Tag Archives: life

Feb 2025 Starting the Year Off Right? Sorta… – $395k

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January was a weird month for me. I started out at a friend’s gathering then I got sick and developed a nagging cough that wouldn’t completely go away. I took a really strong antibiotic which the nurse practitioner said to take it if I needed to. It just made me feel worse. I’m about 90% good now but the cough still comes and goes.

  1. After getting a scrape on one of my wheels I bought a new one… For almost $550 brand new at a discount from a company that supplies parts for Acuras. I unsuccessfully tried to get a guy to come out and repair them who ghosted me, then the place I got repair done from previously wants to charge $200 and keep them 2 days plus they’re about 32 miles away which is not very convenient. I have the old one on eBay right now but no bites. Slowly lowering the price down to see what happens.
Brand new wheel

2. We had snow, likely for the only time this year. Everything basically came to a grinding halt. I enjoyed pictures of it from afar online.
3. Bf and I went to this really wondeful light snow on the outskirts of Dallas called Astra Lumina. We both really enjoyed it and it was pretty empty. 100% worth it.

4. Getting back in the flow of playing sports. I wore these leggings out for the first time and it was an adjustment. My body is a little stiff from yesterday but at least myt face is good after getting hit right in the face with a dodgeball.

5. Checked out fun restaurants and bars including Boxcar and Copper and Vine. I’m giving myself more grace with drinking, light drinking 1-2 drinks a week is my limit. I’m all about the vibe. These places aren’t cheap but it’s good for us to go out and occasionally indulge after long week.

6. I made a few clothing purchases and cologne. Trying to do samples to figure out what I like and use those sparingly for when I go out. Altogether it was about $280 and one item I gave away to my bf since it didn’t fit, another I bought twice since I thought I threw it out by accident so now I have 3 packs of samples.
7. For Retirement – The Roth IRA is maxed out for 2024. This Friday I’ll make my first 2025 contribution. I hate making the contributions honestly but it’s for my future. I was “only” able to contribute 96% or $22,125.05 to my 401k last year out of a $23k limit. YTD I’m at $1,840 plus matching. Each month this year I project to see a NW increase of ~$2500/mo or $30k/yr from the estimated return rate of my investments.
8. Housing – I’m still saving for a home but at the rate housing prices and interest rates aren’t coming down this may take longer than expected. Almost $10k a month in to the near year is a good start though. One of my IG friends who is a realtor essentially said come be my neighbor, the place looked amazing but $500k though. Most people under 40 aren’t going to be able afford that. Maybe couples, situations with 3 people on the mortgage, families with generational wealth, or the top 10%, but still. That’s a $100k down payment and $3k a month not including utilities, maintenance, HOA, etc. $300k is about the sweet spot in terms of what a home looks like and what I think I’d be able to afford. I believe in math. Do I have a little FOMO when I see someone in Forney that has a whole house and probably has half my salary? Yes a little bit, however that would be 40 miles from my bf’s job or up to 2 hour drive after work on a weekday. That and no one I know lives out there. Fuck that haha.
9. For time preservation, algorithm, and mental health reasons. I’ve decided to try and be 80-90% apolitical online but it’s hard. Even with the exclusion of certain mutes words and , me not personally posting political content it’s E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. That and the number of things to get outraged over seems to be rising exponentially. A cousin in Kentucky came across a flyer related to a divisive group’s meetings and was hoping it’s fake but it ‘s real. It’s always been there but now the people are coming out of the woodwork. The best revenge is living a good life so that’s what I’ll keep going. Also not going to any of those areas that want to take us back to the dark ages of segregation.
10. Stepdad’s home is finally sold, he’s been handling the finances of it since 1997 and the proceeds are significant. He worked 2 jobs for years to keep it all afloat and I’m glad he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore, though now he wants to build a home on a parcel of land he owns to avoid cap gains taxes. It sounds crazy to me, but then again I don’t want to deal with tenants especially in NY.

Ok here are the actual numbers…

February 2025 Net Worth Update
2/2/202512/27/2024Difference% Change1/31/2024
401K$ 324,256$ 315,581$ 8,6752.7%$ 232,746
Roth IRA$ 53,272$ 51,574$ 1,6983.3%$ 34,506
Brokerage Accts$ 2,016$ 1,644$ 37222.6%$ 2,031
Cash$ 11,975$ 11,896$ 790.7%$ 4,448
HSA$ 3,562$ 3,559$ 30.1%$ 2,725
Total$ 395,082$ 384,254$ 10,8282.8%$ 276,456
Credit Cards$ 166$ –$ 166#DIV/0!$ 87
Auto Loan$ –$ –$ –#DIV/0!$ 16,536
Net Total$ 394,915$ 384,254$ 10,6612.8%$ 259,833

I’m up about $11k over last month and $135k to last year. I get paid on Friday and trying to keep my spending in check. The credit card payments are scheduled to bring it down to 0 but haven’t posted yet. I might hit $400k net worth this month but it’s a little iffy since right now at least it looks like I may owe $1200 in taxes. Am I excited about this milestone? Eh a little bit. Most of my money I’m not touching until hopefully until I’m 59.5. It’s all relative though, I consider myself one of the fortunate ones… Especially with all the ruckus happening with the federal government and tech sectors. Not to mention all the wildfires in Los Angeles. My problems are important to me but also small by comparison.

I have a really bad case of cabin fever right now but it’s supposed to be warmer this week. Doing things with friends in your 40s on a whim is near impossible. I think they assume I’m busy when I’m not or when I do ask them they are busy. What can you do though… Basically plan stuff on my own and maybe I’ll run into people I know. A big chunk of my 20s / 30s was spent hoping people would like me, to a fault. Now I’m like yeah it would be nice but not losing sleep over it. I can do fun stuff too and being fancy if I choose to be isn’t breaking my finances.

Last but not least one of our family friends going back to the 1980s passed away recently at the age of 84. She was one of the nicest people I’ve met and never complained about anything. She came to NY from the south almost 50 years ago with nothing. She made many friends, became like family in many ways, worked at a nursing home and volunteered at a church. I haven’t seen her since I left NY but my mom would stay in touch. The years go by quickly, make the most of them. I watched an hour long service from the church on YouTube. It was very touching.

Stay strong even if your finances are down right now. Long term history suggests things will continue to go up so that’s that I’m going to focus on. Much love to you all.

Good News & Responsibility – Nov 2024 – $359k

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So it’s been a year since I said goodbye to my dog Sasha. It doesn’t carry the same level of sadness it once did but I am still reminded of her presence. Kind of thinking about getting a dog again, but not in the 700 sq. foot apartment.

I got a raise and bonus at work and feeling good about it. Is it life changing? Not exactly but it’s helping me keep up with inflation and I am extremely thankful to be receiving anything. Especially in today’s environment.

Last month I set a lofty goal to start saving $1k per paycheck toward my home fund. Have I been able to stick to that? Yes. I have $4k currently saved. FHA is 3.5% or $350k is $12k. I’m on track to have more than that by the time my 42nd birthday rolls around.

