FIRE Progress Report for October 2020 (Halloween Edition)

Nothing is more spooky that a month without a ton of surprises. We had to replace a wheel bearing on the Prius (286k miles and counting). Our neighbor also cut down a tree for us that may have fallen over on it’s own with the right weather and wind. It was a nice shade tree between our house and our neighbors. We wanted to do something for them since they cut it down and got a lot of the brush cleared away for us, even though they weren’t expecting anything in return.

Oh, did I mention there’s a new chart in the details. Now you can follow along visually to see how the numbers trend over time instead of just comparing the current month to the previous month. Not all the numbers are included, but the important ones are.

How did this affect us?

Just like last month, our expenses this month were almost identical to what they were the year before. This is excellent news as we’re starting to see our monthly expenses level off a bit.

  • Wheel Bearing – $450
  • Tree cut down – $300
  • Life Insurance – $200

The Money Related Numbers

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

43.93% to target number (previously 43.36%)

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.

93 months (previously 94)

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

65.39 months (previously 66.43)

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

12.83 times annual spending (previously 12.63)

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.

51.32% to minimum FIRE (previously 50.51%)

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

29.21 times annual spending at goal number (previously 29.13)

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

26.98% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously -16.15%)

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.

29.82% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously -16.15%)

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

0.63% Month to Month Change in 6 Month Savings Average (previously -2.32%)

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.

-0.62% of 6 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously -3.65%)

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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *