Monthly Net Worth Statement

My net worth dropped for the fourth straight month. At least the treadmill I purchased has been put to good use. I dropped a few pounds, but if my net worth keeps sinking, I may have to drown my sorrows in pints of Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream.

My Zillow home value has fallen for the third straight month, down over 1.5% from last month. There are more houses up for sale in my development, but no activity so far. I spent over $400 for a storm door and installation, but can apply this towards the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency. No further repairs on the home or appliances this month.

My car value lost more than 7%, but at least I didn’t have to pay for any more repairs.

My eBay sales have seen a dramatic slow down – almost 40% lower than last month. I actually lost money last month according to my month-end books. I’ve decided not to list any of my fine china inventory as the values have dropped to the point where after the eBay/Paypal fees, the profit would be near zero. If there is a economic recovery, I haven’t seen it. I’m forced to watch CNBC all day, so it starts to suck having to listen to asshats like Dennis Kneale say that the recession is over. It must have been really bad for Dylan Ratigan to leave for MSNBC.

The income from my full-time job is still steady, and the renter’s check didn’t bounce, so there’s some good news. However, my job’s business has dropped more than 50% in July. We got reassurance from our CEO that we’d “get through this”, but the last time business dropped this much, we laid off half the company three months after the last reassurance speech. Oh joy!

My credit card balances keep rising, but I’m throwing as much of my cash reserves towards it. That’s all I can do. Most have APRs of 9.9% or lower, but the 2 that don’t are at 24.99% and won’t budge. I’m looking into transferring balances since they won’t work with me.

I’m currently looking into switching careers to something in healthcare as unemployed MBAs are a dime a dozen in this town. I hear nurses can’t find jobs in the NYC area with all the hospital closings, lab workers are begging for hourly work, and Local 1199 Union medical workers are scrambling to file for early retirement to score what’s left of the pension fund. This is the same pension fund that sent out letters a couple of years ago stating that they would only be slightly affected by the fall in the stock market and for members not to worry. I believe the fund is heavily invested in NYC real estate and down to the 60-70% funded range and past the “critical” level, but I haven’t confirmed from a second source. I also hear dentists aren’t doing as well either. I guess physician or physician’s assistant are my only ways out. It would take two years to complete the extra classes part-time, so I’ll have to really think hard on this. Are you seeing an improvement in your area? Any unemployed career switchers out there?