I’ve had a few celebrations and done some gifting but all of that was paid for any not much in the grand scheme of things. For his 31st birthday I got my bf mostly practical items and we went out to high tea at The Adolphus in Downtown Dallas. For a friend’s birthday we covered his dinner at Goldie’s, along with alcohol and drinks. Was it cheap? No sometimes you need to spend a little more for the experience and to return the kindness of others.

After much deliberation I’m keeping my 16″ MacBook Pro M3 Max. It’s got 48GB of RAM, 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, 1TB of storage, beautiful screen. No need to drop $1300 on a new 14″ one that has very similar specs. Save / invest that money and when the next shiny thing comes out the current latest and greatest will be on sale. Heck there are people still rocking the M1 Max for professional needs and those came out 3 years ago. For next year’s Europe trip I can bring the iPad Pro with me and use it as “desktop” for a week and a half. Also I rarely push this system to the absolute limits and trying to get better at not leaving a ton of windows / tabs open in my browser. Also testing out the Brave browser instead which is much better than Safari with memory management. As I type this up, the CPU is about 90% idle.

Next week will be a trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas and probably Little Rock as well. Going to take a scenic drive and have never been to either city. Some nice restaurants, lots of sight seeing, hoping the weather cooperates.

Speaking of driving, I had an unexpected situation hitting some debris on a dark service road. Thought it was a brick or something to that effect. Oh this is a tiny item my car isn’t lowered or anything, surely it will clear it. I was mistaken and have a $301 bill to prove it.. The service cut me me a break, the original quote ws about $100 more. I tried to be extra nice and also got the other warranty work done so it was productive even though the lack of a loaner car for 4 days was a little bit annoying. The aluminum plate piece would scrape on the ground every time there was a little raised part of the road.

The kickball season has come to a close for me, it was fun to have plans on the weekend to do something outside of the apartment. It kind of gives me a little more life too, being around people in their 20s and 30s. Much more sense of adventure than I have sometimes. It’s eye opening how they were talking about $100k being a good salary to live off of in Dallas. I remember trying to hit that target for years and years. Then it happened. Now I don’t really realize I earn quite a lot compared to the average person.

FOMO is a real thing for me and I am not really where I expected to be at this age. Sometimes you work toward a goal and fall flat on your face. I am not letting that discourage me though. I will soon have the most cash I’ve ever had on hand since I had a windfall in 2022. I’m not used to not investing every single dollar and having a little bit left over. I do feel guilty about not maxing out my 401k. 35% of the money I don’t put in retirement is just going to the tax man. For a couple hundred in my pocket it’s not really worth it since I’m missing out on potential tax-deferred growth. So back to maxxing out I go.

11/1/202410/1/2024Difference% Change
401K297,764297,589+175+.1%
Roth IRA47,97747,091+886+1.9%
Brokerage Acct882549+333+60.7%
Cash8,6863,547+5,139+144.9%
HSA3,4903,465+25+.7%
Total358,799352,240+6,559+1.9%
Credit Cards0832-832-100%
Net Total358,799351,408+7,390+2.1%

Up $7,390 in a market that has recently taken some hits. There is a strong possibility of hitting a $400k net worth in the next year. Last year as proud as I was of my progress I was “only” at $217k so up 65% or $142k in a year. ::cough::

I don’t have anything to complain about right now. Saving toward a new place to live, my investment acct is up, I’m not letting money burn a hole in my pocket. I have a well paying job and a loving supportive partner. Losing a few pounds though I’m still up 40 pounds since covid and working from home. I didn’t gain it all at once so I can’t reasonably expect to lose it that quickly either. Steady consistent effort over time, that’s what it’s all about. That, not making dumb decisions, and a little bit of luck.

Still haven’t decided if I’m going to visit family in December since I basically have the week of christmas off. Weather is a big unknown but I do still have a Southwest credit that hasn’t been utilized. I’d also need to rent a car otherwise I’d be stuck at home with parents home most of the entire trip which also isn’t ideal.

I voted early last month, election day will soon be upon us. I wanted to find good reasons to support one side but kept coming up short. I’ll leave it at that. Also Harlan if you’re reading this I and probably others can’t leave any comments on your blog, I tried 3 times and it kept loading. 😛

I found my 1st grade school pictures from October 1989. That was 35 years ago and I remember most of that era at least from a 6 year old perspective. There is one person who I can’t remember the name of but everyone else is still around and doing well from what I can tell at least. Hope you guys and gals are doing well out there.

I also see Joe’s blog https://nomoreharvarddebt.com/ is public again even if it’s dormant. It’s still a good resource on how to think differently from society with personal finance even a decade later. Maybe the Gen Z crowd will discover some of the advice from your elders is good. 😉

The Change Starts With You – Aug 2024 – $317k

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In 5 days I turn 41. I stared this blog when I was 29. That’s a long ass time. Despite few people reading, keeping track of things helps with my own internal motivation.

