Progressing slowly, trends emerging
What happened this last month?
Many of our numbers improved this month primarily because the market has done well. We now need our expenses to decrease in order to get in line with our savings number. It’s quite possible that the markets are being held up by a few companies that are doing well. Whether the market’s performance are related to an AI bubble or not isn’t that big of a deal in the long run. It would definitely be ideal for many companies to be doing well, rather than a few doing extremely well.
There has been a significant trend of layoffs lately due to AI. It’s definitely something I’m keeping my eyes on and something I could easily see impacting us in the near future. We’re doing our best to prepare for what feels like an inevitability.
Nothing too exciting this month from an expenses perspective. We were able to start investing again outside of retirement accounts, but it wasn’t anything excessive. One additional expense for the month was paying for the rest of our Amtrak anniversary vacation. My wife also celebrated her birthday, so I planned a weekend getaway for her and some friends. The best gift I can give her sometimes is a break from me!
The vehicle we bought back in July finally got a Level 2 EV charger installed in the garage. I ended up purchasing a new one off eBay. We had purchased an Emporia Vue energy monitor a while ago and installed it, so it made sense to purchase one of their chargers since they can work together. The energy monitor is great for determining where power is being used in the house, or answering the question “did I leave the oven on?”
Where did we spend the most?
Our monthly expenses were up considerably compared to last last month. Annually, they’re about double from last September, and are still increasing.
- $5336 Amtrak vacation
- $605 Birthday trip
- $426 Medical expenses
- $325 EV charger install
- $190 Mirror fix
- $158 HVAC service
The Money Related Numbers
Completed! – 122.87% to target number (previously 119.01%)
This is our invested assets (401k, HSA, IRA, brokerage, etc.) divided by our target goal number.
34 months until original FI date (previously 35)
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
13.20 times annual spending (previously 13.21)
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.
52.78% to minimum FIRE (previously 52.83%)
The minimum number to achieve FIRE is 25 times our annual spending. This number shows how close we are to the absolute minimum.
10.74 times annual spending at goal number (previously 11.10)
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
-11.51% Month to Month Change In How Much Saved (previously 33.41%)
This number shows the change in what we saved in our investment accounts this month compared to the prior month.
-14.61% Month to Month Change in How Much Saved With Employer Contributions (previously 36.38%)
Same as the prior number, but with employer contributions counted.
-1.98% Month to Month Change in 12 Month Savings Average (previously -12.55%)
This number shows the change in our 12 month rolling average. This helps to smooth out months over time.
-1.77% of 12 Month Average Net Income Invested With Employer Contributions (previously -11.49%)
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.