Christmas and Trucks!

What happened this last month?

Looking at the numbers, this month doesn’t look very good. However, that’s mostly due to the fact that large purchases skew our annual expenses considerably. Over the next few months, we should see numbers go back to normal a bit more.

That being said, we purchased a new-to-us truck. We got what I think was a good deal on it and hope to be able to drive it for several years. We had to drive a couple of hours to get it, but I think it was well worth the drive. We ended up trading in our van that has served us well for the past 10 years.

In addition, car insurance and gift purchases rounded out much of expenses for the month. Finally, we renewed one line of unlimited phone service for the year for only $210. If you’re paying more than $210/year for a line of cell phone service, consider your options!

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses were up considerably compared to last month. Annually, they’re also up quite a bit from last December.

• $33950 Truck
• $1358 Gifts
• $1054 Car Insurance
• $210 Annual Cell Phone (1 line)

The Money Related Numbers

Completed! – 102.92% to target number (previously 105.62%)

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

43 months until original FI date (previously 44)

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

Completed! – 0 months until calculated FI date

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

11.07 times annual spending (previously 13.91)

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.

44.26% to minimum FIRE (previously 55.62%)

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

11.07 times annual spending at goal number (previously 13.17)

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

-71.98% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 167.90%)

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

-71.49% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 153.68%)

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

-0.39% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 3.33%)

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

-0.12% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 3.23%)

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.