  1. Most recently my employers was offering a 2 for 1 match on charitable donations. I chose to invest a tiny amount in the National Kidney Foundation, in honor of my late father.
  2. Almost a month ago me and my boyfriend went to beautiful Hochatown, Oklahoma which is adjacent to Broken Bow. It was a great balance of tourist town, quiet and serene. I definitely would consider doing another cabin weekend. Maybe in a few months. Also doing some initial planning around a Europe trip next year.
  3. Friends and I saw Missy Elliott in concert a few weeks ago in Fort Worth. Also performing were Busta Rhymes and Ciara. So much energy and strong performances. We planned the trip back in April and the price was really reasonable. $136.50 per person including parking.
  4. I’ve been getting more into biking but definitely taking another hiatus. My body let me ride without major issues once this month but the second time not so good. Considering selling the bike and taking up other hobbies.
  5. Equinox recently increase prices to $221 per month up $10 from what I was paying previously. There are plenty of amenities that I really was not taking advantage of including the unlimited classes, spin classes, the saltwater pool, sauna, showers and locker room area with the big kicker is if I wanted to use a personal trainer that would be $135 per session on the low endso for a “”normal for session per month training regiment I would be paying $540 plus the $221 or $761 per month. To me that amount seems egregious when roughly 70% of fitness results are diet related and not training related. So I instead chose to join a more no-frills type gym that works out too roughly $53 per month and has more convenient hours. I estimate my annual savings at roughly $2000 per year. That’s the equivalent of my annual vehicle fuel expenses, or one to two vacations per year.
  6. At a macro level I’m considering what the next steps would be in my career. One potential area would be to work on or at least consider a masters degree in marketing. Well I do have an MBA, I earned that all the way back in the late 2000s so much has changed in my industry since then, I also selfishly have some slight paranoia about being surpassed by someone younger with either more industry experience or stronger, credentials than myself. Western Governors University offers such a program for roughly $4800 for a six month term and on average or I should say roughly 61% of students complete the program within an 18 months that would make it more likely for me to be eligible for either a senior director or vice president of marketing role. According to salary.com, the average Senior Director of marketing in my state earns between $166,000 and $209,000 per year. At the vice president level, the range is between $214,000 and $288,000. One of the big questions is how much I want to push myself particularly since I’m starting to slow down a bit in my 40s. Would pay for itself, and then some what I think, in terms of the power of compounding. Think defensively especially in this economy. Anything to help me stand out in the event I need to look for a new role seems like it would be a smart decision.
  7. Without going into a ton of details, I do have a tiny windfall over the next year or so. I will gladly take this over the other alternative, which is $0. There are certain stipulations that I must adhere to you, but overall, I think it will help me get to my goals a tiny bit faster.
  8. I have been dealing with an ant infestation earlier in the month. Loyal readers may recall that I originally started encountering this problem all the way back in fall of 2023. The management of the complex has been empathetic toward me and did give me the option of canceling my contract with just a 30 day notice. I have the paperwork sitting on my dining room table but have not yet signed it. The most recent update is the pest control company came drilled some holes in the walls sprayed in some foam along with treating the exterior by sealing some additional cracks that the ants were walking through to enter the building. I don’t wanna make a hasty decision that will cause me to suffer financially. Moving to a two bedroom apartment given the options I’ve seen would be somewhat expensive and cause me to take significantly longer to set aside money for a home if I choose to go down that path.
  9. I’m really starting to think more about how much money goes out versus how much I earn and I would like to keep more money in my pocket instead of having it go to other people. That is one of the fundamental reasons why I’m opposed to buying a Tesla vehicle. Why should I make Elon Musk richer? I’m currently shelling out $1400 a month in car payments, that should go away in December 2024. Then add $170/mo in savings by going to the cheaper gym. That’s the equivalent of a $1500/mo I can set aside for other things like saving for a home. After eight months worth of that $12,560 set aside or at the bare minimum working harder for me. Assuming a home purchase price of 280,000 that’ll be about 4.5% and I should be able to set aside another $7,500 on top of that. Another option would be to rent a home and let those dollars just keep working harder for me.
  10. Also why am I paying $62/mo for a cell phone in perpetuity? There is the Apple One Premiere cloud backup subscription $37.95, then T-Mobile $70/mo. Altogether that too is around $170/mo. 🤔
  11. Despite things not being 100% perfect in my life, I’m super grateful for everything that I do have. I read stories about high salary, individuals getting laid off from popular companies and I really do feel for them. The latest is with Intel, which is laying off roughly 10,000 workers. I see the videos, read the blog posts and I know how rough it is out there. One guy on YouTube was trying to find a corporate job for eight years, and lives with his parents at 48. Totally boggles my mind. A relative of mine who doesn’t really talk to me anymore was going through some stuff too. I see panhandlers on the road daily.
  12. Got my 0w20 oil change, rear differential fluid replaced, and tires rotated all under my certified preowned package. I knew the oil change was covered but not the other 2. Saved about $115 off of that.

Here is an update of my financial numbers. The market took a nosedive on Friday otherwise I would’ve been up quite a bit. Then again you have to look at these things long term. Flat month over month isn’t end end of the world. I do have about $2500/mo going into investments though so technically I’m down. Who knows in a week or two I could be back up again. Paying over 15% on my car monthly is extreme but will keep the repo man away so I stick at it. It feels like I’m moving at a snail’s pace but… YTD I’ve paid my car loan down by over $10,000 or 58%. Most people probably wouldn’t do that.

8/3/20247/1/2024Difference% Change
401k271,447273,612-2,165-.8%
Roth IRA42,54442,536+80%
Brokerage Accts4,1203,079+441+14.3%
Cash2,4993,222+537+16.7%
HSA3,6173,799-182-4.8%
Total324,888326,248-1,360-.4%
Credit0000
Auto Loan7,4978,853-1,356-15.3%
Net Total317,390317,395-50%

August 2024 Net Worth Update

Sharing a few pictures from the month of July. Enjoy life.

Forecasting The Future – May 2024 – $292k

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My Life and Month in pictures.

