29 (now 38) - Long Way to Go, But Digging In

[Standard Staples]

Another year in the books, with a better than expected finish.

Here's how the end of 2020 looked, when compared with the end of 2019.

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$281,800 Annual Combined Income - $316,700

NET WORTH END 2014: ~$354,100
NET WORTH END 2015: ~$489,300
NET WORTH END 2016: ~$657,100
NET WORTH END 2017: ~$805,000
NET WORTH END 2018: ~$783,810
NET WORTH END 2019: ~$1,033,270
NET WORTH END 2020: $1,251,400

2014 Annual Expenses: $57,600
2015 Annual Expenses: $57,300
2016 Annual Expenses: $71,715
2017 Annual Expenses: $76,690
2018 Annual Expenses: $84,820
2019 Annual Expenses: $95,520
2020 Annual Expenses: $90,600

2014 Annual Savings: $71,850
2015 Annual Savings: $90,120
2016 Annual Savings: $81,560
2017 Annual Savings: $98,830
2018 Annual Savings: $121,710
2019 Annual Savings: $125,570
2020 Annual Savings: $161,900

2014 Annual Savings Rate: ~55%
2015 Annual Savings Rate: ~61%
2016 Annual Savings Rate: ~53%
2017 Annual Savings Rate: ~56%
2018 Annual Savings Rate: ~59%
2019 Annual Savings Rate: ~57%
2020 Annual Savings Rate: ~64%

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2020 Goals & Results

Annual Combined Income: $300,000 - Beat by $16,700
Annual Expenses: $95,000 - Beat by $4,400
Annual Savings: $135,000 - Beat by $25,900
Annual Savings Rate: 58% - Beat by 6%
Net Worth: $1,200,000 - Beat by $51,400

$45,000 401k (including Company Matches - No match at the new company, yet) - DONE
$10,000 House Principal Payoff - DONE
$23,000 Reinvested Dividends - Beat by $2,800
$12,000 Roth (Combined) - DONE
$4,800 HSA - DONE__________________________
$94,800 TOTAL - Beat by $2,800

I feel that it almost goes without saying that I'm extremely pleased to have met all my goals for the year, especially when considering NW dropped as low as $920K in May. To have achieved a nearly $250K increase seemed impossible in the summertime.


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2020 Recap

While not the year we planned, it will certainly be one to look back on as more than memorable. We got in a killer vacation before the lockdowns, and I believe we truly made the best of the situation. It has been amazing to be home every night, and it's hard to imagine when I'll be back on the road. Once it does start back up, I feel we will be a bit more deliberate about which meetings truly require the time and expense of bringing people together in the same room. In that respect, my travel should decline dramatically, even when things return to somewhat business as usual.

Because of all the time we have been spending at home, we pivoted from a simple landscaping project and opted to put in a full backyard pool! The kids are ecstatic, and we're excited to finally have a usable outdoor space. We never really spent much time in the grassy backyard, as the bugs were brutal. The screened enclosure was installed last week, and we're just a few weeks away from completion.

Our 8-day cruise was obviously cancelled in the Fall, but we replaced it with a staycation, which turned out to be tremendous. We never would have done it otherwise, but we're already planning to do it again, should the travel limitations continue throughout 2021.

I received a promotion in October, and I'm on track for another one in the not too distant future. My wife also received a nice raise in September, so the income side continues to grow in a meaningful way.

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2021 Notes & Goals

Tough to say what this year will bring, but I suppose if we can handle 2020, I feel good about marching forward with 2021. We'll have the pool to enjoy most of the year, and if things work out, we have some nice travel plans in the Fall.

I'll continue to grind at my job and hopefully it will continue to be challenging and enjoying.

Goals for the year:

Annual Combined Income: $325,000
Annual Expenses: $115,000
Annual Savings: $139,000
Annual Savings Rate: 55%
Net Worth: $1,400,000

$45,000 401k (including Company Matches)
$10,000 House Principal Payoff
$25,000 Reinvested Dividends
$12,000 Roth (Combined)
$6,000 HSA__________________________
$98,000 TOTAL


On to 2021 (cautiously)! Thanks for following along.

