Financial Independence Archives - Page 13 of 22

February 2017 Financial Update

March 6, 2017 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

Two months into 2017 and things are off to a great start for us. Our income of $4,893 for the month greatly exceeded our expenses of $2,108. Our net worth climbed another $38,000 to $1,756,000 primarily due to solid stock market gains.

Our taxes are filed and we’re due small refunds from the state and the feds totaling several hundred dollars. My first effort at paying quarterly estimated taxes in 2016 were a huge success since I came very close to our actual tax liabilities without giving our state and federal governments unnecessarily large loans. Our overall tax liability is higher in retirement compared to our working years thanks to the self employment tax due on blog earnings. At least I’m increasing my future social security check slightly.

January 2017 Financial Update

February 9, 2017 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

January is over and what a fine January it was for our finances! Our net worth climbed another $38,000 to $1,718,000 and in the process we broke through another $100,000 milestone. Income for the month of January was solid at $5,068 while expenses remained roughly on budget at $3,378 in spite of a few large, lumpy quarterly or annual expenses.

After finishing 2016 about $1,000 under our $40,000 budget with total spending of $38,991, we are off to a great start in 2017.

Living a $100,000 lifestyle on $40,000 per year – 2016 Expenses in Review

January 30, 2017 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Personal Finance

“Oh you live on $40,000 per year? Guess you like camping in the van underneath the highway bridge huh? Still enjoying those rice and beans? Three kids cost $40,000 per year right off the bat so it’s clearly impossible!”. This complainer clearly doesn’t know how we spend money.

Living well on $40,000 per year is possible and I’m here to explain exactly how by going over all of our expenses during 2016. Later in the article I’ll explain why our spending affords us a lifestyle that costs most other people $100,000 per year. And I don’t think many would argue that a $100,000 per year lifestyle is a tough way to live.

December 2016 Financial Update

January 6, 2017 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

Now that the year end celebrations are over, it’s time to get down to business. Our December finances closed on a strong note with a big $29,000 boost to our net worth, bringing the total to an all time high of $1,680,000. Our income for the month totaled $16,120 primarily due to year end dividend income while our expenses increased to $6,326 thanks to some incredible travel deals.

We closed out the year just under our $40,000 budget with total spending of $38,991.

November 2016 Financial Update

December 7, 2016 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

November was a busy month for us! We ate a lot of turkey then packed up the minivan and set out for a five night Caribbean cruise. Now that we are back, it’s time to take a look at our financials for last month. Income looks tiny at $785 for the month (but I’ll explain why) while expenses remained moderate at $2,774. A strong stock market propelled our net worth $33,000 higher to $1,651,000. All in all, November was a great month financially and otherwise.

The Role of Luck in Early Retirement

November 22, 2016 JustinRoG Awesome!, Financial Independence, Lifestyle

We’re celebrating Thanksgiving here in America in a few days, and that means two things: eating massive quantities of turkey and reflecting on all the beautifully awesome parts of life! Last year I mentioned how thankful I was for cool affordable tech gadgets, the ease of growing wealth, and lastly, economic and political stability.

I’m still a big fan of all of those! But in this post, I want to express my gratitude for all the good luck experienced throughout my life.

First up, I’m glad I was born in the United States of America. It’s one of the richest countries in the world as measured by per capita gross domestic product, consistently ranking in the top 10 or 15 countries of the world. In the good ole US of A, we speak English which is the lingua franca of business and culture worldwide. Speaking English as a first language boosts one’s career prospects and allows conversation with around a quarter of the world’s population. That also translates to a huge marketplace if you’re in the idea biz (such as writing a blog).

October 2016 Financial Update

November 7, 2016 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Personal Finance

Now that the trick or treating is over and October is gone, I’m ready to share the good and bad financial data from last month. Our income, mostly derived from this blog, remained very strong at $8,365 while our expenses ended the month at $1,460 which left us with a large cash surplus. If I make much more money, I’m afraid I might be “unretired”!

I can’t say I paid any attention to the stock market in October but apparently it declined. In spite of income exceeding expenses by about $7,000, our net worth still dropped by $29,000 to $1,618,000. Since this is significantly more money than we had a year or two ago, I continue to feel safe and secure at our current net worth levels.

September 2016 Financial Update

October 4, 2016 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

I can’t believe September is already over! Our oldest two kids are settling into the back to school routine (with a few hiccups along the way) while our youngest starts one day per week pre-school next week. Fall usually brings cooler, dryer weather to North Carolina but this year summer decided to overstay its welcome by keeping the warm, humid air around much longer than normal.

September was another great month for us financially. Our income remained strong at $5,695 while our spending remained below budget at $2,781. Net worth increased by $12,000 to $1,647,000.

How to Pay for College while Early Retired

September 20, 2016 JustinRoG Awesome!, Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Moneyhacks, Parenting, Personal Finance

One of the top questions I’m asked when people see “retired at 33 with 3 kids” is “yeah, but what about college?”. The truth is I never really gave it a lot of thought because the total cost is well into the future (though closing in fast for our oldest kid) and not huge relative to our total net worth. I had a very vague goal of being able to cover the tuition and fees for four years of in-state tuition for all three kids.

We funneled some cash into 529 accounts when North Carolina offered a tax credit for doing so. We earned a $350 tax credit for contributing $5,000 per year to the 529. When that tax credit was eliminated, I stopped contributing to the 529s and stopped thinking about college funding. Paying tens of thousands of dollars for college is no biggie when you have a million or two, right?

It turns out my lazy attitude toward college funding won’t spell disaster for my children’s higher education future. Between what we have saved in 529s, our large investment portfolio, and a plethora of other funding sources, the kids will be perfectly fine when the college tuition bills start piling up. You’ll have to read on to find out why I’m so confident (or is it cocky?).

August 2016 Financial Update

September 7, 2016 JustinRoG Awesome!, Financial Independence, Personal Finance

Now that August is over, we are officially in the last third of the year! It’s hard to believe the year is already winding down. August was a decent month financially. Our net worth crept up another $2,000 to $1,635,000. Income totaled $5,191 while expenses were $2,817 for the month.

After spending the last half of July and the first part of August on our three and a half week road trip to Canada, we returned home in mid-August to a flurry of activity to get the kids ready for school. That meant buying school supplies (including a brand new fancy pants TI-84 CE color graphing calculator) and attending two back to school orientations. Our oldest daughter just entered middle school so now we have twice as many PTA meetings and school events to fit into our not-so-busy schedules. She’s loving middle school so far!

Here’s what our August 2016 looks like under a financial microscope.