Beginning of Fall, and continued falling stock market

What happened this last month?

With continued decline of the stock market, we continued to see many of our numbers decline. Our annual expenses also declined which helped a small amount in the long run.

This month, completed a reimagining of our youngest daughter’s room, which included a trip to Ikea for furniture. Some of that expense will be offset the following month when we sell her old furniture. We also made plans for Spring Break next year and paid a good portion of that. We bought AirBnB gift cards through Target using our RedCard and saved 5% that way. We’ve done this in the past for other expenses and it’s worked great. We also planned a weekend trip with some other couples for next spring.

Finally, we had our chimney checked out like we do every few years. It’s a reasonable cost for the peace of mind it provides.

If you’re wondering what I use to track our numbers monthly, we use both Mint and Personal Capital. Personal Capital has a lot of cool planning tools that I haven’t seen anywhere else. You can check them out and we both get $20: https://pcap.rocks/adam4058

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses decreased a small amount compared to last month. They were also quite a bit lower than last September. We paid a good portion towards Spring Break and a couples weekend trip next year. Fortunately, that spreads those expenses out a bit and we don’t have much of a remainder left on them.

• $1819 – Spring Break and Weekend Trip
• $1363 – Ikea Bedroom Furniture
• $125 – Chimney Sweep

The Money Related Numbers

49.16% to target number (previously 53.43%)

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.

70 months (previously 71)

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

37.44 months (previously 33.98)

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

9.76 times annual spending (previously 10.48)

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.

39.06% to minimum FIRE (previously 41.91%)

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

19.86 times annual spending at goal number (previously 19.61)

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

-8.47% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -82.58%)

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.

-6.15% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -81.19%)

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

0.98% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 1.19%)

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.

1.43% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 1.62%)

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