Wealth Builder Ratios - 2006 Results and 2007 Goals

Here is my Q4 2006 Wealth Builder Ratio update. This update also represents results for the 2006 year. Overall, I am very happy with this year's results. For more details on the relevance of these ratios, please see this earlier post.

Ratio and Target	Q3 2006	Q4 2006	Comments
Investment Income to Salary Target=0.8	1.16	1.29	Stock investment returns (14% for S&P) and higher interest rates (5-6% on CDs) boosted this ratio. This year's result was excellent versus the abysmal 2005 ratio of 0.20.
Savings to Salary Target>20	14.6	15.0	The second half of the year stock market rally was the main contributor to the savings increase. We also save about 20% of our salary. The value of this ratio at beginning of 2006 was 13.3.
Debt to Salary Target=0	1.71	1.63	Currently, our only debt is our home mortgage. We continued to make additional payments to reduce the mortgage principal. The value of this ratio at beginning of 2006 was 1.80.

My financial goals for next year are:

1. Continue to maintain an Investment Income to Salary ratio > 0.8.

2. Add 1.5 to my Savings to Salary Ratio for a year-end value of 16.5.

3. Reduce my Debt to Salary Ratio by 0.1 to 1.53.

(For reference, Salary refers to gross salary.)

Both #1 and #2 are directly correlated with how well my stock, bond, and CD investments do. If my investments return about 10% in 2007, I should be able to comfortably achieve these goals. To achieve #3, we'll need to make an additional payment equal to about 4% of our mortgage principal.

Since I remain bullish on the market, I expect to achieve these financial goals for 2007. If the market should become weak or turn downward, I will need to revise my investment strategies to continue to meet these goals.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2006 Achievement Catalyst, LLC