June 2026 – Fresh off a NYC Trip $571k

Leave a reply

Counting my blessings this month as I do everyday and every month I am upright.

Less than 24 hours ago I returned to DFW after several days in Manhatta with my bf for a much needed couples getaway. Some of the activities including lunch with parents, visiting the Museum of Modern Art, The Met Cloister, Central Park, 9/11 Memorial, One World Trade Center, walking through Time Square, dinner at some really nice restaurants. Along with several subway rides. Our hotel stay thanks to the employee discount was $105/night which really couldn’t be beat anywhere else.

The trip was wonderful, not too long, not to short. Got a lot done from Wednesday night to the time we left on Saturday morning. I thought it would be interesting to see what a space the size of my house would cost in Midtown Manhattan. The cheapest of the cheap was $1.3M , vs my house of $350k. Sticking with my approach of living somewhere modestly affordable and traveling to locations that are exciting. If I had $10s of millions of dollars I might think differently.

I made a bit of a splurge purchase but hear me out. I look at a computer screen minimum 8 hours a day but often more like 8-12 between work, consuming content, learning, etc. June 2022 I purchased the original 5K Apple Studio Display. Now I’ve expanded that into the XDR Studio Display. To me it’s worth it for the brightness, true HDR support, faster refresh rates, much deeper blacks even for non HDR content, improved bass. I bought from Microcenter $3,099 plus tax local pickup and 5% instant cash back when I opened up a credit card with them. Promptly paid off. Literally the best deal I could get on one in the entire country. $3,200.74 after tax. Could possibly get 4 years or more out of the new one too. Cost works out to be around $16 a week if that’s the case. Going to hold onto the original one too since I love a dual 27″ 5K monitor setup. The secondary monitor I was using was 4k and much lower brightness but 6 years out of it wasn’t bad. Still works perfectly fine.


Original Studio Display 5K (Left) vs Studio Display XDR (Right)
5/31/265/1/26Difference% Change5/31/25YoY Diff% Change
401K$459,042$431,074$27,9696.5% $328,591  $130,451 39.7%
Roth IRA$66,872$63,527$3,3455.3% $53,866  $13,006 24.1%
Brokerage Accts$8,137$7,096$1,04214.7% $3,278  $4,860 148.3%
Cash$20,000$12,108$7,89265.2% $26,917  $(6,917)-25.7%
HSA$7,157$6,958$1992.9% $3,523  $3,634 103.2%
Total$561,209$520,763$40,4467.8% $416,174  $145,034 34.8%
Credit Cards$1,011$1,339-$327-24.5% $-    $1,011 #DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0! $-    $-   #DIV/0!
Subtotal$560,197$519,424$40,7737.8% $416,174  $144,023 34.6%
Mortgage$334,219$335,177-$958-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$345,500$347,700-$2,200-0.6%
Equity Estimate$11,281$12,523-$1,242-9.9%
Net Total$571,479$531,947$39,5317.4%

May was a good month. Net worth up essentially $40k in a month, $144k in a year. Trip expenses 100% paid off. On the mortgage I managed to shave 11 months off the original maturity of Sept 2055. If I continue at the extra $625/mo pace that cuts 12 years off or October 2042. I’ve officially surpassed my 2026 net worth goal of $552,960 which is wild to me. considering we have 7 more months left in the year.

We had a skunk problem for roughly 2 months. Told the pest control company but there wasn’t much they could do since the porch was blocking it. I tried to take care of it 5/17 and failed. My Harbor Freight painting “hazmat” suit ripped in the leg area since I’m thick… The fleas took advantage of that. Made a trip to the dermatologist for multiple bug bites and on 5/26 bf removed it while I worked. I bought him the suit ($13.99), the cordless battery saw ($39.99), the light equipped endoscope camera ($16.99), a 4 lb bad of Diatomaceous Earth ($13.98) I called another local pest company about the dead skunk they said I’d have to hire a handyman to open up the patio, then $139 for the skunk removal and 3 visits every 2 weeks of $169/visit ($499) to have it addressed. Our way saved $500 easy. Plus avoided the awkwardness of the handyman dealing wth the skunk smell and fleas.Word is still out on whether the fleas are entirely gone now but I’m hopeful.

Still no update on my protest for a 16% tax increase with the county. I wasn’t going to file but most people just do it here. Cost of living is already high enough as it is, don’t give up without a fight. I did get a nice little homestead exemption refund check from the city which was a welcome surprise.

Anyway that’s the update for June. Hard to believe the year is basically halfway over. Be kind, level up, focus on the important things in your life. ☮️

Humbling Moments – May 2026 – $532k

2 Replies

This entire month is a blur. I was hoping I’d see Harlan post some updates on Out and Out (https://outandout.boardingarea.com) but nothing. I guess after he hit his freedom number that means he really is done. 😛

In any case this last month has been so volatile between politics, oil prices, stock market, and more importantly my job. I was about to do round 3 interviews before withdrawing my candidacy. I did so for reasons I can’t talk about and ones I can. Ever feel a job description has too many requests at once, this one in particular had 26 if I counted correctly and each of those 2-4 subitems. Got me wondering with 40 hours in a week how could they possibly ask that much of one individual plus a team of 2 people who report into them. All that work for basically a 10-12% bump in salary…. but the 401k vesting schedule would be reset along with any severence build up reset, and any bonus eligibility also reset.

Onto my current job there were more layoffs in the hundreds. They came quite unexpectedly. I was messaging people one moment then an hour later they were deactivated in our system. All people who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own. I hope they land on their feet and receive a healthy level of compensation. It’s going to be an adjustment for sure, this was an emotionally heavy week. The next few weeks and months will be better as we reach some sense of normalcy. As they say the show must go on.

For some personal life things. I completed my first 5K last week and ran at the fastest speeds (chip time of 49:09 minutes and 15:49 per mile) I have in years at 280lb mind you. I also put together two patio chairs and a a patio table by hand, hung up lights. All of it on the cheap from Wal-Mart. I would like to makeover and backyard eventually we’re just not there yet. The irony is that now I’m dealing with ants / flies and some flea type bug on the patio. Pest control came out. I also have a rat in a trap right now in my attic. Also paid to have the exterior holes patched up with metal scoffing. $500 ish dollars later and they come back Monday to pick up the rat…

I’m also in the middle of protesting a property tax increase, fingers crossed… 16% increase in a year is excessive and it’s just going to stack on top of whatever they want to do next year. Uncharted territory for me but if you don’t fight it no one else will.

