Happy Fall Y’all! Colorful leaves, pumpkins, cold winds, and college football. I love fall, but there is a little extra to celebrate this year. Even though the temps are dropping, our net worth is rising! Read on for the details.
You can check the latest and greatest info on the Track Our Progress page.
First, the numbers:
Net Worth:
- End of October Balance: $1,006,128 up $56,855
- Year to Date (YTD): Up $245,748 (up 32.32%)
- Since January 2018 (this is when I started tracking our net worth): Up $701,128
Portfolio:
- End of October Balance: $831,547 up $54,454
- YTD: Up $215,676 (up 35.02%)
- Since January 2018: Up $594,547
October Highlights
Double Comma Club!
When I popped open the ‘ole Personal Capital app I was surprised to see our net worth topped the $1,000,000 mark for the first time!
Just kidding… I was watching it daily (at least) as we approached it.
$1 million doesn’t get us to Financial Independence (FI)*, but its is a big psychological milestone. I mean, it just sounds cool.
As excited as I am, I suspect we are just flirting with the $1MM mark as the market has been on a tear. If you’ve invested long enough, you know that 10 percent drops happen every few years, and 20 percent drops or more are certainly possible as well (see 2008 and 2018 as recent examples).
*Our FI goal is closer to $2.5 to 3 million
Fall Break Fun
The kids had their fall break the last week of October, so we surprised them by booking a couple nights at Great Wolf Lodge in Chicago. It was a great time, and the kids’ first time in the Windy City. Besides the water park, we got to enjoy some deep dish pizza, and the Shedd Aquarium.
Feeding the Roths
We got back to contributing to our Roth IRAs in October. As a married couple, we can contribute $12,000 a year ($6,000 each). We love maxing out our Roths for the following reasons:
- We no longer qualify for a tax deduction for contributing to Traditional IRAs, so this is a better means of contributing our after tax dollars.
- Our contributions can be withdrawn tax and penalty free. So, it sort of serves as an emergency fund for us.
We still have a bit to go to max the accounts out, but we should be able to knock out the rest soon. My wife’s 401k is now maxed out and mine will be shortly. Once they are maxed, our paychecks will go up significantly. We will redirect a portion to fill up the rest of the Roth IRA buckets.
Coming Up in November
Let’s Top Off The Roths (continued)
We made a lot of progress with these accounts in October. Our goal is to just about wrap them up in November. Knock on wood… if all goes well they should be done in late November/early December.
Let’s Also Top Off the Freezer
One of my favorite fall activities is hunting. November marks deer and duck season in Missouri. I look forward to hunting all year. While I strive for a successful hunt every time I go out, the time in the field, woods, or pond are rewarding win or lose. The solitude of the tree stand, the suspense brought on by every crunch of leaf or limb, and the sights and sounds of ducks quacking over the marsh at sunrise all provide a level of peace and equal measure of thrills that are hard to find in the normal daily grind.
But this year the the deep freezer is looking awfully empty… so, I best be on my game.
A Thanksgiving First
Due to a home improvement project at my in-laws’ house, we will have the opportunity to host Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever!
My wife hadn’t finished the sentence when my thoughts turned to the turkey, my gaze gaze shifted to the smoker, and my inner BBQer started rubbing my hands together. I’m gonna smoke a turkey! Just the kind of daunting culinary adventure I crave!
Thanks for reading!
