Investments and expenses climb
What happened this last month?
We’ve begun to notice that our expenses continue to be higher over time. A lot of this is likely due to the fact that we’re not tracking things very well or dividing up expense categories. We already have what seems like WAY too many budget categories, but YNAB makes it so much easier to ensure you save enough towards the annual expenses when you have a category set aside with a goal. It will then split up how much to set aside each month. This is how we plan for our car and homeowners insurance.
Over the next couple of months, our expenses are likely to go down a slight bit as our oldest goes to college. This means what we spend on groceries and utilities will likely go down some when there is one less person in the house.
We’ve also noticed that we have a lot of “one-time” expenses. But since these “one-time” expenses keep happening, we need to do a better job of planning for them. One example of these is the MacBook we bought for our daughter for college.
On the bright side, our investments have outpaced our expenses in some respects, but we can’t count on that forever.
Where did we spend the most?
Our monthly expenses were down a bit from last last month. Annually, they’re also up a little from last June, and working their way down annually.
- $4231 Vacation
- $1217 Car Insurance
- $1072 Homeowner Insurance
- $911 MacBook Air (for college)
- $520 Graduation Gifts (approximate)
- $396 Prius Maintenance
The Money Related Numbers
Completed! – 113.17% to target number (previously 107.18%)
This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.
37 months until original FI date (previously 38)
The number of months until my 45th birthday and our Financial Independence date.
Completed! – 0 months until calculated FI date (previously 0)
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
13.17 times annual spending (previously 12.54)
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.
52.66% to minimum FIRE (previously 50.15%)
The minimum number to achieve FIRE is 25 times our annual spending. This number shows how close we are to the absolute minimum.
11.63 times annual spending at goal number (previously 11.70)
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
-66.17% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 227.25%)
This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.
-64.49% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 210.19%)
Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.
0.54% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously 2.77%)
This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.
0.43% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously 2.41%)
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.