Blessings abound

What happened this last month?

If you’ve been following this blog at all (and I wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t been), you may notice that this month’s numbers took a dramatic shift. There are several reasons for that.

First, our expenses took a big jump this month. That’s because to follow the siding project last year, we decided to put a metal roof on the house. After this, the house should be set well into the future with minimal maintenance going forward. We also paid for a couple of upcoming dance competitions and an overnight tubing trip.

On the income side of things, I got my quarterly vest of RSUs (stock) and a bonus that we saved. In addition to that, we were blessed by receiving an inheritance from my grandparents. We figured the best way to honor them wasn’t to go buy a new car or go on a lavish vacation, but to continue to save what they had worked hard to earn so that we can have the same financial security that they enjoyed most of their life. As you’re likely aware by now, we have plans to hit FI (financial independence) so we can use our time as we’d like to, which means giving back to others through the use of our time, talents, and money.

If I remember correct, my grandpa retired around the age of 55. He was an engineer that moved around to different plants either bringing them online or solving their problems. He told me a while ago when I was much younger that they lived off his salary and invested his bonuses. It obviously worked well for them. After he passed away, they had planned well enough that my grandma could keep their house to spend her days with someone to care for her, while spending her nights and evenings at an assisted living facility.

For those interested in how this may have impacted the numbers below, we didn’t include the inheritance in the How Much We Invested section. It would have otherwise skewed our annual savings numbers in a way that would have made it look like we would eventually hit a number that wasn’t going to happen.

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses were up a lot compared to last month. Annually, they’re up about $14000 compared to last February.

• $12755 Metal roof
• $1034 Dance
• $433 Tubing trip

The Money Related Numbers

80.31% to target number (previously 59.35%)

This is our invested assets divided by our target number. We have investments in a variety of types of accounts such as 401k, HSA, IRA, Roth IRA, and brokerage accounts.

53 months (previously 54)

The number of months until my 45th birthday and our finish date.

14.21 months (previously 34.18)

The number of expected months until we reach our target number. This is based on our current expected monthly contributions, assuming a 10% annual return.

The Expense Related Numbers

11.53 times annual spending (previously 9.46)

This is how many multiples of our annual spending we have saved up towards our goal. For example, if this value was 9.1 and we spent $10,000 annually, we would have $91,000 saved up.

46.11% to minimum FIRE (previously 37.84%)

The minimum number to achieve FIRE is 25 times our annual spending. This number shows how close we are to the absolute minimum.

14.35 times annual spending at goal number (previously 15.94)

We’d like to save 25 times our annual spending. This is how many times our annual spending we’ll have saved when we reach our goal number.

How Much We Invested

209.26% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 30.08%)

This number shows the change in what we saved this month compared to the prior month. It includes account like 401k, Roth IRA, and taxable accounts.

198.69% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 39.96%)

Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.

19.32% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 2.28%)

This number show the change in what we saved this month compared to the prior month, but on a 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time and shows a more general trend.

18.03% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 1.66%)

Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.

How we track the numbers

I’ve been using Empower (referral link) to track our numbers. I put them into a spreadsheet that calculates the numbers you see above.