 

[Exit 2024]

Congratulations, Staples, on blockbuster year end results!!! Dedication and staying the course makes all the difference, especially at the times of massive pullbacks as we saw in spring

$1400k Net worth target seems very conservative, it is increase of $149k, and you plan to save $139k (does that include paying off principal by 10k?) Are you expecting market pullback or being pretty much flat this year?

 

[Standard Staples]

Congratulations, Staples, on blockbuster year end results!!! Dedication and staying the course makes all the difference, especially at the times of massive pullbacks as we saw in spring

$1400k Net worth target seems very conservative, it is increase of $149k, and you plan to save $139k (does that include paying off principal by 10k?) Are you expecting market pullback or being pretty much flat this year?

I try to be optimistic, but I feel like it could be a strange year. Even with the vaccines rolling out, I'm not sure we'll see a return to normal in 2021, and many businesses and industries will continue to suffer. The broader market will react appropriately, and I'd love to see the NW race upwards, but confidence is too low to shoot for much higher than that.

Of course, I'd be happy to be wrong.

 

[Standard Staples]

I managed to miss another quarterly update, but midpoint of the year will work. The first half of 2021 has been great, and we're green on almost every metric. I paid cash for a new car in Q2, which is throwing off the expenses/savings rate categories, but that's okay. Income is in a great place, as I received a nice bonus in March, and my wife appears to have a raise incoming in Q3.

While we crossed $1M in net worth back in 2019, a highlight from the first half of the year is our investments cresting $1M on their own. In terms of net worth, $1.4M was clearly a conservative goal for the year, as we surpassed that in May. The new goal for the end of the year is $1.5M, which would be our largest annual NW increase on record, so here's hoping.

On a personal side, the pool was completed in Q1, and it has already proven to be worth every penny. While I'm laser focused on taking care of our future, this expenditure qualifies as a good example of us enjoying the present. It won't do anything to accelerate the FIRE calendar, but I'll soak in the sunny days and pool memories with my wife and kids. With restrictions loosening, we have travel plans cautiously booked for Q3.

Here's where we stand, as of today:

INCOME & SPENDING
Annual Combined Income: $325,000
Midpoint Tracking @ $345,000

Annual Expenses: $115,000
Midpoint Tracking @ $136,000

Annual Savings: $139,000
Midpoint Tracking @ $141,000

Annual Savings Rate: 55%
Midpoint Tracking @ 51%

Net Worth: $1,400,000 => Modifying to $1,500,000
Midpoint Tracking @ $1,500,000


GOALS
$45,000 401k (including Company Matches)
Midpoint Tracking @ $49,000

$10,000 House Principal Payoff
Midpoint Tracking @ $10,000

$25,000 Reinvested Dividends
Midpoint Tracking @ $25,600

$12,000 Roth (Combined)
DONE

$6,000 HSA
ON TRACK
________________________________________
$98,000 TOTAL
Midpoint Tracking @ $102,600


On to Q3-Q4.

 

[Exit 2024]

Excellent progress, Staples! always looking forward to your updates

 

[Standard Staples]

Excellent progress, Staples! always looking forward to your updates

Same to you, 2024. Hard to believe how much time has passed since you and I both started tracking our progress.

Maybe I'll catch up to you with a big bet on red this weekend...

 

[Standard Staples]

well, that sounds great, congrats!

Thank you for the kind words!

 

[pjigar]

Same to you, 2024. Hard to believe how much time has passed since you and I both started tracking our progress.

Maybe I'll catch up to you with a big bet on red this weekend...

Only person you have to beat is you! Everyone has a different timeline but the good thing is if you stick to investing rather than betting, you are almost guaranteed to get there.

Did I say, it get easier after the first 1M? Good progress. Just keep sailing.

 

[Exit 2024]

Did I say, it get easier after the first 1M?

Second that, for us to cross $2M took exactly 4.5 years, hoping that passing $3M will take even less then that

 

[Standard Staples]

Someone once told me "the days are long, and the years are short." I suppose this is accurate, as I somehow not only missed the 2021 year end review - I missed ALL of 2022. Time to catch up...

