November 2007 Site and Net Worth Review (-0.39%)

November was a very volatile month for the stock market with pressure from the oil price, sub prime mortgages, and foreclosure problems. The negativity was further fueled by bad news from companies like Citigroup and E*Trade. As a result, the S&P 500 index dropped -4.40% from 1,549.38 to 1,481.14.

According to NetworthIQ, my net worth declined by -0.39%, and my liquid assets went down by -2.76% from 24.31% to 23.64% of $1 million goal.

Financial highlights:

• We are now a single income family, since my wife stopped working to get ready for childbirth.
• We continue to add $425 a month to our son’s 529 college savings plan; and it’s now up to $929. We are planning to contribute the difference before the end of the year to reach our $5,000 contribution goal.
• Big purchases this month included a roomful of baby stuff — e.g., crib, beddings, changing table/cabinet, stroller, etc. Luckily, my sister gave us a lot of hands me down from our 2 years old nephew.
• My retirement portfolio dropped by -4.17% due to the market decline.
• My estimated home value increased by +0.38%. I wonder if this has anything with the devaluation of the Dollar, and the house acting as a hedge against it?

Regarding the blog:

• Readership:
  • Subscribers grew +28% from 327 to 418
  • Search traffic grew +45% from 1,437 to 2,078
  • Unique visitors dropped -19% from 15,756 to 12,754
  • Page views dropped -19% from 36,542 to 29,744
• Top 10 referring blogs and the absolute position on the referrer list:
  1. Being Frugal (#6)
  2. I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… (#9)
  3. Gather Little By Little (#10)
  4. The Dough Roller (#11)
  5. Carnival of Personal Finance (#12)
  6. Get Rich Slowly (#13)
  7. Money Smarts (#14)
  8. My Two Dollars (#18)
  9. MSN Money Smart Spending (#21)
  10. Million Dollar Journey (#22)

Thank you to my readers and fellow bloggers for support.