Lower expenses, lower investment balance

What happened this last month?

Our expenses month were down compared to the previous month and from the same month last year. This was because last year we had done several projects around putting new siding on the house in April 2023. With that being said, this was the most significant drop in an annual expenses we’ve had in quite some time.

Since our expenses were down so much, we also don’t have much to report on spending. We have been shopping for a horse, and there have been some expenses related to seeing them and getting them vetted before purchase. We also decided to add an additional night to our Walt Disney World trip in June so that we can get there a day earlier and have a day to relax before hitting the parks. We’ve rented Disney Vacation Club points through dvcrequest.com. They have great customer service and are easy to work with. We’ve used them before and it saves a significant amount of money at Disney Deluxe resorts.

This month our investments were down slightly compared to the previous month, which hurts many of the numbers below. In addition, we didn’t invest as much money this month compared to previous months. Part of that is because we’re in a savings mode where we have some objectives we want to hit which slows down investing for the time being. Even so, we’re still well ahead of schedule. Sometimes it’s worth slowing down investing a little bit in order to make larger purchases without having to go into debt.

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses were down considerably compared to last month. Annually, they’re down considerably compared to last March.

• $962 Horse shopping
• $260 Walt Disney World vacation (extra night)

The Money Related Numbers

81.56% to target number (previously 83.55%)

This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.

51 months (previously 52)

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

13.17 months (previously 11.59)

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

11.97 times annual spending (previously 11.80)

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.

47.86% to minimum FIRE (previously 47.19%)

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

14.67 times annual spending at goal number (previously 14.12)

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. If it’s 25 or greater, than our goal number will be enough to cover our expenses. If it’s lower than 25, we’ll need to either cut our expenses or increase our goal number.

How Much We Invested

-21.93% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -66.07%)

This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.

-26.26% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -60.80%)

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

-1.68% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 3.05%)

This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.

-1.76% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 3.16%)

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.