5 month streak and halfway to FI!

What happened this last month?

We’ve reached five months in a row where our investments have reached a new high! While that is great, we have to remember that every month cannot be a new high. Every month with a new high also means that each month we’re spending more investments we purchase. In addition to reaching a new high this month, we’ve also reached the halfway point through our 10 year journey of FI.

This month our expenses were still elevated. There wasn’t one major expense like the last couple of months, but rather a bunch of small bigger expenses that all add up at the end of the month. I’ll run through them below.

Subaru

Our daughter has reached driving age and had saved up money to buy a car. The deal we had made with both of our kids was that if they save half, we’ll pay the other half. This expense was our half of her acquiring the vehicle, a used 2012 Subaru Outback from my dad.

Gutters

After the siding project was completed, we had to have the gutters replaced on the house. Fortunately, we had gotten a bit of money from recycling all the old aluminum siding which has helped to offset some expenses, but it was still a big expense overall. They also put in something that allows us to either fill our rain barrel or send the the water to the ground.

Summer vacation

We were able to save on lodging by staying at place that a family friend owns in Lakeside, Ohio. That means we had more money to spend on experiences, which is what we did.

Van A/C repair

We had noticed for a while that the A/C wasn’t getting as cold as before. With the heat of the summer days, it became even more obvious. Turns out that the rear A/C lines needed to be replaced. Thankfully, we got this done before summer vacation.

Property taxes

These come due every 6 months.

Horse show weekend

This is everything related to going to and participating in the show, including food, lodging, getting ourselves and the horse there, and paying the registration and coaching fees.

Saddle

We knew it needed to happen sometime, preferably before the county fair, but the Western saddle our daughter had been using needed an upgrade so that the horse wasn’t feeling pressure on her withers and was more comfortable. We found a nice saddle that was gently used that we hope to get several years of use out of.

Mailbox

Our old mailbox was mounted on our house before the siding was replaced, but this time we decided to have one that sits in the landscaping after seeing the one our neighbor across the street had put in.

Photo scanner

I’ve inherited a lot of family pictures over the last couple of years and I’ve wanted to digitize them so that we could more easily search through them, find who was in them, view them multiple places without the physical picture, and share them with family members. This was my wife’s birthday present to me this year.

Car insurance

This is the additional insurance we had this month from adding another car to our policy.

While our expenses have been high since January of this year, I do not expect this trend to continue long term. We may have one month next year where we incur a large expense with having the roof redone, but that should be our last big expense for a while until we replace a vehicle.

Finally, you may notice that our 12 month average investment amount dropped significantly this month. That’s due to the sign-on bonus I had received last year falling off after 12 months. I will have other investments going in over the next 12 months, but they should be more consistent in their amount, and none as large as that one.

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses down slightly compared to last month. Annually, they’re up considerably compared to last July.

• $3013 Subaru and expenses related to that
• $2330 Gutters
• $1710 Summer vacation
• $1350 Van A/C repair
• $1167 Property taxes
• $865 Horse show weekend
• $700 Saddle
• $620 Mailbox
• $568 Photo scanner
• $340 Car insurance

The Money Related Numbers

52.31% to target number (previously 50.11%)

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.

60 months (previously 61)

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

47.79 months (previously 44.72)

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

The Expense Related Numbers

8.82 times annual spending (previously 9.11)

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.

35.29% to minimum FIRE (previously 36.44%)

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

16.87 times annual spending at goal number (previously 18.18)

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

36.49% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 69.00%)

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.

34.85% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 56.77%)

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

-25.01% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 0.05%)

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.

-22.24% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 0.14%)

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

How we track the numbers

If you’re wondering what I use to track our numbers monthly, we use both Mint and Personal Capital. I use Mint to grab the numbers each month because they do a great job of consistently pulling them and then I put them into a spreadsheet that calculates the numbers you see above. I use Empower (formerly Personal Capital) for their planning and forecasting tools.