The first month in the new year is done and it is time for the monthly update!

For the first time in the last couple of years, I am struggling with what should be my yearly goals for 2017. There are some basic goals that I will carry over from last year…like college fund, retirement fund, etc. But my struggle is mainly with the housing goal and that in-decision is affecting a couple other goals. But, I think I am getting closure on this issue and will update on the decision soon.

But for now, lets look at the numbers for Jan 2017.

Main Takeaways this month

• Passive Income Stream
  • Passive Income for Jan 2017 (441.42) is appx 30% lower than Jan 2016 ($592.90). This is a big decrease but an expected one 🙂
    • I sold all my ESPP shares from a previous employer and moved them into a couple different mutual funds. Basically cashed out for better risk diversification….shares in only one dividend company vs shares in many dividend paying companies.
    • The ESPP shares had an odd dividend payout frequency: Jan, April, July and October. Post the sale, dividends for these months will take a hit this year, but they will be more than compensated by investments with normal cycle of dividends in Mar, June, Sept and December.
• Additional Investments
  • International exposure
    • Just like prior months, I continued to increase my exposure outside the US. Stocks in United States are way to overvalued and frothy in my opinion. I want my passive income stream to come from many countries all over the world as a good means of diversification.
    • So, I added to my existing investments in an Emerging markets fund (VEIEX) and Developed Markets International fund (VTMGX).
  • Build a tiny cash fund again
    • Since I have stopped investing in US stocks, I am accumulating that money in a money market fund. When the market tanks later this year, I want to have a small cash fund accumulated to take advantage of the dip.
• Medical Fund
  • I signed up the family for a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan and got access to a Health Savings Account (HSA). $6750 of pre-tax money can be saved in it. HSA money is eligible for all valid medical expenses…free of federal and state taxes.
  • This will begin the accumulation of the Medical Fund. I have accumulated a couple of nasty health issues through all the ups and downs in life…this makes a medical fund an absolute necessity for my later years.
  • My hope is that the family medical expenses are small enough to be able to pay out of pocket now and let the HSA funds compound over the years. Lets see how it goes.