Fancy restaurant we both ate at for a friend’s bday and was still hungry later
Cut down some tree branches that were growing out of control
Lizard that startled me while mowing the grass
5/1/20263/31/2026Difference% Change4/29/2025YoY Diff% Change
401K$431,074$389,495$41,57810.7% $306,755  $124,318 40.5%
Roth IRA$63,527$56,714$6,81312.0% $50,234  $13,293 26.5%
Brokerage Accts$7,096$5,733$1,36223.8% $2,827  $4,269 151.0%
Cash$12,108$13,443-$1,335-9.9% $22,862  $(10,754)-47.0%
HSA$6,958$6,754$2043.0% $3,400  $3,558 104.7%
Total$520,763$472,140$48,62310.3% $386,078  $134,685 34.9%
Credit Cards$1,339$4,417-$3,078-69.7% $-    $1,339 #DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0! $-    $-   #DIV/0!
Subtotal$519,424$467,723$51,70111.1% $386,078  $133,346 34.5%
Mortgage$335,177$336,130-$953-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$347,700$342,600$5,1001.5%
Equity Estimate$12,523$6,470$6,05393.5%
Net Total$531,947$474,193$57,75412.2%
May 2026 Net Worth Update

Onto my net worth. $532k, in solid $500k half a millionaire territory. If I can keep growing $100k a year on average I’ll be a millionaire by 2031. 401k is up a stagging $42k in the last month. I was not expecting to see that type of swing. I was tempted to contribute less but I’ve been Dollar Cost Averaging since 2012 no sense in turning back now. I’ve been aggressively putting money into my brokerage accounts and I’m up $1362 for the month. Note the above numbers don’t include any of my bf’s contributions toward the housing expenses for the month. HSA is up slightly, Credit card is down $3k, I have about 4 more payments before my Apple Card is back to 0 again. All of the money I got from the trade-in went to the balance.

I’m building up some mortgage equity if you want to believe Zillow. The mortgage balance is down almost $1k in a month, I just made another $312.50 principal payment yesterday. These are the months and years I keep chipping away at that. No way I’m taking 30 years to pay it off as long as I have enough cash to pay extra.

I’m looking forward to an upcoming NYC trip later in the month. It’ll be nice to get out for a few days and spend quality time together. I’m confident I’ll hit my 2026 net worth goal this year. As a refresher that was $552,960 and I’m “only” $21k from that. I’m trying to remember to have fun along this journey. I am still finding that balance.

Obligatory Bike Path Ride Picture

Someone else close in age to me passed away recently, I don’t know the circumstances but he was related to someone my mom and I both went to school with decades apart. Only 47 years old too. Trying not to take anything for granted. Especially in this economy and with the world is right now. Stay healthy and safe. Peace!

Santa Fe, New Computer – April 2026 – $474k

Leave a reply

A few weeks ago my bf and I took a road trip to Hobbs, NM, then Roswell, and Santa Fe. We left a day earlier than planned to make a straight run from Santa Fe to Dallas. It was one of the longest drives I’ve been on since 2004. It was nice seeing the open road and getting out of Dallas. My paid-in-full Acura TLX handled the trip like a champ. My biggest complaint was that it just sucked up a fair amount of gas at a time gas prices have been near record highs. We did that trip on a budget for sure. The flights alone round-trip would’ve been about $700/person, not to mention a car rental would be needed. Hotel we got the nice employee discount on, I think it averaged out to $50/night. We also had a spa day at 10,000 waves. A hidden gem in the mountains.

I won’t sugar coat it, I spent close to $4k on a new MacBook Pro M5 Max at 0% APR. The model I had was equipped with 36GB of memory, which ended up being a bit of a bottleneck for me and my usage habits. Plus the SSD was filling up, I’ve been using 1TB models the last 10 years but now with my games, increased media generation, etc. that was bumped up to 2TB. Also Wi-Fi 7 is noticably faster, I have 4 more CPU cores, 8 more graphics cores. In other words this thing doesn’t skip a beat performance-wise. Luckily I’m getting ~$2k for it later today which will put a big dent in my $4,417 credit card balance. It was supposed to be $90 more but apparently the LCD had a pinkish tint to it. I could’ve protested it but wasn’t trying to give them any reasons to cut the value down more.

The powerful yet expensive Space Black M5 Max MacBook Pro

I was on some medication that gave me more side effects than benefits of the medication. Decided to make a series of lifestyle changes to see if I could get a similar results and so far I’m 70% of the way there. Each day I try to do cardio, take some natural supplements, and eat a little bit healthier. It isn’t going to change entirely overnight but after 4 different medications and the risk of long term health problems I decided it just wasn’t worth it.

3/31/20263/1/2026Difference% Change3/28/2025YoY Diff% Change
401K$389,495$406,855-$17,360-4.3%$303,119$86,37728.5%
Roth IRA$56,714$59,206-$2,491-4.2%$49,814$6,90013.9%
Brokerage Accts$5,733$4,852$88118.2%$2,494$3,239129.9%
Cash$13,443$11,161$2,28220.4%$17,209$(3,766)-21.9%
HSA$6,754$6,380$3745.9%$3,415$3,33997.8%
Total$472,140$488,454-$16,314-3.3%$376,050$96,08925.6%
Credit Cards$4,417$0$4,417#DIV/0!$93$4,3244633.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$0$-  #DIV/0!
Subtotal$467,723$488,454-$20,731-4.2%$375,957$91,76624.4%
Mortgage$336,130$337,077-$948-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$342,600$342,300$3000.1%
Equity Estimate$6,470$5,223$1,24823.9%
Net Total$474,193$493,677-$19,484-3.9%

It is no shock that the stock market is down….and my net worth took a pretty big hit. I get paid 3 times in April so things (hopefully) look significantly different in a month. My mortgage is paid up until June 1st. I will continue to dollar cost average and put money in my 2 brokerage accounts, 401k, Roth IRA, HSA, make 2 extra principal payments on the mortgage and save what’s leftover. I try to limit my consumption of doom and gloom content. I can’t stress about what is happening 7200 miles away from me, try to control what I can, and keep my expenses in check.