  1. On a whim we decided to see this Barbie Experience activity at a nearby mall here. It wasn’t crowded when we went and I really enjoyed the level of detail that went into each exhibit.
  2. A CosMc’s (branch of the McDonald’s franchise) recently opened here. I really was impressed at the exterior design and concept. However the execution left me wanting more. So many ultra processed ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, snacks loaded in sugar. My drink tasted bitter and I didn’t finish it all. Can’t say I plan to go back anytime soon.
  3. Visited my family in New York after about a year and a half. My flight credit was due to expire and the timing was about right so I figured why the heck not. I ended up working 4 out of the 5 days there 10-6. I saw one of my friends who got married in 2022. He and his wife are doing great. I don’t know how they have so many pets, I could only handle one maybe 2 small dogs. Not 5, 2 cats, and birds. My parents are getting older, in the back of my mind I need to start making effort to see them more often. Especially since they haven’t been here in about 6 years. This 1 bedroom apartment is tight for any type of company. While there helped do a little bit of decluttering, helped set up a new 2021 M3 MacBook Air, and wiped the 2018 so that my stepdad could use it. The sales guy at Microcenter was a bit on the pushy side and I basically told him no to the warranties, and some anti-virus software that really isn’t needed. Passing down the Mac hw was much more useful than the paltry $160 being offered for it. They still had the 17″ MacBook Pro I used in grad school (2006-2008) now with a swollen battery! The screen wouldn’t turn on, the keyboard was barely functional and the bottom case was a bit bent. I literally try to keep all my computers and cars close to mint and shook my head about it. There was another computer from 2007 I also tried to wipe as much as I could without the system install DVD. I enjoyed the trip but not the constant exhaustion or sleeping in my old XL Twin bed.
  4. Last summer I had a small ant investation in my laundry room light fixture. The pest control company did multiple treatments and the went away for a while. However for the last 2 months they’ve been back. Tonight they came out with a vengence, nearly 100 of them right outside of my door feeling displaced by activity I took days earlier to eliminate them. I bought any baits at home depot right before closing only to read the fine print they aren’t god for Carpenter Ants. It’s got me really thinking about moving though, I’m overdue for an upgrade. Was trying to hold out until my car payments were gone but not so sure anymore. I work from home and my desk is just a few feet away from these annyoing insects. I got a response from maintenance this morning. They are going to treat the mount on Monday. Fingers crossed I don’t have two nights in a row of this stressful experience but I’m not so hopeful.
  5. Prior to the NY trip I called Expedia to try and settle the matter. Was on hold over 2hrs 15 minutes and no one picked up the phone. I had the sense to use the chat with an agent who took an entire hour to resovle my issues. I was tempted to give up but that was $500+ of my hard earned money.
  6. Yesterday I took my car in for an alignment check and tire rotation. The young guy working there really liked my red seats. I asked the service advisor about my rusting lug nuts and he brushed me off just like the other dealership I went to. May just buy some black ones and home they don’t mess them up.
  7. Solar Eclipse – DFW was on a direct trajectory to see it and there won’t be another one like this for approximately 20 years. A dear friend gave me a pair of the glasses as to avoid permanent eye damage. Definitely one of the experiences where pics don’t do it justice.
  8. Not sure how fast I’m going to go on this but I reached out to Fidelity and reclassified my old employer stock purchase plan as a regular brokerage account. Also so glad I only put $20 in because the company went bankrupt not too long after I left. I wonder how my old coworkers who said to invest 100% in it with the belief it’s going to go up is feeling now. I’m adding $50 every week to it in addition to the $25/wk with my M1 acct. So a whopping $75/wk or $300/mo + the $2172/mo in my 401k and $742/mo into the Roth to play catchup for 2024. $3,214 feels like it’s close to the max I’m comfortable with given my income levels. Ideally I think I’ll need a total of $1-$1.5M invested, $2M to feel comfortable.
  9. Cleaning – I’ve had this steamer since moving into my apartment and for the most part it just collected dust. Earlier this week I grabbed it, started sweeping and using it again. How much dust accumulates on a floor and next to my washer / dryer was really an eye opener and kind of nasty to be honest. I will make doing this part of my weekly routine. I also cleaned out a pretty big chunk of my closet.
  10. Bf moves – He’s moving a lot closer to me for work / quality of life reasons. He really works hard between two jobs and I definitely am proud of him. His apartment might actually be nicer than me despite the age / income gap lol. I haven’t seen the specific unit in person but soon.
  11. Sports – Playing kickball and cornhole still. The latter has been a total bust, I haven’t been playing as well as before. We did win today’s kickball game so I’ll take it.
  12. Life and Death – Someone years ago I knew through the dating app scene but didn’t really have that dating connection with… recently passed away at 33 years old. He was funny, sassy, and I knew lots of people. Looking at a few of his pictures he lost a ton of weight and was looking a bit unhealthy to me. Not sure if it was gastric bypass related but what I’ve read on social media indicated it was unexpected. We last chatted in 2021 and I feel for his family and twin brother especially. RIP Justin.
  13. Health – It has been a struggle. The new whey protein isolate shake I bought absolutely destroys my stomach. People say the sugar substitute sucralose is part of the problem. I don’t know that for sure but not worth these crazy side effects. So back to the vegetarian option. I got my bloodwork done from my doctor and I’m going further into prediabetic mode so it’s been time to make changes. I tried to get Wegovy / Ozempic but insurance won’t cover it until I hit the $2,450 annual deductible. I’m only about $900 into it and it resets in August so that’s a no.
  14. iPad Pro – Apparently mine is about 90% battery. Lately with the latest release version of iPad OS the system has been rapidly depleting that just playing Youtube. Apple is offering $400 to trade it in as of today and a 3rd party offered me slightly less. Not sure if I need the latest and greatest for what I essentially use for watching YouTube and doing some light web browsing. Most of that AI stuff can apply to my Mac and iPhone. I say that now at least without having seen the final product.

Specific to my personal finance I know I’m doing better than most people. I was watching this video ‘Something Terring is Happening to Boomers’ and the guy said 50% have no savings and avg savings is $100,000. I’m near 3x that with about 20 years to go until I’m anywhere near that age cohort. For te presenter in that video he talked about income being greater than assets. My bare minimum expenses to live is about $3k/month or $36k. To have that in passive high yield savings acct income I’d need to have $720k with a 5% return rate. Still a long way from that The car debt is still a bit of a thorn in the side but I’m paying $1400/mo to knock it down. I started off financing $21,500 so 46% of the way there at 5.99% in 6 months.

5/4/20243/31/2024Difference% Change
401K254,172257,260(3,088)-1.2%
Roth IRA39,98639,0209662.5%
Brokerage Accts2,4152,367482.0%
Cash3,8463,39245513.4%
HSA3,0562,69336413.5%
Total303,476304,731(1,255)-.4%
Credit Cards065(65)-100%
Auto Loan11,55513,587(2,032)-15%
Net Total291,921291,079842+.3%
May 2024 – $292k Net Worth

So a game I started playing – Star Trek Online has you as the captain of a ship and you get into battle just like the tv shows / movies. April felt like I kept getting hit with phasers and photon torpedoes in the stock market. I just tell myself it’s paper money and being flat net worth wise month over month isn’t that bad. I see the stories of people at Tesla and other companies who lost their jobs and am like okay you’ve got it better than most. Same with homeless people with signs asking for money or sleeping under a bridge. A year ago my net worth was $186k so +57% in a year. I’m going to Vegas in June and need to buy tickets soon and car insurance hits next month. So even though I feel like I have a little bit of extra cash right now, it goes fast.

Anyway I’ve got to squeeze out a gym workout before we see this Challenger movie and do a cuatro de mayo dinner beforehand. Peace =/\=. If you’re still reading this, how are you doing?

2023 Year in Review – January 2024 $250k

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Looking back, January 3, 2023 my net worth was $173k, was aiming to hit $200k. Here we are now at the end of 2023 and I’m reflecting on the year.
Accomplishments , Big Purchases and Life Changes:
-Got promoted in August and now earning the most of my entire life. Stress levels go up and down but overall I’m satisfied with where I’m at for now, 3 years from now might be different story. The top 10% in the state have an income of $239,765 according to an article on Yahoo Finance. Maybe one day I’ll get there, but even if I don’t I can have an amazing life without it.
-Weight – Literally the same weight I was a year ago. The fact that I didn’t gain any I suppose is an accomplishment, but I really was hoping to lose a significant amount.
-Switched phone plans – T-Mobile has been a really good experience overall, much improved over the distaster that was AT&T. Basically hey we’re going to charge you for 5G even though there isn’t a tower where you live and not tell you at all about it.
-TV – Bought a 65″ TV and had a friend help me mount it to the wall. Mini-LED, bright colors, deep blacks and really makes the room look a lot cleaner. Crazy good deal on it at $649.99. The TV I bought in 2017 is now what I keep in the bedroom and gets used on rare occassions.
-Gym – Switched from Anytime Fitness to Equinox. I was going to CVS and the first Anytime Fitness location I went to which was rundown, super tiny and never had any of the equipment updated wasn’t there anymore. I just saw a For Lease sign in the window. So far it’s been a great experience, it’s clean, new, never super congested and has some nice amenities. Still haven’t registered for any classes yet but I want to give it a go for something lighter intensity.
-Car – Bought a CPO one to replace the lemon-adjacent 2023 Acura Integra. The TLX wowed me between the extra power, SH-AWD handing, comfortable seats, 17 speaker ELS audio system. It did involve me financing an additional $16,700 and putting $2k down. I used money from a cancelled warranty to go right to the principal. The total amount I’ve financed has dropped from $21,500 down to $17,746 or -$3,754
-Dog – I told her once that I’ll keep fighting as long as she wanted to. I knew that day was coming and tried everything possible within reason to prolong her life as long as possible. Losing her on Oct 31 was one of the biggest life changing events of mine since moving into this apartment in 2014. I still know I made the right choice after having her on 3 medications, battling 3-4 health issues at once. I didn’t go into a deep depression or anything but went through several waves of grief. The apartment still feels eerily quiet without her. Between the noise she would make eating or drinking from her bowl, the baby growling at me when she wanted a treat, the snoring, the very specific way she would sniff out treats like a pig. Still not sure if I’m going to get another dog anytime soon.
-401k – For all practical purposes I maxed out my contributions for 2023. Came in about $200 short due to a calculation error on my part. I didn’t listen to all the people saying the economy was going to implode. I mean it still could in the future but dollar cost averaging has worked in my favor
-Roth IRA – Contributed to it but still working on closing the contribution gap. Have $2,587 to go by April 15. $3,913 of contributions so far for the year is nothing to scoff at though
-Concerts – Saw Janet Jackson live in June which was significant since I’ve been listening to her music for over 30 years. Buying tickets on presale is a game changer given these incredibly high prices.
-Movies – Since getting my AMC Stub’s membership I’ve seen 20x more movies in the theater than I used to. In order from most to least recent – The Color Purple, Saltburn, Wonka, Wish, Hunger Games; The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Next Goal Wins, Priscilla, The Marvels, The Exorcist: Believer, Strange Way of Life, The Creator, Dumb Money, A Haunting in Venice, Bottoms, The Equalizer 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Strays, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, Barbie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Joy Ride, Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny, Elemental, The Flash, The Blackening, The Little Mermaid, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Air, Chevalier, Renfield, The Super Mario Bros Movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Creed III, Cocaine Bear

