FIRE Update February 2024 – Retire by 40
Hello all. It’s March and spring is almost here. It’s still cold though. I saw some snowflakes on my way to the gym this morning. It’s winter for a few more weeks in Portland. In February, I did a good job of meeting my exercise goal. I went to the gym 15 times. That’s pretty good for a short month. Hopefully I can keep that up as the year goes on.
*The side photo was from the Portland Winter Light Festival. It was a great free event.
On the financial side, the month was mixed. Our net worth is up because the stock market is on a tear. Investors are bullish on AI and they are very bullish. At some point, the bubble will burst, but I’m enjoying the ride for now. On the other hand, our cash flow was negative last month. I purchased airline tickets for our summer trip to Japan and reserved some rooms. I was expecting this charge, but it still hurt when I put it all together. Oh! It is difficult for a frugal person to see this type of negative cash flow.
Well, I’ll share with you what I’m doing with my goals for the new year. Next, I’ll talk about our net worth and cash flows. Let’s go!
2024 goals
Here’s my goals spreadsheet for 2024. It works well. Try it if you can’t keep up with your goals for the new year. The key is to review the spreadsheet monthly to track your progress. This way, you can see which goals need more attention and work toward them.
Financial goals
FI ratio > 100%
The FI ratio is passive income divided by expenses. If you can generate enough passive income to cover your expenses, then you’re set. For 2024, it lowered that goal to 100%. The FI ratio looks bad so far, 52%. We spent a lot of money on our spring and summer trips. It should get better from here, though.
*phi ratio = Passive income/expenses
3% rule
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% in 2024. This is a good way to test how prepared you are for retirement. We will add everything at the end of the year. It’s looking good so far.
Track net worth and hope +10%
I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s great to see the progress. This year, I would like to see a 10% gain. At this point, it all depends on the stock market and there is not much I can do to influence this target. I’m just going to track it down and keep my fingers crossed.
Our net worth has increased by 5.2% since the beginning of the year. Wow, the stock market is doing well this year. I am very optimistic. It’s just the beginning of the AI boom.
Health goals
Exercise 3 times a week
Now that I’m 50, health is job number one. I need to exercise constantly so that I can stay healthy longer. I joined a gym and plan to exercise at least 3 times a week. February was a good month. I’m on the right track. However, the gym will start to be less crowded soon. Most people will calm down as their New Year’s resolutions fade away. I’m looking forward to making parking at the gym easier soon.
medical examinations
It is equally important to go see doctors. In this day and age, we have more maintenance and preventative care to deal with. Here’s my list for 2024.
- Colonoscopy. Finished!
- Annual physical.
- Dental examination.
- Glaucoma screening. I have a family history.
- immunization. Tdap booster done! Flu vaccine and Covid later.
Fun goals
International flight
The RB40 will turn 50 this year and wants to go on a fun and memorable trip. We are planning to visit Japan for 3 weeks in the summer. I have already purchased the flight tickets and booked the hotel. I can’t wait for this trip.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy guy by nature so this should be easy. Life has been great these past few years.
February was a nice steady month. No problems.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
RB40Jr wants to start a YouTube channel. I will help him do this in the summer. I think he wants to make gaming videos. There is no progress here.
Net worth (+5.2%)
I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s very motivating to see the progress we’ve made. The strength of the compound is incredible. The first two months of 2024 have been great. The stock market rose significantly. Investors are obsessed with AI stocks. I’m enjoying the ride, but I’m also a little nervous. It feels like 1996. The AI bubble is still early, so I think we have a few good years ahead of us.
The important thing is to stay invested when the market goes up or down.
***Important*** My best advice is to stay the course. Don’t stop investing. You have to continue investing when the stock market rises. You may think stocks are very expensive, but in 10 years they will look cheap. Keep investing and you’ll be fine.
This is a chart of Empower’s net worth. (Personal Capital is now Empower.) Sign up for a free Empower account to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I log in to check our net worth and use their free tools. This is a great site for DIY investors.
February 2024 Fire Cash Flow
The FIRE Cash Flow Chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income. Ms. RB40’s income is not there because she is retiring soon.
February was a spending month for us. In particular, travel expenses were huge. I purchased our flight tickets and booked accommodation. I used a bunch of credit card points and saved about $2,000. Unfortunately, our cash flow was negative. We’ll have to make up for this over the next 10 months.
Fire revenue for February 2024: $5,126
Our fire income was good in February. The problem was on the spending side.
- Real estate crowdfunding: $296. Our real estate crowdfunding income is doing well. You can read more on RE Crowdfunding’s passive income page.
- Dividend: $1,028.
- Rental income: $665. We’ve had a quiet month for rentals.
- Blog income: $2,166. The blog had good income in February.
- Odd jobs: $519. I spent about 4-5 hours a week delivering orders.
- diverse: $428. We received some compensation from insurance for RB40Jr orthodontics.
- interest: $24.
Spending: $10,541
This year, I plan to spend about $65,000. This is how much we spent last year. However, we are also planning to update the kitchen this year. Maybe I should increase our budget to accommodate that. We’ll see how it goes.
Here are some details.
- Living: $1,207. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repairs and maintenance. Our housing expenses are very low because we live in a duplex. We split many expenses with our tenant.
- communications: 208 dollars. Gas and insurance.
- Travel: $6,452. This trip to Japan will likely cost more than $10,000. Airline tickets already cost about $5,000. Fortunately, I was able to use some points for hotels. It would be a great summer trip though.
- entertainment: $78. We ate out several times last month.
- grocery shop: 701 dollars. This was a little higher than usual. I have stored some things. Overall, I think we’re doing okay when it comes to grocery.
- health: $535. Health-related expenses inevitably increase as we age. Mrs. RB40 and I had a few doctor’s appointments last month.
- child: $726. Unfortunately, child-related expenses also increase as the RB40Jr ages. Last month, we spent money on his birthday party, bike fenders, an Xbox controller, and other things.
- Parents: $250. My brothers and I send $250 a month to my parents to help with expenses. He lives in Thailand, so his cost of living is much lower than in the United States
rescue:-$5,415
February 2024 summary
Whew! I want to cut back on spending this year, but I was shocked when I checked our cash flow in February. There was a lot of negative cash flow. I’ll be tightening it up a bit over the next few months. Although I shouldn’t stress too much. Our net worth has just reached a new high. The stock market is doing well. Consumer confidence is good and the economy should hold up well this year. I’m very optimistic for 2024.
That’s all for today. Did you have a good month?
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I invest in commercial real estate with… Crowd Street. They have many projects all over the United States. Go check them out!
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Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects all over the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital to DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.
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