Welcome back to another net worth update!

A few months ago I was trying to decide whether to contribute the maximum to my 403b or just focus most of my savings efforts upon my Brokerage account.  So in August I decided to restart contributing the maximum to my 403b in order to take advantage of the tax savings. However on August 5 I received bad news at my job which caused me to redirect my savings efforts upon my brokerage account only.  I chose to forgo saving in my 403b because I believe the money will be taxed at a much higher rate when it comes time to withdraw.  This is a complaint that I have heard others express but I was not concerned about until recent events at my job caused me to question the government and I realized that it is overstepping its bounds in a myriad ways.

I cannot complain about returning to saving in my brokerage account because this means that my monthly dividends will only grow that much faster.  And since I need this money to pay my bills when I am no longer working I need it sooner rather than later.

In the month of August I added to HASI and TROW.  I did not buy any new stocks.  After a year of investing I can see that the REITS and financial/insurance sectors of my portfolio seem to be doing the best overall.  My dividends have remained steady at $460 to $470 per month and net worth grew $5589.13.  I hope to grow my portfolio to $200,000 by the end of 2016, earn $7000.00 in dividends in 2016, and at least earn an additional $100 in dividends by this time next year.

I no longer work 40 hours per week.  I began working 64 hours bi-weekly about 2 weeks ago.  Because of the reduced hours I may only be able to add $800 per paycheck to my brokerage instead of $1000.  I am feeling much better physically working a 32 hour work week and am surprised in the difference one less day can make.  I decided to ask for this schedule in late spring when I was suffering major burn out and am very grateful that it was approved so quickly.  The additional good news is that I received an unexpected raise last week that really surprised me so this could not have happened at a better time but it is somewhat bittersweet…