Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a great winter break. We visited families near Palm Springs and had a great time. It was nice and sunny there. I don’t know how many dark winters in the Pacific Northwest I can take. We will probably move down to California after RB40Jr finishes high school. Mrs RB40’s parents are elderly and need more help. Also, I think the cost of living in the CA desert is actually cheaper than in Portland. Our property tax is 6 times my father-in-law’s! He has half an acre and we can build something in the back when we move to CA. However, that could significantly increase property taxes. We will find something. Maybe I’ll just get an Airstream. You still have a big concrete pad back there.
Okay, let’s finish 2024. The RB40 family had a good year financially. Our value has reached a high, because of the stock market. The way we used money was very low. The only snag was the revenue side. Sadly, my working income continued to decline. However, I am not too worried. This is part of the transition to full retirement. In 5 years, I will probably have no income at all. We will withdraw from our retirement accounts as needed. Our investments should be able to support a comfortable retirement.
Okay, I’m going to share how I did with my 2024 goals. Then, I’ll look at our net worth and cash flow. Let’s go!
2024 Terms
Here is my goal spreadsheet for 2024. It works well. Try it if you can’t keep up with your New Year’s resolutions. The key is to review the spreadsheet every month to track your progress. That way, you can see which goals need more attention and work on them.
I have achieved many of my goals in 2024. Check it out.
Financial Terms
FI ratio > 100%
The FI ratio is revenue divided by expenses. If you can generate enough income to cover your expenses, you’re good to go. By 2024, I have reduced this goal to 100%. We are growing and could use more money.
The result was 121%. That’s really cool, but there will be big changes in the coming years. I will write a detailed post about it soon.
*FI rating = income / expenses
3% Law
Everyone is familiar with the 4% retirement withdrawal rule, right? Basically, you should have a successful retirement if you withdraw less than 4% of your investable assets annually. Let’s see if we can spend less than 3% by 2024. This is a great way to assess your retirement readiness.
In 2024, we used a less than 3% approach. This will become even more important in the coming years as our passive and working capital is reduced.
Track net worth and hope by +10%
I have been tracking our value since 2006. Nice to see progress. By 2024, I was hoping for a 10% gain. At this point, profit is completely dependent on the stock market and there is not much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll just keep track and keep my fingers crossed.
Our total has gained 20.1% this year! That is much better than expected. Last year, I thought the market was overheated and would not do so well. That’s why you need to keep investing. Once again, it was good to be an investor.
Health Goals
Exercise 3 times a week
Now that I am 50 years old, health is a job 1. I need to exercise regularly to stay healthy for a long time. I joined a gym and plan to exercise at least 3 times a week. Unfortunately, my elbows developed joint pain for a few months after exercising. I can’t exercise like my younger self. Aging sucks.
I changed my exercises, but the pain never went away. Finally, I took a month off in December. Resting for a long time helped a lot. Now, I’m ready to get back to the gym. This time, I will try to avoid straining my elbows. Life after 50 is hard!
Health check
Equally important is to check in with a doctor. At this age, we have more care and protection to deal with. I did everything listed.
- Colonoscopy. Done!
- Physical year. Done!
- Dental examination. Done!
- A vision test. Done!
- Immunization. Tdap, Flu, and Covid vaccine. Done!
Happy goals
International travel
Mrs. RB40 turned 50 and wanted to go on an unforgettable adventure. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. It was good. I would like to stay there for a year or more.
Happiness level > 8
2024 was a great year. The only time I was unhappy was when I had shingles. That sucked. If you are over 50, get the shingles vaccine.
Other than that, life was good. The secret to happiness is to stay busy with activities you enjoy and stay healthy.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We stopped this one. The RB40Jr. lost interest.
Net Profit (+20.1%)
I have been tracking our value since 2006. It is very encouraging to see our progress. The power of integration is amazing. By 2024, our total value increased by 20.1% and far exceeded our revenue. This is why you should invest.
***Important*** My best advice is to stay with the lesson. Don’t stop investing. You should continue to invest whether the stock market is up or down. You may think stocks are expensive, but they will look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you will achieve financial independence one day. Don’t try to time the market.
This is our total value chart from Empower. (Personal Capital is now Authorizing.) Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I check in regularly to check our value and use their free tools. It’s a great site for DIY investors.
I’m not sure why the chart looks like this. The review period may be interrupted in August and September.
2024 FIRE Cash Flow
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable income. The income of Mrs. RB40 and our retirement accounts are not included here.
All in all, 2024 was a good year. Our spending was on target, just under $65,000. That makes a lot of sense for a family of 3 on the west coast. FIRE’s income also did relatively well.
2024 FIRE Income: $62,001
- Real Estate crowdfundingPrice: $15,278. Crowdfunding for households was good in 2024. One project came out successfully and returned a good profit. You can read more on the RE Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- Dividend IncomePrice: $15,286. The budget was also good.
- Rental Fee: $7,260. I’ve had a great year renting. We didn’t make major repairs and the tenants paid on time. This will change next year. One of our tenants is leaving and I am planning to sell our condo.
- Blog income: $12,028. My blog income is down again. In a few years, it will probably be zero. Oh, I ran well.
- Unusual activities: $4,803. I deliver cooking orders a few times a week. It kept me busy. This inflow will decrease in the next few years as well.
- Other: $4,632. Tax refunds and other incidentals.
- Interest: $2,714.
Cost: $63,087
In 2024, I plan to spend about $65,000. That was the money we spent last year. We succeeded! However, I didn’t start remodeling this year. Next year, we will have a lot of fixing and fixing to do.
- WalkingPrice: $16,631. Tourism was our biggest expense in 2024. We visited Japan, Thailand, and California. It was fun. I think traveling will be a big step in being healthy.
- HousesPrice: $15,480. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repairs, and maintenance. Our housing costs are lower than most families because we live in a duplex. We split most of the costs with our tenant.
- TransportationCost: $4,632. Gas, insurance, and maintenance. Our old Mazda5 still runs great and should last another 4-5 years. I don’t want to buy a good car now because we park on the street. The cars here are all hit.
- GroceriesCost: $5,711. We spent about $500/month on groceries. That makes a lot of sense for a family of 3.
- LifeCost: $3,513.
- A childPrice: $8,680. Wow, it’s true. Children are more expensive as they grow. RB40Jr needed braces and participated in various activities.
- EntertainmentCost: $3,497.
- It’s personalPrice: $1,983.
To save:-$1,086
2024 Conclusion
Okay, let’s wrap it up. All in all, 2024 was a great year. We did very well financially. Our number peaked and we used less than 3% of it. My income is going down, but that’s just part of my gradual retirement. Mrs RB40 continues to work, but thinks about retirement often. He will probably retire when our son graduates from high school. The one-year syndrome is strong for him, however. I don’t know when he will retire.
Thank you for 2024. We had a great year. I hope 2024 is good for you too.
2024 is over. Did you have a good year?
A minimum wage is the key to early retirement. These days, I invest in commercial properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects throughout the United States. Go check it out!
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A minimum wage is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects all over the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools to help you achieve financial independence.
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