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Archive for January, 2025

January 2025 net worth update

January 31st, 2025 at 10:11 pm

Our retirement regained about what it lost last month, so a good month. We're still at CoastFIRE with an $86K surplus. Since I have our calculations assuming me retiring at 65, so for fun I played with how many years I could shave off that. According to the calculator I could retire at 63 and still be at Coast right now!

Assets      
NT's UK pensions:      
AV1: 26,511 pounds $33,139    
SW: 37,117 pounds $46,396    
AV2: 7,971 pounds $9,964    
NT's trad. rollover IRA $135,105    
NT's Roth IRA $90,270    
NT's SEP IRA $7,733    
NT's AAC acct $8,256    
AS's trad. rollover IRA $33,777    
AS's Roth IRA $126,863    
AS's SEP IRA $90,905    
AS's Nevada acct (approx amt) $380    
CJ's trad. rollover IRA $288,575    
CJ's Roth IRA $97,485    
CJ/NT/AS house ($643,000 value -6%) $604,420    
CJ/NT/AS rental property ($599,000 value -6%) $563,060    
TOTAL ASSETS $2,136,328 retirement only: $968,848
       
Debt      
Main mortgage $330,406    
Rental property mortgage $376,241    
Loan from friends (main house) $9,000    
TOTAL DEBT $715,647    
       
Current Estimated Net Worth December 2024 $1,420,681    
       
December 2024 estimate: $1,392,651    
       
Change in net worth $28,030    
       
       
COAST FIRE: https://walletburst.com/tools/coast-fire-calc/    
retirement goal $1.59 million by 2039 (CJ age 65)    
       
Current age: 50      
Retirement age: 65      
Annual spending in retirement: $63,600      
Monthly contribution: $250      
Investment growth rate: 7%      
Inflation rate: 3%      
Withdrawal rate: 4%      
Current invested assets $968,848    
Coast FIRE number at current age $882,871    
Current status: at Coast FIRE with surplus: $85,977    
       
       
Coast FIRE budget      
Ideal budget Monthly    
Housing $0 (rent will cover prop expenses)  
Healthcare $1,500    
Groceries $1,000    
Fun $1,500    
Travel $1,000    
Utilities $500    
Giving $500    
Home improvement $500    
Gifts $250    
Transportation $250    
Monthly $7,000    
Minus add'l rental income -$1,700    
Total monthly $5,300    
Annual $63,600    
       
SSN estimates 2024 Start age 62 Start age 70  
Monthly benefit $4,200 $7,200  
Plus monthly from retirement $5,300 $5,300  
Total monthly $9,500 $12,500  

2024 wrap-up

January 5th, 2025 at 07:46 am

Another crazy year; feel like I'm still catching my breath from it. Financially, there were ups and downs. Personally and in the family, same thing. Let's see if I can recap everything...

Snapshot of the past three year-end reviews:

 

Assets: YOY change:
2021: $1,579,801  
2022: $1,801,176 +$221,375
2023: $1,939,211 +$138,035
2024: $2,109,218 +$170,007
   
Debt:  
2021: $370,966  
2022: $791,694 +$420,728
2023: $765,599 -$26,095
2024: $716,567 -$49,032
   
Net worth:  
2021: $1,208,835  
2022: $1,009,482 -$199,353
2023: $1,173,612 +$164,130
2024: $1,392,651 +$219,039

In a nutshell, our assets have grown steadily but our debt increased the year we bought the rental property (asset gain didn't match debt taken due in part to tanking retirement and a big unforeseen tax hit), so it's taken three years for our net worth to surpass the previous high at the end of 2021.

Still, even if it took awhile, a new high in net worth is something to celebrate! Other bright spots this year:

- WE HIT COAST FIRE! That was the biggie!!! I wasn't sure we'd get there since we stopped Roths and most other retirement contributions for a couple years, but we hit it in June and have stayed above our CoastFIRE number ever since.

- Despite not contributing much at all to retirement, our nest egg grew $115,487 to a new high of $941,738!

