Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Thank you!

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I've been piling up too much cash so today I bought the required minimum of $1000 of Vanguard target date 2055 and then set up a recurring investment of $300 per month. The plan is that this will keep any more cash from piling up.

Now I have about half VTSAX (all US stock index), about half all US dividend index, and a little target date 2055 in my taxable account. I'd prefer if all my investments were in the same thing but I keep changing my mind about what I should be doing. VTSAX seemed to make sense as a more growth/more risk option at one point. Then I got into dividend stocks which make sense but as an index it seemed like it overlapped a lot with VTSAX and resulted in me owning a ton of Microsoft which I'm not so sure about. Also, both of them are US only which I'm worried about. So I've now decided to go back to my roots and have an index of everything.

At some point I will swap the VTSAX and US dividend indexes for the target date fund but I have to look into it. I think it means that I will have to pay taxes on the sales and I have to watch that I don't do it too soon after they were purchased or the taxes will be higher. I need to look into it.

jacob
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Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by jacob »

The Vanguard 20XY Target funds essentially holds 4 other Vanguard funds:
https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-fu ... olio/vffvx
It's a fund-of-funds designed with the convenience of automatic rebalancing.
The other target dates have the same funds but in different ratios.

steveo73
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:52 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by steveo73 »

Gilberto - my attitude is that if you are using vanguard you are probably okay. Personally I think an all world index + a domestic bond index fund based on your risk profile is going to beat basically every other investment style out there. I also tinker a little beyond this but I don't see the expected return as being any better than a simple approach.

Investing to me is a funny thing. I think that people think they will outperform with their special approach but they won't. Simple and dumb is actually smart. Smart is actually dumb.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

July 2019

First month in almost a year with a 60%+ savings rate. Spending was down to a reasonable level and I got some extra income from the internet.

Expenses
Alcohol & Bars 30
Bills & Utilities 113.67
Business Services 27.98
Cash & ATM 20
Doctor 45
Gas & Fuel 40.78
Groceries 313.07
Gym 39.04
Home Improvement 132.49 (House repair slowed down some this month)
Internet 23.73
Mortgage & Rent 790.73
Parking 4.5
Pharmacy 1.58
Restaurants 79.53 (High)
Sports 154.76 (Bike parts, commuter drivetrain was worn out)
Total -FI 1816.84

Income
Paycheck 2684.09
Amazon 77.38
CafePress 29.93
Internet Ads 500.7 (Great!)
Checking 11.68
457b 1430.06
Total +FI 4733.84

Savings 2917

% Spent 38.4%
% Saved 61.6%

SWR 7.7%
SWR with Internet Income 5.1%

Years Remaining 5.9
Years Remaining with Interest 4


Love says 'I am everything.' Wisdom says 'I am nothing.' Between the two, my life flows.
Nisargadatta Maharaj

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El Duderino
Posts: 177
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:24 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by El Duderino »

wow, check out that advertising income!!! nice high savings rate too, excellent.

I hear you about the DIY time suck. That's the big part about it that nobody really talks about. Especially when you're tackling an unfamiliar project, you've got to research it, go slower than usual, and there's often re-work involved to get it right. It's certainly something to be considered and when lots of these DIY projects start to pile up, it definitely feels like a burden. You're going to have to make a call as to whether you think you can clear them in a reasonable time or if you need to let some go and hire a pro, which I, for one, am always loathe to do.

2Birds1Stone
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Location: Earth

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

I agree with The Dude, great progress.

I would encourage you to smooth out the SWR/years saved graphs by using a rolling 12 month average vs looking at the jumps from month to month.

How are things on the work front mentally? It looks like with a bit of creativity you could cover a good chunk of your expenses between invested capital and side hustle.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Thanks guys!
How are things on the work front mentally? It looks like with a bit of creativity you could cover a good chunk of your expenses between invested capital and side hustle.
I'm not too happy with my job but I haven't been able to get anything better. I am getting closer to covering everything with investments and internet income but I am not there yet. I may eventually quit my career without having all my expenses covered and take a more interesting/fun job to cover the difference. For now I'm going to stay on the current path.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

As of this month I owe less than six figures on the mortgage! :mrgreen: More progress! I'm not planning to pay it down any faster but it's nice to know that if I wanted to I could probably have it paid off in a few years.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

August 2019

Despite spending way too much the numbers are OK due to a three paycheck month and internet income.