Despite all of this, I’m still up $92k in the past year even though there was a 4.2% drop from my last update. I’m confident there will be an improvement later this year. It feels like a number in a spreadsheet, not real tangible assets. I hit $500k for a day or 2 then a rapid drop. This is a time when riches are formed. 2020 March during the peak of covid had 12-13% losses. Feb 2020 I was at $73k NW, March was $50k, April was $65k, May was $76k.. So 3 months to be pretty much back to normal. Let’s see if history repeats itself.

On that note I’m off to bed, need my beauty sleep. Surprised you made it this far. Personal finance isn’t always entertaining, it’s a series of calculated decisions, hard work, and some luck over time.

Homeowner Adventures – March 2026 – $494k

Leave a reply

February 2026 was a month with a lot of unexpected household expenses. $1053 for a plumbing fix, $1738 for HVAC motor and capacitor replacement. That’s $2,791 in total and completely blew my budget. I’m satisfied with the quality of work done and the outcome is better than letting things just fester and get worse. That leaking pipe could have become a huge flood leading to much more expensive repair.

I got my tax refund back in record time it was aroud $913 thanks to mortgage interest. I didn’t get to enjoy a single dime of it. My net worth briefly surpassed the $500k mark but the expenses and some slight market declines made that all short lived. I think I can hit it by April though. Still up $95k in a year and almost $3k in a month

I sold my crypto and moved some money in savings to cover these home expenses. The crypto was a loss of around $191 and I’ll consider it a tax writeoff for the most part. My New HSA will allow me to invest once the balance hits $1k. I’m excited about that. The old one is in the process of being transferred to Fidelity but there may be a bit of a wait on that.

3/1/20261/31/2026Difference% Change3/2/2025YoY Diff% Change
401K$406,855$404,137$2,7180.7%$ 320,732$ 86,12326.9%
Roth IRA$59,206$58,801$4040.7%$ 52,922$ 6,28411.9%
Brokerage Accts$4,852$4,614$2385.2%$ 2,321$ 2,532109.1%
Cash$11,161$11,723-$562-4.8%$ 14,303$ (3,142)-22.0%
HSA$6,380$6,380-$10.0%$ 3,537$ 2,84380.4%
Total$488,454$485,656$2,7980.6%$ 393,814$ 94,64024.0%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$488,454$485,656$2,7980.6%$ 393,814$ 94,64024.0%
Mortgage$337,077$338,020-$942-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$342,300$343,200-$900-0.3%
Equity Estimate$5,223$5,180$420.8%
Net Total$493,677$490,836$2,8400.6%

I’ve been back in the cycling mode since the weather here has been gorgeous.
Bf sold a nightstand for $35 on marketplace and now the room it was in looks a lot more open.

I had to complain to the city again about the water meter leaking. Full of water and one of the plumbers was on her hands and knees with a whipped cream cup scooping out multiple gallons.

I went roller skating for the first time in months. This picture was taken before I fell

We also saw a show at Medieval Times.

Seeing The Great Gatsby with friends this evening, have heard positive things.

I really have been trying to replenish my emergency fund reserves. Thankful to have a job, a partner who supports me, overall good health. Look forward to some much needed vacation time.

Did my annual air filter replacements too, though this one looked pretty decent after a year.

Air Filters are super easy to replace, just two clips by hand and you’re in.

Last but not least I lost a friend from Long Island due to a car accident in February. He was only 42. It happened right around the corner from my parents home. I was devastated for a whole week. He had joined the NYPD in 2021, loved his job and seemed really optimistic about life. RIP Mike.

What Just Happened? : $491k Feb 2026

2 Replies

As we finish off January 2026 I’m just trying to mentally keep track of what has happened. Not that long ago we were celebrating the ball dropping and the new year. Now it seems like more and more of the same stuff, different day.

  1. My employer filed for Chapter 11, and there were several changes from a senior leadership perspective. Operationally there were a few major changes too that I don’t really want to comment on. Hopefully that means my employment will be on stable footing over the long term. I was very anxious in the days / weeks leading up to it. Now it feels more like an ok that happened now what kind of experience.
  2. A pipe in the house burst several days ago when we had a deep freeze. I thought we were in the clear but apparently I grossly underestimated things. It started with the hot water side of the kitchen faucet not working. Then one day it started working again all of a sudden. However not long thereafter we started seeing water on the kitchen and garage floor. We also heard water running from somewhere which prompted to me to look outside of the house. To my dismay there was hot water flowing down the side of the house into the snow / dirt. At this point it was around 6:30 PM and I wanted to at least call a plumber to get their feedback. They told me to collect water in buckets, etc to be able to flush the toilet and have some for drinking purposes until the matter could be resolved. However after we hung up the steet-level water shutoff did not work. So the water continued to run outside until I found a handle on the hot water heater that turned it off. Roughly 2-3 hours between the time we saw the flooding and the time it was turned off. The hot water inside stopped working completely before that so no time to shower.

    Also…. one plumber came earlier in the day to give me an estimate and I showed her a water meter that was spraying water, she had zero interest in even touching that and told me to call the city… After the plumber came and I paid $900, I noticed very low water pressure. I called the city to have them look at the leaking water meter that day and no one showed up. The next day I called again and said I had low water pressure on top of the call from the previous day. They showed up in 15 minutes and were outside for roughly 4 hours. Hopefully I don’t get a bill later on but now my water pressure has been great since.
Who knew a small copper pipe could ruin my day?

3. Earlier in the month I decided to splurge and get some roof repair work done. One piece of roofing adjacent to the tree growing 3″ from the house and another further on the roof identified over the summer with visible hail damage. $775

4. Despite my additional expenses, I still enjoyed having fun driving in the snow and doing doughnuts. At least as much as an AWD almost 4,000lb vehicle would allow me to do in a parking lot without calling too much attention to myself.

