Going back to building stronger money roots
I have been a bit adrift money-wise.
Most of it is just due to procrastination and then work stress which made me really NEED to destress by actively not thinking about work or anything related to it (includes investing reviews..) … and a lot of that destressing came in the form of retail therapy.
But as I mentioned before, the time has come.
It is not like I’m in a bad financial situation by any means.
C’mon.. I know I have it good, but I feel like I haven’t set actual plans in place to think about what I want.
I don’t seem to have a strategy.
I suspect I have been putting it off because I just haven’t had a clear vision of what I want my money to do for me.
Retire early? Not sure I want to.
Make it to a million bucks in a net worth?
All signs point to this happening next year already.
To put it another way… clearing $60,000 of student debt was easy.
I had statements, I saw the interest I was being charged PER DAY and knocking it out in the 18 months I did it in was an “easy” goal in many ways because when I budgeted and tracked my money, I saw concrete results.
I saw a debt balance dropping, I saw the end goal clearly which was to have a $0 net worth rather than a 5-figure negative one.
Now however, I am safely out of the woods but it is harder to set concrete milestones. The sky is kind of the limit in terms of savings.
It just depends on how much you can save, how much you want to save and then executing.
So that is why I have been thinking a lot about setting an arbitrary retirement age (55…) and then seeing how much I will need in said retirement to be comfortable by my standards ($50K a year..) and then taking stock of what I actually have in liquid savings: $279K … and committed projection of $379K by the end of my contract, with potential for more…
I do know that it looks like I need about a million in actual investments, to about 2 million to retire and not compromise my lifestyle.
I’m actually on track for one goal I had which was to have at least a balance of my fixed assets be equal or lesser than my actual liquid assets.
That is to say that I have $300K in my house and $279K in liquid assets, and I’m only $21K off from it being 50/50 ….
In my net worth updates I will make a subtle change to the format to report the general net worth but then split out the actual investments I have.
I find that scarcity makes me work harder and exercise my willpower more.
Case in point: In just these past 2 weeks I have consciously put back / deleted listings and stopped myself from checking out online on various things like costs (a vice because I don’t need any more) and boots (have many; once they whittle down over years due to age then I’ll consider a purchase).
I’m not seeing how great of a deal it is to get $1100 USD boots for only $200 USD but seeing that the concrete amount of $200 USD could buy me X number of shares.
My other mini goal is to use all the money off this blog towards investing in super risky stocks. Something like a Cowgirl Fund, you know? I’m dabbling with the idea. We will see.
Anyway, I’m pretty excited to close out 2018, even with all of the shopping I’ve done, I’ve still managed to boost my net worth and save a lot amidst all the temptation.
1-Year plan: $1 million net worth including assets
So not just liquid assets, but my $300K in my home, etc.
3-Year plan: $500,000 in liquid assets
5-Year plan: $750,000 in liquid assets
Those should be good, rough plans to hit as goals.
How about you? Taking stock of your finances lately?
8 Comments
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Valérie
Just curious but why do you want x amount in liquid assets vs paying off your home? I’m a new reader so maybe my question is moot and you don’t have a mortgage. Also why did you decide to make your liquid and your hard assets 50/50?
My big internal debate now is paying down the mortgage aggressively or riding out the current storm in the stock markets. so I’m less liquid now but like you, not in bad shape at all and wondering if I should put more in the stock market.
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Jill Camara
The cowgirl fund sounds interesting but unfortunately if I take that route I’ll end up buying just a handful of stocks with what I earn on the side. But it’s a great idea and 2019 is going to be the year I do it. Maybe experiment a little bit with crypto as well. Wish me luck!!!
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Jodie
I’ve been faced with a myriad of money decisions since my husband died unexpectedly. I sold our large home on acreage and downsized to a smaller home in a better location. I paid cash for my new home and am investing the extra cash in stocks that produce dividends.
My husband and I own a small business that he ran. I need to decide if I want to keep the business or sell it. I’m 53 and could retire if I found the right buyer. That’s a big IF although my accountant and attorney advise me that I am in a good position to do so.
Everyone tells you not to make big decisions the first year after losing your spouse but sometimes the market forces your hand. I knew the housing market was cooling and that I should list my property ASAP if I wanted to get top dollar. It was a very challenging summer filled with long days of hard work. Downsizing is not an easy task under the best of circumstances but this was made harder by my having to do it alone. So many decisions! I actually wonder how I managed to accomplish all that I did over the past 10 months but I’m glad I didn’t listen to the “experts”. My takeaway: Each situation is unique and no one knows your needs better than you do. I wouldn’t ignore trusted family and friends who were concerned about a big decision I was making but most agreed that what I did made sense.
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
I think you are doing wonderfully. This is really good to hear that you are taking control and have a good head for this.
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Had been putting off putting real numbers down and I still only have a rough outline for next year but I need to project it forward five years to see what kind of milestones we can hit. I’ve been dragging my feet on that because a part of me secretly doesn’t want to accept the reality that I will likely have to still be working in five years because I’m stressed and somewhat bored and stagnant but I’m also not ready to leave this particular set up. So very meh!