Debt Free Alpha

Personal Finance happens in the backgroud 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.

What is my 10 Year Plan? A lot of this is income dependant. That depends on how sound my future employment will be and that’s a pretty big if. … Projecting I will hit $1M net worth in the year 2031 but that’s not going to be enough to retire off on and quite honestly being completely retired at 48 sounds unrealistic. I’d still be doing something for income and to keep my mind sharp. Someone I know of in the area is a realtor and 60 years old. Assuming I would be able to keep that kind of momentum between now and then I’d have $3.3M in assets. We could also have a great recession / depression between now and then, who the heck knows…

I’ll do a year in review post in a few weeks like I always do but this is looking ahead. What are your goals for the new year? It’s also past my bedtime. Stay safe, keep on building and comment if you still are around. Randomly curious what Nathan of nathanbw.com is up to these days. Is he still doing wheelies? 😀

I’m debt free!!!!! Ok I said that before a few times but who’s tracking??
August 24, 2024. I got paid that day and was starting to feel a lot of internal stress weighing on my about still having an auto loan. Why was I letting things fester? The previous week I decided to sell assets in my non-taxable brokerage acct so that covered roughly half the previous balance. So what did I do? I paid the sucker off. $3,090.30. Between my pay, some of my emergency fund. I now own the Acura free and clear once the title comes in. On paper the math might not make sense, it was $21,500 financed at 5.99%. However with all these stories about repos and a little uncertainty about my future career trajectory I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Paid off Acura TLX – August 2024

My next financial moves are to:
1. Max out my 401k / IRA – On Track
2. Build up my emergency fund – On Track
3. Save up for future townome / house / condo – Behind

I really do like the idea of not owing money to any third party aside from my normal monthly bills including cell phone, rent, home internet access, gas, insurance, food, etc. Makes me wonder if I really want to sign up for debt again in the form of a mortgage or just stay in this period of what I call “perpetual debt freedom”. At least barring any unexpected circumstances.

As strange as it sounds, even though I can empathize with people who are in massive debt… It really doesn’t go around in the opposite direction. That’s okay though. Taking it as a learning for how to spend my time going forward. The reality is that I started taking a step to get in the right direction at age 29, 12 years ago. I’ve been incredibly lucky professionally and not everyone has the benefit of that. However if I had to hit the reset button and start off with a gig economy or entry-level type job things would look a lot different. Since this thang began, my net worth has increased by $383,000. I see people who start off with zero in their 40s and 50s and that makes me a bit sad.

Looking back at the previous years for September…
2024:$340k
2023: $232k
2022: $182k
2021: $176k
2020: $95k
2019: $54k
2018: $27k
2017: $23k
2016: $22k
2015: -$16k
2014: -$40k
2013: -$38k
2012: -$43k
Sharing a few pics of my activity for the month. Drove to Houston earlier in the month with my bf, saw the National Science Museum, checked out The Woodlands, had dinner at a fancy restaurant. Most of it done economically, he gets a great discount that drops the price to $60/night.

Some gems

Ok here’s the chart I update every month. Up $22,603 in a month. Doesn’t feel real but the numbers don’t lie. What still feels strange is that prior to 2006 and not inflation adjusted my wages in a single year weren’t even remotely near that before taxes.

Fatman Scoop, a legend in the hip-hop community died today at 53. I would listen to him on the radio all the time during the early 2000s. He was overweight but not much more than me which is scary to think about. Have to do better. Anyway time to squeeze in a quick gym session to try and hit my calorie goal for the day… 😀 Be well!

I found this novel quote on goodreads ““You are strong, tempered like steel in the fire and by the blows of the hammer of life. Nothing will break you again, only make you stronger and more whole. ” -Christina Engela

Life is actually going pretty good for me:

1. My rent is paid up through September 2024. Was chatting with my parents earlier and told them it’s $1270/mo. They said near them in New York I’d be paying close to $1,000 more per month.
2. Car – Officially at the 6 month mark regarding paying off my car. I don’t have to spend $1,400/mo but I choose to. Can’t repo what you own free and clear. I’d be lying if I said I don’t have a bit of shiny object syndrome. Like oh this electic BMW is “only” $52k and I can completely eliminate my reliance on gasoline. However in reality even if I got $38-40k for my current vehicle I’d still need to finance around $12k on top of the $9k I currently owe. Just not worth it. Also in my current deal, part of my Certified Preowned warranty includes coverage until 100k miles or the year 2030.
3. Due to unpreventable circumstances, we weren’t able to make it to Las Vegas. Luckily Southwest has a very graceful return policy. Not sure what the next trip will be but I don’t want to wait too long to experience it. Vegas is also extremely hot this time of year, missing 107° temps isn’t the end of the world.
4. Last weekend I went with friends to Terrell, TX to this cool spot called Ham Orchards BBQ. The peach pulled pork sandwich was so delicious. Would definitely come back again.

5. For Juneteenth we celebrated at a local southern / soul food chicken place. Great service, would highly recommend. It’s called Roots Southern Table. I try to only eat this kind of food on rare occasions and the 4 of us split it.

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6. Got the issue with my door making a creaking noise fixed. It ended up being a window reguator. The part took 4 days to arrive which seemed excessive, they also lubricated the window track. It was completely covered under warranty though. Without I could see it being a $3-400 job. Also posted this video up for anyone wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Completely a first world problem but when you pay so much for something like a car you don’t want it to feel like a rusting bucket of bolts.

7. Father’s Day was a bit on the rough side for me. My father passed away in 2004 and for a period of time after I felt mixed emotions. It’s still a feeling of loss that never completely goes away. I remembered to stay present and focused on the current day, going to the gym, and things like that. I’m also thankful to have a stepdad who has been supportive in multiple ways and helped keep me on the right track. So for that I’ve been quite grateful.

8. I got the pleasure of visiting the new stadium – Globe Life Stadium where the Texas Rangers play. It’s in Arlington close to Cowboy Stadium. It was super toasty outside and I showed up all sweaty but at least it was covered and cool inside. Unfortunately the Rangers lost.

9. Instead of Vegas I’m currently on a trip in Oklahoma. It’s both quiet and scenic. The cabin is so much nicer than my apartment. It’s got vaulted ceilings, beautiful marble counters, induction stovetops, a massive tub / shower area, outside jacuzzi, tv outside and other really nice amenities.

10. We also made a very quick stop in Paris, TX to see their rendition of the Eiffel Tower. Maybe next year we’ll see the real one in Europe.

As to my actual net worth, to make a $13k+ gain in a month or over 4% is wonderful. I worked hard for every $14 increment, adjusting for inflation. See A Millionaire is Made Ten Bucks at a Time (https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/08/01/a-millionaire-is-made-ten-bucks-at-a-time/) I get inspired seeing the progress I’ve made over the course of tjust a few years. For comparison July 2023 my balance was $221k, July 2022 – $172k, July 2021 ~$159k, July 2020 $87k and July 2019 $46k. My net worth projection for the end of 2024 is $350k.

On the whole I’m doing pretty well. Back to my vacation. Find what makes you happy and stick with it! 🙂

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.

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.