4 month streak!

What happened this last month?

The streak continues! Our investments have reached another new high, partially due to the markets and partially due to our continued investing each month.

Large projects have a tendency to skew numbers and make it look like we’re not making much progress. However, a lot of these types of projects are “one-time” projects that won’t need to be done again, if ever. They do come along though, so it’s important to keep them in mind. For example, even once our house has been sided again, we may need to replace a car, which is a large expense. Our last major expense for the house will likely be to put on a metal roof, which is tentatively planned for sometime early next year. As these major expenses fall off, it will start to lift many of the expense related numbers below.

My wife and oldest daughter completed their Europe trip, and because of that incurred some costs related to souvenirs, doing different activities, and of course, eating! Our oldest also completed the driving part of drivers education this month. Next month, we’ll incur some additional costs related to that. Stay tuned.

Where did we spend the most?

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

• $13237 Siding project
• $748 Europe travel expenses
• $400 Drivers ed
• $250 Garage door painting

The Money Related Numbers

50.11% to target number (previously 46.30%)

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.

61 months (previously 62)

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

44.72 months (previously 48.94)

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

9.11 times annual spending (previously 9.39)

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.

36.44% to minimum FIRE (previously 37.56%)

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

18.18 times annual spending at goal number (previously 20.28)

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

69.00% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -49.47%)

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.

56.77% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -46.69%)

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

0.05% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously -11.75%)

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.

0.14% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously -10.58%)

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.