Hello everyone! Did you have a good month? November was an interesting month. We had a Presidential election in the US and emotions ran high. I was disappointed with the result, but that’s life. You win some, you lose some. I will be on news feed for the next 4 years, though. I don’t need endless drama. The whole month was very good. I kept myself busy with classes and transporting the RB40Jr. We ended the month with a wonderful Thanksgiving week at home.
On the personal finance side, November was tough. I spent less money than usual because of Black Friday. Also, our FIRE fees are lower than usual. As a result, we had a big month of negative cash flow. We’re still a year away, though. I will put it all together next month. On the positive side, our value has gone up a bit because of the stock market. 2024 is turning out to be a banner year for investors.
Ok, I’m going to share how I’m doing with my New Year’s resolutions. 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. 2024 is almost over. Let’s finish strong!
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 I feel we could use more money. After 11 months, our FI rate is 110%. Not bad!
*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. I call this one. We spent way less than 3% this year. However, we did not do home improvement projects.
Track net worth and hope by +10%
I have been tracking our value since 2006. Nice to see progress. This year, I would like to see 10% gains. 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 22.1% this year. That’s crazy! I haven’t seen this kind of profit in years.
Health Goals
Exercise 3 times a week
Now that I’m 50 years old, life 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.
I took a week off over Thanksgiving. My joints are stiff in this cold weather. Life after 50 is hard!
Health check
Equally important is going to the doctor. At this age, we have more care and protection to deal with. Here is my list for 2024.
- 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 was turning 50 this year and wanted to go on a fun ride he’ll never forget. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. It was good. I would like to stay there for a year or more.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy guy by nature so this should be easy. Life has been good these past few years.
November was a good month. The election didn’t go my way, but whatever. I let myself go and stopped taking care of myself. That’s how I deal with trauma. Hahaha… The whole month was fun. I enjoyed my classes and stayed busy with my SAHD activities. Life is good when you are busy. Also, we had a great Thanksgiving week at home. RB40Jr’s joy for being on vacation was contagious.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We stopped this one. The RB40Jr. lost interest.
Net Worth (+22.1%)
I have been tracking our value since 2006. It is very encouraging to see our progress. The power of integration is amazing. These days, our investment returns far exceed our earnings. This year, our total is up 22.1% year to date. That’s incredible. I haven’t seen this profit since 2014.
***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.
Nov 2024 FIRE Cash Flow
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable income. Mrs. RB40’s salary is not there because she plans to retire in a few years.
Eish, November was our worst month in 2024. Our FIRE fee was very low and we spent more than usual.
November 2024 FIRE Income: $1,326
Yes! Looks like I’m moving into full retirement.
- Real Estate crowdfunding: $0. You can read more on the RE Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- Dividend IncomePrice: $848. Good month for dividend.
- Rental Fee: $41. The HOA had a special inspection. They had to fix a few things in the building.
- Blog income: $163. I got a new work laptop.
- Unusual activities: $270. I worked a little in November.
- Other: $0
- Interest: $45.
Cost: $3,639
This year, I plan to spend about $65,000. That was the amount we spent last year. After 11 months, we spent about $57,500. We should be under budget this year. However, I didn’t start remodeling this year. I will work on it next year.
Here are some details.
- HousesPrice: $1,251. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repairs, and maintenance. Our housing costs are low because we live in a duplex. We split most of the costs with our tenant.
- TransportationPrice: $248. Gas and insurance.
- Entertainment: $210. We ate out a few times.
- GroceriesPrice: $578. The grocery bill was about average.
- LifePrice: $257.
- A childCost: $560. Unfortunately, child-related costs also increase as the RB40Jr grows. We make payments for his dentist and international school trips.
- EntertainmentPrice: $234. We ate out a few times last month.
- It’s personalPrice: $419. Christmas clothes and gifts.
- Walking: $0.
To save:-$2,313
November 2024 to wrap up
Okay, let’s wrap it up. November was a wonderful month. Our income wasn’t great, but I don’t feel bad about it. Our total value is higher than ever. The negative cash flow is ignored while our value reaches a high every month. As long as we spend less than 3% of our net worth, I wouldn’t stress about it. At this age, it is very important to enjoy life.
That’s November. Did you have a good month?
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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