Tag Archives: personal finance

Santa Fe, New Computer – April 2026 – $474k

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A few weeks ago my bf and I took a road trip to Hobbs, NM, then Roswell, and Santa Fe. We left a day earlier than planned to make a straight run from Santa Fe to Dallas. It was one of the longest drives I’ve been on since 2004. It was nice seeing the open road and getting out of Dallas. My paid-in-full Acura TLX handled the trip like a champ. My biggest complaint was that it just sucked up a fair amount of gas at a time gas prices have been near record highs. We did that trip on a budget for sure. The flights alone round-trip would’ve been about $700/person, not to mention a car rental would be needed. Hotel we got the nice employee discount on, I think it averaged out to $50/night. We also had a spa day at 10,000 waves. A hidden gem in the mountains.

I won’t sugar coat it, I spent close to $4k on a new MacBook Pro M5 Max at 0% APR. The model I had was equipped with 36GB of memory, which ended up being a bit of a bottleneck for me and my usage habits. Plus the SSD was filling up, I’ve been using 1TB models the last 10 years but now with my games, increased media generation, etc. that was bumped up to 2TB. Also Wi-Fi 7 is noticably faster, I have 4 more CPU cores, 8 more graphics cores. In other words this thing doesn’t skip a beat performance-wise. Luckily I’m getting ~$2k for it later today which will put a big dent in my $4,417 credit card balance. It was supposed to be $90 more but apparently the LCD had a pinkish tint to it. I could’ve protested it but wasn’t trying to give them any reasons to cut the value down more.

The powerful yet expensive Space Black M5 Max MacBook Pro

I was on some medication that gave me more side effects than benefits of the medication. Decided to make a series of lifestyle changes to see if I could get a similar results and so far I’m 70% of the way there. Each day I try to do cardio, take some natural supplements, and eat a little bit healthier. It isn’t going to change entirely overnight but after 4 different medications and the risk of long term health problems I decided it just wasn’t worth it.

3/31/20263/1/2026Difference% Change3/28/2025YoY Diff% Change
401K$389,495$406,855-$17,360-4.3%$303,119$86,37728.5%
Roth IRA$56,714$59,206-$2,491-4.2%$49,814$6,90013.9%
Brokerage Accts$5,733$4,852$88118.2%$2,494$3,239129.9%
Cash$13,443$11,161$2,28220.4%$17,209$(3,766)-21.9%
HSA$6,754$6,380$3745.9%$3,415$3,33997.8%
Total$472,140$488,454-$16,314-3.3%$376,050$96,08925.6%
Credit Cards$4,417$0$4,417#DIV/0!$93$4,3244633.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$0$-  #DIV/0!
Subtotal$467,723$488,454-$20,731-4.2%$375,957$91,76624.4%
Mortgage$336,130$337,077-$948-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$342,600$342,300$3000.1%
Equity Estimate$6,470$5,223$1,24823.9%
Net Total$474,193$493,677-$19,484-3.9%

It is no shock that the stock market is down….and my net worth took a pretty big hit. I get paid 3 times in April so things (hopefully) look significantly different in a month. My mortgage is paid up until June 1st. I will continue to dollar cost average and put money in my 2 brokerage accounts, 401k, Roth IRA, HSA, make 2 extra principal payments on the mortgage and save what’s leftover. I try to limit my consumption of doom and gloom content. I can’t stress about what is happening 7200 miles away from me, try to control what I can, and keep my expenses in check.

Despite all of this, I’m still up $92k in the past year even though there was a 4.2% drop from my last update. I’m confident there will be an improvement later this year. It feels like a number in a spreadsheet, not real tangible assets. I hit $500k for a day or 2 then a rapid drop. This is a time when riches are formed. 2020 March during the peak of covid had 12-13% losses. Feb 2020 I was at $73k NW, March was $50k, April was $65k, May was $76k.. So 3 months to be pretty much back to normal. Let’s see if history repeats itself.

On that note I’m off to bed, need my beauty sleep. Surprised you made it this far. Personal finance isn’t always entertaining, it’s a series of calculated decisions, hard work, and some luck over time.

Homeowner Adventures – March 2026 – $494k

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February 2026 was a month with a lot of unexpected household expenses. $1053 for a plumbing fix, $1738 for HVAC motor and capacitor replacement. That’s $2,791 in total and completely blew my budget. I’m satisfied with the quality of work done and the outcome is better than letting things just fester and get worse. That leaking pipe could have become a huge flood leading to much more expensive repair.

I got my tax refund back in record time it was aroud $913 thanks to mortgage interest. I didn’t get to enjoy a single dime of it. My net worth briefly surpassed the $500k mark but the expenses and some slight market declines made that all short lived. I think I can hit it by April though. Still up $95k in a year and almost $3k in a month

I sold my crypto and moved some money in savings to cover these home expenses. The crypto was a loss of around $191 and I’ll consider it a tax writeoff for the most part. My New HSA will allow me to invest once the balance hits $1k. I’m excited about that. The old one is in the process of being transferred to Fidelity but there may be a bit of a wait on that.

3/1/20261/31/2026Difference% Change3/2/2025YoY Diff% Change
401K$406,855$404,137$2,7180.7%$ 320,732$ 86,12326.9%
Roth IRA$59,206$58,801$4040.7%$ 52,922$ 6,28411.9%
Brokerage Accts$4,852$4,614$2385.2%$ 2,321$ 2,532109.1%
Cash$11,161$11,723-$562-4.8%$ 14,303$ (3,142)-22.0%
HSA$6,380$6,380-$10.0%$ 3,537$ 2,84380.4%
Total$488,454$485,656$2,7980.6%$ 393,814$ 94,64024.0%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$488,454$485,656$2,7980.6%$ 393,814$ 94,64024.0%
Mortgage$337,077$338,020-$942-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$342,300$343,200-$900-0.3%
Equity Estimate$5,223$5,180$420.8%
Net Total$493,677$490,836$2,8400.6%

I’ve been back in the cycling mode since the weather here has been gorgeous.
Bf sold a nightstand for $35 on marketplace and now the room it was in looks a lot more open.

I had to complain to the city again about the water meter leaking. Full of water and one of the plumbers was on her hands and knees with a whipped cream cup scooping out multiple gallons.

I went roller skating for the first time in months. This picture was taken before I fell

We also saw a show at Medieval Times.

Seeing The Great Gatsby with friends this evening, have heard positive things.

I really have been trying to replenish my emergency fund reserves. Thankful to have a job, a partner who supports me, overall good health. Look forward to some much needed vacation time.

Did my annual air filter replacements too, though this one looked pretty decent after a year.

Air Filters are super easy to replace, just two clips by hand and you’re in.

Last but not least I lost a friend from Long Island due to a car accident in February. He was only 42. It happened right around the corner from my parents home. I was devastated for a whole week. He had joined the NYPD in 2021, loved his job and seemed really optimistic about life. RIP Mike.

