Net Worth OCT 2025

Chart updated to end of OCT in sidebar.

Stocks/cash increased $5,107 (+1.04%) to $498,825.

Retirement savings (SMSF etc.) increased by $32,525 (+1.42%) to $2,315,735.As I am currently unemployed/retired there are no contributions adding to the balance, so this increase was due entirely to market gains (minus the small monthly decline in the 'guaranteed cashback' value of my QSuper pension accounts due to monthly pension payments).

Est. valuation of our home (my half) increased by $11,141 (+0.91%) to $1,238,551. The estimated value of the 'Other real estate' (my 'lake house' and the investment apartment) increased by $4,469 (+0.21%) to $2,143,170.

Other assets (my online depository bullion account at Perth Mint, and the bullion value of my gold and silver proof coin collection) increased by $4,087 (+5.51%) to $78,280. I am currently still adding $200 worth of gold to my Perth Mint online depository account each month.

Overall, NW increased by $57,329 (+1.10%) to $5,282,273 during Oct. It needs to increase by about 0.2% per month on average to keep pace with inflation (I.e. maintain real value).

I've so far applied for 66 positions and not had any real interest. I suspect I am overqualified for the Junior/Assistant Financial Advisor positions I've applied for, and probably lack the relevant experience required for a salaried financial advisor position. I may also be considered too old (as the list of qualifications and dates on the CV make one's age quite obvious).

The contract AI work I had been offered was cancelled (lack of funds for the project). So I'll do a few of the miscellaneous AI piece-work tasks to earn a bit of 'pocket money'.

I only recorded one youtube videos during October -- I'll try to do at least one a week from now on to see if it slowly gains views and subscribers (or not). (I said the same thing last month).

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Net Worth SEP 2025

Chart updated to end of SEP in sidebar.

Stocks/cash decreased -$3,155 (-0.64%) to $493,421. Mostly due to stock market and the negative gearing property investment impact on my cash flow.

Retirement savings (SMSF etc.) increased by $26,156 (+1.16%) to $2,283,210.As I am currently unemployed/retired there are no contributions adding to the balance, so this increase was due entirely to market gains (minus the small monthly decline in the 'guaranteed cashback' value of my QSuper pension accounts).

Est. valuation of our home (my half) increased by $35,499 (+2.98%) to $1,227,410 , but this was offset by the decrease in estimated value of the 'Other real estate' (my 'lake house' and the investment apartment) which decreased by -$33,322 (-1.53%) to $2,138,701. Overall a net decrease in real estate estimated valuations this past month.

Other assets (my online depository bullion account at Perth Mint, and the bullion value of my gold and silver proof coin collection) increased by $6,982 (10.39%) to $74,193. I am currently still adding $200 worth of gold to my Perth Mint online depository account each month.

Overall, NW increased by $32,160 (0.62%) to $5,224,944 during Sep. It needs to increase by about 0.2% per month on average to keep pace with inflation (maintain real value).

I've so far applied for 54 positions and so far had 27 confirmed rejection notifications, another 20 or so were likely unsuccessful, and 6 are likely still being 'considered'. I had one 'initial interview' with a prospective employer last week (will hear next week if I am invited to a second interview), and one telephone interview with a placement agency acting for a local position.

I also did a short evaluation 'bootcamp' online for a US AI training company, which paid about A$440, and they have offered me a contract part-time job (max 8 hrs/wk at about A$100/hr). Between doing a few nights of Door Dash and this contract AI work I *might* make around A$K/wk for the next few months. We'll see. I also need to do some more work on my PhD.

I only recorded one youtube videos during September -- I'll try to do at least one a week from now on to see if it slowly gains views and subscribers (or not).

I managed to get my global ranking in Fortnite to 'unreal' (currently just in the 'top' 2,000). I really should stop watching youtube and playing Fortnite and instead do some work on my PhD literature review ;) I might do some youtube videos of 'how to rank in Fortnite if you have bad eyesight, slow reactions, and can't build things' --- should be a hit with the over-60 gamers ? ;)

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Net Worth AUG 2025

Chart updated to end of AUG in sidebar.

Stocks/cash increased $1,397 (+0.28%) to $496,576. My monthly pension from QSuper commenced during the month, which should cover the bulk of my basic living expenses. The negatively geared investment property will be a net cash sink each month, so this figure will likely slowly decline during the year, until I make my annual minimum required withdrawal from my SMSF pension phase account next June.

Retirement savings (SMSF etc.) increased by $35,740 (+1.61%) to $2,257,054.As I am currently unemployed/retired there are no contributions adding to the balance, so this increase was due entirely to market gains (minus the small monthly decline in the 'guaranteed cashback' value of my QSuper pension accounts).