Other Items / Reflections:
-I didn’t do any traveling this year. I was supposed to go to Chicago in August for my 40th and got sick with a double ear infection.
-Last week I got Covid-19, for the 3rd time. I thought about doing a last minute trip, but my mom would still be working so that kind of defeats the point. A New York Spring 2024 trip is in the cards. Also want to plan some type of trip with my boyfriend since he loves travelling and is good company
-I started a new Instagram account to track my fitness. That will essentially be my accountability partner along with the YouTube content. Short updates only, I can ramble on and get off topic with the best of them so nothing more than 5 minutes a video is ideal.
-Dining Set – Guy came on time and was kind enough to drag each of the three boxes to my living room instead of just leaving it “on the street” or outside door. Tipped him $10 as a thank you. Assembled 4 chairs yesterday after a bunch of mini mental breakdowns. Got dizzy between outgassing of the equipment and only having cold brew coffee to drink while intermittent fasting. A neighbor saw me struggling with carrying the old dining room table to the curb and offered to help. Not even 2 hours later the table and all of the 5 chairs were gone. I view that as a donation to charity.
-Credit Cards – Effectively down back to 0 again. The M3 Max MacBook Pro paid off, car insurance for 6 months, 1 years of renters insurance, all the clothes I bought for Black Friday / Cyber Monday
-Met an amazing guy I first matched with on July 10th through Tinder and met in person with on Sept 24th. Lucked out since he easily could’ve unmatched me or met someone else after I went silent since I thought someone else wanted to be exclusive and dumped me 2 weeks after my birthday. No one is perfect but I feel like we have a lot in common and he actually shows an interest in dating me.
-Turning 40 was a huge milestone for me. I’ve taken a long hard look at where I’ve been and where I plan to go on this journey called life. I see people who are successful financially but they look old and some of them are in really poor physical shape. Others don’t let go of the party scene and they’re still getting crazy and drunk every weekend. My body no longer lets me do that so I’m mostly a non or semi-social drinker.
-Time is a precious resource – Whether it be regarding chasing after people who show no effort, or simply how I use the hours in a given day. I think back to the year 2000 sometimes and about all that was happening in that era and how far things have progressed since. The reality is the difference between 1976 and 2000 is the same as 2000 and 2024. People get old, have kids, move, die, move up, lose everything, become politically extreme or one-sided about everything. Or they just want to find peace and experiment with something different.
-Cars are expensive. Even a moderately higher end car like my 2023 Acura TLX for $46k + tax. I put $2k down and still increased my loan balance to $21,500. The BMW I wanted was impossible to find and too expensive, maybe in a few years. Lifestyle creep is a real. Be reasonable but get something you like is how I like to approach larger scale purchases. The author Ramit Sethi whom I’ve looked up to for some time drives a 20 year old Honda Accord but will spend thousands on a jacket he will keep for years and years. We all prioritize spending in different areas.
-Doing the math saves you a lot of trouble down the road. It helps negotiating salaries, large scale purchases like a vehicle or a home, or how to plan to hit a debt payoff goal by a certain date. Even on my salary with interest rates the way they are I can’t afford the $325k home I was looking at. With a minimum amount down still looking at over $3100/mo in expenses. To get to the well-respected 20% down I’d have to start saving now for 3-4 years down the line. I did a little quick math. It would take $81k to be able to do a 20% down payment and cover the buyer’s closing costs. Even if I don’t buy a house I should start setting aside some fuck you money just in case things go south.
So $81,000 in…
4 years is $1,687 / month or $844 biweekly
3 years is $2,250 / month or $1,125 biweekly
2 years is $3,375 / month or $1688 biweekly
1 year is $6,750 / month or $3,375 biweekly

12/31/2312/2/23Difference% Change1/2/23
401K$227,680$215,535$12,1455.6%$155,964
Roth IRA$33,551$31,319$2,2327.1%$23,403
M1 Account$1,863$1,712$1518.8%$446
Cash$2,739$2,522$2178.6%$7,002
HSA$2,637$2,494$1435.7%$3,100
Total$268,470$253,582$14,8885.9%$189,915
Credit Cards$336$1,407-$1,071-76.1%$0
Auto Loans$17,746$18,697-$952-5.1%$16,909
Net$250,389$233,478$16,911+7.2%$173,006
January 2024 Net Worth Update

My overall net worth is up about 45% YoY or $77k. Month-over-Month it’s +7% or $17k. I feel really good about both of these. Life isn’t all about money and I think often about my health, and future. Focus on what you can control, everything else is up to chance in a lot of ways. $250k net worth, the little piece of paper in my home office had $150k written down for 2023. Started this blog in April 2012 at -$42k or -$63k in current dollars.

Some pictures from December 2023. North Park Mall, new dining room set from Nebraska Furniture Mart, standing at Granite Park in Plano outside of Surburban Yacht Club, and on the way back from the Equinox after doing a crazy hour long set on the elliptical.

Wish you all a Happy, Fun-Filled, and Healthy 2024. My #1 piece of advice to both you and myself is to spend more time living life, focused on you and your loved ones, life goals, and less on social media worrying about what other people are doing.