What Just Happened? : $491k Feb 2026

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As we finish off January 2026 I’m just trying to mentally keep track of what has happened. Not that long ago we were celebrating the ball dropping and the new year. Now it seems like more and more of the same stuff, different day.

  1. My employer filed for Chapter 11, and there were several changes from a senior leadership perspective. Operationally there were a few major changes too that I don’t really want to comment on. Hopefully that means my employment will be on stable footing over the long term. I was very anxious in the days / weeks leading up to it. Now it feels more like an ok that happened now what kind of experience.
  2. A pipe in the house burst several days ago when we had a deep freeze. I thought we were in the clear but apparently I grossly underestimated things. It started with the hot water side of the kitchen faucet not working. Then one day it started working again all of a sudden. However not long thereafter we started seeing water on the kitchen and garage floor. We also heard water running from somewhere which prompted to me to look outside of the house. To my dismay there was hot water flowing down the side of the house into the snow / dirt. At this point it was around 6:30 PM and I wanted to at least call a plumber to get their feedback. They told me to collect water in buckets, etc to be able to flush the toilet and have some for drinking purposes until the matter could be resolved. However after we hung up the steet-level water shutoff did not work. So the water continued to run outside until I found a handle on the hot water heater that turned it off. Roughly 2-3 hours between the time we saw the flooding and the time it was turned off. The hot water inside stopped working completely before that so no time to shower.

    Also…. one plumber came earlier in the day to give me an estimate and I showed her a water meter that was spraying water, she had zero interest in even touching that and told me to call the city… After the plumber came and I paid $900, I noticed very low water pressure. I called the city to have them look at the leaking water meter that day and no one showed up. The next day I called again and said I had low water pressure on top of the call from the previous day. They showed up in 15 minutes and were outside for roughly 4 hours. Hopefully I don’t get a bill later on but now my water pressure has been great since.
Who knew a small copper pipe could ruin my day?

3. Earlier in the month I decided to splurge and get some roof repair work done. One piece of roofing adjacent to the tree growing 3″ from the house and another further on the roof identified over the summer with visible hail damage. $775

4. Despite my additional expenses, I still enjoyed having fun driving in the snow and doing doughnuts. At least as much as an AWD almost 4,000lb vehicle would allow me to do in a parking lot without calling too much attention to myself.

5. To kick off things shortly after the year began my bf and I had brunch at Reunion Tower in Dallas. It was a lovely experience and I would go back again. Cheap no but within budget. It’s fun to live the high on the town lifestyle for a meal and then go back to the more affordable lifestyle in the suburbs.

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What Just Happened? : $491k Feb 2026

6. When temperatures were much nicer in early January I took my trusty 2020 Cannondale CAAD 13 bike out for a ride on the trails. Really the only things I’ve replaced on it are tires / inner tubes, the seat, and water cages. The borderline crusty water bottles might be next, those plastics have a shelf-life.

7. I splurged on two shoes, one for workouts. The workout ones were $125 and biking ones were $86.34. I don’t feel guilty about these since the bike shoes were starting to split at the seams and are roughly 3 years old.

8. I am benefitting from having a DINK (Double Income No Kids) household though it doesn’t feel like it after the doozey of a month January has been. Having $1,675 come 100% out of my pocket with all the other expenses would be a real stretch once you add the $2890 mortgage, $150 electricity bill, $100 water bill, $80 internet bill, and the $625 per month extra going to principal.
9. Almost done with my tax preparation paperwork. It looks like I may get a small refund of a little under $1k. Thank you mortgage interest and itemized deduction. Hope to have most of it wrapped up in the next week.

1/31/2612/30/25Difference% Change2/2/25YoY Diff% Change
401K$404,137$402,229$1,9080.5%$ 324,256$ 79,88124.6%
Roth IRA$58,801$57,765$1,0361.8%$ 53,272$ 5,52910.4%
Brokerage Accts$4,614$3,423$1,19234.8%$ 2,016$ 2,598128.9%
Cash$11,723$12,592-$869-6.9%$ 11,975$ (252)-2.1%
HSA$6,380$6,343$370.6%$ 3,562$ 2,81879.1%
Total$485,656$482,352$3,3040.7%$ 395,082$ 90,57422.9%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ 166$ (166)-100.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$485,656$482,352$3,3040.7%$ 394,915$ 90,74123.0%
Mortgage$338,020$338,951-$932-0.3%
Zillow Estimate$343,200$345,200-$2,000-0.6%
Equity Estimate$5,180$6,249-$1,068-17.1%
Net Total$490,836$488,601$2,2360.5%

I started ramping up my investments into Brokerage accounts outside of my 401K / Roth IRA. I want my money to give me recurring income and capital growth…. Also not have to wait until 2043 to be able to access it. Especially with the way things are going with AI and my industry. You just never know.

Brokerage #1 : $200/mo ($50 per week) goes in split 3 ways between a Bond ETF, Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B, Vanguard High Dividnet Yield ETD VYM.
Brokerage #2 : $740/mo ($185 per week) goes into a mix of the following: BRKB ($99.56), GLD ($18.52 Gold), SCHY ($82.12 Schwab Strategic International), SLVR ($19.96 Silver), and the rest into FZROX ($611 Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund). Silver just took a massive dump yesterday but I’m not discouraged. Dollar Cost Average or stop buying for a while.
Are these going to make me a millionaire? Hardly but it’s something to get excited about. Could cover gas money, a utility bill, be another income stream if I fall on hard times, etc.
Retirement #1: $576.92/mo ($144.23/wk ) goes into my Roth IRA. What I invest in is based on my mood that particular week but the majority of it is FZROX (94%), GLD (1.5%), SLV (1.2%), FEPI ETF (2.87%). I want to buy things here once and hold them over the long term. FEPI is generating me $36 of divideds monthly that gets reinvested.
Retirement #2: $2,325 a month in 401k between my contribution and employer match. Most of this is in A Vanguard Institutional Total International Stock Market Index Trust, and about 5% in bonds.

Total Monthly: $3,842 | Total Annual: $46,103
Mortgage Monthly: $2,879 | Total Annual: $23,548
Extra Principal Monthly: $625 | Total Annual: $7,500
With those numbers above I think I’m doing as much as I can within reason. $77,151 for the year working on my financial future. Plus the $4,150 going to my HSA so really $83,301. That’s a lot of money. If I feel like I’m stretched too thin I can always change some things. And over $15k of that is through money my bf gives me toward expenses.

Overall I wish I was up more in the past month and $500k is still a stone throw’s away. Maybe next month if the market goes up. My ultimate freedom number is $2.5M. I’m happy my mortgage balance is down $932 in the past month. The interest is a pain in the pass so I’m going to keep doing the triple payments thing while investing and saving more.

In a year my net worth is up $95k or +24%. In a month I’m up $3.3k or .7%. Important to note all my 401k investments since the year began are not yet reflected in my balance. That’s being worked on and 99% likely will be fixed by the time I share my February update. I estimate I’d have another $2,300 between my contributions and the employer match.

