In April, we had a typical income month and a reasonable expense month.
Our total income this month was $14,238.77. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received a $94.99 company reimbursement and cashed in $2,961.57 (net) of her company stock. We also received $42.89 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $11,061.81, a nice reduction from the past few months. Large expenses included $983.15 vacation, $428.82 in clothing, and $363.39 for entertainment.
In April, our net worth decreased $181,615.68 from last month to a total of $1,829,644.14 (see spreadsheet screenshot). Most of the decline was due to cryptocurrency investments in our retirement and brokerage accounts.
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contributed 8% (increases 1% automatically in March every year) to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $1,363.68 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts decreased $107,781.22 from last month to a total of $819,355.14.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $327,586.55, down $70,970.21 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings increased $769.56 this month to a total of $12,977.07.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $600 to our son’s 529 Plan and it decreased $2,098.58 from last month to a total balance of $68,073.21. We contributed $600 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it decreased $1,268.89 from last month to a total balance of $47,304.59. Our total 2024 contributions so far are $2,800 for our son and $2,800 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$925K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~100K miles on odometer) that we own and it have paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In March, we had a huge income month and a high expense month. My wife received a 3.71% raise (salary now $204,552) and more company stock.
Our total income this month was $25,968.88. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received a quarterly bonus of $26,285 gross ($14,679.54 net) and a $94.99 company reimbursement. We also received $55.03 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $15,397.75. Large expenses included $1,686.69 vacation, $2,937.79 in giving, $1,096 for ski resort season passes for next year, $1,150 for home maintenance and $843.78 for car insurance.
Next month we hope to have a much lower expense month.
In March, our net worth increased $211,262.16 from last month to a total of $2,011,279.82 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contributed 8% (increases 1% automatically in March every year) to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $2,677.94 to her 401(k) and her company contributed $14,722.15 for the amount they “chip in” annually. Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $133,904.17 from last month to a total of $927,136.36.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $398,556.76, up $75,168.40.01 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings decreased $5,151.70 this month to a total of $12,207.51.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $2,000 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $4,135.99 from last month to a total balance of $70,171.79. We contributed $2,000 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $3,474.33 from last month to a total balance of $48,573.48. Our total 2024 contributions so far are $2,200 for our son and $2,200 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$920K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~95K miles) that we own and it is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
We just passed our net worth milestones of $1,950,000 to $2,010,000! Our net worth is currently $2,011,279. We passed our last net worth milestone of $1,940,000 way back in Nov 2021. We hope to reach our next milestone of $2,020,000 in a couple of months.
In February, we had a regular income month and a highish expense month.
Our total income this month was $11,206.59. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received a $205.86 company reimbursement and we received $80.49 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $16,263.77. Large expenses included $5,351 for vacation, $1,322.82 for dining (mostly on vacation) and $270 for clothing.
Next month my wife will receive a $26,285 (gross) quarterly bonus and a 3.71% raise! So proud of her!
In February, our net worth increased $85,940.25 from last month to a total of $1,800,017.66 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contributed 7% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $1,150.52 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $82,609.48 from last month to a total of $793,232.19.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $323,388.36, up $7,477.01 from last month. We took a ~$70k loss on a cryptocurrency exchange bankruptcy but thankfully, the crypto market was up enough that our loss was offset.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings decreased $7,946.50 this month to a total of $17,359.21.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $2,381.27 from last month to a total balance of $63,654.53. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,690.74 from last month to a total balance of $43,408.41. Our total 2024 contributions so far are $200 for our son and $200 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$895K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~95K miles) that we own and it is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In January, we had a regular income month and a highish expense month.
Our total income this month was $11,017.81. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, we received $97.57 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $15,505.07. Large expenses included $4,301.57 for vacation, $787.17 for insurance and $5,236 for food (groceries and dining).
Next month we have a big vacation planned so our expenses will likely be very high. Thank God my wife should receive a quarterly bonus in March.
In January, our net worth increased $6,347.42 from last month to a total of $1,714,077.41 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contributed 7% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $1,150.52 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $8,154.06 from last month to a total of $710,622.71.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $315,911.35, down $9,185.33 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings decreased $5,503.10 this month to a total of $25,305.71.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $200 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $2,360.94 from last month to a total balance of $63,654.53. We contributed $200 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,610.01 from last month to a total balance of $43,408.41. Our total 2024 contributions so far are $200 for our son and $200 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$890K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~95K miles) that we own and it is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
Happy New Year! We hit all of our 2023 goals and plan to step up our goals for 2024. Below are our new financial goals for the coming year.
1) Pass our 2031 Net Worth Goal
We ended 2023 with a net worth of $1,707,729, 8 years ahead of our net worth goal schedule. We would like to maintain this lead and end 2024 with a net worth over $1,740K (our 2031 net worth goal). I’m not confident the stock market will help us reach this goal but our cryptocurrencies may over the coming year.
2) Give $5,000 to church
We hit our giving goal in 2023 and would like to increase to $5,000 in 2024.
3) Contribute $8,000 to 529 Plans ($4,000 for each child)
We are a little behind where we would like to be with our kids’ 529 Plans, so we will push harder in 2024 and aim to contribute $8,000 total to our kids’ 529 Plans ($4,000 for each child). Our son is currently 12 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $61,293 and our daughter is 9 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $41,798.
4) Maintain savings account balance of $30,000
We ended 2023 with $30,611 in savings, successfully hitting our goal for the year. We have two big vacations planned in 2024 that will deplete our saving substantially. On top of that, we need to pay our property taxes from our savings, further depleting it. That being said, we hope to add to our savings throughout the year so we can maintain a $30,000 balance by the end of 2024.
5) Book Mediterranean cruise
We feel very blessed to have exceeded our financial goals and want to begin focusing on creating more “memory dividends”. Money is a tool to have experiences and one experience we would like to have is a Mediterranean cruise in 2025. In order to make that happen, we will have to book (and pay for) the cruise this year.
Our path to financial independence and retiring early.
