Net Worth Update 2013-2014

by Stealthy Rich · Published April 30, 2019 · Updated April 30, 2019

What is our most signficant financial metric we track?

Net Worth

What is Net Worth?

Your net worth is everything you own (your assets) minus what your debts (your liabilities). Assets include cash, investments, your home and other real estate, automobiles, or anything else of value you own. Liabilities are what you owe on those assets — including your mortgage, car notes, credit card bills, and student loan debt.

Net worth says what you would have left over if you sold all of your assets to pay your debts. All financial choices you make should be geared at maximizing your net worth, meaning either increase your assets or decrease liabilities.

The Stealthy Rich Net Worth Update (2013-2014)

Disclaimer: These numbers or for 1 of 2 partners within The Stealthy Rich. My business partner’s trajectory is roughly the same.

I started tracking my net worth in 2013. This time is when I met my business partner, and we decided we were going to take charge of our future and be intentional about or financial decisions. I started with about $150,000 in net worth. This amount included equity in my personal residence (I had put 20% down), retirement accounts, a few stocks in a taxable account, cash, two cars, and a few valuable belongings. I was 32 years old at the time. I graduated from college in 2006 with zero student loans as did my wife, so that in itself was a miracle.

I had been in the workforce about six years when I decided to dive into the real estate world and “change my stars.” 150k is nothing to write home about, but I don’t deny that I had a pretty good start compared to most people. Luckily I was already naturally frugal before I dove into the FI movement. This natural proclivity to purchase only what I valued was vital. I felt like I had done quite well up to this point. However, I couldn’t believe how this real estate obsession would skyrocket my net worth shortly.

Let’s Do the Net Worth Numbers

Here’s my net worth over 2013-2014. Roughly 18 months. When I did this analysis back in 2014, I was floored. I couldn’t believe it. I had gone from a respectable $150,000 to 450,000 in 18 short months. Almost all of it was attributed to real estate. That’s a 200% increase in net worth, all from a side hustle!

Also, let’s look at it by each factory (house) that I added to the portfolio. This analysis also blew my mind. Evident to me again, is the point:

“You make all your money when you buy.”

We didn’t buy any problem children or houses on which we were speculating. We bought right, and we bought often. Every property added a significant bump to our net worth as we were paying under market value for each one. Also, each house cash flowed as a rental if it was a “buy and hold” and helped us form a cash flow snowball which would eventually get us to FI. Passive income is key.