Speaking of hard times Amazon went through a bunch of layoffs his week and there are rumblings of Oracle laying off a bunch of people. It fucking sucks no way around that. I hope I still have more time. Also hope 2 people I know recently impacted by layoffs get back on their feet soon. Hope you guys are safe out there and getting closer to your goals.

We crushed it! January 2026 – $489k

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As I type this up I’m enjoying the tail end of a trip to West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The weather has been impeccable, warmth that I wouldn’t expect to see at the tail end of December. Yesterday hit a high of 82. People were jugging up and down the streets and boardwalk like we were in the thick of summer.

December was a good month for me financially. Hit my max 2025 contribution for the Roth IRA and 401K. Ended the month still able to have a $0 balance on my credit cards. The trip I’m currently on we did on a budget through discounts, credits. Food and some other things went on the credit card but it was only a few hundred split across the two of us.

Two of the paychecks this month didn’t have my 401k contributions taken out at all so that gave me a lot more disposable income.

I just started reading a book called Zero World Problems: New Standards of Living For the Post-Materialistic economy by Aaron Clarey who also wrote the book Black Man’s Guide Out of Poverty. For context I read that book in March 2017 when my net worth was closer to *$25k*. A lot of the material in the first section I was already familiar with but it is nice to revisit some of the core principals that will help me navigate my 40s/50s and beyond. Keeping up with the Joneses really does not make us happy.

So what happened in December 2025:
1. I got a car repair close to $260 including an oil change and replacing old hydroscopic brake fluid with new fluid to improve longevity of the entire system. A little more money than I wanted to spend honestly. I can always do oil changes at the Honda dealership for $59.95 after a coupon. I think I paid closer to $100 for that and that was after a coupon. Not sure about the brakes. Sometimes you just want to get in and out though, in this case I worked while they wrenched on the car.

2. I finally beat Baldur’s Gate 3 – This came I bought about a year ago and it wasn’t super expensive. Got over 480 hours out of it which is a bit embarassing to admit. I promptly deleted the game from my SSD likely to never touch it again.

3. Got these Thai needles in bulk. My bf’s first reaction was to send it back but hey if we have 6 months worth of noodles in the cabinet that saves both time and money as long as we use them. Plus I’d argue they’re a touch more healthy than the kind you buy from the restaurant covered in sauces and oils.
4. Unsuccessfully tried to assemble a wooden cabinet for the office that had super cheap pressed wood and disintegrated on me.

5. Bought these supermarket flowers that I just love. They made it about a week and half before tossing them but it adds a nice pop of color to the space.

6. Christmas / Holiday festivities – Wicked For Good didn’t disappoint though I made the mistake of seeing it while sleep deprived in a dark movie theater.

7. West Palm Beach / Fort Lauderdale trip – Took so many pictures. I’ll post a few of them here. Lots of fun new memories and a well needed break from Dallas.

In my last post I set a net worth estimate for the end of 2025 at $480k
8. My mortgage is now paid up until March 1, 2026 (2 payments of about ~$2900 Jan and February) so it looks like my cash balance has come down a lot. I noticed these prepayments aren’t reflected on my oustanding balance yet. I like having a little buffer. Starting next month I’m going to start with the triple principal payments (2 more than normal month) scenario I mentioned in my last post.

People often overerestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can in a decade. Since last month my net worth is up about $5,500 and in the last year I’m up $104k or +27%. A decade ago I was in the negative $14k net worth range. Past me never would’ve thought my numbers would go up by $500k. I hope the new year brings you good health, financial abundance, and happiness. I’m going into 2026 ready to rock and roll.

12/30/2512/1/2025Difference% Change12/27/24YoY Diff% Change
401K$402,229$397,992$4,2371.1%$315,581$ 86,64827.5%
Roth IRA$57,765$56,073$1,6923.0%$51,574$ 6,19112.0%
Brokerage Accts$3,423$3,074$34911.3%$1,644$ 1,779108.2%
Cash$12,592$15,621-$3,029-19.4%$11,896$ 6965.8%
HSA$6,343$5,869$4748.1%$3,559$ 2,78478.2%
Total$482,352$478,629$3,7230.8%$ 384,254$ 98,09825.5%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!0$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!0$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$482,352$478,629$3,7230.8%$ 384,254$ 98,09825.5%
Mortgage$338,951$339,258-$307-0.1%
Zillow Estimate$345,200$343,700$1,5000.4%
Equity Estimate$6,249$4,442$1,80740.7%
Net Total$488,601$483,070$5,5301.1%

Is this blog boring and repetitive? Maybe but slow and steady wins the race. 😀

2026 Financial Goals

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On December 9th 2024 I posted: “Personal Finance happens in the background 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.“

Fast forward to today Dec 21, 2025. Here we are one year later. I own a house, I lost ~12lb. since the election last year. My bf now lives with me, we went to Europe and saw 5 different cities. My credit card balance is still $0. Personal finance is more at the forefront of my life than the backdrop.
What’s Planned
1. I’d like to fund more future investments to helps support my lifestyle *before* I hit retirement age. The house is my biggest monthly expense with a mortgage of $2,880 so my investments will be focused on easing some of that burden. I will do a hybrid of dividend-based investments and index funds. I haven’t decided exactly how much I’m setting aside but it will be a big bump from the $50/week I’ve been doing spread across 2 taxable accts. I already started with some SCHD (Schwab High Yield Dividend Fund) – https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/allholdings/SCHD and still own VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF), US Treasury Bonds, and BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares). I get about $7/mo right now in dividends that get reinvested off a $1,780 acct.

2. Provided I have continuous employment for the year I will maximize 401k contributions to the tune of $24,500. Employer match came down slightly for 2026 but the plans offered are still funds I’d consider buying except from Vanguard through a broker instead of Fidelity.

3. Roth IRA will be maxed for 2026, that’s $7,500.

4. Replenish the emergency fund. 6 months would be ideal. That’s a balance of $18k at the bare minimum. Goal is to have that balance keep going up instead of treading water. Ballpark I’m thinking $700/mo. which will get me there by the Fall.

5. Triple principal payments – ~$620 of the $1300 my bf gives me monthly will go to mortgage principal each month. Combine that with the roughly $300 I’m making to principal in my regular payments will allow me to get rid of PMI a lot sooner. By default that would happen after 12 years of payments. Doing it this way could cut down to 4. Plus cutting back the total interest payments *significantly*. One year will be like making 3 years of payments. Having 2 incomes will drop the amount of money I set aside biweekly for mortgage payments from $1,450 to $1,110 or 23%.

Of course all of that is just speculative provided I still have a job for the duration of 2026. Hoping I do get another raise, if so it likely would kick in again in November. I also want to feel like I’m enjoying myself more, saving and investing everything isn’t fun.

