Let the adventures begin!

What happened this last month?

Several of our numbers are complete! We had one go backwards because our expenses this month caused our annual expenses to go up slightly. That being said, we’re in a state where the next 23 months are adding buffer to what we’ve worked so hard to achieve so far. We need to start planning and discussing what we want life to look like in about 2 years.

This past month, you’ll see that we saved a significant amount. That was primarily because the company stock value increased significantly recently and our RSUs vested this month.

We finally were able to get the paint protection film put on the vehicle we purchased last July. It’s been an ordeal. The dealership ordered it, but it never came. I had to call Toyota of North America and open a case. Magically, it showed up in a week or two after that. Then we had to wait for the dealership to find someone who could install it. Once they did, and we delivered it to the installer an hour away, he quickly determined that the film they had sent wasn’t cut incorrectly and we had to wait for a second set to come. All that to say, it’s finally done. We decided to take the truck over and swap vehicles with him and have him detail and put on ceramic coating since I hadn’t really done anything to it since we purchased it.

We also decided to go to an MLS game. Everything was planned out well and then we got an email saying they had moved the game from Saturday to Sunday. Of course, the hotel rooms were nonrefundable and selling tickets that close to the date would have been tough, so we made a weekend out of it.

I also decided to replace my phone since it was 2 years old and they were offering decent trade-in values. I’m not sure it’s worth replacing phones as regularly anymore and might go longer, or switch to an iPhone. Other expenses this month included a plane ticket for a future trip Julie is going on and an EV adapter that we are hoping to use on upcoming trips to give us more options.

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses were barely up compared to last last month. Annually, they’re up a bit from last August.

• $1100 Detail/ceramic coating
• $768 MLS weekend
• $656 New phone
• $270 Plane ticket
• $153 EV adapter

The Money Related Numbers

Completed! – 100.59% to target number (previously 96.37%)

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

23 months until original FI date (previously 24)

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

Completed! – 0 months until calculated FI date (previously 3.03)

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

Completed! – 25.13 times annual spending (previously 24.30)

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.

Completed! – 100.53% to minimum FIRE (previously 97.21%)

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

24.99 times annual spending at goal number (previously 25.22)

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

659.67% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -40.50%)

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

451.92% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -22.97%)

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

30.65% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 0.85%)

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

27.31% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 1.93%)

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.