A Month of Rest and Relaxation

What happened this last month?

We ended up having a lot of time this month to relax. Starting with a vacation at Walt Disney World and then wrapping up the month with a week at Lake Erie. It was great to have the opportunity to spend so much time resting. That rest obviously played into our expenses some.

This month we had a variety of expenses, mostly insurance related. We weren’t sure if our AC was going to need to be replaced, so we bought a portable one just in case. Fortunately, it was able to be bandaged up for the time being and keeps working well.

Many of our numbers are green simply because the markets did well. We didn’t invest a bunch extra this month, but that was most because the previous month had some income that allowed us to invest more.

Where did we spend the most?

Our monthly expenses were down considerably compared to last month. Annually, they’re down compared to last June.

• $3600 Vacation
• $1060 Home Insurance
• $888 Equine Insurance
• $878 Car Insurance
• $508 Horse Stuff
• $480 Portable AC
• $426 Dog Dental
• $359 Horse Show
• $247 Umbrella Insurance

The Money Related Numbers

89.80% to target number (previously 86.30%)

This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.

49 months (previously 50)

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

6.88 months (previously 9.29)

The number of expected months until we reach our target number. This is based on our current expected monthly contributions, assuming a 10% annual return.

The Expense Related Numbers

13.29 times annual spending (previously 12.24)

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.

53.18% to minimum FIRE (previously 48.95%)

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

14.80 times annual spending at goal number (previously 14.18)

We’d like to save 25 times our annual spending. This is how many times our annual spending we’ll have saved when we reach our goal number. If it’s 25 or greater, than our goal number will be enough to cover our expenses. If it’s lower than 25, we’ll need to either cut our expenses or increase our goal number.

How Much We Invested

-62.80% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 137.93%)

This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.

-60.89% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 130.92%)

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

-1.20% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 8.54%)

This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.

-1.05% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 8.48%)

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

How we track the numbers

I’ve been using Empower (referral link) to track our numbers. I put them into a spreadsheet that calculates the numbers you see above.