Onto the financial projections piece. My target last year for 2025 was to end the year with a net worth of $455,220. I exceeded that hovering around $480k right now

This is a super simple and conservative estimate but thinking I land north of $550k next year. I’m more likely to be up another $100k like I was last year but let’s not bank on that. Breaking the $500k ceiling will be a huge accomplishment for me from where I started out with. I want to be a good steward of what I have so I’m setup for the rest of my life. I’m well on that path. The median 60 year old has around $185k. At 42 I have $480k. I need some breathing room and my vacation can’t come soon enough. I took one day off since July for my mental health. Ok it’s 3am here and time for bed…

Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

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Two days ago was Black Friday and working in the field of Marketing that has kept me tremendously busy. Daily recaps, weekly recaps, strategy decisions, intra-day updates, leading my team and 3rd parties that we work with. I’ve had to pull more than my own weight while other key people on the team weren’t available for various reasons. Tomorrow will be a continuation of that.

That said I did get some positive news that will have a direct impact on my ability to hit my financial goals. Plus we will move from a single income household to a dual one. He’s officially moved in. Yes I earn more and the house in in my name but the burden I’ve had to handle solely on my own will be relieved starting next month. In practice 3-4x more per month will go to the principal than with my normal payment schedule. I missed his apartment sort of since the location cute and everything had that brand new feeling.

The month of November has been a bit of a blur to me. Early on in the month I dropped $1,100 on getting a tree removed and multiple others on the property cut back. This was one of those peace of mind / quality of life things. Having a tree twice as tall as the house fall on top of it was not on list of things to happen as a new homeowner. It also was infested with wasps. I spent a big portion of the rest of the month just trying to recover from that. Putting over $2,500/mo into investments, plus the $2,900 on the mortgage, $188 for car insurance, groceries, friend’s birthday party. My eye started twitching, perhaps it’s too much caffeine and stress from these big holidays. There are other things I want to get done on the house but honestly 95% of it can wait. I’ve had to really ask myself what do I really need vs what’s a want. I don’t like being told no but sometimes after doing more and more research that’s the decision I land on.

We made our second annual pilgimage to Astra Lumina an immersive outdoor experience in Dallas. It looks identical to last year but my camera takes better pictures now and I wanted to check out something nice. There are some other venues I’d love to checkout this year but has been a bit harder with his travel schedule.

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Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

Christmas is 24 days away. I bought a $50 tree from Home Depot, reused a tree skirt, and ornaments from years past. It’s not the nicest tree but it does the job. I also reused some old indoor / outdoor lights at the front door to give it a little bit of the holiday spirit.

Speaking of Holiday spirit my friends were nice enough to invite me out to Eataly for early Thanksgiving and treated us.

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Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

My sports ventures are soon coming to an end for the season. I love getting out, it still makes me feel youthful in my 40s. That is until I start drinking and then feel tired and want to nap for upward of 2 hours.

Took my car in for service on Cyber Monday, $260 after coupon for an oil change and brake fluid flush. Could always be worse, brake stuff is every 2 years and oil change with the way I drive is close every 9 months. I also used a coupon, could’ve gone to another dealer for cheaper but would be double the travel time.

Other than the car, my bike tire needed to be replaced both the tire and the tube. They found a spoke nibble in the rim that was bothering me for the last 5 years. The price with parts and labor was around $90 but they took my bike in immediately. I wasn’t in the mood to order parts for $70 and struggle to get parts on the new wheel properly.

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Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k

Have a connection and got a great deal on this rug. Almost bought two but starting small for now. It makes the living room feel more warm and inviting.

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Getting Ready for 2026 – December 2025 – $483k
12/1/202511/1/2025Difference% Change12/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$397,992$394,310$3,6820.9%$ 319,005$ 78,98724.8%
Roth IRA$56,073$55,313$7611.4%$ 51,308$ 4,7659.3%
Brokerage Accts$3,074$2,829$2468.7%$ 1,346$ 1,728128.3%
Cash$15,621$15,873-$252-1.6%$ 7,603$ 8,018105.5%
HSA*$5,869$5,854$150.3%$ 3,561$ 2,30864.8%
Total$478,629$474,179$4,4500.9%$ 382,824$ 95,80525.0%
Credit Cards$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ 166$ (166)-100.0%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$478,629$474,179$4,4500.9%$ 382,658$ 95,97125.1%
Mortgage$339,258$339,868-$609-0.2%
Zillow Estimate$343,700$346,600-$2,900-0.8%
Equity Estimate$4,442$6,732-$2,291-34.0%
Net Total$483,070$480,911$2,1600.4%

It’s past my bedtime again but I’m up $2k in a month when the stock market hasn’t been great and my home has been coming down slightly in value. I did just make a mortgage payment so I’m caught up until February 1st. Hasn’t posted to my account yet. Yes I’m a weirdo. Up 25% in a year is still nothing to scoff at. Keep counting my blessings especially when just last week one of my friends lost his accounting job. Christmas will be here before you know it and then 2026. I’m going to enjoy some vacation time, I’ve been going full throttle for the past few months and I need a break. We are inundated with so much info and noise in any given day. I miss the days when life was simpler. Be well and take care.

Gratitude at $481k Net Worth – November 2025

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I’ve been practicing more self-awareness lately and something that really has me thinking is the current state of the economy. We have government shutdowns and major corporations in my industry laying off people left and right. I’ve watched more videos than I care to admit about potential losses of SNAP benefits. Lucky enough to never been on that situation personally though my father was disabled and probably could’ve qualified if he wanted to after my parents divorce in the 90s.

October has certainly been a busy one…
1. Sprained my finger. Going on 3 weeks since the incident happened and feels about 80% healed. I chose not to go to see a doctor about it after some bad experiences in the past with an ER clinic. It’s not broken and I can bend it but it hurts in very specific situations.
2. Before the finger sprain I had a cold that wouldn’t go away for a week. Then I made an appointment at the clinic. Ended up waiting for over an hour before being seen by the nurse practitioner. Got some medication that messed with my stomach for most of the time I was on it. Also was told to avoid being in direct sunlight on days where it was in the 80s and I was actively outside.
3. With work a few senior people are gone. Some of it was reorg related, others completely voluntary. It makes me wonder when my day might come. I have been actively trying to avoid burnout and thankfully I do work 40 hours a week most weeks. Staying home, not dealing wtih a commute yet. If I do need to commute the 22 miles a day to work based on rumblings about a return to office policy I likely will be buying a used EV or a hybrid. Right now though it makes more mathematical sense to keep my 23.8mpg vehicle that sits undisturbed in the garage.
4. Since recovering from the cold I’ve had a lingering cough. Not sure if it’s from another medication I’ve been taking but it’s quite annoying. I tried not taking that medication for a week but then my weight shot right up by about 1lb per day, before I was dropping a pound a day. I quit a medication before due to the 2 months of side effects.
5. I signed back up for YouTube Premium. I tried ad blockers, fast forwarding ads, letting the first few seconds play and hitting skip. It just ruined my entire experience though when maybe I was doing something that didn’t allow me to hit that button right away.
6. I cancelled my SquareSpace domain hosting account. The site got very little traffic and I wasn’t using it for any commercial purposes. Might be able to link another webhost I have to it or setup a redirect. Can also go the old fashioned route and find some HTML/CSS templates. $23/mo just wasn’t worth it fo rmy use case.
7. I updated to the new iPad Pro M5 from M4. It’s insanely fast. Here’s my rationale for upgrading.
-67% trade-in value of the M5 iPad Pro
-Ability for screen to get down to 1 nit (great for reading before bed)
-Wi-Fi 7
-50% more memory, faster CPU and 30% faster GPU
-Fresh battery when current was at 89.5%
-Works with my existing pencil and magic kb
-Bluetooth 6
-Fast Charging – Up to 50% in 35 minutes
8. Yard work – It’s not done but I have put a dent in it. Raked leaves near the front driveway, cut branches over the front driveway, cut some other branches on another tree in front of the house, cut branches for a tree in the back of the house, cut a messy looped nest of vines, cut down some small trees that ChatGPT said can sometimes be invasive due to how quickly they grow.