5. To kick off things shortly after the year began my bf and I had brunch at Reunion Tower in Dallas. It was a lovely experience and I would go back again. Cheap no but within budget. It’s fun to live the high on the town lifestyle for a meal and then go back to the more affordable lifestyle in the suburbs.

Site icon
What Just Happened? : $491k Feb 2026

6. When temperatures were much nicer in early January I took my trusty 2020 Cannondale CAAD 13 bike out for a ride on the trails. Really the only things I’ve replaced on it are tires / inner tubes, the seat, and water cages. The borderline crusty water bottles might be next, those plastics have a shelf-life.

7. I splurged on two shoes, one for workouts. The workout ones were $125 and biking ones were $86.34. I don’t feel guilty about these since the bike shoes were starting to split at the seams and are roughly 3 years old.

8. I am benefitting from having a DINK (Double Income No Kids) household though it doesn’t feel like it after the doozey of a month January has been. Having $1,675 come 100% out of my pocket with all the other expenses would be a real stretch once you add the $2890 mortgage, $150 electricity bill, $100 water bill, $80 internet bill, and the $625 per month extra going to principal.
9. Almost done with my tax preparation paperwork. It looks like I may get a small refund of a little under $1k. Thank you mortgage interest and itemized deduction. Hope to have most of it wrapped up in the next week.

1/31/2612/30/25Difference% Change2/2/25YoY Diff% Change
401K$404,137$402,229$1,9080.5%$ 324,256$ 79,88124.6%
Roth IRA$58,801$57,765$1,0361.8%$ 53,272$ 5,52910.4%
Brokerage Accts$4,614$3,423$1,19234.8%$ 2,016$ 2,598128.9%
Cash$11,723$12,592-$869-6.9%$ 11,975$ (252)-2.1%
HSA$6,380$6,343$370.6%$ 3,562$ 2,81879.1%
Total$485,656$482,352$3,3040.7%$ 395,082$ 90,57422.9%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ 166$ (166)-100.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$485,656$482,352$3,3040.7%$ 394,915$ 90,74123.0%
Mortgage$338,020$338,951-$932-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$343,200$345,200-$2,000-0.6%
Equity Estimate$5,180$6,249-$1,068-17.1%
Net Total$490,836$488,601$2,2360.5%

I started ramping up my investments into Brokerage accounts outside of my 401K / Roth IRA. I want my money to give me recurring income and capital growth…. Also not have to wait until 2043 to be able to access it. Especially with the way things are going with AI and my industry. You just never know.

Brokerage #1 : $200/mo ($50 per week) goes in split 3 ways between a Bond ETF, Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B, Vanguard High Dividnet Yield ETD VYM.
Brokerage #2 : $740/mo ($185 per week) goes into a mix of the following: BRKB ($99.56), GLD ($18.52 Gold), SCHY ($82.12 Schwab Strategic International), SLVR ($19.96 Silver), and the rest into FZROX ($611 Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund). Silver just took a massive dump yesterday but I’m not discouraged. Dollar Cost Average or stop buying for a while.
Are these going to make me a millionaire? Hardly but it’s something to get excited about. Could cover gas money, a utility bill, be another income stream if I fall on hard times, etc.
Retirement #1: $576.92/mo ($144.23/wk ) goes into my Roth IRA. What I invest in is based on my mood that particular week but the majority of it is FZROX (94%), GLD (1.5%), SLV (1.2%), FEPI ETF (2.87%). I want to buy things here once and hold them over the long term. FEPI is generating me $36 of divideds monthly that gets reinvested.
Retirement #2: $2,325 a month in 401k between my contribution and employer match. Most of this is in A Vanguard Institutional Total International Stock Market Index Trust, and about 5% in bonds.

Total Monthly: $3,842 | Total Annual: $46,103
Mortgage Monthly: $2,879 | Total Annual: $23,548
Extra Principal Monthly: $625 | Total Annual: $7,500
With those numbers above I think I’m doing as much as I can within reason. $77,151 for the year working on my financial future. Plus the $4,150 going to my HSA so really $83,301. That’s a lot of money. If I feel like I’m stretched too thin I can always change some things. And over $15k of that is through money my bf gives me toward expenses.

Overall I wish I was up more in the past month and $500k is still a stone throw’s away. Maybe next month if the market goes up. My ultimate freedom number is $2.5M. I’m happy my mortgage balance is down $932 in the past month. The interest is a pain in the pass so I’m going to keep doing the triple payments thing while investing and saving more.

In a year my net worth is up $95k or +24%. In a month I’m up $3.3k or .7%. Important to note all my 401k investments since the year began are not yet reflected in my balance. That’s being worked on and 99% likely will be fixed by the time I share my February update. I estimate I’d have another $2,300 between my contributions and the employer match.

Speaking of hard times Amazon went through a bunch of layoffs his week and there are rumblings of Oracle laying off a bunch of people. It fucking sucks no way around that. I hope I still have more time. Also hope 2 people I know recently impacted by layoffs get back on their feet soon. Hope you guys are safe out there and getting closer to your goals.

We crushed it! January 2026 – $489k

Leave a reply

As I type this up I’m enjoying the tail end of a trip to West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The weather has been impeccable, warmth that I wouldn’t expect to see at the tail end of December. Yesterday hit a high of 82. People were jugging up and down the streets and boardwalk like we were in the thick of summer.

December was a good month for me financially. Hit my max 2025 contribution for the Roth IRA and 401K. Ended the month still able to have a $0 balance on my credit cards. The trip I’m currently on we did on a budget through discounts, credits. Food and some other things went on the credit card but it was only a few hundred split across the two of us.

Two of the paychecks this month didn’t have my 401k contributions taken out at all so that gave me a lot more disposable income.

I just started reading a book called Zero World Problems: New Standards of Living For the Post-Materialistic economy by Aaron Clarey who also wrote the book Black Man’s Guide Out of Poverty. For context I read that book in March 2017 when my net worth was closer to *$25k*. A lot of the material in the first section I was already familiar with but it is nice to revisit some of the core principals that will help me navigate my 40s/50s and beyond. Keeping up with the Joneses really does not make us happy.