Expenses
Alcohol & Bars 222 (event spending)
Auto & Transport 148.47 (parts for car maintenance)
Bills & Utilities 113.89
Business Services 27.98
Cash & ATM 100 (event spending)
Clothing 65.16 (event spending, travel)
Doctor 45
Fast Food 15.91
Gas & Fuel 86.9 (travel)
Gift 43.35
Groceries 405.49 (event spending)
Gym 39.04 (event spending)
Home Improvement 0.31
Hotel 71.95 (event spending)
Internet 23.73
Mortgage & Rent 790.73
Pharmacy 16.34
Restaurants 266.57 (event spending)
Shopping 184.63 (event spending)
Sports 94.55 (travel)
Travel 257.91 (travel)
Total -FI 3019.89

Income
Paycheck 3999.41
Amazon 38.12
Internet Ads 491.7
Checking 10.98
457b 2145.09
Total +FI 6685.3

Savings 3665.42

% Spent 45%
% Saved 55%

SWR 13%
SWR with Internet Income 11%

Years Remaining 26.5 (this is very high due to the high spending this month)
Years Remaining with Interest 9 (seems off, who knows)


All our lives we keep appointments we didn't make.
Mary Pipher

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Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Today I changed my automatic investment into Vanguard target date 2055 from $300 per month to $500 per month. It probably won't change my savings rate because I have already been saving that money into checking but it should help to keep money from piling up as cash.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

September 2019

Did some travelling (one trip by choice, one I couldn't avoid) and replaced some worn out parts on my car.

Expenses
Alcohol & Bars 45.93 (Travelling)
Auto & Transport 461.44 (Replaced some parts on my car)
Bills & Utilities 148.93 (Electricity, gas, water)
Business Services 68.32 (Website renewed)
Coffee Shops 7.77
Doctor 45
Fast Food 50.14 (Travelling)
Gas & Fuel 85.07 (Travelling)
Groceries 259.29
Gym 39.04
Home Improvement 53.89
Hotel 78.38 (Travelling)
Internet 23.73
Laundry 4
Mortgage & Rent 790.7
Restaurants 105.55 (Travelling)
Sports 90.61 (Travelling)
Travel 410.24 (I could sort this out but I just am out of energy for it right now)
Total -FI 2768.02

Income
Paycheck 2684.09
Amazon 80.05
Internet Ads 141
Checking 10.42
Gift 350
457b 2145.09
Total +FI 5410.65
Savings 2642.64

% Spent 51%
% Saved 49%

SWR 12%
SWR with Internet Income 11%

Years Remaining 19.7
Years Remaining with Interest 8


We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell

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Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

October 2019

I spent too much this month, as usual. My main problem was that I bought another bicycle. It was a good price and something I have been wanting for awhile so I couldn't turn it down. I also had to pay for car insurance. I'm not very happy about my spending lately.

This month was my six year ERE anniversary. During that time my ERE assets have increased from about $70,000 to about $300,000. That's about $40,000 per year, though I didn't save all of it as market gains count too. I don't know if I am impressed or disappointed. Some of both really. :? I haven't done badly but I haven't done well enough to change my life either.

I've been unhappy lately. A lot of things are contributing to it, nothing that can really be "fixed" so I'm just slogging through. It's OK. Winter is here and I'm tired of it already so that isn't helping.

Expenses
Alcohol & Bars 12.97 (not bad)
Auto & Transport 60 (needed an alignment due to replacing parts)
Auto Insurance 200.15 (every six months)
Bills & Utilities 126.53 (natural gas, electricity, water)
Business Services 27.98
Charity 60
Coffee Shops 12.14
Doctor 30
Gas & Fuel 22.96
Groceries 275.44
Gym 39.04
Home Improvement 102.76 (still fixing things up)
Internet 23.73
Mortgage & Rent 790.73
Pharmacy 23.72
Shopping 62.96
Sports 608.95 (bought another bicycle)
Taxes 200 (I'm now breaking up property taxes into monthly chunks to smooth it out for the purposes of this journal)
Total -FI 2680.05

Income
Paycheck 2684.08
Amazon 46.48
Internet Ads 220.24
Checking 10.07
Gift 265
457b 1430.06
Total +FI 4655.93

Savings 1975.88
Savings wo 457b 545.82

% Spent 58%
% Saved 42%

SWR 11%
SWR with Internet Income 10%

Years Remaining 17.6
Years Remaining with Interest 8


You might have to fight a battle more than once to win it.
Margaret Thatcher

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Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

November 2019

The big news for this month is that I hit $300,000 in FIRE assets! :mrgreen: See the last chart below. This includes a tax advantaged retirement account, a taxed account, and cash. I have other assets but this is what is accessible for an early retirement.

