Initially started typing this while watching a video of YouTube personality Anton Daniels talking about buying his Dream Car, a Porsche 911 Carrera. That car starts ar $114k. I’m guessing he makes a few hundred thousand a year so the math makes sense.

I drove my bf to the airport earlier this evening. I get to see him again in about 2 weeks during a trip to Vegas, but then won’t see him until about 2-3 weeks after that. He’s making 5 different travel stops over the course of the next 5 weeks or so. I go one place and I’m overwhelmed, not quite sure how he handles it all. Then again he absolutely loves to travel and being an educator he has that free time.

1. At the start of the month I got this grand idea to go check out one of the nearby nature preserves. However half of it was literally underwater due to rain the prior day. I was also getting attacked left and right by mosquitos. The area in this picture leading up to the wooden bridge is supposed to be dirt, not mud and water. So $5 and a bit of gas later we turned around and left. Just getting back into the car was a bit of an ordeal.
   

2. I’ve made a very intentional decision to stop taking my blood pressure medication. I’ve gone through 4 different ones, each one of them gave me side effects. One made me dizzy to the point of not being about to drive, another gave me a cough that took over a month to go away. So far my numbers are slightly elevated but within normal parameters if I drink enough water and basically exercise everyday. So I’ve been walking more and utilizing my fun $200/mo Equinox membership a lot more consistently.

3. Other health stuff – I am now talking to a fitness coach for work insurance purposes related to my weight. I honestly hate talking to them but there was no way I was getting my waist measurement below 40 (actual of 45) in time. I really did try but everytime I tried to change my diet, I would have really bad stomach issues due to my medication. I went over a months without any such incidents and that was enough for me. I went in to the pool last weekend and may have gotten some water my ear. Days later I started to feel incredibly dizzy, then the nurse practitioner at my clinic said I had fluid in my middle ear but it hadn’t become an infection yet. So I’ve been on Prednisone and Rx Dramamine for a few days. It has definitely helped, I went lifting today without having a dizzy spell.

4. Family – It was my mother’s day, my mom’s birthday, and the 20th death anniversary of my father. For the first I bought some flowers, the 2nd I got some desserts which my mother really enjoyed. It was a small amount of effort but sometimes just the thought goes a long way. On the last, 20 years is a long time. Enough where I no longer blame myself about what happened, nor do I really want to live in more painful parts of the past. There were good times but also a lot of challenging ones.

5. Some of you may recall my ant infestation problems going back to September 2023. They are back in my light fixture inside. Occasionally I’ll see some flying ants inside crawling on the floor or wall. The pest control company has come by multiple times, the most recent time maintenance said they were trying for a different kind of ant… One of the supervisors came in and basically said see that, that’s the queen in your light fixture. Oh great… Then he mentioned the moisture level is higher on one of the walls vs the other suggesting there might be a water leak behind the walls

6. Upgraded to the base 11” M4 iPad Pro tablet. Traded the old one in for $410, bought the pencil for $129. Sold my original 2nd generation Apple Pencil for about $50 including shipping. I’m really impressed by the tandem OLED screen. I paid everything off except for the Magic Keyboard that I signed up for using a payment program on my Apple Card.

7. Helped my bf move into his new apartment in mid-May. He technically hired a moving company but I helped with the small items and watch guard for when items were on the lower level and not watched. He tipped them really well and the move from Fort Worth went pretty smoothly. I also helped him do some unpacking and we put a living room table together with only one little hiccup at the final step.

8. My sports games are over between kickball and cornhole. Really enjoyed my time in both even though our teams didn’t win the championships in either. It’s fun to be around other people even when they are in a much different phase of their life

9. Had some recent changes at work. A few gone as part of a reorg but more have voluntarily left to take on a different or higher level position elsewhere. I’m not sure how I entirely feel about this. It’s not the first time I’ve gone through these types of changes. As far as the ones that directly affect me it’s close to the 5th round of changes. At my previous company we went through 4 rounds of layofffs. I love the industry I’m in but it feels like a bit of survival of the fittest. I’m hoping to get a raise in the next few months but not sure about a bonus. It just feels like time is passing me by in some ways. I try to add as much value and be as flexible as I need to be working on different projects.

10. Trying to put myself out there and say yes to life more. I missed the Pride parade at Fair Park but did lots of other things in May that were fun.

	6/2/2024	5/4/2024	Difference	% Change
401K	263,270	254,172	9,097	+3.6%
Roth IRA	40,864	39,986	878	+2.2%
Brokerage Acct	2,822	2,415	406	+16.8%
Cash	4,487	3,846	641	+16.7%
HSA	3,395	3,056	338	11.1%
Total	314,836	303,476	11360	+3.7%
Credit Cards	697	0	697	/
Auto Loan	10,209	11,555	-1,346	-11.6%
Net Total	303,931	291,921	12,010	+4.1%

I plan to get my credit card back down to 0 in 2 weeks come my next paycheck. The balances aren’t due yet. I will have a hefty ($700+) car insurance payment coming up 6/14. My cash amount includes the rent due for July too so I also could just cut that in half and get back to 0 too.

Up $12k in a month is pretty good. Hope to stay above $300k. It’s a slow path to wealth though. June 2014 I had -$30k in net worth and a year ago I was at $209k so something is working right? Be safe, enjoy live, and stack up some paper.