Hey Everyone! January was a hectic month for me. Our rental is vacant and I’ve been getting it ready for sale. Mrs. RB40 and I also had some health issues last month. It has been more stressful than usual around here.
On the personal finance side, we had a rough month. Repair and maintenance at the rental condo weren’t cheap. It took 3 days and 4 trips to the hardware store to replace the bathroom faucet. After 20 years, it was stuck pretty good. Also, we’ll have about $1,000 of rental income loss every month while it is vacant. Our cash flow will be pretty ugly until the place is sold. On the positive side, our net worth hit a new high. The stock market performed quite well last month. I’m not too optimistic for 2025, though. I think the stock market is too expensive now. We’ll probably see a pullback sometime this year.
Alright, I’ll share how I’m doing with my New Year goals. Then, I’ll go over our net worth and cash flow. Let’s go!
2025 Goals
Here is my 2025 goal spreadsheet. It works well. Try it out if you can’t keep up with your New Year goals. The key is to review the spreadsheet monthly to track your progress. That way, you can work on the goals that need extra attention.
Financial Goals
Sell Rental Condo
This is my main goal for 2025. Our tenant moved out of our rental condo in January. I’m almost done fixing it up and I’ll list it for sale next week. At first, I planned to replace the carpet, but there were too many obstacles. I need to get approval from the HOA and deal with all kinds of scheduling hassles. Anyway, I got the carpet cleaned instead. I’ll keep looking into new carpeting, but it’ll take at least 3-4 weeks.
Anyway, I don’t want to be a landlord anymore. It’s time to sell.
Prep duplex for sale
When RB40Jr finishes high school in 2029, we plan to move to southern California to be closer to families. Mrs. RB40’s parents are getting older and they need help. I have time to prep the duplex for sale, but the whole place needs updating. This will be a long process.
This year, I want to meet with our realtor and figure out what we need to fix. First on the list is siding repair and exterior repaint. I’d be happy if we could get at least that much done this year. I plan to hire this out. These days, I try to avoid the ladder as much as possible. I also want to remodel the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.
This is on the back burner until the rental condo is sold.
Max out my Roth IRA
The Roth IRA is the best investment account you can have. You don’t have to pay tax on the gains when you withdraw. This is huge. If you start young and max out your Roth IRA every year, it’ll be a great resource in retirement.
I’ve maxed out my Roth IRA contribution for over 20 years. But that streak will be coming to an end sooner or later. The reason is simple. You can only contribute to the Roth IRA with earned income. My active income is dropping like a rock and I might not make enough this year. In 2025, the contribution limit for a Roth IRA is $8,000 if you’re 50 or older. We’ll see if I can earn enough to max it out.
So far, I made $671. Not good.
*You can contribute to the Roth IRA if your spouse has earned income. Mrs. RB40 has earned income, but I prefer to use my earned income to contribute to my Roth IRA.
Track net worth and hope for +10%
I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s great to see the progress. This year, I’d like to see 10% gains. (I’m not very hopeful.) At this point, it’s all dependent on the stock market and there isn’t much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll track it and keep my fingers crossed.
January was a pretty good month for the stock market. We gained 2.2%.
Health Goals
Exercise more than last year
Last year, I set a goal to exercise 3 times per week. However, I developed elbow pains and had to scale back a bit. The result – I exercised 120 times. That wasn’t bad, but I’d like to do more this year.
I had a slow start in January. I got sick and I also had to fix up the rental condo. I only made it to the gym 6 times. Next month will be better, hopefully.
Win claim denial
Last year, RB40Jr got a Cochlear Implant to improve his hearing. He has 50%-80% hearing in his left ear. He tried a hearing aid for a few years, but it didn’t help much. He can hear some sounds with his left ear, but he can’t understand speech on that side.
Recently, the FDA approved Cochlear Implant for children. At first, I thought we could wait until RB40Jr is an adult. Then he can decide for himself. However, our audiologist said the earlier you get the implant the better. If you wait too long, the brain might not be able to adapt to the Cochlear Implant.
