six month update (dec 2017)
Spending: Living expenses for the month ($4092) were
$1528 over the 2017 monthly targeted amount of $2564. Our spending was
59.5% over budget for the month, now 16.2% over for the year. We
generated $792 of income from my wife's part-time fun job at the library
and some of my old book royalties. Our investment withdrawal was $3300
this month, thus our pro-rated annual withdrawal rate is 3.66% for the
month and 2.19% for the year. Without the additional income stream, our
pro-rated annual withdrawal rate would have been 4.79% for the month and
3.49% for the year.
Investments: The portfolio went from $1,080,121 to $1,101,683 (a 1.99% increase for the month), which dropped down to a new total of (drum-roll) $1,098,383 after paying the bills. This is a 7.1% increase from the original starting balance of $1,025,772, even after withdrawals of $11,601 for living expenses over six months. Since retirement, capital income from the investment portfolio has produced the equivalent of a full-time employee generating $80.97/hr of labor income. VTSAX (60% AA) went up 3.0% this month; VFWAX (21% AA) went up 0.4%; VWLUX (19% AA) did what it was supposed to do.
Reflections: Our investments are once again at an all-time high, smashing the $1.1M mark ($1.5M net worth) yesterday and tempting me once more to ease out of the domestic stock market. Spending was up quite considerably due to xmas shopping (some of which will be reimbursed since the in-laws have this weird tradition of buying your own presents and getting money back), marathon entry, two massages, a spike in charitable giving this past Tuesday, a $300 pair of Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% shoes, and $1000 in Home Depot charges for the cabin lumber. This was not at all a typical spending month, and finalizing the decision to adjust our withdrawal amounts based on new year-end values makes the spending seem inconsequential (unless the market corrects 10% in December).
Experiences: A harmless hillbilly opiate junkie showed up on my porch in a drunken state while I was decorating Walden Cabin. I held him at gunpoint (because I could) with the shotgun until officers arrived. Someone requested a picture of the cabin last month; I do not have any pictures of the junkie. Incidentally, this is the fourth time in seven years that we’ve had to call law enforcement due to trespassing (two intoxicated junkies, one panhandling con-artist, and one drunken hunter) in addition to another complaint against a driver who tried to make us think he was going to run us over while jogging. This is the cost of LCOL in the South. The total bill on the cabin was just under $1000 ($700 PT lumber, $100 shingles, $100 stain, $100 brackets/screws). Someone also asked for a picture of the house we built (seven years old, looks different now). In the discussion section of the previous month, we were talking about the phenomenon of having dreams about forgetting to go to class even though we graduated years ago, and I had one the very next night. Marathon training hit its peak with runs of 20 and 21 miles. I planned two vacations upcoming in 2018 (Middle America and Japan). I played Final Fantasy V (PS1) and read Tale of Genji, but I abandoned both due to a lack of interest. I’m currently playing Chrono Cross (PS1) but don’t know how much further I’ll continue. I renewed our healthcare policy through the exchange and received over $13,000 to pay for subsidies.
Upcoming: The full marathon is December 9. My secret lifetime goal made almost five years ago was to run one in under three hours. All of my preparation efforts suggest that 3:01-3:02 is a best case scenario, but we’ll see. If I can manage a sub-three, I’ve considered becoming a volunteer running mentor for people who are just starting. I’ll be spending a lot of time in theaters because good movies are actually released this time of year. There are two more PS1 games (Xenogears and Dragon Warrior VI) that I would love to play before the end of the year. We’ll be making a trip to the tree nursery and getting a lot of stuff to plant once everything goes dormant in a few days. I have some xmas shopping and tax planning to tackle. I’d like to inactivate my facebook account as well. I’ll also be doing whatever the fuck I want.
Investments: The portfolio went from $1,080,121 to $1,101,683 (a 1.99% increase for the month), which dropped down to a new total of (drum-roll) $1,098,383 after paying the bills. This is a 7.1% increase from the original starting balance of $1,025,772, even after withdrawals of $11,601 for living expenses over six months. Since retirement, capital income from the investment portfolio has produced the equivalent of a full-time employee generating $80.97/hr of labor income. VTSAX (60% AA) went up 3.0% this month; VFWAX (21% AA) went up 0.4%; VWLUX (19% AA) did what it was supposed to do.
Reflections: Our investments are once again at an all-time high, smashing the $1.1M mark ($1.5M net worth) yesterday and tempting me once more to ease out of the domestic stock market. Spending was up quite considerably due to xmas shopping (some of which will be reimbursed since the in-laws have this weird tradition of buying your own presents and getting money back), marathon entry, two massages, a spike in charitable giving this past Tuesday, a $300 pair of Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% shoes, and $1000 in Home Depot charges for the cabin lumber. This was not at all a typical spending month, and finalizing the decision to adjust our withdrawal amounts based on new year-end values makes the spending seem inconsequential (unless the market corrects 10% in December).
Experiences: A harmless hillbilly opiate junkie showed up on my porch in a drunken state while I was decorating Walden Cabin. I held him at gunpoint (because I could) with the shotgun until officers arrived. Someone requested a picture of the cabin last month; I do not have any pictures of the junkie. Incidentally, this is the fourth time in seven years that we’ve had to call law enforcement due to trespassing (two intoxicated junkies, one panhandling con-artist, and one drunken hunter) in addition to another complaint against a driver who tried to make us think he was going to run us over while jogging. This is the cost of LCOL in the South. The total bill on the cabin was just under $1000 ($700 PT lumber, $100 shingles, $100 stain, $100 brackets/screws). Someone also asked for a picture of the house we built (seven years old, looks different now). In the discussion section of the previous month, we were talking about the phenomenon of having dreams about forgetting to go to class even though we graduated years ago, and I had one the very next night. Marathon training hit its peak with runs of 20 and 21 miles. I planned two vacations upcoming in 2018 (Middle America and Japan). I played Final Fantasy V (PS1) and read Tale of Genji, but I abandoned both due to a lack of interest. I’m currently playing Chrono Cross (PS1) but don’t know how much further I’ll continue. I renewed our healthcare policy through the exchange and received over $13,000 to pay for subsidies.
Upcoming: The full marathon is December 9. My secret lifetime goal made almost five years ago was to run one in under three hours. All of my preparation efforts suggest that 3:01-3:02 is a best case scenario, but we’ll see. If I can manage a sub-three, I’ve considered becoming a volunteer running mentor for people who are just starting. I’ll be spending a lot of time in theaters because good movies are actually released this time of year. There are two more PS1 games (Xenogears and Dragon Warrior VI) that I would love to play before the end of the year. We’ll be making a trip to the tree nursery and getting a lot of stuff to plant once everything goes dormant in a few days. I have some xmas shopping and tax planning to tackle. I’d like to inactivate my facebook account as well. I’ll also be doing whatever the fuck I want.