Welcome to my July 2017 Debt Blag net worth update.

For those new to Debt Blag, I regularly take stock of what I owe and what I own, to see how I’m doing in my long journey toward debt freedom.

Here is the state of that struggle as of the start of July 2017.

An expensive health problem

By far, the aspect that had the biggest effect on my net worth this past month was my surprise health issue. Between doctor visits and seemingly endless tests, I spent over $4,000.

On average, my medical expenses in every other month have been approximately $0.

I posted yesterday that I would have been financially better off had I gone with a traditional health insurance plan instead of the high deductible health plan I have, by several hundred dollars.

However, because I saved approximately $3000 over my last two very healthy years, so I guess on net I’m still better off.

Market growth levels off

From the new year to the start of June, the market, as measured by the S&P 500, had grown by an annualized 19 percent! Between this rapid growth and my own contributions, my retirement portfolio had also grown by $55,000 over the same period.

Could I count on this market growth continuing in June to save the day?

I could not. Equities were flat in June.

The numbers and a little analysis

The end result was not as ugly as it could have been. This past month, I:

• Paid off $1500 of debt, to bring the total down to $57,000
• Added $700 to my retirement savings, to bring the total up to  $221,00
• In sum, added $2200 to my net worth, bringing the total to $165,000

Digging deeper, I found that I managed to end positive despite my medical expenses and a stalled market through a combination of limited spending elsewhere (because I knew medical bills were coming) and being lucky my retirement portfolio just happened to be heavy with international stock mutual funds, which did a bit better.

It also helped that I entered the month with a healthy emergency fund. While I still had to pay my bills, I was able to do it without expensive borrowing.

2017 year to date

Including my gains in July, my net worth is up $66,000 across the first half of 2017. I look forward to getting back to work.

How was everyone else’s July?

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