Recessions, Bad Health and April 2023 Update – $195k

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3/31/20232/28/2023Difference% Change
401K$173,931$167,673$3,611+3.7%
Roth IRA$27,186$25,508$1,678+6.6%
M1 Acct$770$663$107+16.1%
Cash$3,135$3,635($500)-13.8%
HSA$3,030$2,988$42+1.4%
Total$208,053$200,468$4,938+3.8%
Credit Cards$0$163$(163)-100%
Auto Loan$12,938$14,382$(1,444)-10.0%
Net Total$195,115$185,923$6,545+4.9%
April 2023 Net Worth Update

March was a rough month, effectively sick for over 2 weeks and still have a lingering cough. Overall I’m doing much better now but missed out on some activities with friends and felt like a total hermit. The brother of someone I went on a few dates with on and off over the years passed after getting tonsil surgery in his sleep. Dude was literally the same age as me too. Also a guy I dated before the pandemic and am friends with now is dealing with complications from a relatively procedure he had in early 2022 and having thyroid problems. He’s currently on medical leave, unable to work, and likely will have to undergo two, possibly 3 surgeries. An acquaintence of mine lost his job of 8 years working for an insulation company, he bought a house a few years ago he saved up a long time for. Hopefully he lands back on his feet soon.

My neighbors moved out, didn’t have anything bad to say about them other than the smoke that I had to complain about a few times since it vented into my unit. There are actually 5 out of 8 units in this building that will be available here between now and July. Can’t say I fully blame them, the price they want for a 1br ranges between $1,316 and $1,447. I pay $1,134 and presumably that amount is going to increase. For the last few months I pay my rent 3-4 weeks early so I don’t have to worry about it. When I get paid next week I’ll make the payment for May.

I’m happy that I was able to make a dent in my auto loan balance, it’s still a stretch to pay $1,444 in car payments in a month. $2,163.56 a month (including matching) is going in my 401k, $500+ a month in the Roth IRA and $100/mo in the M1 account. Up $6,545 in a month or 4.9% in a year. Net worth is essentially flat to a year ago which is good considering I bought a new car in October and financed $26k.

The overall state of the economy is still concerning to me, I see lots of doom and gloom content one day on YouTube and the next day the stock market is having it’s best year ever… Clickbaiting at its finest. Even Michael Burry of The Big Short fame said he was wrong. By following a lot of these folks you can miss out on major gains. Between capital gains, missing the best days of the market in any given year, and not dollar cost averaging due to fear. I would however keep adding to that emergency fund and maintain some diversity in assets (something I still need to work on). The layoffs at many big companies is very much a real thing however, seems like the numbers keep going up.

Lastly a bit of a rant… I see more and more people who don’t take personal accountability for their actions. I don’t know exactly what the root cause is but after how many years do you still blame your parents, society, a person of a different race, gender, orientation, insert the blank. People would rather point the finger than take action and focus their energy on improving their situation. I’ve been guilty of it too and try to remind myself in new situations that I might be my biggest obstacle.

Case in point was some bloodwork I had in March. The numbers aren’t good but knowing is a big part of the battle. Cutting back on sodium, alcohol, drinking more water, and eating more vegetables is how I will claw my way back. Also playing kickball again starting this afternoon and I’m super excited. Much love. Don’t give up the good fight whatever that may be for you.

Spending Spree – February 2023 – $184k

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January 2023 has some to an end. I’ve been full on investing again, aiming to max out my 401k and Roth IRA contributions for the new tax year. What have I been up to?

Currently getting over both a double ear infection and a sinus infection. Took a half day at work last week but aside from that I’ve been trekking along as much as possible. Just started taking antibiotics yesterday after a week of suffering with various symptoms. My aim was to schedule everything before the big storms started to hit. Starting to feel a little bit better day by day…

I had my heart set on a job at a local company. I’m not particularly happy with how the process turned out. I thought the interview went well. It might’ve been a reach but the response was a bit cold. I told a friend about the experience and he knows the history… He agreed it wasn’t very personal / professional how it was handled. Having to e-mail a week after the first interview to schedule a follow-up one. Then not hearing anything for days and days. I even had a list of follow-up questions. I stayed up till 2:30AM one night trying to do extra research on the company and work on an online course for certification / continued learning purposes. Weeks of wondering what the outcome would be and high stress levels.

Deep in my soul I genuinely believe what made me sick was the stress of the experience and massive sleep deprivation. So I’m giving myself a curfew to crawl into bed and turn all the electronics off. That and dating… Coming up on 3 years single. I haven’t travelled with a partner since 2014. One guy I thought had potential to go out on a date… Posted a pic of a him and his bf one week, then not long later showed pictures of the two wearing their wedding rings while on vacation. We were just chatting in December and he gave the impression of being very much single. So I unfollowed and am trying to burn it from my memory. 3rd time something like this has happened to me. I am working through my trust issues.

Purchase 1 – AirPods Max – $541.24 inc. tax – This replaces a pair of noise cancelling headphones I’ve owned since 2018 that were okay but starting to show their age. No Bluetooth 5.x, no Dolby Atmos / Spatial Audio, lackluser noise cancellation, a bit prone to interference. So I sold them on eBay for $47.58 after fees. Net $493.66. Paid in full.

Purchase 2 – MacBook Pro 16″ M2 Max – $3,462.92 inc. tax – 32GB memory / 1TB storage / 38 core GPU – My Late 2021 MacBook Pro 16″ functionally was working fine. However I made the mistake of not getting enough RAM on the system. Literally everyday I used the computer it had to use storage as memory (swap) and things would slow down. I could not run Windows 11 or Linux on this system in a Virtual Machine due to the limitations. Apple offered $1025 trade-in, itsworthmore offered $1400 or 36% more. I also paid $20 at FedEx for a laptop box. I hopefully will get payment in the next 4 business days. Net $2,082.92. I currently owe the amount of the trade-in still on my Apple Card, then it’s paid in full. It sounds like a lot and it is but I use this everyday.

Purchase 3 – Replacement PowerBeats Pro earbud – $70 – I bought these to workout in December 2019. However the right earbud started to fail. Rather than completely toss them out I just bought a replacement.

Still owed – $647.10. I bought my car in October and cancelled my old warranty the day after I bought it. I e-mailed the dealer about it, then Nissan. Nissan told me to contant the company that issued the warranty. The warranty company mailed out the check and told me to wait nearly a month later before they could reissue the check. Then the day of they said the check came back to them. The left the last # off of my apartment #. Kind of infuriating but I tried to stay nice and professional during the whole process.

It’s a new month and I’m thankful to still have a job when several people I know have encountered layoffs. My rent is half what it would be near my hometown on Long Island. My hair is also starting to slowly grow back with my treatment plan. I did kickboxing last night with Apple Fitness and it crushed me in a good way.

