August is my Birthday month, the big 43. I jokingly used to say in my 20s I felt like a 40 year old man. Now that I’m well into my 40s it’s about making moves that will set me up for my 50s and beyond. I had several birthday parties, one for me and my bf, one with our friends, and one for a friend’s birthday later in the month. Also gave one of my college friends a gift for his birthday.

Summer has been summering. Here is a taste of my summer.

I did try to free myself from the cult of Apple with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd headphones. They kept making a plastic cracking noise which turns out was normal. Plus the integration into the ecosystem was lacking a bit when it comes to things like Dolby Atmos and using more than 2 devices potentially. So what did I do? Returned them and bought the AirPods Max 2 for $429. Added some silicon covers for the earcups and the headband. Much more comfortable than completely stock and it should help with sweat resistance and overall durability. No complaints and the noise cancellation is way way better.

I’m doing what I can to water around the house and make sure the foundation doesn’t start to shift. It feels like the second hottest summer on record for me, the first being 2011. Most days the last month hit a high of 100º+. My electric bill was $341 even trying to keep the thermostat at 78-80º during the day. It’s Texas, what can you really do. The next month is projected closer to $389. I need things to cool down stat…

Today I biked 15 miles near the house in 97º temps. I didn’t get heat exhaustion so that’s a plus. The 2020 bike has been holding up great after the overhaul. My 1983 body is a bit of a different story. I just made sure not to much myself too far. Same with the gym. Just show up, distract myself where I’m going through the motions if needed. Getting too much in my head is where things go south.

On the topic of other people, a couple I am friends with recently divorced after 10 years of marriage. I can speculate as to why but it’s honestly none of my damn business. I wish both of them the best of luck though. I tried to keep the friendship going but things just fizzled out the last 3 years. Like if no one ever even says hello or anything what do you do with that? I have the answer, move on.

	8/30/2026	8/1/2026	Difference	% Change	9/1/2025	YoY Diff	% Change
401K	$483,960	$460,892	$23,067	5.0%	$366,372	$117,588	32.1%
Roth IRA	$64,834	$62,745	$2,089	3.3%	$50,470	$14,364	28.5%
Brokerage Accts	$17,011	$15,108	$1,903	12.6%	$1,636	$15,375	939.7%
Cash	$29,768	$9,097	$20,671	227.2%	$15,420	$14,348	93.0%
HSA	$6,201	$6,042	$159	2.6%	$5,220	$981	18.8%
Total	$601,773	$553,884	$47,889	8.6%	$439,118	$162,655	37.0%
Credit Cards	$0	$460	-$460	-100.0%	$3,245	$(3,245)	-100.0%
Auto Loan	$0	$0	$0	#DIV/0!	$0	$-	#DIV/0!
Subtotal	$601,773	$553,423	$48,350	8.7%	$435,873	$165,900	38.1%
Mortgage	$328,135	$332,601	-$4,466	-1.3%	$341,000
Zillow Estimate	$342,600	$340,900	$1,700	0.5%	$351,000
Equity Estimate	$14,465	$8,299	$6,166	74.3%	$10,000
Net Total	$616,239	$561,722	$54,516	9.7%	$445,873

August was a good month. Net worth is up 9.7% or +$55k in a month. +$166k / 38% in a year. Broke the $600k barrier that had been eluding me for a long time. I did pay extra on the mortgage which basically cut back a whole year. As of now the loan ends July 2053 instead of September 2055. My goal is to trim back another year after I get my tax refund check. When will I stop? I have no date in mind. Though if things continue at this rate I’ll have over $2,000,000 14 years from now. That sounds like a decent stopping point but who knows with the way inflation and AI replacing jobs has been going.

Bf and I have a few exciting trips planned. I’ve been antsy to get away from home for a bit. Fall,. Winter, Spring, and Summer trips covered. None of those include seeing my family but maybe they’ll come to visit me or I’ll try and squeeze something in.

If you’re still reading after all these years thank you. Keep reaching higher.