Goals

2020 FINANCIAL GOALS

Happy New Year! Somehow I forgot to post our 2020 financial goals earlier this month. 2019 was an amazing year and we hope to conquer some exciting financial goals in 2020. Here they are:


1) Pass our 2024 Net Worth Goal
We ended 2019 with a net worth of $829,705, over 4 years ahead of our 2019 net worth goal. We would like to maintain this lead and end 2020 with a net worth over $891,500 (our 2024 net worth goal).

2) Increase total retirement savings to $475K
We ended 2019 with $386K in retirement savings. We are shooting to increase that to $475K by the end of 2020. Much of our success will depend on the market and “extra” contributions from our bonuses.

3)Create a family trust or will
We missed this one in 2019 and are going to try again to create a family trust in 2020.


4) Contribute $3,000 to 529 Plans ($1,500 for each child)
We hope to contribute $1,500 to each of our kid’s 529 Plans. Our son is currently 8-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $30,559 and our daughter is 5-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $18,050. We would like to continue to grow these accounts while they are relatively young.

5) Building savings account balance to $25,000
In 2019, we did a good job increasing our savings to $20,000. We hope to build on this progress by getting our savings to $25,000 in 2020. We ended 2019 with $20,024 in savings.

Goals

REVIEW OF 2019 FINANCIAL GOALS

Review of 2019 Financial Goals

Happy New Year!  We had a blessed year and did pretty good on our financial goals.  Here they are:  

1) Pass our 2022 Net Worth Goal – SUCCESS
We’ve been tracking 3 years ahead of our net worth goals and were able to increase this trend to 4 years ahead of our goals in 2019.  We ended 2019 with a net worth of $829,705, well above our 2019 goal ($510K), 2020 goal ($575K), 2021 goal ($645K), 2022 goal ($721K) and 2023 goal ($803K).  Amazing!

2) Reduce average monthly expenses by $1,000 – 50% FAIL / 50% SUCCESS
We spent an average of $15,620 per month in 2018 and set a goal for ourselves to reduce our average monthly expenses by $1,000, to $14,620 average per month.  2020 started off with multiple large expenses such as paying off a car we sold (~$4,500), doing concrete work in our backyard (~$5,000), and braces for our son ($~1,000).  As a result, we our average monthly expenses were $16,2047.  We recognized that we were off track and tightened our belt the second half of the year and did great.  Our average monthly expenses from June until December was $14,918!  For this reason, I am counting this goal as a partial success. We hope to keep this momentum into 2020!

3)Create a family trust or will – FAIL

Unfortunately, we did not make any traction on this goal.

4) Contribute $3,000 to 529 Plans ($1,500 for each child)  – SUCCESS
Thankfully, we reached this goal early in the year (March) after my wife received a large quarterly bonus.  We contributed $1,600 to our son’s 529 Plans and $2,150 to our daughter’s 529 Plan this year, exceeding our goal by $750.  Our son is currently 8-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $30,559 and our daughter is 5-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $18,050. 

5) Building savings account balance to $20,000  – SUCCESS
This historically has been our toughest goal.  We added it to our list each year and then fall short.  As 2019 drew to an end, it looked like we would miss this goal again.  Our savings balance in November 2019 was less than $8K.  However, my wife received an unexpected $19,500 gross bonus in December that allowed us to fill our savings to $20,024.  Such a blessing! 

Income Statement

December 2019 Income Statement

In December, we had one of our largest income months ever and a reasonable expense month too, considering our income (see spreadsheet screenshot). Thank God for our blessings!

Our total income in December was an amazing $32,598.24!  This was our 3rd largest income month ever (larger months were: $37,327.14 in Feb 2014 and $35,641.77 in Sept 2017). In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a monthly bonus of $1,950 gross ($1,084.39 net) and my wife received a quarterly bonus of $19,500 gross ($11,806.56 net).  My wife also received $825.48 in auto allowance / mileage reimbursements and $46.99 in internet reimbursements.  To top it off, we sold some of my wife’s company stock for $11,052 gross ($7,410.72 gross).  We also earned $13.41 in interest income from our savings accounts.