So what happened in December 2025:
1. I got a car repair close to $260 including an oil change and replacing old hydroscopic brake fluid with new fluid to improve longevity of the entire system. A little more money than I wanted to spend honestly. I can always do oil changes at the Honda dealership for $59.95 after a coupon. I think I paid closer to $100 for that and that was after a coupon. Not sure about the brakes. Sometimes you just want to get in and out though, in this case I worked while they wrenched on the car.

2. I finally beat Baldur’s Gate 3 – This came I bought about a year ago and it wasn’t super expensive. Got over 480 hours out of it which is a bit embarassing to admit. I promptly deleted the game from my SSD likely to never touch it again.

3. Got these Thai needles in bulk. My bf’s first reaction was to send it back but hey if we have 6 months worth of noodles in the cabinet that saves both time and money as long as we use them. Plus I’d argue they’re a touch more healthy than the kind you buy from the restaurant covered in sauces and oils.
4. Unsuccessfully tried to assemble a wooden cabinet for the office that had super cheap pressed wood and disintegrated on me.

5. Bought these supermarket flowers that I just love. They made it about a week and half before tossing them but it adds a nice pop of color to the space.

6. Christmas / Holiday festivities – Wicked For Good didn’t disappoint though I made the mistake of seeing it while sleep deprived in a dark movie theater.

7. West Palm Beach / Fort Lauderdale trip – Took so many pictures. I’ll post a few of them here. Lots of fun new memories and a well needed break from Dallas.

In my last post I set a net worth estimate for the end of 2025 at $480k
8. My mortgage is now paid up until March 1, 2026 (2 payments of about ~$2900 Jan and February) so it looks like my cash balance has come down a lot. I noticed these prepayments aren’t reflected on my oustanding balance yet. I like having a little buffer. Starting next month I’m going to start with the triple principal payments (2 more than normal month) scenario I mentioned in my last post.

People often overerestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can in a decade. Since last month my net worth is up about $5,500 and in the last year I’m up $104k or +27%. A decade ago I was in the negative $14k net worth range. Past me never would’ve thought my numbers would go up by $500k. I hope the new year brings you good health, financial abundance, and happiness. I’m going into 2026 ready to rock and roll.

12/30/2512/1/2025Difference% Change12/27/24YoY Diff% Change
401K$402,229$397,992$4,2371.1%$315,581$ 86,64827.5%
Roth IRA$57,765$56,073$1,6923.0%$51,574$ 6,19112.0%
Brokerage Accts$3,423$3,074$34911.3%$1,644$ 1,779108.2%
Cash$12,592$15,621-$3,029-19.4%$11,896$ 6965.8%
HSA$6,343$5,869$4748.1%$3,559$ 2,78478.2%
Total$482,352$478,629$3,7230.8%$ 384,254$ 98,09825.5%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!0$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!0$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$482,352$478,629$3,7230.8%$ 384,254$ 98,09825.5%
Mortgage$338,951$339,258-$307-0.1%
Zillow Estimate$345,200$343,700$1,5000.4%
Equity Estimate$6,249$4,442$1,80740.7%
Net Total$488,601$483,070$5,5301.1%

Is this blog boring and repetitive? Maybe but slow and steady wins the race. 😀

2026 Financial Goals

Leave a reply

On December 9th 2024 I posted: “Personal Finance happens in the background of the rest of my life. I’m also a believer that if you don’t set goals, you have nothing to strive for and it becomes very easy to get off track.
My Net Worth target for the end of 2025 is $455k. These numbers are very conservative. Does not include 2 more paychecks this month and any additional income. $36-$37k with 401k matching, Roth max is about $3k/month. I have no $1400/mo car payment, no $200/mo Equinox membership, two big things I *did* have for a good portion of 2024. This year was unprecedented, I started off at $250k and as of last month was at $385k. It’s unlikely I’m going to see that kind of unprecedented growth. I found this old chart I saved in 2021 and updated it with my current numbers.“

Fast forward to today Dec 21, 2025. Here we are one year later. I own a house, I lost ~12lb. since the election last year. My bf now lives with me, we went to Europe and saw 5 different cities. My credit card balance is still $0. Personal finance is more at the forefront of my life than the backdrop.
What’s Planned
1. I’d like to fund more future investments to helps support my lifestyle *before* I hit retirement age. The house is my biggest monthly expense with a mortgage of $2,880 so my investments will be focused on easing some of that burden. I will do a hybrid of dividend-based investments and index funds. I haven’t decided exactly how much I’m setting aside but it will be a big bump from the $50/week I’ve been doing spread across 2 taxable accts. I already started with some SCHD (Schwab High Yield Dividend Fund) – https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/allholdings/SCHD and still own VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF), US Treasury Bonds, and BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares). I get about $7/mo right now in dividends that get reinvested off a $1,780 acct.

2. Provided I have continuous employment for the year I will maximize 401k contributions to the tune of $24,500. Employer match came down slightly for 2026 but the plans offered are still funds I’d consider buying except from Vanguard through a broker instead of Fidelity.

3. Roth IRA will be maxed for 2026, that’s $7,500.

4. Replenish the emergency fund. 6 months would be ideal. That’s a balance of $18k at the bare minimum. Goal is to have that balance keep going up instead of treading water. Ballpark I’m thinking $700/mo. which will get me there by the Fall.

5. Triple principal payments – ~$620 of the $1300 my bf gives me monthly will go to mortgage principal each month. Combine that with the roughly $300 I’m making to principal in my regular payments will allow me to get rid of PMI a lot sooner. By default that would happen after 12 years of payments. Doing it this way could cut down to 4. Plus cutting back the total interest payments *significantly*. One year will be like making 3 years of payments. Having 2 incomes will drop the amount of money I set aside biweekly for mortgage payments from $1,450 to $1,110 or 23%.

Of course all of that is just speculative provided I still have a job for the duration of 2026. Hoping I do get another raise, if so it likely would kick in again in November. I also want to feel like I’m enjoying myself more, saving and investing everything isn’t fun.

