April 2023 Early Retirement Update – Party Edition

Welcome back to another monthly update from Root of Good. We had another busy month in April here at home in Raleigh. Between hosting Easter and a birthday party at our house, and a few appliances breaking, we were glad to be early retired. No time for work! 

As this post goes live, we have less than a month until we take off for our two month summer vacation in Argentina and Brazil. All the big details are booked but we still have to research things to do in the areas we are visiting. On top of all the vacation excitement, our middle child graduates high school the day before we hop on the plane to South America! My guess is that this coming month will also be rather busy for us.

April was a good month for our finances. Our net worth climbed slightly by $48,000 to end April at $2,761,000. Our income totaled $2,062, while our spending was lower at $1,566 for the entire month of April. 

Let’s jump into the details from last month.

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March 2023 Early Retirement Update – Springtime Edition

Welcome back to another monthly update from Root of Good. We spent the whole month of March at home in Raleigh. Along with relaxing in some nice springtime weather throughout the month, we also celebrated the 18th birthday of our daughter. We officially have an adult kid now! 

Looking ahead, we are putting the final touches on our summer 2023 South America trip and we are starting to think ahead for our summer 2024 trip. So far our summer plans for next year have been narrowed down to the northern hemisphere but even that is not set in stone! 

March was a good month overall for our finances. Our net worth climbed slightly by $3,000 to end March at $2,713,000. Our income totaled $8,892, while our spending was significantly lower at $1,679 for the entire month of March. 

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February 2023 Early Retirement Update

Welcome back to another update from Root of Good. We are slowly easing into spring. Or so we thought, until we got a brief snow blizzard over the weekend. It was above freezing the whole time, but it’s still neat to see snow in March in North Carolina. 

We spent the entire month of February at home without travel of any kind. In the last twelve months, September was the only other month where we were at home the whole month. It’s nice to have the time to relax and regroup after a busy year of post-pandemic “revenge travel”. 

February was a mixed month for our finances. Our net worth dropped by $68,000 to end February at $2,710,000. Our income totaled $1,756, while our spending was just a tiny bit lower at $1,675 for the entire month of February. 

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January 2023 Early Retirement Update

Welcome back to the life and times of the Root of Good household. We had another busy month during January. Mrs. Root of Good and I went on a ten night cruise out of Charleston, South Carolina. During the cruise we visited five Caribbean islands and enjoyed a brief respite from the “harsh” North Carolina winter. 

Now that we are back home, we have been busy planning our summer trip to South America. We have a slow springtime planned. So far, we have zero trips to anywhere between February and the commencement of our summer trip in mid-June! 

January was a bonanza month for our finances. Our net worth skyrocketed by $162,000 to end January at $2,788,000. Our income totaled $1,839, while our spending was a bit higher at $3,423 for the entire month of January. 

Let’s jump into the details from last month.

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Portugal Trip Recap Plus December 2022 Early Retirement Update

Hey folks, it’s 2023! I hope everyone had a great time with friends and family over the holidays, and rang in the New Year in style! 

We had a very busy December. We were vacationing in Portugal during the first week of December, and then sailed from Lisbon to the United States aboard the Norwegian Epic to get back in plenty of time to celebrate Christmas at home. 

Once back home in Raleigh, we went to a couple of family gatherings to celebrate Christmas. Our New Years Eve plans got canceled due to the hosts getting sick, so we watched the ball drop at home this year. 

Financially, December was a mixed month for us. Our net worth dropped by $92,000 to end the month at $2,626,000. Our income was excellent at $19,599 for last month, while our spending was incredibly low at only $1,271 for the whole month of December. 

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November 2022 Early Retirement Update

Last month flew by! First off, my apologies for a very late monthly update. We just got back from a little adventure in Europe and on the high seas. We spent a week traipsing around the Lisbon and coastal areas of Portugal.  Then we sailed west on a 9 day transatlantic cruise back to the US of A. Another busy month for us!

With the kids out of school, we’ll be able to enjoy a slow couple of weeks before 2023 kicks into high gear in January. I’m very grateful for the slower pace of life around the holidays. It is the time to hang out with family and friends, enjoy some good food, and maybe see a little snow if we are lucky! 

Financially, November was a great month for us. Our net worth shot up by $161,000 to end the month at $2,718,000. Our income was modest at $2,673. However income was still slightly higher than our even more modest spending of $2,586 during November.

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October 2022 Early Retirement Update

Welcome back to another monthly installment of the life and times of Root of Good. We kept busy in October with a ten day cruise to the Caribbean plus several parties for family and friends. I need a vacation! Ha ha…

Fall is in full swing here in North Carolina. It was hot and humid this past week as the remnants of a hurricane passed through the state. Now the cool fall air is here to stay for a while (we hope!). We have to check the weather daily to know whether to turn on the heat or the air conditioning. 

Right now, we are two weeks away from our next big trip. We fly to Portugal for a week-long adventure around the Lisbon and coastal areas of Portugal. Then we depart on a transatlantic cruise back to the US of A in the middle of December.

Financially, October was a great month for us. Our net worth shot up by $118,000 to end the month at $2,557,000. Our income was modest at $2,178. However income was still higher than our even more modest spending of $1,565 during October.

Let’s jump into the details from last month.

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September 2022 Early Retirement Update

Welcome back to another glimpse into my early retired lifestyle. In September, I enjoyed the slower pace of life at home in Raleigh after a busy summer traveling across Eastern Europe. We worked on some more travel planning for winter of 2022 and summer of 2023 (more on that below). And we spent a bunch of time relaxing and enjoying “doing nothing”. 

Our oldest two kids are half way through their fall semester of community college, and the youngest kid is doing well in his last year of elementary school. Each morning starts with our walk to school, and then us adults enjoy a peaceful, quiet day at home during the week until all the kids get home from school. 

Financially, September was a rough month for our net worth but a great month for our cash flow. Our net worth plummeted by a shocking $200,000 to end the month at $2,439,000. However, our income of $15,621 was substantially higher than our spending of $2,527 during September. 

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August 2022 Early Retirement Update

Time for a look back at what we were up to last month! We started the month of August in the city of Eger in the east of Hungary. Once our weeklong stay in Eger wrapped up, we headed west to Budapest where our 2 month European vacation would end after a nine day stay in the capital city.

We flew back to the USA through London and missed our connecting flight from London to Raleigh (whoops!) so we got a free one day whirlwind vacation in London. All expenses paid by the airline (except our transit tickets into the city center!). 

After finally making it home to North Carolina, two of our kids started community college classes almost immediately. And now the youngest kid is back in school too. So we are back into the slower-paced “steady state” life here at home in Raleigh. 

Financially, August was a mixed bag. Our net worth plummeted by $79,000 to end the month at $2,639,000. However, our income of $1,698 was higher than our spending of $1,398 during August.

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