This month, our expenses totaled $18.321.50.  That is a big expense month but still pretty reasonable considering this months income.  Big ticket items include $2,250 in tithing, $2,099 in household items and $728 in doctor visits and prescriptions

Next month begins a new year and with it, we should have a good income month due to my quarterly bonus.

Net Worth

December 2019 Net Worth Update (+29,555.75)

Overall

December was another HUGE month for our net worth.  Our net worth increased $29,555.75 from last month to a total of $829,705.36 (see spreadsheet screenshot).  We passed our net worth milestones of $810K and $820K in December!  We nearly passed $830K too!  What a great way to end the year! 

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs.  We contribute 7% to my wife’s 401(k).  My wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests over 3 years). This month, we contributed $1,822.84 to her 401(k).  We contribute 10% to my 401(k) and my company matches up to 4% and deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited).  This month, we contributed $579.62 to my 401(k).  The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $13,198.93 from last month to a total of $386,256.95.   

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”).  The total current value is $17,668.56, up $1,005.09 from last month.

Cash & Savings Account

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month.  Thanks to my wife’s huge quarterly bonus, our savings increased $12,032.53 this month to a total of $20,024.54.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard.  This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $856.76 from last month to a total balance of $30,559.61.  We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $506.76 from last month to a total balance of $18,050.39.

Home

We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016 for our home value.  Current comps in the area are ~$580K.  The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage loan is $190,483.18.  We paid $660 extra towards our home mortgage principal this month.

Vehicles

My company provides me a vehicle and gas card.  My wife has a 2017 SUV with ~70,000 miles.  Her company gives her $300/month auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is $31,412.01 at 2.79%. We paid $100 extra towards our auto loan principal this month.  We also have a ski boat with a loan balance of $48,237.32 at 5.24%. 

Credit Card Balance

All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.

Income Statement

November 2019 Income Statement

In November, we were blessed with a strong income month and a reasonable expense month (see spreadsheet screenshot).

Our total income in November was $14,794.99.  In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a third “extra” paycheck and a monthly bonus of $1,950 gross ($1,084.39 net).  My wife also received $651.21 in auto allowance / mileage reimbursements and $46.99 in internet reimbursements.  We earned $7.96 in interest income from our savings accounts.

This month, our expenses totaled $12,822.75.  It was nice that our expenses were at a reasonable level again.  Big ticket items include $608 in clothing, $340 in eyebrow microblading, and $103 in gifts.

Next month, our expenses will probably be higher due to Christmas and travel but my wife should receive a $1,000 bonus and we plan to sell some of her company stock for ~$7,000.

Net Worth

November 2019 Net Worth Update (+13,211.02)

Overall

November was another amazing month for our net worth.  Our net worth increased $13,211.02 from last month to a total of $800,149.61 (see spreadsheet screenshot).  So happy to pass our net worth milestones of $790K and $800K! 

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs.  We contribute 7% to my wife’s 401(k).  My wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests over 3 years). This month, we contributed $847.84 to her 401(k).  We contribute 10% to my 401(k) and my company matches up to 4% and deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited).  This month, we contributed $579.62 to my 401(k).  The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $11,173.68 from last month to a total of $373,058.02.   

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”).  The total current value is $16,663.47, down $2,095.46 from last month.

Cash & Savings Account

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and 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 $507.96 this month, to a total of $7,992.01.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard.  This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,061.35 from last month to a total balance of $29,702.85.  We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $627.77 from last month to a total balance of $17,543.63.

Home

We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016 for our home value.  Current comps in the area are ~$580K.  The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage loan is $192,858.83.  We paid $660 extra towards our home mortgage principal this month.

Vehicles

My company provides me a vehicle and gas card.  My wife has a 2017 SUV with 70,000 miles.  Her company gives her $300/month auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is $32,142.47 at 2.79%. We paid $100 extra towards our auto loan principal this month.  We also have a ski boat with a loan balance of $48,479.69 at 5.24%. 

Credit Card Balance

All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.

Our path to financial independence and retiring early.