I Grew Up Poor and Learned Financial Literacy Late. Now, I’m Investing for My Children and Teaching Them to Become Millionaires

I’m creating my own nail-biter over here. This is the third month in a row of a new net worth high. That feels dang good on its own: At nearly $350K, I’m 70% of the way toward my $500K goal.

But the goal is to hit $500K by August 2024. That’s in 7 months! Being $150K short means I’ll have to increase my net worth by over $21,000 each month on average until then to achieve it.

That’s… a lot. Is it realistic?

I mean, probably not.

Is it also incredible? Heck yeah! I continue to be amazed at how compound interest truly has a life of its own.

I’ve had plenty of months with gains and losses of that size. But to have 7 winning months in a row? I’m my own underdog. It’s unlikely but it would be soooo cool if it happened.

Even if it doesn’t, I think I’ll get pretty close. Either way, 2024 is already shaping up to be an incredible year.

February 2024 Freedom update

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Like last month, this one finds me at yet another new net worth high. But unlike last month, it also finds us with a brand new baby girl. That’s right – we are now a party of five and have spent the last week getting to know our sweet new baby!

Even with all the expenses associated with delivery, my overall net worth continued to tick upward to over $342,000.

I’m excited and so tired. We’re currently on an adventure and making new memories in a new place. Here’s how it’s playing out as I start 2024.

January 2024 Freedom update

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I’m at a new net worth high. In fact, a year ago in December 2022, I was also at a new high: $266K. Must be the so-called “Santa Claus Rally.”

This month I’m at $334K.  That’s $68,000 higher than this time last year and $166,000 left to go to hit my $500,000 goal.

If I can increase my net worth by $18,000 over each of the next nine months, I’ll hit the goal. Is that possible? Well, this month I’m up nearly $30,000 so… if the trend keeps up I just might make it.

But I also know how quick it can turn, so don’t want to take mental possession of it yet.

That was a lot of numbers. Here’s one more: I’m 67% of the way there.

Whether I hit the goal by the end of August 2024 as planned/hoped for or not, I’m gonna go ahead and give myself some grace. I’m doing so good.

December 2023 Freedom update

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Somehow I’m back at 61% of my $500,000 savings goal and up nearly $19,000 this month. Not gonna lie, last month was devastating being down so much.

So while I love restoring growth, I know better than to get attached or assign mental possession to it. It could just as easily slide down again (and it has). In my case, it will.

Because we have a lot of expenses coming up in the next few months. The only thing that could provide levity is for the stock market to keep going in this upward trend, which… is it? 

There’s been a lot of positive economic news lately (in the world at large), and my 401k has nearly recovered all the losses from earlier in the year. This month, my other investment accounts rose back to their October 2023 levels. If the market continues to improve, it could seriously make up for (and exceed?) my upcoming expenses.

And if the housing market improves, I could add to my home equity. Again, trying to stay level, but there it is: that hope that things will start to turn around.

Either way, I’m staying on track, adding cash to accounts when I can, cutting expenses wherever possible, and steadily paying down debt—all at the same time. As I have someone managed to do for years.

November 2023 Freedom update

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I’m coming in sheepishly! My Travis Scott ticket reselling fiasco made a splash—for others in my situation and in the ticket reselling community. I’ve already talked about that here and don’t have more to say about it… for now.

I mention it because I sold stock for the first time in my life to correct my mistake and allll the life lessons that came along with that. Anywhomst’ve, I’m completely at peace with it. I learned my lesson, and I’m moving forward. It sucked, but it’s over.

You’ll see that debacle, a market that struggled through most of September (with one of the lowest days since March and the Dow that went negative for 2023 YTD), and a big decline in my home value reflected in this Freedom update.

As of now, I will most likely NOT hit $500K by August 2024. As my toilet stopped draining last week and lead to further large repair reckonings this month, I had my freakouts and regrouped. Here’s a link to the amazing BOY BOSS t-shirt from the photo above if you want one. (Sorry for the jarring transition.)

Life has changed a lot since I made that goal way back when. I will have multiple millions by the time I retire—even without adding another cent to my savings. And it’s true that, in general, I’m focused on the day-to-day more now.

I accept all that. And, not to get too philosophical, realized it’s not that serious. Spending money now, while I don’t love it, is what I have to do right now. (And maybe I do love it? Because we’re always getting what we want.)

All that to say, anything could happen and I’m still sticking to my plan of investing heavily, paying debt, and reducing expenses. There are speed bumps now. They won’t always be there.

Anyway, let’s talk about it.

October 2023 Freedom update

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September is my personal new year. I had a birthday last week and turned 39. And next week, Beck will be 1. [times flies, etc.]

It’s also a countdown to my $500,000 goal – one year left.

It’s looking unlikely that I’ll hit it—unless something massively shifts (which is always a possibility) with an unprecedented bull run, influx of cash, huge real estate increase, or something of that caliber.

Not to say that won’t happen, just that it’s easier for me to grasp if I’m realistic. But there’s still that dreamer in me.

Right now, I’m at ~$313K. That’s $187K short. To hit $500,000, I’d need to collect $15,583 per month for the next 12 months.

I’ve had months like that before. And every time the stock market rises even 1%, that’s a huge gain for me. But it’s more than I can produce on my own.

So this month finds me, as always, pondering where I can place the best 20% of my efforts to get closer to 80% of the overall results I seek. 🌠

September 2023 Freedom update

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