Onto the financial projections piece. My target last year for 2025 was to end the year with a net worth of $455,220. I exceeded that hovering around $480k right now

This is a super simple and conservative estimate but thinking I land north of $550k next year. I’m more likely to be up another $100k like I was last year but let’s not bank on that. Breaking the $500k ceiling will be a huge accomplishment for me from where I started out with. I want to be a good steward of what I have so I’m setup for the rest of my life. I’m well on that path. The median 60 year old has around $185k. At 42 I have $480k. I need some breathing room and my vacation can’t come soon enough. I took one day off since July for my mental health. Ok it’s 3am here and time for bed…

Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

Leave a reply

Two days ago was Black Friday and working in the field of Marketing that has kept me tremendously busy. Daily recaps, weekly recaps, strategy decisions, intra-day updates, leading my team and 3rd parties that we work with. I’ve had to pull more than my own weight while other key people on the team weren’t available for various reasons. Tomorrow will be a continuation of that.

That said I did get some positive news that will have a direct impact on my ability to hit my financial goals. Plus we will move from a single income household to a dual one. He’s officially moved in. Yes I earn more and the house in in my name but the burden I’ve had to handle solely on my own will be relieved starting next month. In practice 3-4x more per month will go to the principal than with my normal payment schedule. I missed his apartment sort of since the location cute and everything had that brand new feeling.

The month of November has been a bit of a blur to me. Early on in the month I dropped $1,100 on getting a tree removed and multiple others on the property cut back. This was one of those peace of mind / quality of life things. Having a tree twice as tall as the house fall on top of it was not on list of things to happen as a new homeowner. It also was infested with wasps. I spent a big portion of the rest of the month just trying to recover from that. Putting over $2,500/mo into investments, plus the $2,900 on the mortgage, $188 for car insurance, groceries, friend’s birthday party. My eye started twitching, perhaps it’s too much caffeine and stress from these big holidays. There are other things I want to get done on the house but honestly 95% of it can wait. I’ve had to really ask myself what do I really need vs what’s a want. I don’t like being told no but sometimes after doing more and more research that’s the decision I land on.

We made our second annual pilgimage to Astra Lumina an immersive outdoor experience in Dallas. It looks identical to last year but my camera takes better pictures now and I wanted to check out something nice. There are some other venues I’d love to checkout this year but has been a bit harder with his travel schedule.

Site icon
Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

Christmas is 24 days away. I bought a $50 tree from Home Depot, reused a tree skirt, and ornaments from years past. It’s not the nicest tree but it does the job. I also reused some old indoor / outdoor lights at the front door to give it a little bit of the holiday spirit.

Speaking of Holiday spirit my friends were nice enough to invite me out to Eataly for early Thanksgiving and treated us.

Site icon
Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

My sports ventures are soon coming to an end for the season. I love getting out, it still makes me feel youthful in my 40s. That is until I start drinking and then feel tired and want to nap for upward of 2 hours.

Took my car in for service on Cyber Monday, $260 after coupon for an oil change and brake fluid flush. Could always be worse, brake stuff is every 2 years and oil change with the way I drive is close every 9 months. I also used a coupon, could’ve gone to another dealer for cheaper but would be double the travel time.

Other than the car, my bike tire needed to be replaced both the tire and the tube. They found a spoke nibble in the rim that was bothering me for the last 5 years. The price with parts and labor was around $90 but they took my bike in immediately. I wasn’t in the mood to order parts for $70 and struggle to get parts on the new wheel properly.

Site icon
Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

Have a connection and got a great deal on this rug. Almost bought two but starting small for now. It makes the living room feel more warm and inviting.

Site icon
Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k
12/1/202511/1/2025Difference% Change12/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$397,992$394,310$3,6820.9%$ 319,005$ 78,98724.8%
Roth IRA$56,073$55,313$7611.4%$ 51,308$ 4,7659.3%
Brokerage Accts$3,074$2,829$2468.7%$ 1,346$ 1,728128.3%
Cash$15,621$15,873-$252-1.6%$ 7,603$ 8,018105.5%
HSA*$5,869$5,854$150.3%$ 3,561$ 2,30864.8%
Total$478,629$474,179$4,4500.9%$ 382,824$ 95,80525.0%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ 166$ (166)-100.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$478,629$474,179$4,4500.9%$ 382,658$ 95,97125.1%
Mortgage$339,258$339,868-$609-0.2%
Zillow Estimate$343,700$346,600-$2,900-0.8%
Equity Estimate$4,442$6,732-$2,291-34.0%
Net Total$483,070$480,911$2,1600.4%

It’s past my bedtime again but I’m up $2k in a month when the stock market hasn’t been great and my home has been coming down slightly in value. I did just make a mortgage payment so I’m caught up until February 1st. Hasn’t posted to my account yet. Yes I’m a weirdo. Up 25% in a year is still nothing to scoff at. Keep counting my blessings especially when just last week one of my friends lost his accounting job. Christmas will be here before you know it and then 2026. I’m going to enjoy some vacation time, I’ve been going full throttle for the past few months and I need a break. We are inundated with so much info and noise in any given day. I miss the days when life was simpler. Be well and take care.

Gratitude at $481k Net Worth – November 2025

Leave a reply

I’ve been practicing more self-awareness lately and something that really has me thinking is the current state of the economy. We have government shutdowns and major corporations in my industry laying off people left and right. I’ve watched more videos than I care to admit about potential losses of SNAP benefits. Lucky enough to never been on that situation personally though my father was disabled and probably could’ve qualified if he wanted to after my parents divorce in the 90s.

