What a month for my April 2020 Freedom update. My condo is on the market now (!). COVID-19. I moved into an apartment around the corner. And I’m still employed – for now.

I’m concerned my property value is going to drop like a stone.

I always thought I was doing the right thing by investing in property. I had no idea how much control an HOA would have and how much they can affect your asset. I just want to offload this thing as quickly as possible – and I’m willing to give somebody the deal of a lifetime if it means I can get out.

This experience has soured me on condos (specifically HOAs), and to some extent, Dallas. I’m just ready move on with my life.

I will never buy property with an HOA ever again. And this whole thing really makes me wonder if I really want to deal with owning property at all. I love my new apartment – everything works and I’m not responsible for anything. I can cancel my lease and be out of here with a 60-day notice. It’s so… unattached. So freeing.

Although with COVID-19 happening, I definitely see the value of living in a paid-off house, especially with money being uncertain.

So a lot has happened in these last four weeks. And I really hope even more happens in the next four.

For starters, my investments have started to recover. But the idea of “normality” still seems very far away.

April 2020 Freedom update

The gyrations continue. Hopefully I can get cash from selling soon. I don’t want this thing to sit on the market forever. Been feeling nervous about that.

If I can’t sell, perhaps it can be an Airbnb or I could rent it. But I’d rather just sell it because I no longer want to be attached to it.

I moved into my apartment last Friday and with the way time is moving these daze, it feels like forever ago. So yup, I now have a mortgage and rent. I don’t expect to get ahead until the sale is done or I can figure something out.

But we have a special meeting coming up to remove the current board and I’m confident things will change at the complex. I have already mentally detached and am ready for the next chapter in my life.

I am free associating like crazy so thanks if you’ve made it this far. On to the money stuff. And maybe more stream of consciousness.

Cash is everything rn

I did a balance transfer and have my credit card debt sitting with a 0% APR rate until September 2021. So hopefully I can sell before then lol.

Because of that, I’m trying to stay head above water with a mortgage AND rent, so any extra cash I get is going directly to my savings account. I’m going to try my best not to touch it. But until the threat of this pandemic wanes, cash is absolutely king.

Because of the move and sale, I had to buy materials to make repairs and pay movers. So that cost a fair bit. But I get three paychecks in May, so I think I can catch up and make progress next month.

Investments are recovering

Last month was a huge jolt to my portfolio. But in April, it started to come back.

This is really just a loss “on paper” but pretty soon these investments will be all of my net worth. Very soon, I hope.

I’m still contributing 10% of my salary toward my 401k. I figure I should get it in there while I have it. Because yes, I’m low-key worried about getting laid off. My company is struggling for business. But we’re OK… for now.

I haven’t filed taxes yet (I owe), and haven’t started contributing to my 2020 Roth IRA. Those things will have to wait until later this summer.

I’m up $11,000

Despite everything, I’m getting closer to my best-ever net worth. That’s no doubt going to change once I no longer have a mortgage in the mix. And the pandemic will affect the value of my property. So I expect this number to fall, then swoop up again over the next few months. But whatever, I just have to roll with it.

	Current	Last month	Change	Goal
Credit cards	$12,149	$11,868	+$281	$0
Mortgage	$142,091	$142,556	-$465	$0
Car	$5,595	$5,780	-$185	$0
Roth IRA 2019	$6,000	$6,000	xx	$6,000	COMPLETE!
Roth IRA 2020	$0	$0	xx	$6,000
401k	$7,907	$5,155	+$2,752	As much as possible
Overall investments	$76,983	$60,924	+$16,059	As much as possible
Savings	$1,534	$533	+$1,001	$20,000
Net worth in Personal Capital	$123,560	$112,682	+$10,878	$500,000	Track your net worth with Personal Capital

The most notable thing this month is the recovery of my investments and the fact that I was finally able to sock $1,000 into my savings account. I’m actually really proud about that.

I’m not going to get too attached to outcomes here because the numbers are about to fly all over the place. But as long as I’m generally trending up, I can still meet my goal.

Which is this: in 1,583 days, I’ll be 40. That’s when I’d like my net worth to be $500,000. In the end, this pandemic will be a blip on the radar. But living through the blip, right now – it’s a wild ride, man.

April 2020 Freedom update bottom line

Things are all up in the air now because of:

• My pending condo sale (pray I can sell it)
• Job uncertainty 😬
• Having to pay mortgage and rent for the next little bit
• Not knowing what’s going to happen next with COVID-19

So there’s a lot of uncertainty. When things are uncertain, I tend to create my own narratives. They are free-flowing and might NOT be entirely rooted in reality.

Suffice it to say, I’m ready to sell my old place and get back to work. But in these next few weeks, anything can happen and I have to be willing to roll with that.

There will be hesitation and second-guessing, but this is where I’m at in April 2020. I’m guessing a lot of people are in a similar place. It sucks (for now), but we must roll on.

Really really looking forward to sharing good news in my next update. Cross your fingers and hope I can offload that condo ASAP.

How’s everyone out there holding up? Sending out goodness to you tonight. Stay safe and healthy. Thanks as always for reading. I’m very much transitioning right now, but [insert analogy about cocoons making butterflies and how pressure improves outcomes, etc]. ✨🦋

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