Earnings Timeline

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I am going to expand on my Financial Timeline series here. This post will be about my Earnings Timeline and Net Worth to date.

So, I got my Social Security Statement in the mail this week and I always check it against my earnings for the year to check for accuracy. I believe that everyone should do this as part of getting your financial house in order.

Look at the three columns on your statement when you are checking for accuracy-

1. Years You Worked 2. Your Taxed Social Security Earnings 3. Your Taxed Medicare Earnings

Here are my taxable earnings since 1995 (I rounded numbers for privacy reasons):

1995 - $1,500

1996- $3,000

1997 - $2,000

1998 - $2,000

1999 - $700

2000 - $2,000

2001 - $200

2002 - $400

2003 - $10,000

2004 - $35,000

2005 - $45,000

2006 - $54,000

2007 - $64,000

2008 - $81,000

2009 - $86,000

Over a 15-year period I earned $386,800 of taxable income. But once taxes are taken out I probably brought home $193,400 during that same 15- year period.

I calculated my January net worth to be $90,579.44. Therefore, from my earnings I "spent" $100,000 dollars during that 15-year period. Honestly, I don't know where that $100,000 dollars went. I know $26,000 plus interest payments went to the credit card companies. I had a wedding, went on a honeymoon, purchased a car during that time period too. This was an eye-opening experience for me. It has made me want to pay more attention to my spending especially what is coming in and going out (cash flow).

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I do have a word of caution about this post. I live in an expense place in this country so please don't compare your earnings to mine. I do have a college education and I am a tough negotiator which has increased my earnings. If you are interested in my negotiating skills please leave a message below. I will be happy to devote a blog post to negotiating skills in a job and in life.

Best wishes,

Janie

P.S. You have come to the right place if you are looking for information about getting out of credit card debt, paying off credit card debt, money tips, or for a friendly place if you are struggling with getting out of debt.