New year, final stretch
What happened this last month?
January was pretty non-eventful. I guess that’s how most final stretches are. Our only large expense this month was property taxes. We didn’t really do or spend on anything else out of the ordinary.
This is all part of the final stretch, where you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and you’re continuing on because you know you’re close and it’s all part of the plan.
There is plenty of uncertainty, with AI encroaching on the territory of many fields and careers, but there has been uncertainty woven throughout my career. One thing I’m sure of is that I’m glad we saved aggressively over the years rather than having a 40+ year working timeline. It puts us in a much better position for whatever comes.
Money doesn’t make you happy, but it gives you options, flexibility and freedom. It doesn’t have to control you or your actions either. There are ways to balance an aggressive savings plan with living a life you enjoy. Doing one small thing today that allows you put more away for your future than you normally would is a small success to celebrate and build on.
Where did we spend the most?
Our monthly expenses were down considerably compared to last last month. Annually, they’re down considerably from last January.
- $1364 Property taxes
The Money Related Numbers
Completed! – 129.26% to target number (previously 126.56%)
This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.
30 months until original FI date (previously 31)
The number of months until my 45th birthday and our Financial Independence date.
Completed! – 0 months until calculated FI date (previously 0)
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
16.61 times annual spending (previously 16.16)
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.
66.43% to minimum FIRE (previously 64.62%)
The minimum number to achieve FIRE is 25 times our annual spending. This number shows how close we are to the absolute minimum.
12.85 times annual spending at goal number (previously 12.76)
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
17.37% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -28.33%)
This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.
26.68% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -29.82%)
Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.
2.33% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 1.12%)
This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.
2.19% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 0.75%)
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.