Anyway, he got the implant last year. However, the insurance denied the claim. They claimed the Cochlear Implant is experimental and doesn’t improve overall health. This is ridiculous. The device has been used since the 80s to improve lives. I’m fighting this denial. I think health insurance companies are denying as many claims as possible to improve profits. A lot of people get too sick to fight the denials. No wonder everyone hates health insurance companies.
I worked with the hospital to file an appeal. Now, we are waiting to hear back.
Fun goals
Sell my ceramic projects
Last year, I took 2 ceramic classes at the community center and had a blast. My projects aren’t professional level yet, but I’ll try selling a few items this summer. The community center will have several art sales this year. I’ll get my name on the list and hope for the best. My ceramic projects might not sell, though. My aesthetic is unusual… Most of my stuff is wabi sabi style.
Would you buy any of these bowls? My price would be $19.99 each. Heh heh…
More dates
This year, I want to go out with Mrs. RB40 more often. If you’re a parent, you know how hard this can be. Fortunately, our son is a teenager now. We can go out whenever we want. However, I need to overcome my reluctance to leave the house in the evening. We park in the street and finding a spot is a pain at night. Ugh! I prefer to hunker down at home than go out to a restaurant in the evening. Lunch is better for me. Who wants to leave home after dark?
In January, we made it out for 2 lunch dates. We both had health issues to deal with so we were lucky to do that much.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a naturally happy guy so this should be easy. Life has been great over the last few years.
January was a rough month for me. I was stressed out about the rental condo. The carpet caused a ton of headaches for me. I’m too old for this $*%T! I’ve been living an easy life for too long. I can’t handle any stress anymore.
Net Worth (+2.2%)
I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see our progress. The power of compounding is incredible. Our investment gains far outpace our earned income last year.
2025 is off to a great start. Our net worth increased 2.2%. That’s pretty amazing for one month. I don’t think it’ll go up much more, though. I plan to keep investing. It’ll work out in the long haul.
***Important*** My best advice is to stay the course. Do not stop investing. You should keep investing whether the stock market is up or down. You might think stocks are too expensive, but they’ll look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you’ll achieve financial independence someday. Don’t try to time the market.
This is a chart of our net worth from Empower. Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I log in often to check our net worth and use their free tools. It’s a great site for DIY investors.
January 2025 FIRE Cash Flow
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income. Mrs. RB40’s income isn’t here because she plans to retire soon.
Our cash flow will look pretty bad until the rental condo is sold.
January 2025 FIRE Income: $1,729
Yeap, I’m transitioning into full retirement. My active income is pretty low these days. We’ll probably draw on savings more often.
- Real estate crowdfunding: $447. You can read more on the RE Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
- Dividend Income: $571. It was a good month with dividends.
- Rental Income: -$542. We’ll have negative rental income until the condo is gone.
- Blog income: $487.
- Odd jobs: $184. I only worked a little few hours last month.
- Other: $0
- Interest: $40.
Spending: $3,851
Here are some details.
- Housing: $1,316. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repair, and maintenance. Our housing expenses are low because we live in a duplex. We split many expenses with our tenant.
- Transportation: $265. Gas and insurance.
- Entertainment: $303. This was mostly eating out and ordering food.
- Groceries: $480. The grocery bill was about average.
- Health: $350.
- Kid: $532. Unfortunately, kid-related expenses are also increasing as RB40Jr gets older. We are making payments for his orthodontist and an international school trip.
- Personal: $183. Clothes and home goods.
- Travel: $385. RB40Jr and I renewed our passports.
Savings: –$2,664
January 2025 wrap-up
Alright, January flew by. I did not enjoy it much because there were too many problems. I’m almost done fixing up the rental so February should be easier. Hopefully, the condo sells quickly. After that, I can focus on fixing up the duplex. I’m also stressed out about the economy and the downsizing of the federal government workforce. The economy will react badly to the new tariffs. There are a lot of uncertainties this year.
That’s it for January. Did you have a good month?
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I’m investing in commercial properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the United States. Go check them out!
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Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.
Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by budgetbuddy.
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