The Holiday Season Begins!

Our numbers are relatively flat this month. Since we purchased a vehicle last year at this time, we used this month to do some other larger purchases since our monthly expenses would still drop. For example, we decided to replace some furniture in our family room that had been given to us almost 15 years ago. We also discovered that our water heater was about to completely die. We were able to buy a fancier model since we did the installation ourselves.

There were a couple final kitchen expenses related to some ventilation and trim work we had done. My wife has also been interested in having her own Christmas tree that she could decorate the way she wanted without it having all of our homemade and sentimental ornaments on it, so we ended up buying one that we found on sale.

With the kitchen finally done, we were able to have a nice evening with some friends to enjoy the kitchen. In addtion, after Thanksgiving we had a Friendsgiving with some of our daughters’ friends where we ate and played games. It was great to finally have the house back and not be afraid to invite people in.

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 I’ve been looking at alternatives though because they haven’t been doing a great job of keeping all of our accounts synced. I’ll report if we make a switch to something else.

How did this affect us?

Our average monthly expenses dropped for the first time in quite a while from the month prior. Last year we had purchased a replacement vehicle, so as long as we didn’t do something quite that large we knew it things would improve this month. After this years kitchen expenses drop off next year, we should have a more realistic average monthly expense number.

• $1211 – Furniture
• $800 – Water Heater
• $667 – Ventilation Work
• $332 – Christmas Gifts
• $267 – Christmas Tree
• $200 – Trim Work
• $154 – Europe Trip

The Money Related Numbers

56.94% to target number (previously 57.83%)

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.

80 months (previously 81)

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

39.21 months (previously 39.17)

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

9.97 times annual spending (previously 9.57)

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.

39.87% to minimum FIRE (previously 38.30%)

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

17.51 times annual spending at goal number (previously 16.56)

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

-0.77% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 16.20%)

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.

-0.75% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 29.70%)

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

5.91% Month to Month Change in 6 Month Savings Average (previously 6.94%)

This number show the change in what we saved this month compared to the prior month, but on a 6 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time and shows a more general trend.

6.21% of 6 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 7.43%)

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