According to my Integrity Policy, I want to let you know that this post contains Personal Capital referral links.  Personal Capital is a free service.  They are looking for high-net worth individuals as possible customers for their financial advisory services, but the expense tracking and retirement planning tools that I recommend are free of charge.

It’s all about the Benjamins. And Jacksons. And Lincolns. And Washingtons.

Another incredibly solid month, due in large part to property continuing to rise in value.

For the November 2015 financial statement, our net worth increased 18.5%!

Despite expenses incurred traveling to Thailand and getting work done on my teeth, my costs were fairly low and I invested as normal.  This is good, because the market is ever so slightly down from last month, so contributing increased my net worth and allowed me to buy at a discount! I also rolled over a small IRA I had to a Roth and made a full $5,500 Backdoor Roth IRA contribution.

Property values continue to rise here in California, and I’m beginning to want to cash out the gains I’ve finally achieved on our primary residence.  Tentatively, the plan is to sell and become renters somewhere between mid-2016 and mid-2017.  Zillow‘s estimate of the value on our primary residence, based on recent sales in the area, is just about right.

In December, I’ll invest as normal and hope for a little Santa Rally in the markets.  On the real estate investment front, there is a small chance that rather than looking for my next property in January, I will instead look in December. If I make an offer on a property, that could mean some large cash expenses in December and January on inspections, a down payment, and other miscellaneous costs.

Blog Income

As I mentioned in my Integrity Policy, I want to make sure I share any and all professional relationships and compensation I make as a part of this blog.  In November, I made $6.51 in Google Ad income.  Thus, my total income for the month from the blog was $6.51.

Note: I report Google Ad revenue as it as earned, and any other income when it is paid.

Retirement Update

Our net worth is up $30,037.40 this month. This means we’re on track to retire in 46 months.  I know it might not seem like it, but the real estate investment plans for the next four years (and the next two critical years in particular) will allow our monthly retirement income to rise rapidly.  If we also sell our primary residence and invest the entire gains, we’ll leap forward even more quickly.

With equity and bond accounts totaling $124,208.15 at the end of November, a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate would allow us to take out $414.03 per month.  Our rental properties, after all expenses, vacancies, and short and long term maintenance are considered, produce $465.00 of safe cash flow every month.

Safe Monthly Income: $879.03 (+$32.92 to Last Month)

% to Goal: 17.58% (+0.66% to Last Month)

Want to Know How to Track Your Expenses This Closely?

It’s really easy.  Sign up for a Personal Capital account, which is completely free.  It’s how I track my balances across time, and allows me to project all my retirement progress without doing any work at all.  As a disclaimer, if you sign up with Personal Capital, this site may get a referral fee depending on the size of your portfolio.