Hey Everyone! It’s October and the days are getting shorter in Portland. This year is a bit crazier than usual because the troops are massing in “war-ravaged” Portland. I haven’t seen any ICE agents or National Guard troops in my neighborhood yet (20 blocks from downtown.) However, the black hawk choppers are on patrol, and we can hear them every night.
I’m afraid ICE will escalate things soon because of the news coming out of Illinois and California. ICE raided a big apartment in Chicago and rounded up everyone in it, kids and US citizens included. That’s insane. Is this the U.S. or Russia? They are also stopping random Latinos in California. It seems ICE can do anything they want, and the Supreme Court will sign off on it. Racial profiling is back. Pretty soon, they’ll set up checkpoints to get rid of non-desirables.
I guess I’d better start carrying around my U.S. passport when I leave the house. Once they have a hard time filling the quota with Latinos, they’ll start rounding up Asian looking people in the street. It already started with the Hyundai plant raid, and it won’t stop there.
On the personal finance side, we had a pretty good month. Mrs. RB40 went to California to help her parents for 4 weeks. Her dad let his license and car insurance expire. She has been trying to get them reinstated. It’s a huge headache. She also took him to the ER to get a health check. He fell several weeks ago and refused to go to the hospital with the paramedics. He needs more help and can’t really live alone anymore. She lined up an in-home care service to help when she leaves. This complicated our cash flow because she charged a bunch of stuff on our credit card. Her dad will reimburse us later. It will be fine because her dad is doing well financially. He just can’t deal with online bill payments and various maintenance. I put everything she charged under the travel category for now. Our net worth looks good, though. That’s one bright spot.
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’s great. 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 see which goals need extra attention and work on them.
Wow, we only have 3 months left in 2025. This goal sheet has been very helpful. It’s motivating to make progress every month. Have you been working on your New Year’s goals?
Financial Goals
Sell Rental Condo
This was my main goal for 2025. The previous tenant moved out of our rental condo in January. I fixed it up and listed it for sale. Unfortunately, the condo market was terrible in Portland. We only had one viewing in 4 months! I think buyers are afraid right now. The economy is too uncertain and the interest rate is still high. That’s why I decided to rent out the condo for now. We’ll put it on the market again in a few years.
Prep duplex for sale
Along the same line, I want to sell our duplex* after RB40Jr finishes high school in 2029. We want to move to Southern California to be closer to families. Mrs. RB40’s parents are getting older, and they need help.
*We live in one unit and rent out the other.
This year, I wanted to repaint the exterior. However, the plan changed to kitchen remodeling. We are getting the cabinet resurfaced and a new countertop. This will give our kitchen a much-needed facelift.
The kitchen and flooring work is scheduled for next week. RB40Jr will help me move the appliances out of the kitchen. We also need to move the sink and toilet out of the bathroom. This is really stressing me out. I am not looking forward to losing the kitchen for a week. Hopefully, the workers will get everything done on time.
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 probably will end this year. My earned income is decreasing quickly. After 9 months, I only made $5,440. At this pace, I’ll be lucky to break $6,000 this year. That’s less money than I made when I was a teenager. It’s probably time to retire for real.
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 hoped for 10% gains. 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. This is a stretch goal.
Our net worth has increased 8.5% since the beginning of the year. That’s way better than I expected. The U.S. is rewarding investors and punishing workers. Fortunately, we transitioned in time and don’t have to depend on work to fund our lifestyle anymore. Life seems harder now for workers.
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 I had to scale back a bit. The result – I exercised 120 times in 2023. That wasn’t bad, but I’d like to do more this year.
I exercised 10 times in September. That isn’t great, but it’s better than nothing. I’m a bit behind on this goal.
Win claim denial
Last year, RB40Jr got a Cochlear Implant to improve his hearing. He had 30%-60% hearing in his left ear. He used a hearing aid for a few years, but it didn’t help much. He can hear some sound 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.
Anyway, he got the implant last year. However, the insurance denied the claim. They said Cochlear Implant is experimental and doesn’t improve overall health. This is ridiculous. The device has been improving lives since the 80s. We are 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 these denials. No wonder everyone hates health insurance companies.