I also managed to have a decent month as far as spending, with only $1904 in expenses. This gave me a savings rate of 59%, the best I've had in a while even though I am including monthly property taxes now.

I also upped my Vanguard automatic investment by another $100. I'm trying to force myself to save more.

Expenses
Auto & Transport 35.63 (car problem)
Bills & Utilities 96.04 (electricity, natural gas, water, etc.)
Business Services 32.78
Charity 22.04
Clothing 4.21
Doctor 15
Gas & Fuel 31.17
Gift 16
Groceries 329.47 (Thanksgiving)
Gym 39.04
Home Improvement 80.34 (making the house more energy efficient)
Internet 23.73
Mortgage & Rent 790.73
Public Transportation 65 (bus)
Restaurants 19.17
Sports 103.95 (mostly new bike rack to fit the bike I bought recently, will sell old rack)
Taxes 200 (property taxes)
Total -FI 1904.29

Income
Paycheck 2627.45
Amazon 70.96 (nice)
Internet Ads 337.68 (huge)
Checking 9.66
Gift 110 (helped someone out, got paid unexpectedly)
457b 1500
Total +FI 4655.75

Savings 2751.46
Savings without 457b 1251.46

% Spent 40.9%
% Saved 59.1%

SWR 7.5%
SWR with Internet Income 5.9%

Years Remaining 6.2
Years Remaining with Interest 4


We cannot ensure success, but we can deserve it.
Joseph Addison

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I'm not sure why joint checking is shown twice here, it doesn't look that way in the spreadsheet software.

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wolf
Posts: 1102
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Location: Germany

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by wolf »

Congrats Gilberto to you NW milestone and alltime high SR!
I like the second chart especially, because the swr lines are coming closer to the goal each months.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Thanks! I really enjoy passing those round numbers!

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
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Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by cmonkey »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Tue Dec 03, 2019 4:41 pm
November 2019

The big news for this month is that I hit $300,000 in FIRE assets! :mrgreen:
Round numbers are great! Congrats.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

cmonkey wrote:
Wed Dec 04, 2019 3:17 pm
Round numbers are great! Congrats.
Thank you!

The net worth chart from my journal post is definitely starting to show an upward curve as compounding does its thing.

It does seem like $300,000 may be an interesting number for me. I am usually able to save about $30,000 each year. Doing this takes a lot of effort on my part. In comparison, with $300,000 if the market gains 10% (just using a round number example), I will "save" $30,000 without doing any work ($300,000 * 10% is $30,000).

A long time ago I wrote down this quote from Jacob:
Interesting things begin to happen once your networth no longer starts which the number 1 or 2.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1344&start=125

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

For the last few months I have been making my vanguard automatic investment $100 larger each month. I was creeping up on $875, which will give me a total investment of $10,500 in 2020. That plus the 457b limit of $19,500 will give me a total investment of $30,000 for 2020. Today I skipped a few steps and cranked my auto investment up to the final $875 per month! :geek:

Not only does this lock me in to a decent amount of money saved for the year, it also takes some of the stress of saving out. I don't have to decide when to move money from cash to vanguard or what to invest in each time. Of course, it could add a lot of stress if I start spending too much, but I will keep an eye on it. I can always turn it back down or off.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

December 2019

December had high spending as you might expect due to buying Christmas gifts.

Expenses
Alcohol & Bars 12.97
Auto & Transport 107.54 (Working on the car again.)
Bills & Utilities 125.63
Business Services 137.66 (Websites.)
Doctor 45
Fast Food 29.82 (Travelling for Christmas.)
Gas & Fuel 81.19 (Travelling for Christmas.)
Gift 445.19 (Ugh.)
Groceries 256.91
Gym 39.04
Home Improvement 55.97 (House repairs.)
Mortgage & Rent 790.73
Pharmacy 26.62
Public Transportation 65 (Bus to work.)
Restaurants 14.13
Shopping 13.16
Taxes 200 (Property taxes.)
Total -FI 2446.54

Income
Paycheck 2627.45
CafePress 33.18
Internet Ads 119
Checking 45.54
457b 1500
Total +FI 4325.17

Savings 1878.63
Savings wo 457b 378.63

% Spent 56.6%
% Saved 43.4%

SWR 9.4%
SWR with Internet Income 8.8%

Years Remaining 12.7
Years Remaining with Interest 5


The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward

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