How we Cleared $4,143 Debt and Increased our Investments in May 2021 (Net Worth Update)

This month we focused on clearing a couple of smaller debts and redoing our budget. Much to our delight, it helped a lot with both our finances and mindset.

Last month I shared our net worth for the first time. It was a little scary putting it out there but I am excited to track it. Some of our assets were hard to define and still are which means they will be added in properly later. Here are our debts/liabilities and assets compared to last month.

April Debts

Custody debt $9,000
Visa debt $6,000
Personal loan $12,000
Cash debt $600
Cash debt $500
School debt $900

Total: $29,000

May Debts

Custody debt $8,225
Visa debt $5,225
Personal loan $11,407

Total: $24,857

How we Cleared $4,143 of Debt in a Month

As you can see, we cleared a couple of smaller debts plus knocked a bit off our larger debts. We were not as strict as we could have been this month as we had a few larger expenses. One daughter needed a new laptop which was $1,300.

Sports gear, registrations, a school camp and some celebrations were another $2,000. We won’t restrict these though as we enjoy our lifestyle.

To get the $4,143 we did a combination of extra freelance writing for me and some odd jobs for Mr Aspiring Millionaire. He’s a hard worker and it’s been easy to pick up some regular gigs. We do declare all our income.

Increasing Assets

Last month I couldn’t give a completely accurate account because we still need some of our retirement accounts sorted. Also, the properties in Vanuatu aren’t going to be valued for a while nor are the businesses. However, at the moment, here is a rough estimate based on various factors.

Property: $600,000
Business 1: $70,000
Business 2: ?
Business 3: $3,000
Spaceship: $679.85
Coinspot: $209
Raiz: $40
Retirement: ?

Total: $673,928.85

Our Total Net Worth: $649,071

As you can see from the numbers above, our net worth is going well. I can’t wait to get our retirements sorted to know exactly what they are as well as expand the businesses.

The breakdown of our assets are the 3 properties in Vanuatu (and right now, the rental from those goes to support the family in Vanuatu). Business 1 took a hit last year, reducing the income and value. At the moment, we are slowly building that back up again.

Business 2 is in Vanuatu. Right now, it isn’t producing any income as it is paused due to borders being closed. It’s a tourism based business which we owe nothing on but will likely need to invest some money into when borders open or are close to opening to get it running smoother.

Business 3 is small and not doing much, however, I was recently offered $3,000 for it. I used to do more with it and have decided to build it a little then sell it.

How we Increased our Assets

Increasing our assets was not a focus for us this month but we did manage to invest a little more in shares. We also decided to experiment with crypto We figured a small amount is a good way to test our risk tolerance with crypto.

After the initial free $10, we got an unexpected $150 so I put that in too. Currently, our crypto is worth $209.

Our retirement funds are proving harder to get sorted than I thought. Mr Aspiring Millionaire knew it would take ages as he has had to do so much with the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu before. So this is something we are still working on.

Property in Vanuatu has remained steady and right now we are not in a position to do much. In the future, we will be developing the properties more.

Doubling Money to be a Millionaire

One of the projects we have with our millionaire and financial freedom goal is doubling our money. If you start with $1 and double it 20 times, you reach over $1,000,000. If you start with $2 it is only 14 times you need to do it and the end result is over $1,600,000.

Last month, I did my first flip. I bought a book for $2 and resold it for $8. Then, I purchased a dress for $7 and sold it for $20. As there was a ‘spare’ $1 from the first flip, I used that to purchase 2 books and sold them for $5 each.

Right now, in my doubling money account, I have $30 to use to buy something else to resell. I have been ill so didn’t get a chance to look this week but will be next week.

What are you doing to reduce debt and increase your net worth?