FIRE Month Savings Progress Report for January 2022

Happy New Year!

What happened this last month?

The markets were down quite a bit at the end of January. That creates a great opportunity to buy and have significant future growth. Unfortunately, it also means that almost every one of our numbers was down for the month, with the exception of our average amount saved over 12 months.

Our spending this month was significantly higher than it was last January. Some expenses were annual ones, such as property taxes. We also made some additional purchases that weren’t necessary but were to replace things we had for a long time with a newer, nicer version, such as the Xbox and Fitbit. Julie and I did a quick overnight trip and we also made some plans for spring break this year. We pulled ahead the payoff for the our daughter’s Europe trip so our future monthly expenses would be lower. Finally, we had a few items that we needed like a snowblower and some pieces to finish off the closet. I’m looking forward to our annual expenses starting to decline here soon so we get a more realistic overall picture of annual expenses in the long run.

One bright side is that since our company changed to a health insurance plan that allows us to put money into an HSA. January was the first month I was able to start putting money back into it again, which also lowers our tax liability.

Which brings me to the next topic… taxes. Not looking forward to doing those again this year. It used to be fun when we knew we wouldn’t owe a fortune. However, despite setting things up so our payroll taxes don’t take into account having kids, we’ll likely still owe money. Last year was one of the best years we’ve had so far based on how much owe, but I’m afraid that this year may be the worst.

If you’re wondering what I use to track our numbers monthly, it’s Personal Capital. You can start using them too and we both get $20: https://pcap.rocks/adam4058

Where did we spend the most?

Our average monthly expenses increased slightly this month compared to last month. Starting March 2022, we should start to see our yearly expenses drop considerably each month through the end of the year. This should really help out our savings numbers compared to our estimated future expenses.

  • $1173 – Property Taxes
  • $749 – Spring Break
  • $745 – Europe Trip
  • $671 – Xbox
  • $275 – Weekend Getaway
  • $255 – Snowblower and Snow Items
  • $152 – Fitbit
  • $136 – Closet System
Current and future value against Minimum FIRE Goal and 25x Expenses Goal

54.76% to target number (previously 59.24%)

This is our invested assets/target number. Our invested assets span across a variety of investment vehicles such as 401k, HSA, IRA, Roth IRA, ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Program) and standard taxable mutual funds.

78 months (previously 79)

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

43.12 months (previously 38.41)

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

9.06 times annual spending (previously 10.18)

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.

36.22% to minimum FIRE (previously 40.71%)

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

16.54 times annual spending at goal number (previously 17.18)

We have a goal amount that we’d like to reach. Given our current annual spending, this is how many times our annual spending we’ll have saved when we reach our goal number.

How Much We Invested

-44.94% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 89.62%)

This number shows the change in what we saved this month compared to the prior month in things like 401k, Roth IRA, taxable accounts, and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

-41.96% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 78.50%)

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

2.19% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 8.11%)

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.

3.04% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 8.69%)

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

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