Steady as she goes
What happened this last month?
Things have been going pretty well as you can see from the numbers below. We’ve reached a point where we need to control expenses and continue to save regularly and things should continue on their current trajectory. Even though we’re very close to reaching our FI (financial independence) number, we still need to bring our expenses into line with that number in order for it to actually cover our living expenses. The alternative is that we keep saving more to cover a higher expense number. Either way, we’re on track to be okay by our original date we had planned.
As for our expenses this month, we paid for the rest of the horse training that we started last month. It was money well spent, as he has come home in much better shape than when we had started. Our daughter has been able to take him places and do things with him we would not have tried a couple of months ago.
I also bought a new phone this month. Not really because I needed one, but more because the trade in deal for my Pixel 8 Pro was pretty good and I was not really in love with how big the phone was. I ended up getting a Pixel 9 Pro, which is more the size I’ve been hoping for. It fits much better in pockets too.
Finally, we paid for a couple of quick getaways (mostly in the future), so we have something to look forward to. I’m a fan of always having something out there to look forward to. You can’t sit there and save every penny without also enjoying a piece of what you’re working so hard for.
While we rein in our expenses, we’re also planning for some big ones coming up – the replacement of 2 vehicles. Our 2011 Toyota Sienna is approaching 200k miles. It runs great, but as the kids are getting older, it’s time to switch to something else that is more useful for this phase of life. Also, our youngest will be driving in less than a year. She plans on buying the Prius from us. Before that happens, we need to make sure that we’re ready to replace it with something else.
Where did we spend the most?
Our monthly expenses were almost the same as last month. Annually, they’re down quite a bit compared to last September.
- $1506 Horse training
- $504 Getaways
- $323 Phone
The Money Related Numbers
98.68% to target number (previously 96.03%)
This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.
46 months until original FI date (previously 47)
The number of months until my 45th birthday and our Financial Independence date.
0.85 months until calculated FI date (previously 2.59)
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
12.98 times annual spending (previously 12.51)
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.
51.94% to minimum FIRE (previously 50.04%)
The minimum number to achieve FIRE is 25 times our annual spending. This number shows how close we are to the absolute minimum.
13.16 times annual spending at goal number (previously 13.03)
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
-65.92% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 10.66%)
This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.
-64.21% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 11.83%)
Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.
0.99% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously -3.41%)
This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.
0.98% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously -2.82%)
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.