I need to get this out before January slips away. There’s never enough tiiime.
I feel like I’m getting into debt again, like I can’t make enough cash, and the expenses of everyday life keep piling up. Grocery prices are insane, and everything is a “thing.” And there aren’t enough hours in the day.
Can I get paid for being a good dad and playing with my kids? Unfortunately not.
Deep inner strength
I keep thinking I can turn Points Hub into something, but people don’t seem to want to participate, and researching community-building is exhausting. I work during the day, look up, and it’s 3pm. The final hour before Warren gets off the school bus at 4pm.
From there, 5pm to 8pm is the march to dinner/bath/bed, and if I’m lucky, I have maybe one more hour before I absolutely crash out.
I truly admire those parents that can side hustle. I know it’s just a patch/season of life/all that good stuff.
The stock market was meh this past month, so I’m hovering around the $350K mark much like I was hovering around the $300K mark for what felt like years.
Slow and steady wins the race?
January 2025 Freedom update
- Link: Track your net worth with Empower Personal Dashboard
- Link: Join Points Hub — the ultimate points, miles, and travel rewards community — on Circle!
I really want to find a side hustle for extra cash. My credit card balances are staying right where they are. I’m paid well at my main job, and those checks keep us exactly where we are. I need to make a dent in some of this debt before it eats us alive.
After all, your debt is an out of control flaming emergency.
Warren’s digital sktech
Beyond that, I am becoming deeply tired. Like soul-tired. I don’t know how people are surviving these days. My guess is they’re not.
The days are sweet, but milk and eggs and basics, I swear, cost more than ever. Every time we go to the grocery store, it’s $200 — minimum.
Anyway, I’m just not making progress. I don’t know how or when I will. And if the stock market is crappy, then my net worth slips. I’m a walking sigh, trying to keep it together.
I am still grateful and still here. Trying my best.
This month’s progress
Not much, but I:
- Contributed $1,000 to my 401k
- Delivered a beautiful Christmas to the kiddos
We had a really sweet Christmas holiday
Maybe I’ll get hit with a flash of inspiration and find the perfect mostly passive, high-paying side hustle. Anyone have any ideas?
By the numbers
Always demotivating to turn the pluses into minuses, but such is the current vibe to kick off 2025:
| Current | Last Month | Change | 2024 Goal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | |||||
| Overall investments | $336,134 | $342,394 | -$6,260 | As much as possible | |
| Roth IRA total | $88,118 | $90,510 | -$2,392 | ||
| Roth IRA 2024 | $2,700 | $2,700 | xx | $7,000 (in new contributions) | |
| Taxable brokerage + UTMAs | $4,274 | $4,354 | -$80 | $25,000 (total invested) | |
| Savings | $48 | $44 | +$4 | $30,000 | |
| Raw land | $40,400 | $40,400 | xx | No goal, just including for completeness 🙂 | |
| LIABILITIES | |||||
| Car loan | $22,495 | $22,890 | -$395 | ? | |
| Credit card #1 | $8,063 | $8,452 | -$389 | $0 | |
| Credit card #2 (0% APR) | $11,704 | $11,554 | +$150 | As much as possible | |
| Net worth in Empower Personal Dashboard | $350,615 | $356,870 | -$6,255 | $500,000 (overall goal) | Track your net worth with Personal Capital |
These days, like might age you
Short- and long-term goals still include:
- Pay off all credit cards
- Build my savings account again in 2025
- Work up to 15% in 401k contributions
- Save $7,000 in my Roth IRA (to count toward the 2024 limit)
- Is this like, possible?
The path unfolds, as always
January 2025 Freedom update bottom line
That’s about it for this month. I realized it was the 15th and I still hadn’t updated for January. Well soon, it’ll be February.
Time is now officially FLYING. I literally don’t know what day it is most of the time.
I know that wealth is a simple formula: Make more money than you spend and save it. Easy.
And if you can’t, you either:
- Spend less.
- Find a way to make more.
We spend as little as possible. We are not living it up. Life is nice, but I feel one missed paycheck away from the whole tower collapsing.
This turned into a financial therapy session. Last year was rough. I hope this year, I can pick up the pace and overcome some of these financial barriers.
As always, thank you for reading and following my journey. Hope everyone is doing well!
Stay safe and scrappy out there! ✨
-H.
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I enjoy your blog and have no great advice. All I can say is stay the course. You have a beautiful family and that is what is most important. There will be highs and there will be lows. Stay on the course and things WILL get better. Good Luck!
Honestly if it were me I’d sell the land and pay off the car and both cards. I don’t think the land is doing anything for you, and getting rid of those loan balances gets you a ton more breathing room.
Props to you for even trying to do this much at once. Nonetheless you’re only human, cut yourself some slack. I respect your goals but it kind of feels like you’re undertaking a Sisyphean task load.