I created @ImperfectFinance (now @ImperfectTaylor) because I wanted a fun way to document my debt free journey. You might know that I paid off the last of my student loan debt in May 2020 but, simply put, I never really thought about what @ImperfectFinance would be once I became debt free.
So now that I’m debt free, I feel a little like I’m in uncharted territory.
Over the last few months, I’ve thought things like… Can I still talk about how to pay off debt even though I’m debt free? Should I begin to talk about wealth building even though I am new to the concept of wealth building myself? Do I take @imperfectfinance in a completely different direction and no longer talk about money? Well, the word “finance” is in my IG handle, so… do I change it? Not sure…
Since becoming debt free in May I’ve been trying to decide what I want to do with @ImperfectFinance and ultimately I decided that if I’m going to share something as personal as net worth, that I really need to be all in on that decision – not one foot in, one foot out.
The Other Thing Is…
Money is taboo af. This is no secret. It’s not an easy thing to talk about, much less share one’s net worth with the world lol. Sometimes I wish I was anonymous!
Lastly…
I’m worried about how seeing my net worth will make you feel. Let me explain.
I think it’s easy to fall into comparison traps on the internet. We see how other people are doing, and if we perceive them to be doing “better” than us in a particular area, we can quickly feel like we just aren’t matching up.
If you’ve never felt this way, then dang – teach me your ways. But I’ve felt this way more times than I’d like to admit, and the last thing I want for you when you see my net worth is to feel anything less than the amazingly awesome person you are 🙂
And if you’re thinking to yourself, who does Taylor think she is? Does she really think her net worth will make me feel less than? Because honestly, no, I don’t. But I do know that there will be readers of Imperfect Finance who do have less of a net worth than me, and if that’s you, I want you to know that the only reason I am sharing my net worth would be to hopefully help inspire and empower you, and not to boast.
So, What Have I Decided?
I hope that by documenting my journey, I can help you with yours. I hope that the more I talk about money, the more money becomes this exciting, fun topic; something that you can comfortably aspire to amass more of and are eager to learn more about, instead of something you feel guilty for wanting or even something you feel intimidated by.
So now that I’ve dragged this on long enough ? my net worth is: $50,535.52
Here’s a little more information/background:
I graduated college in May of 2015 and started my first job in July of 2015. I was very lucky to have parents who encouraged me immediately to at least contribute to my 401(k) up to my company match, and so I did. For the last 5 years (even while paying off debt) I at least contributed up to the company match.
In addition, I have an emergency fund of $10k.
I also opened a Roth IRA for myself about a year or two ago and contributed literally $10 a month to it while I was paying off my debt and then increased my contributions to about 8% of my paycheck once I paid off my debt.
I also opened up a brokerage account a few years ago but I honestly don’t really know too much about it. I have managed to do some investing with that account, but I am truly so novice at dealing with it that I can’t even really explain it much – ha! And it doesn’t account for much of my net worth at this time (but I do plan on learning more about this account and utilizing it in the near future).
But… that’s really it! My 401(k) and emergency fund make up a majority of my net worth.
Nowadays…
I’m aiming to max out my HSA (Health Savings Account). Check out my Instagram post from 10/21/2020 to learn more about HSAs there, but simply: I can max out that account at $3,550 and I am currently at $1,253, so I need to contribute about $2,297 more.
Once I’m done maxing out my HSA, I’ll likely move onto maxing out my Roth IRA.
In Conclusion
Whether or not I continue to share net worth updates is still up in the air – I guess I’ll see how this one goes ? but, I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful, or at least helped you learn a little more about me.
P.S. Imperfect Finance is now Imperfect Taylor! Check out my Instagram at @imperfecttaylor.
Other posts you might like:
- Net Worth Update 2021
- Net Worth Update 2022
- 9 Tips and Mindset Hacks To Be Consistent
- How to Budget Using Zero-Based Budgeting
