Hello everyone! Did you have a good month? It was a wonderful September in the Pacific Northwest. The weather got colder, and the RB40Jr 8 startedy class, and life settled into a familiar rhythm after a hectic summer. RB40Jr joined the Ultimate Frisbee league and returned to Wushu. I signed up for another ceramics class and worked about an hour a day at my side gig. We wrapped up the month by exploring the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. Life was busy in a good way and the month went by.
In terms of personal finance, September was a good month. We had a lot of fun without spending a lot of money and maintained positive cash flow. Our net worth has increased quite a bit as well. We are doing well financially.
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. We don’t have much time left in 2024.
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%. We are getting older and I feel like we could spend more. After 9 months, our FI was 116%. This is very good.
*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% of our net worth 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.
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, the gains are completely dependent on the stock market and there is not much I can do to influence it. I’m just going to keep track of our net worth and keep my fingers crossed.
Our net worth has increased by 16.7% since the beginning of the year. Wow, this is huge. Can the stock market maintain this pace for the rest of 2024? I seriously doubt it.
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. September was a good month. I went to the gym often. I also did a walk while the RB40Jr was in final training. I feel very good. Getting fit after the age of 50 is difficult!
Health checks
It is equally important to go see doctors. At this age, I have more maintenance and preventive care to deal with. Here’s my list for 2024.
- Colonoscopy. finished!
- Annual physical. October.
- Dental examination. finished!
- Vision examination. finished!
- Immunization. Tdap booster done! Flu vaccine later. October.
Fun goals
International flight
The RB40 turned 50 this year and wanted to go on a fun and memorable trip. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. It was great. We plan to visit again soon.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy guy by nature so this should be easy. Life has been great these past few years.
September was a good month. Life was busy in a good way and we never had any major problems.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We have given up on this. RB40 Junior I lost interest.
Net worth (+16.7%)
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see the progress we have made. The strength of the installation is incredible. Our investment gains far exceed my geometric annual income. This year, our net worth has increased by 16.7% so far. This is unexpected. I didn’t think the stock market would do so well this year.
***important*** My best advice is to stay the course. Don’t stop investing. You should continue to invest whether the stock market is going up or down. You may think stocks are very expensive, but in 10 years they will look cheap. Keep investing and you will achieve financial independence one day. Don’t try to time the market.
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 often to check our net worth and use their free tools. This is a great site for DIY investors.
SEPTEMBER 2024 FIRE CASH FLOW
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income. Ms. RB40’s income is not there because she plans to retire in a few years.
Fire income for September 2024: $5,703
Our fire income was good in September.
- Real estate crowdfunding: $29. You can read more on RE Crowdfunding’s passive income page.
- Dividend income: $2,168. Dividend income was good.
- Rental income: $762. We’ve had a quiet month for rentals.
- Blog income: $2,191. My online income continues to decline. September was a good month because I closed and cashed out an old account.
- Odd jobs: $553. Not bad for 20 hours of work.
- last: $0.
Spending: $3,639
This year, I plan to spend about $65,000. This is the amount we spent last year. After three quarters, we’ve spent about $50,000. Our spending should be reasonable for the rest of the year. I think we should be under $65,000.
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 expenses with our tenant.
- communications: $249. Gas and insurance.
- entertainment: $425. We’ve been eating out more than usual this past month. Final training lasted until 7pm and I didn’t have time to cook.
- grocery: $490. My grocery bill was lower than usual.
- health: $74.
- child: $1,107. Unfortunately, child-related expenses are also increasing. We pay for his orthodontist and an international school trip. Wushu costs $550 every 3 months. Final cost is $100 per season.
- entertainment: $425.
Savings:-$2064
September 2024 summary
Well, let’s wrap it up. September was a great month for us. The weather was perfect most of the month. It was a relief from a long hot summer. We kept busy and enjoyed life. Financing was also good. I feel very lucky.
That’s all for September. 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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