I count my blessings everyday. I’m in fairly good health, have friends who care about me, a boyfriend who loves me and tries to save money, a paid off car in full with title meaning it can’t be repoed, the latest in tech gadgets that I love to tinker with, and am on the road to becoming a millionaire.

The title of this month’s post is Autumn Dreams. Each day I find myself thinking about life after moving out of this 700 sq ft apartment.
Why – I need a change of pace, working from home 40 hours a week and spending at least another 40 at home, this sized place doesn’t make me feel happy. It’s dated, and dark inside. I have no garage and the kitchen is small. Property values are also starting to come down. If I take the the next step and we live together, doing it in a 1br isn’t going to work. December also will mark a decade of living in this complex. The rent started around $785 I’ve also been here soon for an entire decade, it’s now $1,270 so 62% higher.

What are my options?
1. Buy a condo
2. Buy a house
3. Buy a townhouse
4. Lease a house
5. Lease a townhome
6. Rent a 2 br apartment

When – My lease is up August 2025. I should be able to save a few thousand at least between now and then. Will it be enough for a 20% down payment? Likely not. 10% on the other hand? That’s doable. Also giving myself a little bit of grace since $1,270 is still a decent amt to pay in rent while also trying to everything else. Really don’t want to ask my parents for money in the event my stepdad sells his house considering I earn more than both of them combined. I also think my salary is too high for any type of down payment assistance. With an FHA loan I could start with a 3.5% down payment but that could quickly result in being underwater.

What I’m doing now?
1. I trimmed my 401k contribution percentage down to 6% at least temporarily. At age 41 98% of my net worth shouldn’t be tied up in retirement accounts. I would much have this spread by closer to 50%. With my new contribution rates I’ll be putting in about $1,300/mo into retirement plus matching vs. $2,459 previously. Staying at that contribution level and 8% annual return rates I’ll have have $1M in 2034.
2. Currently aiming to add $1k per paycheck into a High Yield Savings account (4.25% APY). So far I only have $1k there but with roughly 24 checks left between now and the time my lease is up every bit counts. Also putting dollars into investments that have a little more but the opportunity for more reward too.
3. For taxable investments I’m doing a conservative $300/mo to have compounding continue working in my favor, though this is subject to change.

Current finances – At a macro level my investments have all gone up vs last month. Net worth up another $11k from last month. $351k total. A year ago I was at $225k or 56% higher. Oct 2022 I was at $178k or 97% higher. In January 2024 my net worth was $250k, so I’m up $100k since then due to a record breaking market rally (ignoring today, that sucked haha) and steady contributions. It’s true what they say once you get past the first $100k the next round gets easier.

	10/1/2024	8/31/2024	Difference	% Change
401k	297,589	289,322	+8,627	+2.9%
Roth IRA	47,091	45,392	+1,699	+3.7%
Brokerage Acct	549	22	+527	+2,394%
Cash	3,547	2,032	+1,515	+74.5%
HSA	3,465	3,574	-109	-3.1%
Total	352,240	340,342	+11,898	+3.5
Credit Cards	832	349	+483	+138.3%
Auto Loan	0	0	0	N/A
Net Total	351,408	339,993	+11,415	+3.4%

Upcoming expenses:
1. Replacement of MacBook Pro. Currently I have the 16″ but likely switching over to the 14″. 16″ while extremely powerful is super bulky to me and most of the time I have it plugged into 2 external displays. I estimate it will be about another $1,500 to get a new M4 Max with the specs I want. I also could get one of the current generation models at a discount either new or certified refurbished. Or not purchase anything at all and wait for the redesign. Potentially faster Wi-Fi, faster graphics, more cpu power, more memory and storage
2. Europe trip. Need the money for it in November, final expenses yet to be determined. I think it will be around $1200 for the entire trip.
3. New York trip – This one is a maybe but likely would be December or January. Those generally run aroune $800 between flight, parking, car rental. There is the option of me working on the trip like I did earlier this year. Though that wouldn’t feel like much of a vacation.
4. Clothes – I need new ones, particular ones that fit me properly. Likely $200 will go to some refreshes over the next couple weeks.

Without going into details I’m expecting a bit of good news with regard to my ability to hit my financial goals. For that I am thankful especially in the current environment. CVS is laying off 3000 workers, GM 1600, 17% of workforce at Panera, 650 at Microsoft and that doesn’t even include previous months.

Easier said than done but I’m going to focus a bit more on cashflow right now. In the event things go south I’ll have a nice nest egg built up. If they don’t I’ll keep stacking up cash, dividends and diversify outside of retirement funds and the S&P500.

As far as life is concerned things are going well. Experienced some great restaurants, the arboretum, state fair of texas, movie and tv watching nights with friends. My bf and I celebrated our one year anniversary about a week ago. I remember there was a time I wondered if I’d ever find a relationship again especially in my 40s. My blood pressure is at a managable level without prescription medication. Here’s to living in the moment, planning for tomorrow, being responsible, and stuff.