9. My Money Tree is thriving and the basil plant is still chugging along.

10. Halloween has come and gone. I got a very overpriced costume from Amazon, complete with a pocket that has a hole big enough for my phone to fall through it. I didn’t go to the big block party here for reasons stemming from hating huge crowds, being in my 40s, and 85% sober. We played beer pong with friends and I lost. That room temperature shot was sooo nasty.

Halloween!

11. In my industry we’ve been talking about Holiday for months now. I’ve seen Christmas trees at stores and it’s just not hitting me on November 1st that the day will be here before you know it.

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Gratitude at $481k Net Worth – November 2025

12. A week ago Sunday I had to go to the Emergency Dentist for treatment on a tool where a filling had chipped off and my tooth was extremely sensitive to cold. The dentist was very professional, the office took me right away. The location was a little bit sketchy though. My fear was that I’d have a big infection potentially an abcess by the time a dentist would be able to admit me. Face was numb for about 6 hours so my bf’s birthday dinner was cancelled.
13. I still haven’t scheduled an appointment for removal of the tree next to the house. Thinking of December now when the prices are cheaper. In theory I could probably cut it one tiny portion at a time but the risk of a piece falling on me or the house are quite high. The tree itself feels super solid and not seeing any signs of rot but if it were to fall for some reason that would be a major pain.

The tree that is definitely too close to the house

14. Other house bills – new tools to help with the wild vegetation, a huge electric bill that is coming down by a lot, water bill, home security recurring service fee. Nothing too extreme. February we’ll be a dual income household and that is going to help accelerate things on a massive scale. I’ll start making some extra principal payments and more aggressively save in emergency fund and investments. The goal is to lower risk while also growing the portfolio.

A lot happens in a year. For me I’ve seen a +$115k increase in overall net worth or +32% not including the house which I don’t really view as an investment. Most of that being my 401k. Over the last month my net worth is up +3.6% or +$16,727. Had some recent good news which I can’t really dive into but very thankful and will help me sleep better at night. My next mortgage payment isn’t due until 12/1, the question is do I get the $9 worth of interest in my high yield savings now or just make the payment early and be good until the end of the year. Either way the payment will be due in a month so it’s not like I’m missing out on much.

11/1/202510/1/2025Difference% Change11/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$394,310$383,633$10,6772.8%$ 297,764$ 96,54632.4%
Roth IRA$55,313$53,212$2,1013.9%$ 47,977$ 7,33615.3%
Brokerage Accts$2,829$2,516$31312.4%$ 882$ 1,947220.7%
Cash$15,873$12,067$3,80631.5%$ 8,686$ 7,18782.7%
HSA*$5,854$5,659$1953.4%$ 3,490$ 2,36467.7%
Total$474,179$457,086$17,0933.7%$ 358,799$ 115,38032.2%
Credit Cards$0$433-$433-100.0%$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$474,179$456,653$17,5253.8%$ 358,799$ 115,38032.2%
Mortgage$339,868$340,170-$302-0.1%
Zillow Estimate$346,600$347,700-$1,100-0.3%
Equity Estimate$6,732$7,530-$798-10.6%
Net Total$480,911$464,184$16,7273.6%

It rained this morning and I’m about to go to a kickball game. Better hurry before I’m late. It’s very possible in the next 6 months I’ll hit $500k net worth. I have no plans ot retire anytime soon but at least I’m on the path to $1M by the end of 2032. If my job lets me go I’ll look for another one. My dollars are working harder for me now than I ever will have to for the rest of my life. I follow financial gurus on a regular basis but came to the realization is I’m my own guru at 42 and the #s prove that out. Namaste.

New Homeowner – Sept 2025 – $446k

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Today is September 4, 2025.  Writing these blog posts a little bit different these days as a homeowner as opposed to renter.  I successfully closed on my new home in early August 2025.  3 bedroom, 2 bathroom built in the 1970s. Close enough to Dallas to get there if / when I went to but far enough where the neighborhood is relatively quiet. My realtor who is a friend was super patient with me which I really appreciated along the journey. I didn’t feel pressured at all and a few of the properties I knew were a hard no right off the bat.

Nearly a month into the process I’m very happy with my decision and considering I just turned the ripe young age of 42 in August, I don’t think renting especially in that old apartment in that neighborhood fit my aspirations. Shortly after I moved out a woman was held at knifepoint at another complex down the block causing 12 police cruisers to show up. My immediate neighbor also wasn’t renewing her lease so that makes 2 of us. There were signs as soon as you turn down saying to lock up and basically be aware of theft. Started to feel like a third world country to be honest. Cars lined up and down the street, people repairing cars on the street, people speeding up and down the road blasting loud music.

With the purchase of a home comes along unexpected expenses and my situation is no different. Sharing a few pictures of my August experiences. I really did a lot in a month. Today I finished mowing the lawn for the third time I think? It grows super quickly in the back.

