We're back from Europe! We had a fantastic time in Portugal (new to us) and Spain (2nd time there). I was exhausted from an intense summer of work so I did more relaxing than sightseeing, but I didn't mind--relaxing away from all my stuff and responsibilities was way more impactful than if I'd tried to have a staycation or anything. Anyway, we all loved Portugal and it's definitely at the top of possible places we'd love to have a winter home, if we can figure out how to afford that. We've been having fun discussing different scenarios, trying not to get too stuck in one way of thinking but really explore all angles, even the out-there ones.
The retirement accounts did well this past month; our net worth went up $28K, largely due to stock market gains. The CoastFIRE calculator says I could keep coasting and retire at 61, so only 10 years away!
The travel spending this year way outstripped what we budgeted for, so we're currently running at a deficit for the year. I know there's more spending and also more income to go this year, so I'm not trying to predict how much we'll be in the hole, but I do think we'll be a certain amount so. I don't have the HELOC reflected in net worth because I was hoping to go in the opposite direction this year, especially when it seemed like NT was going to get a lucrative new job. That job is a much more remote possibility now, so at the end of the year, whatever we've accumulated in HELOC debt will make it onto the net worth spreadsheet. Right now it's at $24K; about half from 2024 and half from this year. But it could be less by the end of the year, so I'll wait and see.
While it's not great to be overspending by $1K a month, part of it is definitely me and AS still getting our business growing. I'm on track to make at least $15K more this year (gross) than last (of course our spending/expenses increased a similar amount this year so it's not solving all our problems lol) and I think there's room to grow, so we're on a good trajectory!
October 1st, 2025 at 10:28 pm 1759357731
Now it's time to spend more because we can and i don't want to die with millions. All the prudent planning sometimes you hit the point (and maybe you have) where you are fine no matter what.
October 2nd, 2025 at 12:25 am 1759364750
October 2nd, 2025 at 02:56 am 1759373760
In terms of thinking about visiting longer-term (or living there part time), there seem to be some good options for visitor visas (and even permanent resident options though they may be too expensive for us). Portugal is one of the safest countries in the world. Having a home base from which we can travel quickly and cheaply to other parts of Europe (and to Asian countries in about half the time as from the U.S.) is very attractive to us, since we'd love to see more of the world and NT's family lives in England.
Drawbacks: The food was yummy and beautifully presented across the board, but nothing about it blew me away like other countries' cuisines. (Then again I've never been as thrilled by European flavors compared with Asia, Latin America and Africa. Luckily there were Asian restaurants!) My knee was bothering me so all the hills got to me a bit. Many of the sidewalks are so narrow they're basically single file (but going out in the street to pass someone isn't a big deal). I thought everyone looked classy and stylish but my spouses found the fashion to be a bit bland and boring. Whiskey isn't a big thing in the bars and restaurants we visited, and I prefer that much more than wine.
I didn't get a chance to explore the nightlife and see what the music scene would be like. Since seeing live music is one of my favorite activities, it'd be a drawback if there weren't many options in the styles I like (more acoustic singer-songwriter, country, folk, roots-rock/retro rock n roll, blues, etc.)
October 2nd, 2025 at 03:01 am 1759374072
Part of it is the pandemic and drastic political decline have really shifted my thinking in various ways, but part of it is just realizing that I think we saved enough.
October 8th, 2025 at 02:51 pm 1759935115
I understand that you don't want to oversave. I imagine you will figure out how to not be in deficit for the next year; you are quite good with handling finances.