- Our assets hit multimillion status ($2M+ ) in March, dipped briefly back below that in April, and then came back up in May and stayed above $2 million!

- We experienced a couple windfalls, most notably a $16K tax refund and a $40K inheritance. We used it to pay off our HELOC and help fund our budget as AS and I grew our business. (We did have to dip back into the HELOC these past few months to the tune of $11K due to some hiccups, but it's not reflected in our debt total because I feel like I have a solid plan for paying it off.)

- We also received partial ownership of several pieces of real estate as my dad wanted to shift some of it over to us so it doesn't ever have to be dealt with in probate. My sisters and I have received several offers from energy companies for various leasing and buying of mineral rights etc. but as of now none of them have turned into anything. I don't know if I'll see much financial difference from co-owning these properties but it's kind of nice despite the hassle of getting our large family to make decisions and such.

We had some hiccups and scares in 2024 too:

- This was the first full year of AS and I both being self-employed, so we did fall a bit short of fully funding the year and had to take some of the HELOC out again ($11,000). This was due to unexpectedly high spending in several categories, most notably $3,000 in pet-health expenses and $5,000 more in healthcare out-of-pocket than budgeted. We also had some repairs needed for the rental property ($4,000). Given those three curveballs and the fact that our business wasn't at its full potential the first part of the year, I feel like we did pretty well.

- NT got into a car-pedestrian accident in late 2023 which we got sued for, and most of 2024 was spent worrying about how it would all pan out, but a couple months ago we got confirmation that everything was covered by our auto and liability insurance. So far, our premiums have barely moved. I don't know if that's because the case is still in process or if they really won't go up, but for now, it didn't end up being a financial nightmare. (A nightmare for the poor lady who was badly injured, had lots of medical bills, and lost income from not being able to work, so I'm glad it sounds like the insurance companies aren't contesting NT being at fault and will likely pay some or all of what she's suing for.)

- As noted above, we had some big vet bills. One of our beloved cats ended up being diagnosed with likely cancer (we're awaiting one more round of blood tests but the vet is pretty certain). From what we understand, chemo (and all the related tests and scans and visits etc) would come to about $20K, and the average survival is 50% live more than one year, 10% make it to three years. Given that our boy has FIV, a heart murmur and anemia and is on the older side, we don't rate his chances very well. And the additional vet visits would severely impact his quality of life for however long he lived (cars and carriers and strangers stress him out). So we're leaning toward palliative care to make him comfortable and let him enjoy the rest of his life. It's still gonna cost us a couple grand probably this year, but whatever we can do to give him the best care possible we'll do. Chemo just doesn't seem like a good route for him.

- Some of the healthcare costs were just stupid. I didn't check that the major hospital I went to for my mammogram was in network on my newish insurance, but it wasn't, so they barely covered anything. I get a diagnostic and cysts removed every year, so it was something like $2500. My monthly premium went up this year too, insult to injury, from $505 to $584. I'm going to try to get on NT's plan soon, and if that doesn't work I'll at least check network coverage VERY carefully before I do anything, since this plan is really crappy. (I shopped other plans on the exchange but I'd have to pay a TON more for anything even remotely good so I'll stick with crappy since I have a chance of not needing it much longer.)

Overall, it was a positive year financially and on paper life is great, but it's not all rosy. There have been ups and downs.

- I'm struggling a lot with having turned 50 in March, which I didn't think was going to bother me at all. It's not the getting old I mind, it's the prospect of mortality. I'm trying to get better about it but it's cast a shadow on most of the year. In lots of other ways I'm doing well though--I'm loving working for myself, I've got lots of awesome hobbies including learning a new language and taking singing lessons, and this music website I run has made me a minor celebrity (in a very niche part of the local music scene anyway, LOL).

- AS had a really tough year mentally, still dealing with some various fallouts from the pandemic and her decision to leave her lifelong career path, along with a definitive split from a family member that was very necessary but not an easy decision to make. She's feeling a bit adrift and not too happy. But I'm somewhat hopeful she'll find her way and I'll do everything I can to help.