Cute goats
DFW Skyline
Margaret McDermott Bridge
Replaced the wiper blades and cabin filter as part of a quick weekend project
  1. Proper maintenance of the exterior is of the utmost importance, so I needed to buy a lawnmower.Along with the lawnmower purchase were a weedwhacker and a leaf blower. The estimated cost for all these items was about $566.
  2. Altogether the moving company cost roughly $890 including the tip if I recall correctly. They did a really good job getting all of my items packed onto the truck and delivering them without any noticeable damage.
  3. I went through a bit of an ordeal trying to figure out how to properly connect the power cable from my electric dryer into the home.I thought I was doing something wrong but it turned out that the previous owner hired a contractor who installed a stove outlet instead of a proper 4 prong dryer outlet. We went back-and-forth for several days about them fixing it prior to my closing date. The work was never done which resulted in me making an emergency phone call to a local electrician who fortunately was able to arrive within an hour and finished up right when the movers were coming with all my stuff. The final cost of that was $265.
  4. The home that I purchased had prior foundation work done earlier in the year. With that my online research found that it is highly recommended to transfer the foundation warranty from the previous owner to the current owner within 30 to 60 days. I jokingly say that was the most expensive piece of paper with a certificate on it that I’ve paid aside from my college degrees. $150, but I think it’s worth it for additional piece of mine and if god forbid I ever have to make a claim on the warranty.
  5. Home essentials are  also something that is important as far as making the space “livable”, That includes bedding, new towels, a step ladder, includes a 6 foot ladder to allow me to get to the roof. Also 2 $80/each custom made cellular window shades, lamp from Ikea. Estimated cost altogether I’d say is $650.
  6. Furniture – Think I covered this last month but it was around $1100-1200. includes furniture for the living room area as well as a bookshelf, and a reading chair.
  7. As far as an additional expense in terms of time involved/labor and less so the money aspect. I climbed up the ladder to remove a ton of debris from the gutters since I noticed when there was heavy rainfall, the water was literally just rolling off of the edge of the gutters my fear, if not quickly addressed, that would create water damage to something I wasn’t trying to deal with as a brand new homeowner.
  8. During the middle of all of this, my semi estranged grandfather, passed away at the age of 89. I really struggled with this emotionally as I’ve not seen him in person over the last 16 years the most we’ve spoken to was approximately one hour in total, he also has not contributed to my life at all as an adult nor have I asked him to if I didn’t want to go to the service they had it would’ve been a 9 hour drive or alternatively a $700 round-trip flight. At the time no one was very communicative about whether there was even going to be a service or would it just be a viewing and that’s it. With all that said I did not go to my own grandfather’s funeral. I explained the situation to my mother, and she seemed OK with it. It was not made in haste since I just bought a house and haven’t even made the first payment having an additional expense of that scale for someone who barely made an effort… just wasn’t something that resonated in my soul. I also have never spoken to his wife or met her in person.
  9. Temperatures in August are some of the hottest of the entire year in 2025 is no exception. Given that the square footage of this property is more than double what my apartment was so two are the projected electricity cost. That means for approximately three weeks of living here. We’re looking at an electricity bill of over $220 projected. Only recently have I taken additional measures that could help minimize that this includes some blinds that are blocking some of the light in the front two windows and using a dehumidifier, which should allow the AC to not work as hard to get the interior at the desired temperature.
  10. Home security is another expense associated with homeownership. As a gay man living in a red state, and a minority on top of that, and not knowing any of my neighbors on top of that, I thought it would be best for me to get a home security set up with that. I did have to finance the equipment since I wasn’t buying it outright the cost of that including the labor, the equipment and taxes was approximately $2,900 (a big part of the CC balance)granted that is at a 0% interest rate. It still is considered an active/open credit line on my credit report. My goal is to pay extra as I go, but the financially smart thing to do would be to milk it as much as I can. There’s also a recurring cost for the service of the alarm of roughly $50 per month and I think it was also close to $60 per year to register with the city since that is a requirement since apparently there are a lot of false alarms.
  11. Pest control was another item that I needed to take care of, this house is built in the 1970s and we’re in Texas. I’ve had experiences with carpenter ants and other ants infestations, at this house. There were some mosquitoes in the yard that we were trying to take care of, along with some ants near the window that kept coming inside. I do think one of the sprays I can smell inside when the fan is on. It was particularly strong at first though it is gradually starting to dissipate. I see dead ants on the floor, which is OK though there were quite a lot overtime I do think the previous owner did some type of pest control treatment prior to leaving. Roughly $65/mo
  12. An upcoming expense that I may have is regarding exterior plants for the property. Haven’t decided exactly on what plants. I’m going to purchase but want something nice that hopefully isn’t going to die within the next month as the seasons change I’m not entirely how much that will cost, but we’ll see…
  13. The water and sewage bill should come in the mail soon, I’m expecting that to be $70 dollars.
  14. There are some additional expenses associated with throwing a housewarming party, but those are relatively minor. Let’s say $100.
  15. Refrigerator – I bought a more affordable one from Best Buy but it was the wrong size so it had to get shipped back. The one I was able to get in a timely manner came from Home Depot to the tune of $1,358.52 including tax. That was under a special buy with $801 off.
  16. Truck Rental – Rented a truck from U-Haul for a grill my friends gave me that doesn’t work. Cost was about $110 including gas.
  17. Handle – One of the handles in the kitchen was missing on a cabinet, prompting me to find a replacement. I went to Lowes, I want to Home Depot. They almost matched but I ended up ordering line for a near perfect fit.
  18. Saw these cute little goats out in Terrell, TX. I didn’t pet them but they were super adorable to look at and see especially the children’s faces light up.
  19. Went to a potluck / pool party with friends early this week and really enjoyed myself. It’s fun to continue putting myself out there and experiencing new things.

It does feel like I have gone through a decent amount of money with all of the initial move-in expenses, but many of these are one time costs. Or items that will benefit me for several years minimum. I’ve been trying to cash flow things as much as possible. Fortunately, my first mortgage payment is due the start of October so that does give me a little bit of a buffer. The mortgage lender is going to be selling it to a different company to service, fingers crossed nothing gets mixed up along the way.

My net worth is down about $5k for the month which isn’t bad considering I bought a whole house. Still up about $106k for the year. In September 2020 my total net worth was only $96k, a *lot* can happen in 5 years.

9/1/20257/30/2025Difference% Change8/31/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$366,372$360,084$6,2881.7%$ 289,322$ 77,05026.6%
Roth IRA$50,470$49,304$1,1662.4%$ 45,392$ 5,07811.2%
Brokerage Accts$1,636$1,805-$169-9.4%$ 22$ 1,6147336.5%
Cash$15,420$35,018-$19,598-56.0%$ 2,032$ 13,388658.9%
HSA*$5,220$4,901$3196.5%$ 3,574$ 1,64646.1%
Total$439,118$451,112-$11,994-2.7%$ 340,342$ 98,77629.0%
Credit Cards$3,245$0$3,245#DIV/0!$ 349$ 2,896829.8%
Auto Loan$0$0$0#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Subtotal$435,873$451,112-$15,239-3.4%$ 339,993$ 95,88028.2%
Mortgage$341,000$0
Zillow Estimate$351,000$0
Equity Estimate$10,000$0
Net Total$445,873$451,112
Mid bike session was proud of myself that day 10 mile ride

While I hate the idea of carrying extra, the alarm is at 0% so mathematically it makes no sense to pay it off early. Any money I add to principal on the mortgage will get me closer to eliminating PMI and lower my overall interest payments. And lessen the amount of time on the loan. However with the roughly $22k of interest for 2026, plus property $4k taxes, and $1200 of PMI of I would benefit from filing taxes under the itemized deduction.

Here’s a snapshot of my amortization schedule.

I asked Gemini how much extra I’d need to pay to have the mortgage gone by my target retirement age. This is what it generated:
To pay off your $340,000 mortgage by October 2043, you would need to pay an additional $514.09 per month towards the principal.