Est. valuation of our home (my half) was again unchanged at $1,191,911 (for the seventh month in a row!). And the 'Other real estate' (my 'lake house' and the investment apartment) increased by $2,601 (0.12%) to $2,172,023. This month the estimated value of my investment apartment again rose slightly, while the estimated value of my holiday home was unchanged.

Other assets (my online depository bullion account at Perth Mint, and the bullion value of my gold and silver proof coin collection) increased by $2,741 (4.25%) to $67,211. I am currently adding $200 worth of gold to my Perth Mint online depository account each month.

Overall, NW increased by $42,479 (0.82%) to $5,192,784 during Aug.

I've so far applied for 46 positions and so far had 15 confirmed rejection notifications, another 12 or so were likely unsuccessful, and 12 are likely still being 'considered'. I'm aiming for at least one application per day -- sticking with Financial Planning, Associate Planner and related jobs in the Sydney area. We'll see how it goes.

I recorded three 'test' youtube videos during August -- the first one got 23 views (likely given a 'boost' by the youtube algorithm as a new content provider), but the other two videos only received 1 and 2 views respectively. I'll keep putting up one or two videos a week and see how things progress (or don't progress).

I managed to get my global ranking in Fortnite to 'unreal' (currently just in the 'top' 7,000). I really should stop watching youtube and playing Fortnite and instead do some work on my PhD literature review ;)

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Net Worth JUL 2025

Chart updated to end of JUL in sidebar.

Stocks/cash increased $202,199 (+69.01%) to $495,179. This was mostly due to receiving a large payment for redundancy and accumulated annual and long service leave. I will keep about six months of basic budget requirement ($25K) in my credit union savings account, and the rest of the cash will be sitting in my investment mortgage offset account to reduce the monthly interest payments. About 21% of my retirement budget of $48Kpa is allocated to savings/emergency fund, and the 'surplus' pension income will be either added to my mortgage offset account or contributed into my SMSF as an personal deductible contribution. My TSB is over the limit for making undeducted contributions, so I am limited to the $30Kpa concessional contributions cap (SGL+ any SS or personal deductible contributions). Making deductible contributions (that are subject to the 15% contribution tax within super) only makes sense if I have taxable income (same with my negatively geared property investment), so I might need to use all the 'surplus' to just add to the mortgage offset account so the investment property is no longer negatively geared. I'll see how things stand towards the end of this year.

Retirement savings (SMSF etc.) increased by $49,785 (+2.29%) to $2,221,314. Part of this was due to receiving a 0.5% 'bonus' payment into my QSuper accumulation account when I moved about $440,000 into two lifetime pension accounts. The pension accounts have an initial value of the purchase price (that would be paid out if I died tomorrow), and that value will slowly reduce over time by the cumulative amount paid out as pension payments (until the final residual value of $0 is reached). The fortnightly pension payments commence next week, so I probably won't need to withdraw the mandatory minimum 4% from my SMSF pension account until the end of this FY (the required minimum has to be paid out by 30 June each year).

Est. valuation of our home (my half) was unchanged at $1,191,911 (for the sixth month in a row!). And the 'Other real estate' (my 'lake house' and the investment apartment) increased by $191 (0.01%) to $2,169,422. A slight rise in estimated value of my investment apartment was offset by a similar slight decline in the estimated value of my holiday home.

Other assets (my online depository bullion account at Perth Mint, and the bullion value of my gold and silver proof coin collection) increased by $991 (1.56%) to $64,470. I am currently adding $200 worth of gold to my Perth Mint online depository account each month.

Overall, NW increased by $253,166 (5.17%) to $5,150,305 during Jul.

After enjoying two weeks of retirement (gardening and tidying up the house and rearranging furniture) I already got a bit bored and reconsidered my decision to permanently retire and decided to see if I would get any responses to financial planning/associate planner/CSO/assistant job applications. I've applied for 15 positions and so far had 3 rejection notifications, 11 are in limbo (awaiting a response), and I had one phone interview today that resulted in a second interview via 'zoom' next week. The pay rates seem to range from slightly below to slightly above what my previous job provided, and any financial planner role would be more interesting than my previous IT QA role. I'm not too fussed about the salary as my tax-free pension payments provide about the same amount as my previous after-tax salary. I'll be mostly working for the pleasure of doing financial planning and helping people, but any extra income that gets added to my mortgage offset account will be nice. I'm only applying for positions that seem relevant/interesting and are in the Sydney area, and in the meantime will continue to work on my PhD.

I also started recording some youtube videos (well, one so far) and will see if that slowly builds up to becoming another stream of income (and a retirement hobby).

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