October has certainly been a busy one…
1. Sprained my finger. Going on 3 weeks since the incident happened and feels about 80% healed. I chose not to go to see a doctor about it after some bad experiences in the past with an ER clinic. It’s not broken and I can bend it but it hurts in very specific situations.
2. Before the finger sprain I had a cold that wouldn’t go away for a week. Then I made an appointment at the clinic. Ended up waiting for over an hour before being seen by the nurse practitioner. Got some medication that messed with my stomach for most of the time I was on it. Also was told to avoid being in direct sunlight on days where it was in the 80s and I was actively outside.
3. With work a few senior people are gone. Some of it was reorg related, others completely voluntary. It makes me wonder when my day might come. I have been actively trying to avoid burnout and thankfully I do work 40 hours a week most weeks. Staying home, not dealing wtih a commute yet. If I do need to commute the 22 miles a day to work based on rumblings about a return to office policy I likely will be buying a used EV or a hybrid. Right now though it makes more mathematical sense to keep my 23.8mpg vehicle that sits undisturbed in the garage.
4. Since recovering from the cold I’ve had a lingering cough. Not sure if it’s from another medication I’ve been taking but it’s quite annoying. I tried not taking that medication for a week but then my weight shot right up by about 1lb per day, before I was dropping a pound a day. I quit a medication before due to the 2 months of side effects.
5. I signed back up for YouTube Premium. I tried ad blockers, fast forwarding ads, letting the first few seconds play and hitting skip. It just ruined my entire experience though when maybe I was doing something that didn’t allow me to hit that button right away.
6. I cancelled my SquareSpace domain hosting account. The site got very little traffic and I wasn’t using it for any commercial purposes. Might be able to link another webhost I have to it or setup a redirect. Can also go the old fashioned route and find some HTML/CSS templates. $23/mo just wasn’t worth it fo rmy use case.
7. I updated to the new iPad Pro M5 from M4. It’s insanely fast. Here’s my rationale for upgrading.
-67% trade-in value of the M5 iPad Pro
-Ability for screen to get down to 1 nit (great for reading before bed)
-Wi-Fi 7
-50% more memory, faster CPU and 30% faster GPU
-Fresh battery when current was at 89.5%
-Works with my existing pencil and magic kb
-Bluetooth 6
-Fast Charging – Up to 50% in 35 minutes
8. Yard work – It’s not done but I have put a dent in it. Raked leaves near the front driveway, cut branches over the front driveway, cut some other branches on another tree in front of the house, cut branches for a tree in the back of the house, cut a messy looped nest of vines, cut down some small trees that ChatGPT said can sometimes be invasive due to how quickly they grow.

9. My Money Tree is thriving and the basil plant is still chugging along.

10. Halloween has come and gone. I got a very overpriced costume from Amazon, complete with a pocket that has a hole big enough for my phone to fall through it. I didn’t go to the big block party here for reasons stemming from hating huge crowds, being in my 40s, and 85% sober. We played beer pong with friends and I lost. That room temperature shot was sooo nasty.

Halloween!

11. In my industry we’ve been talking about Holiday for months now. I’ve seen Christmas trees at stores and it’s just not hitting me on November 1st that the day will be here before you know it.

Site icon
Gratitude at $481k Net Worth – November 2025

12. A week ago Sunday I had to go to the Emergency Dentist for treatment on a tool where a filling had chipped off and my tooth was extremely sensitive to cold. The dentist was very professional, the office took me right away. The location was a little bit sketchy though. My fear was that I’d have a big infection potentially an abcess by the time a dentist would be able to admit me. Face was numb for about 6 hours so my bf’s birthday dinner was cancelled.
13. I still haven’t scheduled an appointment for removal of the tree next to the house. Thinking of December now when the prices are cheaper. In theory I could probably cut it one tiny portion at a time but the risk of a piece falling on me or the house are quite high. The tree itself feels super solid and not seeing any signs of rot but if it were to fall for some reason that would be a major pain.

The tree that is definitely too close to the house

14. Other house bills – new tools to help with the wild vegetation, a huge electric bill that is coming down by a lot, water bill, home security recurring service fee. Nothing too extreme. February we’ll be a dual income household and that is going to help accelerate things on a massive scale. I’ll start making some extra principal payments and more aggressively save in emergency fund and investments. The goal is to lower risk while also growing the portfolio.

A lot happens in a year. For me I’ve seen a +$115k increase in overall net worth or +32% not including the house which I don’t really view as an investment. Most of that being my 401k. Over the last month my net worth is up +3.6% or +$16,727. Had some recent good news which I can’t really dive into but very thankful and will help me sleep better at night. My next mortgage payment isn’t due until 12/1, the question is do I get the $9 worth of interest in my high yield savings now or just make the payment early and be good until the end of the year. Either way the payment will be due in a month so it’s not like I’m missing out on much.

11/1/202510/1/2025Difference% Change11/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$394,310$383,633$10,6772.8%$ 297,764$ 96,54632.4%
Roth IRA$55,313$53,212$2,1013.9%$ 47,977$ 7,33615.3%
Brokerage Accts$2,829$2,516$31312.4%$ 882$ 1,947220.7%
Cash$15,873$12,067$3,80631.5%$ 8,686$ 7,18782.7%
HSA*$5,854$5,659$1953.4%$ 3,490$ 2,36467.7%
Total$474,179$457,086$17,0933.7%$ 358,799$ 115,38032.2%
Credit Cards$0$433-$433-100.0%$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$474,179$456,653$17,5253.8%$ 358,799$ 115,38032.2%
Mortgage$339,868$340,170-$302-0.1%
Zillow Estimate$346,600$347,700-$1,100-0.3%
Equity Estimate$6,732$7,530-$798-10.6%
Net Total$480,911$464,184$16,7273.6%

It rained this morning and I’m about to go to a kickball game. Better hurry before I’m late. It’s very possible in the next 6 months I’ll hit $500k net worth. I have no plans ot retire anytime soon but at least I’m on the path to $1M by the end of 2032. If my job lets me go I’ll look for another one. My dollars are working harder for me now than I ever will have to for the rest of my life. I follow financial gurus on a regular basis but came to the realization is I’m my own guru at 42 and the #s prove that out. Namaste.

Autumn and Settling In – October 2025 – $464k

Leave a reply

Today is October 1st – I am in the process of getting over some really bad allergies. Almost took me out of commission with work but I powered through as best I could. This happens to me with every seasonal change. Napped a lot today and ate a pasta soup dinner my bf made for me ❤️. Doing what I can to doctor on myself and hope these feelings are temporary.

My mortgage is due today but I paid it in full about 2 weeks ago so don’t owe anything until November. I like this lower stress approach of ownership. The mortgage got sold to a different company that has mixed reviews. I figure as long as I pay them on time we won’t have a problem. I put aside $1500/paycheck and overall that has been working. well so far.