This calculation is based on the provided amortization schedule and the goal of paying off the loan in 18 years (from October 2025 to October 2043), rather than the original longer term, which appears to be a 30-year mortgage.

Breakdown of the Calculation

Here’s how we arrived at that number:

  • Original Loan Details: Based on the amortization schedule, your original monthly payment for principal and interest is approximately $2,180.07. The annual interest rate is approximately 6.625%.
  • New Payoff Goal: To pay off the mortgage by 2043, the loan term is shortened to 18 years (216 months).
  • New Monthly Payment: To meet this new goal, a new monthly principal and interest payment of approximately $2,694.16 is required.
  • Extra Principal Payment: The difference between the new and original payment is the extra amount that needs to be paid each month:$2,694.16 (New Payment) – $2,180.07 (Original Payment) = $514.09 (Extra Monthly Payment)

By adding this extra amount to your monthly payment and ensuring it is applied directly to the principal, you can significantly shorten the life of your loan and save a substantial amount in interest over time. It is always a good practice to communicate with your lender to ensure any extra payments are correctly applied to the principal balance.

I also need to think about ways to boost my income. Even an extra $500 could go a long way consistently. Maybe a raise will be in my future? 😂

August 2025 – $451k and Pending Home Purchase

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12/9/24 End of Year Preduction

Almost 8 months I predicted I would have $455k net worth by the end of the year. Currently I am about a stone’s throw away from that or up $66k from the start of the year. My goal is closer to $2M come retirement age. That doesn’t necessarily have to be all investments though, one could argue I should diversify just a little bit.

Home purchase updates:
1. Offer made on a home, final selling amount is down to about $351k, my mortgage payment estimage is just under $2,900 including insurance, taxes, and interest. I originally offered full asking price before asking for another $3k which will be covered by a concession made with the agent’s commission.
2. Concessions – There are quite a few including: Replacing 24 year old microwave with stainless steel model, redoing tile in the bathroom to replace cheap fiberglass, replacing defective dishwasher, (didn’t ask for it but cost prohibitive to repair) fixing or replacing the garbage disposal, replacing flex pipes under sink with PVC, installation of a dryer vent in the garage, have a licensed plumber do needed repairs to fix low water pressure, have HVAC system serviced by licensed professional, adding ground and neutral wires to the sub-panel box, cleaning out gutters, repair a damaged sewer cleanout cover
3. Massive cleanout of clothes that either don’t fit or were out of style. Bf helped me with the majority of packing. 90% of things I am not actively using right now are packed away.
4. Setup – Water and electricity switched over, Pest control appointment made, alarm system provider chosen,
5. Furniture delivery date set, ordered a loveseat, sofa, bookcase, and swivel chair from Nebraska Furniture Mart for ~$1,030 plus a $140 shipping charge. I ordered the furniture 4th of July but the prices dropped since then so I was able to place a new order through a super helpful store associate. The chair was on clearance for a whopping $80. If I had just that item shipped it would’ve been $140 to do so but with the other order they were able to just get it added to that.
6. Moving company and time + date selected
7. Electric lawnmower, blower, and trimmer tools purchased. Got an incredible deal for all 3 from Lowe’s. $566 less card cashback and 2% cashback from an affiliate link
8. Bf isn’t moving in with me right away but we decided on $ a rough amount he would contribute toward the payments that would be win-win for him as well as me. Utilities I said could be TBD but planning to cover on my own.

The main thing I’m trying to do right now is make sure not to overextend myself. The lawn equipment I sold some investments to cover. I also pulled $10k from my Roth IRA for a first time homebuyer credit where I won’t have to pay a penalty to the IRS. I really debated for a while whether I should run lean and just let that money grow or keep it as an emergency fund to help me sleep better at night. I chose the latter. Having less than 2 months of cash in hand is cutting it dangerously close. With mortgage payments being roughly $1600/mo more than my rent I knew it would take me significantly longer to build up reserves.

Other notable things this month

-I dropped about $471 on my car after driving hard in the rain caused the plastic undercarriage piece to unlatch from the car and drag on the ground. Also decided to get an alignment at the same time. They had my car for 8 days which I wasn’t thrilled about.
-We saw a lovely artist Mereba live in concert. She’s fusion of different genres, R&B, Rap, Soul, Folk music. Very unique experience, definitely recommend.
-4th of July pool part with friends despite the rain, coincidentally was at Home Depot buying gloves to help bf move into place when the fireworks went off. Got some really good shots in.
-Went to New York for work and saw family for a few days. It was a low budget trip to me. Flights, hotel, meals covered by work during the 3 day period. Then time with my parents doing dinner / eating out regulary and putting on 8 pounds which I subsequently lost in a week.

7/30/20257/1/2025Difference% Change8/3/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$ 360,084$ 348,738$ 11,3463.3%$ 271,447$ 88,63732.7%
Roth IRA$ 49,304$ 57,216$ (7,912)-13.8%$ 42,544$ 6,76015.9%
Brokerage Accts$ 1,805$ 3,710$ (1,905)-51.3%$ 3,520$ (1,715)-48.7%
Cash$ 35,018$ 23,743$ 11,27547.5%$ 3,759$ 31,259831.6%
HSA*$ 4,901$ 4,691$ 2114.5%$ 3,617$ 1,28435.5%
Total$ 451,113$ 438,098$ 13,0153.0%$ 324,888$ 126,22538.9%
Credit Cards$ –$ –$ –#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$ –$ –$ –#DIV/0!$ 7,497$ (7,497)-100.0%
Net Total$ 451,113$ 438,098$ 13,0153.0%$ 317,390$ 133,72342.1%

They say a lot can happen in a year and it’s true. I never would’ve imagined my net worth would be up $133k in a year. Compounding is a powerful force. At this rate if the forces behind my come up continue I will break $500k NW in 2027, $600k in 2029, and $1M in 2032.

Sharing a few pictures…

I had a 70 year old woman that lives on the same block I grew up on who I haven’t seen in 25 years suddenly take an interest in who I was dating. I posted a pic of my great grandparents from around the 1930s and she in all caps had the nerve to ask what would they think if they knew you were gay. Her son is special needs and her other son died in his sleep when he was 7 so she of all people shouldn’t try to tell others how to live their life. Nope. Before that she commented on a pride related post of mine saying she didn’t know I was gay even though I’d been out 21 years at that time. The son also left me a voicemail on fb messenger saying we’ll always be friends but don’t be promiscuous or something to that effect. Just blocked them both. The moral of the story is life is too short and life with peace not drama. Someone I worked with died at age 40 just a day or 2 earlier, I was her boss around 2007/2008. Managing her with a chronic health / lung condition was very challenging but she was still a very kind-hearted person who made lots of friends along the years. I wish the best to her husband and family. The service is about 4 days and 1600 miles away I def won’t be able to attend. Death has become all too familiar over the years, I still like to think in terms of what’s possible in life and living to the fullest.

