2023 A Year in Review: Exceeding Expectations with a Significant Net Worth Increase.
Each year, on New Year’s Day, while I do the recap and review of the previous year I also track and write down my net worth number which from now on will be our (wife and I’s) collective net worth number.
I started 6 years ago and love the progress so far!
Why do I do this very FIRE-style thing activity each year?
It’s a bloody simple and easy thing to do with a big impact.
And the only way to see whether you’re working further towards your FIRE number or moving further away from it.
What is the net worth number?
Quite simply the total value of assets minus all debt.
Networth = Assets – Debt.
A change from now on forward will be in the financial tracking which will be our collective net worth, as it’s impossible to divide it up into what is mine and what is my wife’s on our financial journey.
The fancy numbers :
1.5.2022 Bought a house with land to build and grow a self-sufficient garden.
Ending 2022, our combined net worth stood at 945.834 DKK.
By the end of 2023, this number had impressively risen to a whopping 1.480.011 DKK.
This increase is surprisingly remarkable, considering our modest incomes (much lower than the Danish average income, which is 440.000DKK in 2022) and my wife’s choice to work just 60% of a full-time position by choice.
A significant portion of this growth, 200,000 DKK, resulted from refinancing our loan (which is a risk we are willing to take) but also paying off an additional 200,000 DKK of the same loan. Plus also managed to still invest 36.097 DKK into indexes which will continue to grow in the coming many years!
Quite proud of our disciplined savings rate to be able to do this whilst also having to renovate a house and establish a self-sufficient garden to accompany our tiny house lifestyle.
This past year, we tested renting our house on Airbnb, which brought in an impressive 35,000 DKK.
This experience wasn’t just financially rewarding; it allowed us to host friends and family, making our Christmas and New Year celebrations all the more memorable.
2023 resulted in a surprising rise of around 15% equalling 58.000dkk in return. 2022 was a larger drop in DKK, so I’ve actually only just gotten back above the beginning of last year’s negative progress. That’s how it goes I guess!
A significant factor to our net worth growth is also a few leftover stocks in the Danish company Novo Nordisk that have increased over 60% in one year which has resulted in an extra 85.000 DKK, a lovely surprise.
These Novo Nordisk shares I’m going to keep for 10-20 years. Let’s see what the value of them is then!
We anticipate several substantial investments in 2024 that will require careful planning and budgeting but all are hopefully well worth it in the end investment-wise (bonus!). So may not be investing in indexes as much in 2024 – but instead in house renovations which hopefully will still increase net worth growth for the update at the end of the 2024 New Year’s celebration.
Reflecting on the past six years, our journey in the tiny house (for the past 4 years) has not only been a testament to a lifestyle embracing minimalism and sustainability but also a pivotal factor in our net worth growth.
Fingers crossed this continues in the years to come!
The addition of a new fireplace, a necessary update to comply with Danish regulations for models installed before 2003 increases the efficiency of firewood consumption and also adds charm to the house.
In a significant move towards improving our living space, we renovated the third room in our main house.
As we look forward to the upcoming year, we’re especially excited about the second season of our edible forest garden.
This project is part of our very long-lasting plan of living more self sufficiently and eco-friendly taking care of ourselves, wildlife, and the environment around us.
With of course the added bonus of reducing costs more and more over the coming years! 
In summary, the past year has been another step forward in our journey toward financial independence, sustainability, and personal fulfillment.
Our tiny house continues to be the cornerstone of our lifestyle, proving that living small doesn’t mean sacrificing richness in life—it simply means embracing it in more meaningful, sustainable ways.
2023 is well over. 2024, here we go.
Do you track your net worth?