1/31/20231/2/2023Difference% Change
401k$169,051$155,964$13,087+8.4%
Roth IRA$25,539$23,403$2,136+9.1%
M1 Acct$580$446$134+30%
Cash$3,377$7,002-$3,625-51.8%
HSA$3,104$3,1004+.1%
Total$201,650$189,915+$11,736+6.2%
Credit Cards$1,799$0$1,799
Auto Loan$15,973$16,909-$936-5.5%
Net Total$183,878$173,006$10,873+6.3%
February 2023 Snapshot

Between my 401k contribution, matching, and Roth IRA over $2,705/mo is going to retirement. $100/mo in my non-retirement account. That and double or triple car payments. About $2k of my HSA is invested but I could contribute more. Just not sure if I need to outside of the tax benefit. I also paid a ton in taxes last year, kind of makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t know how people who live in California or NYC deal… What’s also worth mentioning it that my rent is not only paid up for the month of February but also March as well. I also am not including the $2,047 I expect to receive back in the coming weeks in my total.

I also received a nice fat $2,218.86 in dividend payments on my 401k in December that gets reinvested. I was watching a video from Jarrad Morrow – This Is How Wealthy You Are Based On Your Age . Using the example as a 39 year old I’m ahead of the mean for Gen X which includes people upwards of 19 years older than me. Since I don’t have a home and there is no home equity I’m doing twice as well as the boomer generation. That’s fucking insane. I started with retirement contributions in June 2013 and sure as hell didn’t max it out before 2020. The $200k net worth is still elusive to me. Maybe if I would stop buying shit that would be different but it provides me with enjoyment.

Last but not least a big shoutout to Caleb Hammer on YouTube. Dude is in his 20s and his channel has gone gangbusters at 133k subs. Peace out, I need my beauty sleep.

A Tale of the $20 Printer and Thoughts On Clown Cars

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December 2013 I purchased a Canon Pixma MX922 printer from Amazon.com for $70. It served me well for the basic scanning and printing functions I threw at it. Never any issues with Drivers or the hardware not working properly. Wireless printing, easy configurability. I’ve owned several Canon products over the years with very few problemns. Last week was a different story…

My Canon All-In-One would not power on suddenly after printing something just minutes earlier. I missed a gym session due to all the time / angst involved in getting the device to work. A few of the items I tried.

1. Tried unplugging and plugging it into multiple outlets. No dice. Power cables almost never go bad so I crossed that off the list pretty quickly.

2. Attempted to do the “hard reset” which involved holding down the on button and pushing the stop button multiple times.

3. Power supply – I did a little research on the cost for one, it was $30 and pretty much a gamble. In an ideal scenario that’s all it is, a task involving unscrewing the defective one and replacing with the working module. However many folks have done this step and the device still wouldn’t work. Then I’d have to deal with the hassle of returning a PSU  back to a vendor, potentially incurring a restocking fee and paying shipping on my own.

4. Looked in Amazon at prices for a newer printer. Canon still makes the MX922 new, available for more than I payed as part of the Black Friday special. However it was $70-90, money I was not interested in spending. The MX 492 runs between $50 and $100 with average reviews. Average is fine, it’s not like I will be using this a bunch.

After weighing my options I decided to check out Facebook Marketplace. There was a lady selling the printer in Grapevine (about a 45 minute drive from where I am) for only $20. She said it was two months old and lightly used. Perfect! I make arrangements, grab money from the ATM on my lunchbreak, and head over there. Dealt with horrible traffic jams but I made it. She was nice, we exchanged money and I went on my way.

The printer works like a charm and you’d never know it was $20. I know No More Harvard Debt and Aaron Clarey both like to shop at Goodwill. I wonder if their experience is pretty similar. Maybe I wouldn’t find top name designer stuff, but something that looks nice for a fraction of what it’d cost new in a store and would look the same after the first wash? Not bad?

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My $20 used wireless printer. How Mustachian…

 

My next purchase may be a Digital SLR again. Back in the 2008-2011, I owned a Canon Digital Rebel XT with the kit lens. It literally took the best quality pictures I’ve ever seen in my life. Even 6 years later the best iPhone simply can’t compare. My father was also into photography growing up. He had some expensive high-end 35mm cameras on borrowed money, but it was fun to just go places and take some shots.

One topic I’ve been thinking a ton about is the relationship between money & happiness. There is a funny video about contentment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpVqXrvyBYM) and it’s totally true. Many of the things we buy don’t create true happiness. You just end up getting a spike of satisfaction getting something you have been craving. Sure there mey be exceptions to the rule, for folks who know the nuisances of the items they buy and have a genuine need for associated features.

The auto industry is notorious for these practices. They market these $40k+ cars with videos showing no other traffic, on freshly paved mountain roads, as the perfect accessory to your expensive $750k house, or high paying job…  You on the other hand have a reliable car that gets you from point A to point B, with little or no fanfare. Then you see a shiny new RWD Chevy Camaro or Ford Mustang on the TV, or for me an Infiniti Q50 Red Sport or Audi S5. These cars have either power, massive luxuty, a fabulous 10+ speaker studio on wheels, 400+ HP. Your materialistic friends will be in amazement when they see you go down the road in that shiny new machine and view you as highly successful.

The reality of the situation however is a bit different. With that high powered or luxury new car, come a few challenges.

1. Spending a lot mof on gas. Most of these cars aren’t great on gas. The Infiniti gets 20city/26hwy, the 2017 Camaro SS 17/27, Audi S5 18/28. Numbers have gotten a lot better, but if you drive 15000 miles a way you’re looking at $1800+ in gas. Close to $10k in 5 years.

2. More expensive maintenance. I love electronics but things tend to break more frequently than the tried and true mechanical systems that have been perfected over several decades. Plus all these sensors and computers are more likely to go bad.

3. Depreciation. The more you pay for a car the quicker it will depreciate. If a car is worth 50% of its value in 3 years your $50k car becomes worth $25k. The $30k car is worth 15k. A used car cheaper for $15k will lose a lot less value. Even if it’s $7500, that’s still a bunch of money in savings that can be used for debt, or investing.

4. Stress – I’m guilty of this too, you constantly are looking around for where to park to avoid door dings and spend extra trying to keep the car in tip top shape. Then if the car payment, living expenses and other payments are a high proportion to income, a situation emerges where one single repair becames a huge event. Can’t pay for it cash and have to put in on credit cards.

5. Less investment income. Most younger folks who buy these are not maxing out their retirement savings or doing and type of passive investing and some live paycheck to paycheck. They’re missing out on the power of compounding.

6.Sitting in traffic. MMM has written a few times about that how people sit around in these expensive sofas on wheels are just polluting the environment and the bank owns the car not them. What good is 400+ hp if Mon-Friday you are sitting in stop and go traffic most of the time. The luxury part I can kind of understand, if you are spending an hour or more each day.

At the end of the day though if you love a sporty or expensive car and can truly afford it, who cares… I’m paying mine off by 2019, possibly sooner.  I really have learned a lot from my millenial peers who are kicking butt and taking names. Also a lot from the ones who can’t stop buying fancy items that they don’t really need. Higher salaries, high expenses and extreme credit cards don’t equal winning. Savings rates dictate more if you’re going to win in the long term.

