? Loss of hair and back pain!

Photo by Nagara Oyodo on Unsplash

Taking this chance to recollect about the 4 years again,

• Yes, I accept that much of this was my fault
• For the rest, I have learned to accept and live with as well
• But man! We deserve a pack on the back, coming through all these, without compromising our consciences

We marched on even after falling into so many adversities and we kept our bottom-line!

And we will continue marching on!

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

In all these struggles, books and a few good blogs have been really good companions for me.

Inspired by them, my mindset has evolved too. And some of that evolvement is demonstrated here by the two major updates I am going to introduce in this entry. 

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

Update 1: Reflect the market value of my flat

From the beginning of tracking, I have used a very conservative value of my flat to calculate our Net-Worth. My reasons were:

• I wanted to avoid disappointment by staying conservative
• I wanted more control on my Net-Worth
• Flat has low liquidity and I only have this one property. So what I could do with it is very limited

While these reasons might be valid, the practice of using very conservative value was not helpful or even harmful. 

I believe it contributed to the fact that I sold my first flat at a very bad price in two ways:

1. The price offered was higher than the conservative value I set, so I thought it was good enough
2. I did not track the market value of my flat, so I did not know how much it could command or where the market was going

Additionally, this practice sub-consciously undermined Real Estate as a vehicle of investment (When can I really get free from all these biases??).

Therefore, at this 4-year anniversary, I decided to update my tracking to reflect the market value of my flat:

• Our Net-Worth will be closer to reality, even though it will be subject to more fluctuations
• It will force me to track the market value of the flat so I will be informed
• Maybe this will change my view to property investing

The property market is good now. So it will increase our Net-Worth a lot.

Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash

Update 2: Upgrade my 40/40 target to 80/40

With the major update in tracking practice, the numbers this month will not be comparable with previous months, but almost surely I will blow my 40/40 target this year.

Therefore, I have upgraded it to 80/40.

This is another mindset change from my good companions: 

• Aim for the sky
• Never limit myself or negotiate myself down

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Ok, back to business. 

Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Nov 2023.

Net-Worth increase from last month: A lot

As mentioned above, the numbers this month are not comparable with previous months.

Investment wise, my loss has reduced due to the recent rally. 

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -5.02% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still in deep RED.

Improvement vs last month due to both recent rally and more capital pumped in.

Till next time!