July 2024 FIRE Update – Retire by 40

Hey everyone! Thank you for all the well wishes. I’m recovering from the shingles outbreak on my face. The shingles got down to my left eyelid and I was worried for a while. Shingles can cause vision loss if it spreads to the nerves in your eyes. My optometrist checked it out and my eyes are okay. She gave me a great tip. She told me Tagamet (an over-the-counter ulcer medication) can shorten the duration of the outbreak. I took this in addition to the antiviral pills. She said Tagamet was used to treat shingles before antiviral was widely available. It seems the medical community forgot about this helpful medication. I went to 2 urgent care centers and they didn’t tell me about the Tagamet. My brother (ER physician) also didn’t know about it. I think it was helpful. Anyway, the shingles scabbed over and I’m on the way to full recovery. Hopefully, the pain on my face and scalp will subside soon. Being sick is no fun.

*The image is from the Buddhist Hell sculpture garden in Bang Saen. It was interesting…

On the personal finance side, July was a pretty good month. We were on vacation in Japan and Thailand. Our passive income was enough to cover our expenses so that was nice. Thailand was pretty cheap for us. We spent most of our time relaxing at the beach. Unfortunately, the bathroom at our beach house wasn’t ready yet so we had to stay at a hotel. It was cheap, though. The hotel cost about $18 per day. The food was very affordable as well.  

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!

2024 Goals

Here is my 2024 goal spreadsheet. It works well. Try it out if you can’t keep up with your New Year resolutions. 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. We are more than half way through 2024. How are you doing with your goals?

Financial Goals

FI ratio > 100%

The FI ratio is passive income divided by expenses. You’re set if you can generate enough passive income to cover your expenses. For 2024, I reduced this goal to 100%. We are getting older and I think we can spend a bit more. After 7 months, our FI ratio is 124%. That’s really good.

*FI Ratio = passive income/expenses

3% Rule

Everyone is familiar with the 4% retirement withdrawal rule, right? Basically, you should have a successful retirement if you withdraw less than 4% of your investable assets annually. Let’s see if we can spend less than 3% in 2024. This is a good way to test your retirement readiness. We’ll add everything up at the end of the year. It’s looking good so far.

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. At this point, the gain is completely dependent on the stock market and there isn’t much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll just track it and keep my fingers crossed.

Our net worth gained 9% since the beginning of the year. I’m optimistic, but you never know what’s going to happen next.

Health Goals

Exercise 3x per week

Now that I’m 50, health is job 1. I need to exercise consistently so I can stay healthy longer. I joined a gym and plan to exercise at least 3 times per week. We were on vacation in July and I didn’t exercise that much. I’ll catch up later… Getting fit after 50 is tough!

Health checks

Equally important is going to see the doctors. At this age, we have more maintenance and preventative care to deal with. Here is my list for 2024.

• Colonoscopy. Done!
• Annual physical.
• Dental exam. Done!
• Vision screening. Done!
• Immunization. Tdap booster Done! Flu and Covid vaccine later.

Fun goals

International trip

Mrs. RB40 turns 50 this year and she wants to go on a fun memorable trip. We visited Japan for 3 weeks. We loved it. Japan is a great place to visit.  

Happiness level > 8

I’m a naturally happy guy so this should be easy. Life has been great over the last few years.

June was the perfect month. We had a great time in Japan. After that, Mrs. RB40 flew home. RB40Jr. and I went to see my dad in Thailand. Thailand was kind of slow. We spent a lot of time at Bang Saen. We are building a beach house there. It was relaxing, but we got bored by the end. It would have been better if the house was finished. I gave myself an 8.5 for July. It was still a good month. August will be a different story. I had a lot of problems in August…

Help RB40Jr start a YouTube channel

We gave up on this one. RB40Jr. is busy with other activities.

Net Worth (+9%)

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see the progress we’ve made. The power of compounding is unbelievable. Our net worth continues to increase almost every year. For 2024, our net worth is up 9%! It’s nice because I haven’t paid much attention to the stock market this summer. That’s the easiest way to invest. Buy for the long term and ignore the volatility.

***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 it’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. The little blip is due to rolling over my individual 401k to an IRA. Vanguard stopped supporting this type of account (i401k). The easiest option was to roll it over to an IRA.

(Personal Capital is now 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.

July 2024 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.

July was a good month. We were on vacation and had a positive cash flow month. That’s great.  

July 2024 FIRE Income: $4,786

Our FIRE income was good in July.  

• Real estate crowdfunding: $375. You can read more on the RE Crowdfunding Passive Income page.
• Dividend Income: $1,964. Good month.
• Rental Income: $804. We had an uneventful month at the rentals.
• Blog income: $1,643. A good month at the blog.
• Odd jobs: $0. Vacation.    
• Interest: $0.

Spending: $4,663

This year, I plan to spend about $65,000. That was the amount we spent last year. However, this was too optimistic. We’re only in August and we already spent nearly $60,000. Life is getting more expensive every year.   

Here are some details.  

• Housing: $1,243. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repair, and maintenance. Our housing expense is low because we live in a duplex. We split many expenses with our tenant.
• Transportation: $100. Gas and insurance. 
• Entertainment: $55.      
• Groceries: $150. The grocery bill was low because we were on vacation.
• Health: $101. Health related expenses are increasing as we age.    
• Kid: $129. Unfortunately, kid related expenses are also increasing as RB40Jr gets older. We are making payments for his orthodontist and an international school trip.     
• Parent: $250.
• Personal: $92. Mrs. RB40 purchased a few personal items.
• Travel: $2,520.  

Savings: +$123

July 2024 wrap-up

Alright, let’s wrap it up. July was a pretty good month. We had a good time in Japan and Thailand. Life was good. In addition, we had a positive cash flow month while we were on vacation. You can’t beat that.  

That’s it for July. 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.