Latest update – The insurance denied is final. Now, we are working with the hospital to reduce the bill. This is actually looking pretty good because the insurance preapproved the surgery. I’ll keep working on this.
Fun goals
Sell my ceramic projects
I took some 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 year at the community center’s art sales.
I sold about $190 in the Spring Art Sale! That was incredible. I didn’t expect to sell that many pieces. The community center took a 35% commission. That’s perfectly fine. I’m glad to support them.
Some of my pottery from last quarter. I hope to sell some of these at the next community center event.
More dates with the Missus
This year, I want to go out with Mrs. RB40 more often. If you’re a parent, you know how difficult 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 can be frustrating at night. Ugh! I’d rather hunker down at home than go out to a restaurant.
I‘ll go on date lunches with Mrs. RB40 instead. That’s way easier. Who wants to leave home after dark?
In September, we went on a few dates before Mrs. RB40 left town. The highlight of the month was Breitenbush Hot Springs. This is an outdoor clothing optional hot springs/retreat. We took a day trip, but you can stay there overnight too. It was great to get out of town for a while. The outdoor hot springs were awesome and the vegetarian lunch was great too. I highly recommend Breitenbush if you’re ever in the area.
Happiness level > 8
I’m a naturally happy guy so this should be easy. Life has been good over the last few years.
September was a tough month for me. I had a hard time being a single parent to a teenager. We got along okay, but there were a few spats. The news also gave me a little depression. The black hawks circling our neighborhood didn’t help. Lastly, I was stressed out by the upcoming kitchen remodel. However, this seems like a pattern when I look at the chart. My happiness drops with shorter days and cooling weather. It’ll take a few weeks for me to acclimate to the rainy weather again.
Net Worth (+8.5%)
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 has been pretty crazy. The stock market is doing way better than I expected. I’ll enjoy feeling rich and stop complaining.
***Important*** If you’re young (under 50), 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 it’ll look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you’ll achieve financial independence someday. Don’t try to time the market. If you’re retired, then you need to be more conservative and diversify.
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. They have great free tools for DIY investors.
September 2025 FIRE Cash Flow
This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income.
September was a pretty good month. Our passive income was higher than usual due to the dividend. I’m pretty happy with it.
September 2025 FIRE Income: $4,667
- Real estate crowdfunding: $420.
- Dividend Income: $3,120. Nice month with dividend income.
- Rental Income: $516.
- Online income: $143. Blogging income is approaching zero quickly. It’s probably time to move on to something else.
- Odd jobs: $420. I delivered 12 catering orders in September. That’s plenty of gig work for me. Once it starts raining more, I’ll take a break from this side gig. I don’t need to drive around in that condition.
Spending: $4,932
- Housing: $1,608. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repair, and maintenance. Our monthly housing expense is low because we live in a duplex. We split many expenses with our tenant. However, it will be higher than usual for 2 years because we’re slowly paying off the kitchen remode. Home Depot had 0% interest for 24 months.
- Transportation: $170. Gas, parking, and insurance.
- Entertainment: $312.
- Groceries: $348. I didn’t buy much groceries last month because we need to move the appliances for our kitchen remodel.
- Health: $40.
- Kid: $648. Whoa, a teenager is expensive. We paid for the orthodontist, Jiu Jitsu, Ultimate Frisbee, new glasses, and a new cell phone.
- Personal spending: $214. My ceramic class, eye drops, sink drain, whey protein, and various other personal stuff.
- Travel: $1,240. Mrs. RB40 is visiting her parents and charged a bunch of stuff on our credit card. Most of this will be reimbursed by her dad soon.
Retirement Savings: –$264
September 2025 wrap-up
September was a rough month for me. Being a single parent wore me down. The U.S. turning into a police state almost pushed me into a depression. The upcoming kitchen remodel also stressed me out. That’s okay. I survived much worse than this. At least I don’t have to worry about paying the bills. Life goes on. I hope you had a better month than I did.
That’s it for September. Did you have a good month?
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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.
Joe recommends Empower 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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