One of the larger expenses for me this month was paying off the alarm system. It was showing up on my credit report as a credit card with super high utilization. So I paid it off nearly 58 months early. A whopping $2,822.72. It was 0% but I just hated the idea of having that amount loomnig over my head. I still need to pay for the service monthly but at least the big part is out of the way.

My electricity bill was also up there at $258.26 during the hottest month of the year. It is what it is and has been paid in full. September is projected to be close to $200 with quite a few days where the high was in the 90s.

This past weekend we took a trip to Brenham TX and Houston TX for our 2nd anniversary. It was much needed for me to get away from DFW. I’d say the trip overall cost $3-400 including a bit of clothes shopping and activities. We saw the Galleria, Cistern, Blue Bell HQ and Homestead Heritage in Waco.


Trip pictures

Supermarket 2nd anniversary flowers I was glad to buy for about a 1/6th the price of fancypants ones

I did get AirPods Pro 3s to replace my PowerBeats Pro that I got at the start of 2020. Still getting used to the feeling of not having giant clips around the back of my ear but the sound quality is great and I feel a little more free. And yes I pitched ip for the AppleCare+ coverage. $249 broken out in $41.50/mo installments and $20.54 tax. Verdict is still out on whether my old buds will get me any cash back, even $40 would be nice .

It’s been some time since my school days but I had 2 TI calculators, an 83 from high school and 83-Plus from college. I was going to chuck the older one out since it wouldn’t turn on but the Internet came to the rescue and I was able to revive it. The 83 I’m keeping for nostalgia but got about $16 for the 83-Plus. Also keeping my dad’s old HP 10-B Business calculator stamped 1987 on the back.

Keeping my late 90s TI-83 it still works!
Sold 22 year old calculator

I sold a hose for the grill on Facebook Marketplace that I couldnt’ return on Amazon. Let me tell you that was the hardest I ever worked for $10 in my life. On the listing people asking if someone is still for sale then radio silence or wanting to meet during sketchy times. I sold the defective grill my friends gifted me for $20 on Marketplace too and sweat outside for a good 45 minutes while these guys dismantled it and put it into an older Lexus ES model. I was asking for more but at point just take it away. It also amazes me people would show up to buy something and not have all the money with them.. I also did a swap through Blue Rhino for a new propane tank just to rule that out.

$10 is better than just tossing in the trash

With the sale of the grill I wanted a new one and to buy it before it started getting cold out. So another Char-Broil it was given the cost. 5 burners, stainless steel, and a side rack. $299 plus tax, shipping, delivery fee. $365.89 less cashback through an Affiliate link and my credit card rewards. I bought a cover too for $38. Used it a few times already and really happy with the results.

New grill I tried not to buy but got tired of dealing with someone else’s headaches

At the start of the month we decided to go to a Jazz concert in downtown Fort Worth. The lady singing was good other than forgetting the words to some of the songs. We also had a nice romantic dinner at a restaurant called Walloon’s. I think that was the first time we ate out the entire week.

Early in the month I had a nice little housewarming party. My friends were so generous in their gifts I felt blessed beyond my wildest dreams. I used some of their gifts to buy things for the house including a storage rack from Home Depot to help with the garage. My car almost fits but is about 4 inches too long. We can fix that… 😀 We’re also planning to accelerate the time my bf is going to move in with me. Instead of July it will be more like March. He spends a lot of time here and I could definitely use the money to help with some of the expenses.

Getting back into the flow of cycling when I feel inspired.

We also saw The Wiz life at Fair Park. Everything was top notch including the choreography and singing.

I also bough the New Apple Watch Ultra 3 mostly because my 1 was growing long in the tooth after 3 years plus I wanted better battery life and a brighter screen for direct sunlight. My phone is on the Apple upgrade program and would get hot all the time so I replaced that out too. Had a little hiccup where I shipped the phone in a box for the watch but it got where it needed to thankfully.

I also signed back up for kickball again. My body is going to need to adjust to playing again but I got this..

Work-wise found out about an incentive plan I’m potentially eligible for but still waiting to hear back on any kind of merit increase. I’m on the lower end of the range for my position but also thankful to have a job in this economy. Today I recieved a $200 check from my old apartment which was perfect timing considering I had to transfer $200 after paying off that alarm system. Surprised I got anything considering how much work the old place needed.

10/1/20259/1/2025Difference% Change10/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$383,633$366,372$17,2614.7%$ 297,589$ 86,04328.9%
Roth IRA$53,212$50,470$2,7425.4%$ 47,091$ 6,12113.0%
Brokerage Accts$2,516$1,636$88053.8%$ 549$ 1,967358.5%
Cash$12,067$15,420-$3,353-21.7%$ 3,547$ 8,520240.2%
HSA*$5,659$5,220$4408.4%$ 3,465$ 2,19563.3%
Total$457,086$439,118$17,9684.1%$ 352,240$ 104,84629.8%
Credit Cards$433$3,245-$2,812-86.7%$ 832$ (399)-48.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$456,653$435,873$20,7804.8%$ 351,408$ 105,24529.9%
Mortgage$340,170$341,000
Zillow Estimate$347,700$351,000
Equity Estimate$7,530$10,000
Net Worth$464,184$445,873

So there you have it. 42 years old, $464k net worth. I estimated $455k to close out the year and we’re ahead of that so this is good. I’m still maxing out 401k / Roth but it is def a stretch since I keep spending money at a fairly high rate. Need to switch back to the aggressive savings mode again soon. We are eating more meals at home and I try to find deals on everything I buy including clothes. I still have a couple more years in the tank. Projected to hit $1M in 2031, $1.5M in 2034, $2M in 2041. My goal is to have a paid off house by 59.5 and be able to leave the workforce then if I so please.

That said it’s past my bedtime. There are lots of things happening in the world, I can’t keep up. I continue to focus on what I have control over. We all have 24 hours in a day, what I choose to focus on becomes my identity. I used to spend that time chasing after people who wouldn’t give me the time of day. There is some truth to the expression you can’t relive your 20s. I believe it and I’m glad I’ve moved past a lot of things that ultimately weren’t the best for me long term. Still a work in process. Peace.