Financial Update: Savings, Dividends, Options and Investing for September 2021

September was a rough month in the stock market. The S&P 500 was down around 4.8% for the month. The NASDAQ index was down about 5.4% for the month also. I guess it should be no surprise that my investment accounts were down for the month. Even though my accounts were down, my projected annual dividend income was up so all is good. Let’s check out how my month went!

Spending/Savings

Spending was held in check this month. There were no unexpected expenses that popped up this month. The emergency fund is almost back to the desired level.

Dividends/Options/Interest

This month I received $381.69 in dividends. This is a new high for me in dividends received in a month. Last September was my previous high at $370.51. It is nice to see the year over year in dividends even if it is only by a little more than $11 or about 2.9%. To be fair, I made major changes to my account after September 2020 so the holdings then are quite different from my holdings today. For the year, I have received $2,750.24 in dividends.

This month I collected $209.55 in options premium. This is down from last September when I collected $298.15 in options premium. For the year, I have collected $2,590.25 in options premium.

Income from interest totaled $5.33 this month. For the year I have received $73.89 from interest.

The total amount received this month from dividends, options premium and interest was $596.57. Again, this month was well below my goal of $1,000 per month. This month was down from September of last when I received $668.66 in dividends and options premium. The combined income from dividends, options premium and interest is up to $5,414.38 for the year.

Debt

The total amount of debt went down by $1,028.77 this month. For the year, I have paid down $20,467.35. This is still ahead of pace to reach my goal of paying down debt by $25,000 this year.

Traditional IRA

The Traditional IRA finished the month at $115,136. This is down -$4,812 from last month. The account is up about $23,197 year over year from $91,939 last September. The projected annual dividend income increased from last month by $18 to $3,707.

Roth IRA

The Roth IRA finished the month at about $881. The overall total is up $56 over the previous month but that includes the monthly contribution of $100 so it was actually down for the month. Even though the account total was down the projected annual dividend income increased by $6 to $36.

401k

The 401k finished the month at about $8,925. This is up $133 over last month. When factoring in the bi-weekly contribution of about $177 this account was down as well. Year over year the account is up $5,172 from September of last year.

Taxable Account

The taxable brokerage account finished the month at about $327. This down about $6 from last month. Including the regular $25 monthly contribution this account was down a little over $30 for the month.

Cryptocurrency

This month the little bit of bitcoin (BTC) finished at a value of $19.21. I plan to continue to do some research on cryptocurrencies and will likely invest more in the future once I have a better understanding of cryptocurrency.

Total Investments

The total amount invested is now at $125,288. This is down -$4,638 from last month. Year over year the total amount invested is up $29,596 from $95,692 last September. All of the positions in my portfolio can be seen here: https://bluecollarbill.com/portfolios/.

Net Worth

My net worth is now $54,111. This is down -$3,410 from last month. Last September my net worth was at -$1,862 so year over year my net worth has increased by $55,973.

All of the accounts were down this month as well as my net worth. Despite this, I still see progress. I continue to keep my spending under control, pay down debt and invest. My projected annual dividend income increased again this month. Having a plan and sticking to it helps me to not worry about the volatility in the stock market. That’s it for this month. Thanks for following along!

*Disclaimer – I am not a financial professional. The information shared here should not be considered financial advice. I am just a factory worker sharing my experience as I strive to achieve financial freedom. Before investing or making any financial decision do your own research and due diligence or consider seeking the advice of a financial and/or tax professional.

Here are some of the businesses that I use that I thought some of you might be interested in.

Lolli has a variety of stores that it is affiliated with and offers rewards for shopping at these stores. I use Lolli when I shop on Chewy and I get bitcoin as a reward. Who doesn’t want free bitcoin! If you are interested in Lolli and want to help support the blog here is my referral link: https://www.lolli.com/share/XP7gxDgqC4

I use M1 Finance for my taxable growth account. M1 Finance offers promotions for signing up. At the time of writing this post, the promotion is for $30. These promotions vary from time to time but is usually a $10 bonus. If you are interested in M1 Finance and want to support the blog here is my referral link: https://m1.finance/ktIiFeOI5zDr

Varo Bank is one of the banks that I use. From time to time the bank will run promotions. Currently, you can earn up to 3% on your savings with Varo, if you meet certain requirements. If you are interested in checking it out, here is my referral link: https://bank.varomoney.com/signup?r=William360

I use the free version on trackyourdividends.com. This is a quick an easy way for me to track my estimated annual income from dividends.

If you use the referral links listed above I could receive compensation. Please take the time to read the terms and conditions before signing up.