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$387,000 Annual Combined Income

NET WORTH END 2014: $354,100
NET WORTH END 2015: $489,300
NET WORTH END 2016: $657,100
NET WORTH END 2017: $805,000
NET WORTH END 2018: $783,810
NET WORTH END 2019: $1,033,270
NET WORTH END 2020: $1,251,400
NET WORTH END 2021: $1,644,325
NET WORTH END 2022: $1,646,540

2014 Annual Expenses: $57,600
2015 Annual Expenses: $57,300
2016 Annual Expenses: $71,715
2017 Annual Expenses: $76,690
2018 Annual Expenses: $84,820
2019 Annual Expenses: $95,520
2020 Annual Expenses: $90,600
2021 Annual Expenses: $123,000
2022 Annual Expenses: $145,000

2014 Annual Savings: $71,850
2015 Annual Savings: $90,120
2016 Annual Savings: $81,560
2017 Annual Savings: $98,830
2018 Annual Savings: $121,710
2019 Annual Savings: $125,570
2020 Annual Savings: $161,900
2021 Annual Savings: $196,700
2022 Annual Savings: $170,400

2014 Annual Savings Rate: ~55%
2015 Annual Savings Rate: ~61%
2016 Annual Savings Rate: ~53%
2017 Annual Savings Rate: ~56%
2018 Annual Savings Rate: ~59%
2019 Annual Savings Rate: ~57%
2020 Annual Savings Rate: ~64%
2021 Annual Savings Rate: ~61%
2022 Annual Savings Rate: ~54%

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2022 Goals & Results

No goals actively set on this forum, but I would say we wouldn't have achieved the primary one - net worth growth. However, we continue to plug away with maxing out accounts, so we remain steadfast in our goal to at least achieve FI, regardless of when we execute the RE part.

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2021/2022 Recap

From a career perspective, things have been solid. I received another promotion to begin 2022, and my wife moved to a new employer in April. Her pay decreased a bit, but her last company had become extremely toxic and layoffs were all but guaranteed. Looking past the dollars and cents, her happiness and balance of work and personal have both improved dramatically, and the upside with the new company is tremendous.

We definitely opened up the piggy bank a lot more in 2021 and 2022, primarily tied to increased kids' extracurricular activities, purchasing a new vehicle, some home improvement and catching up on vacations after all the lockdowns. I realize it doesn't follow lock step with the goals of ER, but we're trying to balance the moment while looking toward the future.

When I first started this thread, my son was under 2 years old. Well, he just turned 10, and my daughter turns 7 shortly. Back to the long days/short years comment...

We're still saving a lot of money, and the increase in spending has not caused us to derail or lose focus on our goals, but I feel the trend of loosening a bit will continue in 2023.

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2023 Notes & Goals

Financially, 2021 was full speed ahead, and 2022 hit the brakes quite a bit. Here's hoping 2023 performs more in line with 2021, but we'll keep pushing forward. Continued steady investments, challenging and enjoyable work and soaking in the present - simple but seemingly achievable goals.

Financial goals for the year:

Annual Combined Income: $364,000
Annual Expenses: $145,000
Annual Savings: $147,000
Annual Savings Rate: 50%
Net Worth: $1,800,000

$60,000 401k (including Company Matches)
$10,700 House Principal Payoff
$40,000 Reinvested Dividends
$6,750 HSA__________________________
$117,450 TOTAL


On to 2023... Thanks for following along, despite the absurdly long delay.

 

[HI Bill]

Congrats! Looks like a great balance...saving and spending. Maybe I missed it, but did you have a FIRE age/accumulation goal?

 

[dukebound85]

do you numbers include house equity?

 

[Exit 2024]

Hi Staples,
Happy to see you are back, and with great reports as usual.
Amazing that 2022 was practically flat for your NW,
most of us here are liking wounds with different sizes but still sizable losses.
What is your AA? Just curious what made such a difference for you.

 

[street]

That is great!! Thanks for the update.

 

[Eastfolk]

Thanks for the update. I have very similar stats as you and it was a very disappointing feeling when I calculated my year-end figures that despite my household income being the highest it’s ever been in 2022, my total investable assets was flat. But I guess that’s in a way a good indication that my nest egg is at a point where it’s doing most of the work and less reliant on contributions. Hopefully 2023 fares better - we’re off to a decent start!