Last but not least, I am constantly reminded of the need to go out and have fun. Recent events of late really affirmed that. Feeling alone is a horrible feeling, luckily I get to see my friends later today. I have to constantly work at making new friends and cutting ties with the ones who are always down or make less than a half-hearted attempt to socialize.

One final thought is you can’t take the money with you after this life is over. Push hard for financial independence / early retirement but also don’t have major regrets along the way. The paradox of life is you don’t really know what you regret until life has already gone by. For that I’d say learn from old people. There is wisdom that comes with age.

Mid June Update – Back From Mexico!

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Mid-June 2017 update

Yesterday I returned from Puerto Vallarta where I got the joy to experience the unity of two friends in marriage (yes one of my ex and I initially wasn’t going to attend). The trip was a balance between having as much fun as possible I’ll also being practical. I had fun but didn’t go overboard.

Specific to credit card debt my balance as of today is $8,055. I will have an additional charge of approximately $90 which includes food and alcohol for 3 nights at the resort. I paid some friends $100 in cash to watch my dog, a cheaper rate than leaving her with a dog watcher (~$150). There were some other meals involved at the airport / miscellaneous purchases that were ~$100. I saved $200 by doing DFW -> AUS -> DFW on Wednesday then DVR ->PVR.

I started reading a book called Bachelor Pad Economics by Aaron Clarey (assholeconsulting.com fame). It’s one of those books that really makes you take a step back and assess whether the decisions being me today are having a positive impact on your future. A common theme is to focus on having fewer things and more experiences of people. The concept of not being the richest man in the graveyard is a common theme.

Between my company and insurance I’m being charged a $25 dollars fee per paycheck again because I have not completed proper coaching pertaining to being overweight. Have one session remaining and would gladly have began earlier, but I’m at the mercy of the coach’s schedule and my own with work. Not a huge sum of cash but the principle itself is what bothers me….

A little over halfway through 2017 a time I reflect on the things that worked, didn’t work and what I’m doing to help me get closer to my goals. What prolific thoughts do I have????

  1. Death by 1000 cuts – little shit adds up fast. Like that $10 membership, or $15 glass of alcohol. Or fancy entree that costs twice as much as everything else on the menu. I write a god damn blog on this and sometimes I don’t look at my expenses as closely as I should.
  2. You can’t be a penny pincher with everything. There is a time and place. You can’t take things with you when you’re dead. So live a little. If you’re like me get the v6 instead of the slow 4 cylinder. Or a moderately fast / light road bike over the heavy cheap one you will regret riding every time. Or for special events like weddings, family you haven’t seen in a year, it’s okay to splurge a little bit.
  3. Insurance – Get it. Self employed are at a disadvantage because it costs way more. Without it you’re looking at medical bills for years, or bankruptcy instead of a 6 month inconvenience.
  4. Work within reason. I got my Bing certification along with Google AdWords / Analytics. I work hard while at work but I really try not carry it with me. I may hit up a library or Starbucks after work, but it’s always things that will help drive me further long term. Closer to 6 figures/year. Today without any debt I’d be doing amazing, with I’m still doing really well compared to many other millennials.
  5. I love vacations. Hope to do more while I’m young enjoy to enjoy them and have no physical mobility issues.  I also have 3 more weeks left of vacation for the year…. Why the heck not?? 😛
  6. Lighten the fuck up – Joan Rivers was right. Life is short, you should enjoy it. Some folks just want to be a victim, complain all the time and do nothing to change the situation. I used to be like them. Life isn’t perfect but focusing on the solution works tons better.

Here are some pics from my trip. I could write a lot more about the trip, but I know my audience… Be well. Live with passion. ❤

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Wrong Path?

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This post I decided to dedicate to the topic of people in my life making poor financial decisions.

Situation 1

One of my friends recently moved from out of state to the DFW area. She has been looking for work for the past few months. Thanks to her connections, she will likely be getting a well paying job within the next few months. The couple took out a 401(k) loan that they plan to pay back over the next few months. Without the 401(k) money as a resource they would be on seriously shaky financial ground. Flash forward to today, they just moved into a luxury apartment for the rent is $1300 dollars per month (my apt is a comparable size, in a slightly less desirable location but still 5 minutes away and $773). Eventually they plan on purchasing a house, but today she doesn’t have a job and for all intents and purposes he doesn’t have a job.

A few years ago they owned a home in another state that went through a short sale because of the downturn in the real estate market. For as long as I’ve known them the husband has not had a full-time job to help support his wife, instead he chose to pursue his passion for theology which doesn’t really pay well and he earns nothing from. I think most people would have a come to Jesus moment where they would work a job that is not ideal but helps their family hit their financial goals. This has not been the case.

The wife is also providing financial assistance to her parents and brother. My guess is this has amounted to over $100k over the past decade. It’s very noble that she’s cares so much about her family, but I don’t think she is concerned enough about herself.

It’s not my place to cast judgment on my friends, but I wish I was able to impart wisdom on them. They haven’t realized it now but I think they’re setting themselves up for financial failure in the long run. looking at the power of compounding, the importance of having a sizable nest egg and not living beyond your means, They’re failing on multiple counts. On the bright side I think she will be back on target in the next 2-3 years. I have tried to help the husband with finding a job but haven’t been so successful at that. He doesn’t seem very motivated and I can’t force someone to be driven. Sure I believe in the power of faith but also that god allows us to help ourselves.

Situation 2

One of my other friends recently confided in me she has over $120,000 dollars in student loan debt. At what interest rates you might ask? Between 5-9%. Currently she is on the income-based repayment plan, commonly referred to as IBR. She quit her stressful corporate job and instead works as a babysitter. Although she’s well paid for what she does, she’s making minimum payments on her loans while interest accrues. Combined she and her husband grossed over $100k last year. Gross vs net though, two very different things.

Let’s look at a compounding. Starting out with a $120k balance and paying $300/mo. I don’t know exactly how much she pays but it’s probably less than that. I used this calculator so no idea how accurate the numbers really are.
Year 1 : $127,505
Year 2 : $135,713
Year 3 : $144,692
Year 4 : $154,512
Year 5 : $165,254
Year 6 : $177,004
Year 7 : $189,856
Year 8 : $203,914
Year 9 : $219,290
Year 10 : $236,109

Luckily in her case she is set to inherit 2 houses in the US and another in another country. Down to road she could sell those and be student free. Not everyone has this luxury and what does that leave her with? An underfunded retirement plan, no real estate and probably some hefty tax bills. She’s given up hope and is just paying what she can for now.

My father died with serious debt. Over $50k as I recall, mostly from medical expenses. I wasn’t blessed with a silver spoon in my mouth. I’m not perfect. I love my friends and family and wish the best for them. Seeing my father poor from the age of 2 up until I was 20 left a lasting impression on me. He didn’t have any much control over his situation, due to his renal failure. As long as I am able to I’m gonna fight damn hard to learn from all of this. To do otherwise would just be plain ignorant Life is more than money, but a few poor decisions can haunt us for a lifetime.