It’s all about the Benjamins. And Jacksons. And Lincolns. And Washingtons.
Another month closer to FI! Let’s take a quick look at how we did in our September 2015 Financial Statement.
| Account | Last Month | Balance | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Checking | $3,467.51 | $8,190.25 | $4,722.74 |
| Real Estate Operating Account | $1,378.30 | $1,715.27 | $336.97 |
| Real Estate Cash Flow Account | $1,199.25 | $1,640.25 | $441.00 |
| Credit Cards | -$5,335.68 | -$7,291.31 | -$1,955.63 |
| Retirement - After Tax | $37,620.60 | $39,812.67 | $2,192.07 |
| Retirement - 401(k) | $49,763.70 | $51,061.64 | $1,297.94 |
| Retirement - IRA | $4,177.55 | $4,175.02 | -$2.53 |
| Asset - Home | $401,716.00 | $408,438.00 | $6,722.00 |
| Asset - Rental 1 | $54,429.00 | $55,324.00 | $895.00 |
| Asset - Rental 2 | $72,584.00 | $71,228.00 | -$1,356.00 |
| Mortgage - Home | -$383,946.75 | -$383,724.42 | $222.33 |
| Mortgage - Rental 1 | -$44,965.24 | -$44,907.39 | $57.85 |
| Mortgage - Rental 2 | -$48,687.25 | -$48,624.26 | $62.99 |
| Student Loan 1 | -$23,285.27 | -$23,172.61 | $112.66 |
| Student Loan 2 | -$14.474.75 | -$14,404.72 | $70.03 |
| Student Loan 3 | -$5,429.47 | -$5,338.12 | $91.35 |
| Net Worth | $100,211.50 | $114,122.27 | $13,910.77 |
First, the bad news: The market continued to drop this month, so stocks and bonds didn’t account for as much increase in net worth as they normally might. I had to pay my quarterly self-employment taxes, so I had less available to be able to invest, and because I paid with a credit card, those balances went up this month. One of my rental properties dropped slightly in value according to Zillow. I had to approve a minor repair on that same property, so next month it will see a slightly reduced profit.
Now, the (much more extensive) good news: I paid the taxes with newly-churned credit cards in order to hit signup bonus spend on all of them, resulting in a huge new influx of reward points and miles. This month alone, we got enough miles to fly both of us to Europe, do a bunch of domestic flying, and enough hotel points to cover a week or so in Starwood hotels if we choose our locations wisely.
Our primary residence and another rental property continued to rise in value. I invested this month so my taxable and 401k accounts are both up as a result (and extra bonus, I bought all those shares at a discount since the market is down!).
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 September, I made $7.34 in Google Ad income. I did not make any income on the blog from any other source this month. Two people signed up for iTalki accounts after using my referral link, for which I will receive $10 in language lesson credits if either of them complete a lesson.
Retirement Update
Our net worth is up $13,910.77 this month, which is fantastic. We’re looking to hit financial independence in approximately 48 months, so this puts us on track as of now. This month, I will be catching up on my 401(k) investments, so even if the market holds steady or drops a bit, next month I should be able to report a nice increase in net worth.
With retirement accounts totaling $95,049.33 at the end of September a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate would allow us to take out $316.83 per month. My 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: $781.83 (+$35.62 to Last Month)
% to Goal: 15.64% (+0.72% 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.
Excellent work! I know real estate is a fabulous way to hit FI so much earlier… I’m just a chicken! My parents rented out a home when I was little and we had horror stories of them threatening us and everything else. Bad news. But now I have to work that much harder to make it to FI with just cash investments! Congrats on all the new rewards!
Thanks! Truthfully, this month, it was really the appreciation on our primary residence that made such an impact, which is something I try never to count on. I mean how many months can a property appreciate by 1.5%? It’s crazy! Our rentals cash flowed nicely, though, and that’s really what we’re counting on for (part of our) FI plans. In the end we’ll take about 60% of our monthly spending from rental income and 40% from stocks and bonds. I’m with you, though, we’ll have plenty of reserves to weather any bumps in the road with our rentals before pulling the trigger!
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