FIRE Progress Report for November 2020 (New Car Edition)

The time has finally come. After 287k miles (not all of which were driven by us), the Prius has finally been replaced by… another Prius. Despite what the title says, this car is “new-to-us”. We were able to get a pretty good deal on a 2017 Prius with 152k miles on it. I know, a lot of you are probably panicking right now. You’re thinking “Why would you buy a car with 152k miles on it.”. Well, it’s not very old so it’s got all the safety features. It’s very clean for the mileage. And if it lasts as long as our last Prius, we’ve still got 130k or more miles we could drive on it.

You may notice that some of the numbers don’t match what was reported last month. There was an incorrect calculation that is resolved in this month’s numbers. I left the previous month’s numbers alone since they’ve already been reported and will update going forward. You can see the corrected numbers in this month’s “previous” numbers.

In addition to a new car, we also decided to replace our 7 year old MacBook Pro with a new MacBook Air. A lot of expenses this month, but life happens. Pursuing FIRE doesn’t mean you never buy anything.

We also had finally took our 5 year old dog to obedience classes, and had some repairs done around one of our windows after we found some damage.

Overall, this month’s numbers have had a vast improvement over previous months. Our monthly savings percentage keeps going down a bit as it levels off, but I think in the coming months, we’ll start to see the amount we’re putting away each month increase.

How did this affect us?

Last years expenses were pretty high, and this year they’re even higher with the replacement of a vehicle. However when you consider that we drove the previous one for 10 years and over 220k miles ourselves

  • 2017 Toyota Prius – $7950 (after selling our previous Prius)
  • Dog Obedience Class – $195
  • MacBook Air – $765 (after discounts and gift cards)
  • Window Repairs – $360

The Money Related Numbers

Current and future value against Minimum FIRE Goal and 25x Expenses Goal

48.83% to target number (previously 43.93%)

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.

92 months (previously 93)

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

59.45 months (previously 65.28)

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

13.19 times annual spending (previously 12.83)

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.

52.78% to minimum FIRE (previously 51.32%)

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

27.02 times annual spending at goal number (previously 29.21)

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

5.71% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 31.15%)

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.

3.47% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 33.99%)

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

-7.75% Month to Month Change in 6 Month Savings Average (previously 1.12%)

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.

-8.96% of 6 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously -0.14%)

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

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