End of 2012 balance sheet - the last 6 months have been great for us financially

Assets:
Cash (checking accounts and sinking funds): $10,615
Emergency Fund: $13,465
Daughter Savings: $4,624
Daugher Stock: $1,532
Husband 401k: $88,959
Me 403b: $11,606
Me IRA's: $33,639
Daughter 529: $13,038
Home: $455,000
Car 1: $30,500
Car 2: $15,000

Total Assets: $677,978

Debts:
Car Loan (boo!): $19,305
Credit Cards: $826
Mortgage: $307,749

Total Debts: $327,880

NET WORTH: $350,098 (up $27,854 in past six months!)

Current Goal: Emergency fund to $20,000

Stretch Goal: $500,000 net worth by age 40 (March 2017)
To reach goal, net worth must increase this much each month (on average): $2,939

2013 Financial Goals:

1) Finish e-fund (about $6,000 to go!)
2) Increase Roth IRA contribution to $417/month
3) Increase 529 college contribution to $200/month
4) Put any pay increases into 403b
5) Set up Roth IRA for husband using extra $300/month saved by mortgage refinance
6) Start pre-paying car loan...get balance below $10k by end of 2013

Financial reading/learning:
1) A Random Walk Down Wall Street
2) re-read The Millionaire Next Door and for extra challenge, convince husband to read it
3) ?? - maybe The Intelligent Investor or Warren Buffet's letters to shareholders. Any suggestions?

Your ending report is awesome!! Keep up the good work!
Happy New Year!!

Thanks, Peachy!

Emergency fund progress-
Balance: $14,224/$20,000
Percent Complete: 71%

I think all the windfalls are over for now, so back to slow and steady progress. That's ok...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Congrats on the end of the year progress! I love the idea of net worth goals.

Good luck!

Emergency fund progress-
Balance: $14,786/$20,000
Percent Complete: 74%

Just cruising along!

Emergency fund progress-
Balance: $15,469/$20,000
Percent Complete: 77%

Getting closer, slowly but surely.

I got a 3.7% raise beginning with my next paycheck. I think I'll just increase my 403b contribution. I want to get to the point of maxing out the 403b each year pretty soon and I figure that will be less painful if I increase little by little. No sense in getting used to a bigger paycheck!

FidFad:
You are so far ahead of the national average, good for you. There are a few who save, like most of us on these boards, and the rest of the masses up to their nostrils in debt.
I read your thread and was cheering you on. Do a curtsey, you've earned one! You are really getting there.
The car loan of $19K is a problem, though. Even if it is a low interest loan & paid off quickly.
Here is the lesson on cars: they all end up in the same place-the car crusher at the junkyard.
Here is the second lesson on cars: paying cash makes used ones even cheaper. People selling used cars give up when no one has wholesale price cash to give them. They then take the used car to a used car dealer and sell it below wholesale, or trade it in on a new one. Often you can buy a used car for wholesale from the owner, when you have cash.
I just looked on Craigslist and I found many good used cars for less than $8000. We are about to buy a Honda with 97,000 miles on it from a private seller for $4,900. Our "new" car is likely to last 40,000 miles (3-4 yrs of driving) and still be Able to sell it for $2,000.....which possibly is less net cost to own than the instant depreciation of a new car the day an owner drives it off the lot. People treat cars like assets, but assets create wealth, cars never make money for the owner and should be treated like the liability (drag on wealth building) that they are. Anyone driving off the new car lot has a smile on his face, but he should be crying, in my opinion.
I have made a game out of car ownership. I try to get the greatest miles driven per dollar paid to own. My best car was a used 1987 Plymouth Horizon I bought for $2,900 and drove it for 112,000 miles before I sold it for $400. Great car!

Thanks for reading my thread, Landslave!

I agree completely about the car loan. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't see it that way. It's an ongoing challenge to convert him to a saver, but he has made a lot of progress. He lets me make most of our financial decisions and I've learned that there are some things I have to be willing to compromise on, even if I don't think it's the right choice. The car was one of those.

On the bright side, I'm thankful I was able to talk him out of the luxury SUV that he originally had his heart set on. That would have resulted in a much larger loan.

Emergency fund progress-
Balance: $15,870/$20,000
Percent Complete: 79%

Hardly any progress this paycheck. Found out our dog has cancer and only has a little more time with us. Spent some money on tests/bloodwork/meds for her. The only bright side is that I didn't have to worry at all about money when dealing with her diagnosis. Had there been a treatment to cure her, we would have been able to afford it. So yay for emergency funds. Boo for facing the loss of our pet.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your pooch. The death of a dog is the worst!
Hope you can spoil her and love her and let her enjoy her last days...*hugs*

I'm so sorry to hear this. When my dog declined and died last year, it was really tough on me. Pet her as much as you can, and know that you made her happy.

Hugs to you...

Thanks, Peachy and Cecily. I didn't realize how hard this would be.

She's on meds to feel better temporarily, so we're making sure her last days are full of attention and treats.

Emergency fund progress-
Balance: $16,296/$20,000
Percent Complete: 81%

I'm getting really tired of working on this emergency fund. Slow going lately, but March should be good. Would really like to finish up in April so I can move on! However....it feels awesome to have this cushion now, so it has been worth it.

I think you'll find it surprising how fast things go. I've tracked my networth every month for many years. I looked back and it was about 20 months from when our networth first hit $350k to when we crossed the $500k mark.

One caution, really focus in on the savings goals. As a networth goal is susceptible to market forces, so don't let that get you down.

Good luck, keep up the good work, and don't forget to have some fun along the way.