Signing off, I should be asleep now. This is all uncharted territory for me and I’m taking it one step at a time. I desperately am craving the additional space. 5+ years working from home in my 1 bedroom or living room in a 700 sq ft. is tough. Over a decade living here in general. I’m just done. They never fixed the spot where the water leaked, tub looks so rundown. A friend came by to drop over boxes and was like I can’t believe you stayed here that long. I never invited her over though I’ve known her for about 4 years. No one can say I didn’t sacrifice.

Buying a House! – $438k – July 2025

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Wake up, wake up, wake up
It’s the first of the month (wake up, wake up)
So get up, get up, get up
So cash your checks and come up (get up, get up)

So yeah it’s July 1, 2025, the month of June was a jam packed one. My bf and I went to Porto, Paris, Versaille, Leeds Castle, and London all on one trip. As non world-traveled person I was a little overwhelmed with the notion but decided to plan ahead as much as possible. I call this a once in a lifetime trip. I took over 1,900 pictures, these are some of the better ones.

7/1/20255/31/2025Difference% Change7/1/2024YoY Diff% Change
401K$ 348,738$ 328,591$ 20,1476.1%$ 273,612$ 75,12627.5%
Roth IRA$ 57,216$ 53,866$ 3,3506.2%$ 42,536$ 14,68034.5%
Brokerage Accts$ 3,710$ 3,278$ 43213.2%$ 3,079$ 63120.5%
Cash$ 23,743$ 26,917$ (3,174)-11.8%$ 3,222$ 20,521636.9%
HSA*$ 4,691$ 3,523$ 1,16833.1%$ 3,799$ 89223.5%
Total$ 438,098$ 416,174$ 21,9235.3%$ 326,248$ 111,85034.3%
Credit Cards$ –$ –$ –#DIV/0!$ –$ –#DIV/0!
Auto Loan$ –$ –$ –#DIV/0!$ 8,853$ (8,853)-100.0%
Net Total$ 438,098$ 416,174$ 21,9235.3%$ 317,395$ 120,70338.0%

Onto the monthly financial updates, I am up 5.3% or $22k thanks to my savings and an uptick in the market. My HSA is asterisked because I don’t think I fully captured the balance in previous months. It’s a good amount on paper and I’m glad the number is going up. To be up $121k or 38% a year just blows my mind though. When I started this blog 13 years ago I was just trying to get to breakeven. My how times have changed. A few days ago I chagned my 401k contribution amount to get the match. No more, no less. It may slow my progress a bit but shit I have some other short term priorities.

So as far as the home buying process is concerned. Let me run it down.
1 – The townhouse I liked but had reservations on due to the fact it was a townhouse with an HOA with a small driveway and over 2200 sq ft. Just too much space for 2 people if you ask me. Not to mention the expected utility costs. Also the adjacent unit was under renovation and who knows what the neighbors you share a wall will be like.
2 – The house I really really fell for. It had a pretty new roof, lots of natural light, vaulted ceilined. However the elderly man had mobility issues and was adamant about doing a leaseback where he’d rent from me until the time the property was sold. Looking back maybe that was a blessing in disguise, it was under 1300 sq ft and a 2/2 and the seller actually raised the price the same day I made my offer. Wild. Then we discovered it needed some major foundation work. Plus there were issues with improper drainage which was apparent with the mud in the backyard and there wasn’t any grass on the property just mulch. So that was a bust, lost my inspection money but got the earnest money back relatively quickly.
3 – House I currently have an offer on. Inspection was supposed to happen yesterday but wasn’t told the bathroom was going to be ripped apart prior to the inspector showing up. Oops. So it might happen today or possibly another day. This property has the foundation work already done along with renovations. Closing is supposed to happen early August. Really hoping third time is a charm. I’ve seen over 15 individual properties and driven past an additional 10 before ruling them out. No duplexes, nothing that looks like someone died or was tortured in the home, nothing with major foundation work needed. It’s a 3/2, over 1500 sq ft. a deck, privacy fence. I’m excited but also a bit cautious about the process especially managing it on one income the first year. One way or another I’ll be out of this apartment by late August.

I will need about $19k at closing, plus the cost of movers, paying the homeowners + car insurance upfront of ~$3,200 and maybe buying a new couch. So let’s say $6k between now and then. Hence why I’m temporarily pulling back on the retirement, maybe until the end of the year and ramping back up for 2026. Six month emergency fund target is $18k and it’s going to be challenging to hit with one income contributing to the mortgage.

On a positive note the bathroom remodel looks pretty nice, that just got finished today. Pardon the dirt inside, that’s leftover from the construction. Beforehand it was this cheap fiberglass stuff that was attached to the wall securely but tapping on it felt cheap and made me think ok how long is this going to last. This also will help with resale value. Also I likely won’t be doing any major home repairs in the first year or so. The big thing as long as it’s in my power to do so is not to put any expenses on credit cards that won’t be paid in full over the course of a month.

I’m supposed to get a detailed inspection report soon likely tomorrow or Saturday. Took notes of things called out by the inspector.
1. Water pressure – low, also some leaking near water main. Gave demo of bathtub and sink water running at same time, sink dropped to a trickle. Is it a major plumbing issue or something minor?
2. Insulation in attic – not fully insulated, makes A/C work harde
3. Electrical box – Safety concerns no ground rod and wiring for some of the outlets
4. Carpenter ants – frass in front bedroom window – needs to be treated.
5. Washer dryer hookup – No vent from where the dryer would physically be, currently located on other side of the building. 
6. A/C 5 ton unit should be 2.5 so may be oversized for the house – inspector to lookup and verify
7. HVAC system not intaking enough air for the unit, temp drops too quickly without dehumidifying the ai
8. Roof – minor damaged from tree branch exposed fasteners
9. Leak in the master bedroom ceiling – Staining but not sure if root cause was fixed
10. Dishwasher – Kitchen – Doesn’t open fully without hitting the oven due to the narrow clearances / handle sticking out of bottom tray. Dishwasher was originally on the opposite side of the sink and moved over.
11.Garbage disposal – not functioning in the kitchen likely needs to be replaced.
12. Microwave – Have addendum for stainless steel, still see the white microwave in there as of 7/4

Foundation looks good but was told I will likely will see cracks in the walls over the next year as it settles. Inspector recommends leaving it for a year then doing the surface-level repairs. There is another home I was going back and forth on but hate the kitchen and kitchen layout though I do like the solar aspect of it. Everything has tradeoffs, I still like what I see overall. though in current state I’d give it a 6.5/10, getting fixes for some of the big items would bring that up to an 8. I don’t want the hassle of trying to address things myself plus some of the basic things will really lower the appraisal of the seller doesn’t address. I haven’t hit the buy button on furniture or appliances yet but weighing different options. I have a couple factors working in my favor but we’ll see. I still want out of this apartment. Fingers crossed on the third one being a charm. My option period ends in under a week. 😬

Anyway thanks for reading this if you’re still out there. Happy 4th of July! Pictures below taken 7/3/25 at a nearby Home Depot parking lot as I was going to buy work gloves. Peace out.