The leaves are falling and the trick or treating is in the books. October has come and gone. Were our finances as spooky as the Halloween decorations?
As always, you can check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
First, the numbers:
Net Worth:
- End of October Balance: $528,087 Up $18,274 (3.58%)
- Year to Date (YTD): Up $136,2495 (34.77%)
- Since January 2018 (this is when I started tracking our net worth): Up $223,087
Portfolio:
- End of October Balance: $372,613 Up $11,429 (3.16%)
- YTD: Up $109,076 (41.39%)
- Since January 2018: Up $132,613
Monthly Contributions: $5,633
October was a solid month for us. Our portfolio returns were more than double our contributions. That’s not spooky at all!
October Highlights
Tweaking the Portfolio
I shook up my 401k in October. While I am a huge supporter of the Simple Path to Wealth approach of using total market index funds, I felt I was missing out on some diversification. Additionally, I wanted to get some more exposure to the small cap and small cap value asset classes.
In a nutshell I took 50% of my Vanguard 500 (VIAX) holding and reallocated it to a mix of small cap, small cap value, international, and a REIT. All low fee index funds of course! You can read more about why and how I did this HERE.
Travel Rewards Update
I signed up for a Capital One Venture card a few months back and I just got the 50,000 point bonus for meeting the minimum required spend of $3,000 in 3 months. 50,000 points is worth at least $500 and possibly more if it is transferred to a travel partner. I love these points because they can be used as a “purchase eraser” to cover travel charges that aren’t typically covered by other rewards points.
Mrs. HOF’s New Work Schedule
My wife starting working from home for one day a week. Right now I work from home on Monday and she does it on Tuesday. Working from home has been (for me at least) a huge stress relief. We can knock out some tasks like laundry, meal prep, etc., and avoid workplace distractions, like chatty co-workers.
Coming Up in November
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
I just got back from a work conference in Branson, Missouri. In case you didn’t know, Christmas is a big deal there. Every tree and streetlight is already decked out in Christmas lights, and Christmas trees are visible everywhere. Let me put it this way: I heard 3 different versions of Santa Baby in 24 hours… that’s way too many.
Now, I absolutely can’t stand “Christmas Creep”. I mean, can’t we at least enjoy Thanksgiving first! That said, we are starting to fill out our children’s Christmas lists. My wife handles the bulk of gift getting and she usually has most of it bought before the end November. We are also looking forward to Black Friday for the opportunity to replace our broken Air Fryer!
But First – The Great Toy Purge
One of our more recent holiday traditions is having our kids look through their existing toys and select toys they would like to donate or otherwise don’t play with anymore. We tell them we need to make room for Santa’s new toys. Most of these toys are given away or taken to Goodwill. Some of the larger/nicer ones are sold off, and we usually find several toys that simply need to be trashed due to being broken or missing important pieces. I think this gives them an appreciation of what they already have and I love watching their little brains work as they sort out what to keep, donate or trash.
Thanks for reading!
