Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the summer to the fullest. This is the best time of year in the Pacific Northwest. The weather is nice and we are doing all kinds of fun activities in the city. Portland has gotten a lot of bad press in recent years, but things look a lot better this year. There are fewer crazy people in the center. The stores eventually removed all the boards from the windows. The city feels lively and it’s nice to walk around again. City leaders are trying to get rid of our reputation for burning garbage cans. Visitors must be pleasantly surprised. There are still problem areas, but the main tourist spots are pretty clean. Our neighborhood is much quieter, so I’ll take that as a win.
Financially, we had a great month. Our income was good and we didn’t spend too much. we had a good month of positive cash flow. Our net worth also increased a good amount owed. It’s almost back to our all-time high. I almost feel rich! It’s a good time because summer is the perfect time to go out and splurge a little.
Alright, I’ll share how I’m doing with my 2023 New Year’s goals. Then I’ll go over our net worth and cash flow. Come on!
Goals 2023
Here is my 2023 goal spreadsheet. It works great. Give it a try if you can’t keep up with your New Years goals. The key is to review the spreadsheet once a month to keep track of your progress. That way, you can see which goals need extra attention and work on them.
Most line items look good…
financial goals
- Invest in Real Estate Crowdfunding. I plan to invest in at least one RE crowdfunding project this year. In January, there was a capital call and I sent in $3,000. That’s a start. I will invest more as we accumulate more cash. My projects at CrowdStreet are doing quite well, so I plan to invest more in the coming years. It is a great way to generate passive income.
- IF ratio > 120%. This is my main goal for 2023. The IF system is passive income divided by expense. This shows that we can maintain our lifestyle with passive income. Things are a bit slow this year. Our FI ratio is 104% after 6 months. However, the rest of the year should be better. I’m pretty sure we’ll hit 120% by the end of the year.
- net worth back to its highest point. This depends entirely on our investment. I don’t have much control over that, but let’s go back to ATH! Oh wow, the stock market did so well in the first half. Our net worth is almost back to its all-time high. We just need one more good month. Come on! Our previous high was in January. 2022.
health goals
- 7,500 steps per day. Wow, this goal is hard to achieve. My steps per day dropped like a rock after I got back from Thailand. It was cold in Portland and I had a hard time leaving the house. My average is 5,752 steps per day and falling. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will get much better.
- Cook 1 vegetarian/fish per week. I want to cook a healthier meal at least once a week. So far I have cooked 32 healthy meals. That is steady progress.
Personal goals
- Disneyland, zip line or hot air balloon ride. We visited Disneyland in March. It was great. We enjoyed the trip very much. RB40Jr wasn’t impressed with the classic rides, but he loved the newer and more exciting rides. I’m glad I went. Made!
- Happiness > 8. June was a good month for me. Life was mostly uneventful. I was able to relax and found my center. I am back to my baseline level of happiness. I give June 8 points. It’s nice to be able to spend more fun family time in the summer.
- Get rid of Awebber. WIP. This is one of my biggest business expenses and it doesn’t seem all that useful. I will be moving to a cheaper alternative this year. It’s hard to get going on this front. I will work on it this summer.
Net Worth (+13.9%)
The stock market had a great performance in June. I sold some technology. stocks and reinvested most of the proceeds in Treasury bonds. He wanted to secure some profit for the year. It was a great month to be an investor.
I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s usually very encouraging to see the progress. The power of compounding is incredible. However, 2022 was demoralizing. Our net worth fell along with the stock market. However, 2023 is looking great. We are almost back to our ATH. The important thing is to keep investing even when the market goes down.
***Important*** My best advice is to stay the course. Don’t stop investing. You have to keep investing when the stock market is down. Eventually, the stock market will recover and do very well as long as you keep investing during the downturn.
Here’s a chart of our Empower net worth. (Personal Capital is now Empower.) Sign up for a free Empower account to help you manage your net worth and investment accounts. I go online to check our net worth and use their free tools frequently. It is a great site for DIY investors.
June 2023 FIRE Cash Flow
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side jobs, and taxable passive income. Mrs. RB40’s income is not here because I verify that we will be okay after she retires. June was a good month. Cash flow was positive and we saved over $2,000.
June 2023 FIRE Income: $5,009
Our FIRE income was good in June. Dividend income was excellent. The additional income from food delivery also came in handy.
- real estate crowdfunding: $151. Our real estate crowdfunding income is doing quite well. You can read more on RE’s Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- dividend income: $1,892. Good dividends.
- rental income: $764. All quiet in rental properties. I like it that way.
- Blogging income: $1,009. Blog revenue is slowing down.
- Occasional jobs: I made $1,171 for being a delivery driver. But I also spent more than usual on gas. It seems to be a stable side concert so far.
- Interest: $22.
Expense: $2,612
In 2023, I plan to spend around $50,000. That is the same budget as last year. We did pretty well in June. It is about how much we spend when we are at home.
Here are some details. I’ll only focus on a few categories to keep it simple.
- Accommodation: $1,235. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repair and maintenance. Our housing expense is quite low because we live in a duplex. We share many expenses with our tenant.
- Clothes: $81. Mrs. RB40 bought some things.
- Entertainment: $182. We ate out once a week last month. Also some little splurges like donuts and other snacks.
- Groceries: $401. My goal for grocery spending is $600 per month.
- Father: $250. My siblings and I send $250 a month to our parents to help with expenses. They live in Thailand so their cost of living is much lower.
- Transport: $196. I’m being more efficient with the gig on the delivery side, so I didn’t use as much gas.
Saving: $2,397
Summary June 2023
June was a big month for us. We spent a lot of family time because RB40Jr wasn’t at school. It gave us the opportunity to do more fun activities together. Most days we would go to the park to play tennis, baseball, and frisbee. It’s great. Also, there are many free events and activities in the summer. We are enjoying the summer very much.
Our finances were also good. The stock market had a big rally and we feel more relaxed to spend money. It’s a good feeling.
That’s all today. Did you have a good month? I hope you are enjoying the summer too.
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I am investing in commercial properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects in the United States. Go check them out!
Disclosure: We may receive a referral fee if you sign up for a service through links on this page.
Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have a lot of projects in the US so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you achieve financial independence.
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