Hello everyone! Did you have a good month? November was an interesting month. We had the presidential election in the United States and emotions were running high. I was disappointed with the result, but that’s life. You win some and you lose some. I will be on a news diet for the next four years. I don’t need endless drama. The rest of the month was very good. I kept busy with classes and shuttling the RB40Jr. We ended the month with a nice Thanksgiving week at home.
In terms of personal finance, November was a tough month. I spent a little more than usual because of Black Friday. Our income from fires was less than usual. As a result, we had a significant negative cash flow month. However, we are still fine for this year. I’ll add everything next month. On the plus side, our net worth has gone up a bit due to the stock market. It looks like 2024 will be a great year for investors.
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. 2024 is almost over. Let’s finish strong!
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 11 months, our FI was 110%. not bad!
*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. I call this one. We’ve spent well under 3% this year. However, we have not undertaken any home improvement projects.
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 this target. I’m just going to track it down and keep my fingers crossed.
Our net worth is up 22.1% this year. This is crazy! I haven’t seen this kind of gain in years.
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.
I took a week off over Thanksgiving. My joints hurt in this cold weather. Getting fit after the age of 50 is difficult!
Health checks
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. finished!
- Dental examination. finished!
- Vision examination. finished!
- Immunization. Tdap booster and flu and covid vaccine. finished!
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. I would love to live there for a year or so.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a happy guy by nature so this should be easy. Life has been great these past few years.
November was a good month. The election didn’t go my way, but whatever. I broke up and stopped caring. This is how I deal with trauma. Hahaha…the rest of the month was great. I enjoyed my classes and kept busy with my SAHD duties. Life is good when you’re a little busy. Also, we had a great Thanksgiving week at home. The RB40Jr’s joy for vacation was contagious.
Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel
We have given up on this. RB40 Junior I lost interest.
Net worth (+22.1%)
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. These days, our investment gains far exceed our earned income. This year, our net worth has increased by 22.1% so far. This is amazing. I haven’t seen this kind of gain since 2014.
***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.
I’m not sure why the chart looks like this. The update interval in August and September may have been messed up.
November 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 plans to retire in a few years.
Wow, November was our worst month of 2024. Our fire income was very low and we spent more than usual.
Fire income for November 2024: $1,326
Yikes! Looks like I’m moving into full retirement.
- Real estate crowdfunding: 0 dollars. You can read more on RE Crowdfunding’s passive income page.
- Dividend income: $848. Good month with profits.
- Rental income: – $41. The HOA had a special assessment. They had to fix some things in the building.
- Blog income: $163. Got a new laptop for work.
- Odd jobs: $270. I only worked a little in November.
- last: $0
- interest: $45.
Spending: $3,639
This year, I plan to spend about $65,000. This is the amount we spent last year. After 11 months, we spent about $57,500. We should be under budget this year. However, I did not start any redesign this year. I will work on it next year.
Here are some details.
- Housing: $1,251. 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: $248. Gas and insurance.
- entertainment: $210. We ate out several times.
- grocery: $578. My grocery bill was about average.
- health: $257.
- child: $560. Unfortunately, child-related expenses also increase as the RB40Jr ages. We pay for his orthodontist and an international school trip.
- entertainment: $234. We ate out several times last month.
- subjective: $419. Clothes and Christmas gifts.
- He travels: 0 dollars.
Savings:-$2,313
November 2024 summary
Well, let’s wrap it up. November was a very good month. Our cash flow was negative, but I don’t feel bad about it. Our net worth is higher than ever. Negative cash flow is negligible while our net worth reaches a new 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 important to enjoy life.
That’s all for November. 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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