Hello everyone! Summer is over. Our son is back in school and the weather is getting cooler. The house is nice and quiet again. Ah…
August was a tough month for me. I got shingles and spent most of the month in pain. After 5 weeks, the rash on my forehead is mostly gone. I no longer have nerve pain, but my face still itches. I highly recommend getting the shingles vaccine when you are eligible at age 50. It’s unfortunate. I hope the itching goes away soon.
In terms of personal finances, August was a good month. We spent more money than usual due to travel, but our net worth increased significantly. The stock market also did very well, offsetting the negative cash flow. We are in good shape overall for 2024.
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 goals. 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 don’t have much time left in 2024.
Financial goals
Financial funding ratio > 100%
The financial independence ratio is your passive income divided by your expenses. If you can generate enough passive income to cover your expenses, you’re set. For 2024, I’ve lowered that goal to 100%. We’re getting older and feel like we can spend more. After 8 months, our financial independence ratio is 109%. That’s good enough for now.
*Financial funding ratio = Passive 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 14.6% since the beginning of the year. That’s a huge increase. But I don’t think the stock market can maintain that pace. It may even pull back a bit in the next few months.
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. However, I was sick in August and only went to the gym five times. That was a big setback. I will try to exercise more this month. 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 dose completed! Flu vaccine later.
fun goals
International trip
Mrs. RB40 turns 50 this year and wanted to have a fun and memorable trip. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. It was a great experience. We will visit again soon.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy person by nature, so this should be easy. Life has been great the past few years.
August wasn’t a good month. We missed our flight back from Thailand and had to buy new tickets. I got shingles and was miserable all month. It really affected my happiness level.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We’ve given up on this. RB40Jr. Busy with other activities.
Net Worth (+14.6%)
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is so motivating to see our progress. The power of compound interest is incredible. Our investment gains are far outpacing my peak earnings last year. This year, our net worth is up 14.6% year to date. That is pretty crazy. However, the stock market is down a bit. That is to be expected and we will continue to invest as much as we can. The key is to continue to invest.
***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 a chart of our net worth from Empower. (Personal Capital is now Empower.) Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I log in often to check our net worth and use their free tools. It’s a great site for do-it-yourself investors.
Cash Flow for August 2024
This early retirement plan cash flow chart includes my online income, side jobs, and taxable passive income. Mrs. RB40’s income is not here because she plans to retire soon…
August was a tough month, as we drained our savings to cover extra expenses.
FIRE Income for August 2024: $3,900
Our FIRE income was good in August.
- Real Estate Crowdfunding: $188. You can read more on our Real Estate Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- Dividend income: $1,793. Good month.
- Rental income: 721. We had a quiet month in the rental.
- Blog Income: 840. Slow month on the blog.
- Strange works: $295.
- last: $63.
Spending: $7,292
This year I plan to spend about $65,000. That’s what we spent last year. That’s probably too optimistic. We’ll see how it goes.
Here are some details.
- Housing: $1,246. 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: $690. Gas and insurance. I also had to renew my registration and annual parking permit.
- entertainment: $506. We ate out a few times and went to see Cirque du Soleil.
- Grocery:$485. The grocery bill was lower than usual.
- health:$417. I had some extra health related expenses due to shingles. It was horrible.
- child:$527. Unfortunately, child-related expenses also increase as RB40Jr gets older. We are paying for his orthodontist and an international school trip.
- subjective:$361. Mrs. RB40 bought some personal items.
- travels:$3037. Oh!
Saving:-$3,392
August 2024 Summary
Okay, let’s wrap this up. August was a miserable month for me, but I managed to get through it. I just hope to stay healthy for the rest of 2024. It’s time to relax at home.
That’s all about August, 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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