Let’s dive right into the November 2018 FIRE progress report.

The Numbers

20.9111%

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.

117

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

115.92

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

Where We Saved This Month

401k – $1754 total (employee and employer)

HSA – $420

Roth IRA – $900

ESPP – This will be starting in the next month.

Taxable Investments – This will start after we’ve built up an extra cushion in our savings account, probably closer to the end of the year.

What’s Happened and What’s Happening

This last month saw a hit to the markets which caused an increase to the number of months until we reach our goal and a decrease to our percent-to-goal. On the bright side, I decided to sign up for my employer’s employee stock purchase program (ESPP).

For 6 months, they’ll take a portion of my paycheck and then at the end of the 6 months, they’ll look back at the stock price at the beginning and the end of the six months. Whichever one is lower, they’ll buy it at that price and take a 15% discount on top of that. When the stock is purchased, I’ll sell it shortly afterwards and move the money into a Vanguard fund. That should give me at a least a 15% return minus taxes.

In addition, the side business has done very well and has allowed us to get much closer to building the savings account cushion back up.