 

[Standard Staples]

do you numbers include house equity?

They do. I try to be a bit conservative on that one - factor in interest rate shifts, fees if we chose to sell, etc. I believe the realistic number is around $350-400K, but right now I have $250K in the calculations.

 

[Standard Staples]

Hi Staples,
Happy to see you are back, and with great reports as usual.
Amazing that 2022 was practically flat for your NW,
most of us here are liking wounds with different sizes but still sizable losses.
What is your AA? Just curious what made such a difference for you.

Glad to be back! The AA is aggressive, with the majority in stocks (heavier on U.S. but definitely some international exposure). Analyzing the numbers, it seems I may have just caught right on the edge of contributions + dividends + increased home equity > paper losses.

Interestingly enough, while my IRAs/401(k) showed losses, my self-managed portion managed an 8% boost... but I think I'll call that a black swan event and keep my day job.

 

[Standard Staples]

Congrats! Looks like a great balance...saving and spending. Maybe I missed it, but did you have a FIRE age/accumulation goal?

Great question - when I first started aggressively saving and monitoring numbers back in 2013, I targeted 43 for FI and 49 for RE. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I'll be 49 when my daughter finishes high school.

However, it really is a moving target. I enjoy my work and find it to be mentally stimulating and fulfilling, and my wife is currently in the same bucket. However, my kids come above everything else (or at least I attempt to put them above everything else). This mentality is part of what has really affected our increased spending. We vacation a bit bigger and more frequently, we encourage and support their activities and just generally don't let money stop us from having a good time. While this all comes at a cost, I have never looked back on any of these events thinking of the dollars - it's always the memories and the feelings.

The good news is that even with this uptick, if things change and choose to hang up the spikes before 49, I consider us to be ahead of schedule. When I first built out the projections in 2013, I had our NW around $1.05M end of 2022. To be sitting $600K above that? I'll take it.

 

[Standard Staples]

2023 Notes & Goals

Quick midyear update

Financial goals for the year:

Annual Combined Income: $364,000 => On Track with two solid raises this year
Annual Expenses: $145,000 => Running closer to $190K -
Annual Savings: $147,000 = $149K
Annual Savings Rate: 50% => Run rate closer to 44%, but we're enjoying every dollar spent
Net Worth: $1,800,000 => Currently at $1.9M, hoping to accelerate to $2.0M before year end

$60,000 401k (including Company Matches) - Running closer to $73K
$10,700 House Principal Payoff - On Track
$40,000 Reinvested Dividends - On Track
$6,750 HSA - On Track__________________________
$117,450 TOTAL - Running ahead

It's interesting how things adjust and shift as time goes by. When I started this thread years ago, Early Retirement was a laser targeted goal. The desire to ER hasn't changed, but as the kids have grown, our desire and willingness to spend more and enrich their (and ultimately our) lives has grown at an equal or greater pace. If you had asked me what my vacation budget would be in 2023, I would have fallen out of my chair to see the actual numbers. If you had asked me what I'd happily spend on extracurricular activities, I might have actually fainted. Yet here we are, and while we could easily be over $2.0M at this stage, I have zero regrets, and I believe we have found a wonderful balance between saving and savoring.

I look forward to closing out 2023 strong - in a lot of ways!

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Your story is sImilar to mine. Congratulations on strong earnings and discipline. We too started to spend more to enjoy the ride and some spend therapy (keep the grind having some immediate gratification).

Fortunately our earnings kept growing, compounding was our friend, and our ultimate net worth and annual spend are higher than we ever hoped.

Key is we always have lived below our means.

 

[pacergal]

Great update, doing well, enjoying family. What's not to like about that?
Congrats.

 

[Exit 2024]

Great update, Staples! We also can relate to your story, as the bigger out nest egg the more we pay attention to quality of life today. Feels like pressure of being super frugal is not there anymore, and at the same time NW keeps climbing. Looks like you found that balance to have both, quality of life and meeting your saving goals, that is an achievement by itself, so congratulations!