Hi everyone! Thank you for all the well wishes. I am recovering from a shingles outbreak on my face. The shingles had spread to my left eyelid and I had been worried for a while. Shingles can cause vision loss if it spreads to the nerves in your eyes. My eye doctor checked my eyes and found them fine. She gave me great advice. She told me that Tagamet (an over-the-counter ulcer medication) could shorten the duration of the outbreak. I took this along with antiviral pills. She said that Tagamet was used to treat shingles before antivirals were widely available. It seems that the medical community has forgotten about this helpful medication. I went to two urgent care centers and they did not tell me about Tagamet. My brother (an ER doctor) was also unaware of it. I think it has been helpful. Anyway, the shingles have cleared up and I am on my way to a full recovery. I hope the pain on my face and scalp goes away soon. Being sick is not fun.
*Photo from the Buddhist Hell Sculpture Park in Bang Saen. It was interesting…
Personal finance-wise, July was a pretty good month. We were on vacation in Japan and Thailand. Our passive income was enough to cover our expenses, so that was nice. Thailand was pretty cheap for us. We spent most of our time relaxing on the beach. Unfortunately, the bathroom at our beach house wasn’t ready yet, so we had to stay at a hotel. It was cheap, though. The hotel cost about $18 a day. The food was pretty affordable too.
Okay, so I’m going to share with you how I’m achieving my New Year’s goals. Then I’m going to talk about our net worth and cash flow. Let’s go!
2024 goals
Here’s my 2024 goal spreadsheet. It works great. Try it if you’re struggling to keep up with your New Year’s resolutions. The key is to review the spreadsheet monthly to track your progress. That way, you can see which goals need extra attention and work on them. We’re more than halfway through 2024. How are you doing with your goals?
Financial goals
Financial funding ratio > 100%
The financial independence ratio is passive income divided by expenses. You can determine if you can generate enough passive income to cover your expenses. For 2024, I lowered this goal to 100%. We are getting older and I think we can spend more. After 7 months, our financial independence ratio is 124%. That is really good.
*Financial funding ratio = negative income/expenses
3% rule
Everyone knows the 4% retirement savings withdrawal rule, right? Basically, you should have a successful retirement if you withdraw less than 4% of your investable assets each year. Let’s see if we can spend less than 3% in 2024. This is a good way to test your retirement readiness. We’ll add it all up at the end of the year. So far, so good.
Track net worth and hope for +10%
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is great to see the progress. This year, I would like to see a 10% gain. At this point, the gains are entirely dependent on the stock market and there is not much I can do to affect that goal. I will just keep track of it and wish him the best.
Our net worth is up 9% since the beginning of the year. I am optimistic, but no one knows what will happen next.
Health goals
Exercise 3 times a week
Now that I am 50, health is my number one priority. I need to exercise regularly so that I can stay healthy for longer. I have joined a gym and plan to exercise at least three times a week. We were on vacation in July and I didn’t exercise much. I will make up for it later… Staying fit after 50 is hard!
Health checks
It is equally important to visit the doctors. At this age, we have to deal with more preventive and maintenance care. This is my list for 2024.
- Colonoscopy. Done!
- Annual physical examination.
- Dental check up done!
- Vision check. Done!
- Vaccination. Tdap shot done! Flu and COVID vaccine coming later.
fun goals
International trip
Mrs. RB40 turns 50 this year and wants to take a fun and memorable trip. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. We loved it so much. Japan is a great place to visit.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy person by nature, so this should be easy. Life has been great the past few years.
June was the perfect month. We had a great time in Japan. After that, RB40 went home. RB40Jr and I went to see my parents in Thailand. Thailand was kind of slow. We spent a lot of time in Bang Saen. We are building a beach house there. It was comfortable, but we got bored in the end. It would have been better if the house was finished. I give myself an 8.5 for July. It was a good month. August will be a different story. I had a lot of problems in August…
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We’ve given up on this. RB40Jr. Busy with other activities.
Net Worth (+9%)
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is so motivating to see the progress we have made. The power of compound interest is incredible. Our net worth continues to grow almost every year. By 2024, our net worth will be up 9%! That’s a good thing because I didn’t pay much attention to the stock market this summer. It’s the easiest way to invest. Buy for the long term and ignore the volatility.
***important*** My best advice to you is to stay on track. Never stop investingYou should keep investing whether the stock market is going up or down. You may think stocks are expensive, but in 10 years they will look cheap. Keep investing and one day you will achieve financial independence. Don’t try to time the market.
This is our net worth chart from Empower. This slight glitch is due to converting my individual 401k to an IRA. Vanguard has stopped supporting this type of account (i401k). The easiest option would have been to convert it to an IRA.
(Personal Capital is now Empower.) Sign up for a free Empower account to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I log in often to check my net worth and use their free tools. It’s a great site for self-managed investors.
Cash Flow July 2024
This early retirement plan cash flow chart includes my online income, side hustles, and taxable passive income. Mrs. RB40’s income is not here because she plans to retire soon.
July was a good month. We were on vacation and had positive cash flow. That’s great.
FIRE Income for July 2024: $4,786
Our FIRE income was good in July.
- Real Estate Crowdfunding:$375. You can read more on our Real Estate Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- Dividend income: $1,964. Good month.
- Rental income: 804. We had a quiet month in the rental.
- Blog Income: $1,643. A good month on the blog.
- Strange works: 0. Vacation.
- interest: 0.
Spending: $4,663
This year I plan to spend about $65,000. That was the amount we spent last year. However, that was very optimistic. It’s only August and we’ve already spent close to $60,000. Life gets more expensive every year.
Here are some details.
- Housing: $1,243. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repairs and maintenance. Our housing expenses are low because we live in a duplex. We split many of the expenses with our tenant.
- communications:$100. Gas and insurance.
- entertainment: $55.
- Grocery:$150. The grocery bill was low because we were on vacation.
- health:$101. Health-related expenses increase as we age.
- child:$129. Unfortunately, child-related expenses also increase as RB40Jr gets older. We are paying for his orthodontist and an international school trip.
- Father:$250.
- subjective:$92. Mrs. RB40 bought some personal items.
- travels:$2,520.
Saving: +$123
July 2024 Summary
Okay, let’s wrap things up. July was a really good month. We had a great time in Japan and Thailand. Life was great. Plus, we had positive cash flow during the holidays. You can’t beat that.
That’s all about July, was it a good month for you?
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I invest in commercial real estate with Crowd StreetThey have several projects all over the US. 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 several projects across the USA, so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for do-it-yourself investors. It has many useful tools that will help you achieve financial independence.
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