- One of our kids, VL (formerly SL) had a rollercoaster year in terms of health (physical and mental) that included some tough times at school. The situation is still in flux but we're trying to help them with both sides of their struggles. (They're still excelling academically despite everything and have joined a few activities that bring them a lot of joy, so it's not all bad.)

- Our other kid AA is a newly minted high-schooler, and she probably had the calmest year of all of us. She's had a little trouble making friends but she seems to be making progress on that front. And doing well academically, and getting to be more independent little by little, so overall a good year for her I think.

- NT had a pretty great year! Other than the stress of the accident lawsuit and some colds and viruses (including COVID once), things have been going well. He likes his part-time job and they love him, but he's got an exciting prospect that he's totally confident is happening and I'll be confident in as soon as I see a job offer in writing. But if it pans out, it could net us over $30K more this year (conservatively) if he starts March 1st as he thinks he will. I worked up two versions of our annual budget, and if that job comes through it'll change the picture considerably! The best part is, it's a job that aligns with his passions and hobbies.

I think those are the big points; I may come in and edit if there's something major I'm missing. I'm grateful things turned out as well as they did this year despite the hurdles and curveballs. I don't take anything for granted anymore, but I'm trying to be open to the possibility that 2025 could be a good year for our family.

 

December 2024 net worth update

January 2nd, 2025 at 03:35 am

It has been a rollercoaster few months! Lost net worth in October, gained it back and then some in November, then lost some again in December. The net gain to our net worth over the past 3 months? $2,000.

Well, it's better than losing ground. We are still about $60K ahead of where we need to be to stay on CoastFIRE, so it's all good.

Next I'll work on my 2024 wrap-up post!

Assets      
NT's UK pensions:      
AV1: 26,511 pounds $33,139    
SW: 37,117 pounds $46,396    
AV2: 7,971 pounds $9,964    
NT's trad. rollover IRA $130,843    
NT's Roth IRA $87,412    
NT's SEP IRA $7,472    
NT's AAC acct $7,553    
AS's trad. rollover IRA $32,725    
AS's Roth IRA $122,583    
AS's SEP IRA $88,027    
AS's Nevada acct (approx amt) $380    
CJ's trad. rollover IRA $280,846    
CJ's Roth IRA $94,398    
CJ/NT/AS house ($643,000 value -6%) $604,420    
CJ/NT/AS rental property ($599,000 value -6%) $563,060    
TOTAL ASSETS $2,109,218 retirement only: $941,738
       
Debt      
Main mortgage $331,326    
Rental property mortgage $376,241    
Loan from friends (main house) $9,000    
TOTAL DEBT $716,567    
       
Current Estimated Net Worth December 2024 $1,392,651    
       
November 2024 estimate: $1,412,595    
       
Change in net worth -$19,944    
       
       
COAST FIRE: https://walletburst.com/tools/coast-fire-calc/    
retirement goal $1.59 million by 2039 (CJ age 65)    
       
Current age: 50      
Retirement age: 65      
Annual spending in retirement: $63,600      
Monthly contribution: $250      
Investment growth rate: 7%      
Inflation rate: 3%      
Withdrawal rate: 4%      
Current invested assets $941,738    
Coast FIRE number at current age $882,871    
Current status: at Coast FIRE with surplus: $58,867    
       
       
Coast FIRE budget      
Ideal budget Monthly    
Housing $0 (rent will cover prop expenses)  
Healthcare $1,500    
Groceries $1,000    
Fun $1,500    
Travel $1,000    
Utilities $500    
Giving $500    
Home improvement $500    
Gifts $250    
Transportation $250    
Monthly $7,000    
Minus add'l rental income -$1,700    
Total monthly $5,300    
Annual $63,600    
       
SSN estimates 2024 Start age 62 Start age 70  
Monthly benefit $4,200 $7,200  
Plus monthly from retirement $5,300 $5,300  
Total monthly $9,500 $12,500