Progress Report

Financial Independence Progress Report for Dec 2019

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

It is December 2019 now. Somebody recently asked the question: what were your accomplishments in 2019? At that moment, it struck me that 2019 has been a very very busy year….there were a lot of personal and professional issues our family had to deal with….relationship troubles, a job loss, new job and job-change induced relocation, sick parent, moving to a new house, etc. There were some good things as well….but lots and lots of stress. I realized that I need to slow down for a few days and slowly extricate myself from the grind. 

First step is this report 🙂 My last monthly progress report was May 2019. I was supposed to use a new method to track my finances and goals going forward from May. That did not happen for the above reasons. I have used this template since I started this blog…almost 6 years ago. So, lets use it for some more time until I stabilize my life!

That said, let us see how much closer I got to my financial independence targets in Dec 2019.

12/22/2019
Emergency Fund 100.0% 39.27%
College Fund 67.39% 76.20%
Passive Income (2018 vs 2019) $1387.59(12/2018) $732.68 (12/2019)
Retirement Fund 92.52% 95.46%
Roof for our Family Done!
Medical Fund (via HSA) 18.60% 22.30%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • This year’s target dividends was $500 pm or $6000 per year. The target is half of last years because I had to sell some investments for a home down payment.
    • The good news is that I have exceeded my target. The total dividends, as of today, is $10,426.89.
    • The bad news is that last year the total dividends were much higher….$16,589. But that was expected….home purchase and all.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing this month. Too many expenses related to Christmas 🙂
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Redirected the December REIT fund dividends into VEIPX: Vanguard Equity Income Fund
    • Investments in tax-deferred 401K
      • No change this month…continuing to build a cash position.
      • The way the market is going up, this plan seems stupid…..but I want to have cash when the chips are down much more that the incremental gains this year.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing special.

 

Advertisement

Financial Independence Progress Report for May 2019

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

May 2019 is done….seems like time is moving faster and faster!! Since the beginning of 2019, I have been studying a bit on different planning strategies for a 40 year retirement. I picked one of the strategies and have been doing a dry run for the past few months. I am ready to make that the main execution vehicle from next month onwards. So, I will introduce the method I chose and also how I am going to track it going forward.

This means that this form of monthly progress update will be the last. I have used this template since I started this blog…almost 6 years ago. So, bit sad to let it go…but time to move on and look to the future.

That said, let us see how much closer I got to my financial independence targets in May 2019.

6/1/2019
Emergency Fund 100.0% Done
College Fund 67.39% 65.34%
Passive Income (2018 vs 2019) $1228.30(05/2018) $1213.09 (05/2019)
Retirement Fund 92.52% 87.8%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 18.60% 18.53%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

There is a lot of red in this month’s portfolio….mainly to the stock market tanking by a few points.

  • Passive Income Stream
    • This year’s target dividends was $500 pm or $6000 per year. The target is half of last years because I had to sell some investments for a home down payment….though home search itself has not been successful yet.
    • The good news is that I have met the yearly target of $6000 per year as of this month. The total dividends, as of end of May, is $6060.73.
    • Every dollar of passive income from now on is just a bonus.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing this month.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Used the IRA cash fund to invest into VEIPX: Vanguard Equity Income Fund
      • I.e. Dollar cost average down my VEIPX holdings in light of market drops.
    • Investments in tax-deferred 401K
      • Nothing this month
      • For 401K cash fund, my investment plan is in the following order…have not used it yet….waiting for the market to go down more.
        • Dividend growth fund or
        • US large cap equity fund or
        • US total market fund
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing special.

Financial Independence Progress Report for April 2019

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

April 2019 is done….and spring is almost done and summer is close….yeh!! Imagine how it can be if you were already financially independent? Yummy! With that positive thought, lets see how much closer I got to my financial independence targets in April 2019.

4/02/2019
Emergency Fund 100.0% Done
College Fund 64.50% 67.39%
Passive Income (2018 vs 2019) $911.81(04/2018) $1211.94 (03/2019)
Retirement Fund 94.57% 92.52%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 14.12% 18.60%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • For 2018, my goal was $12K per year which I achieved.  My passive income goal for 2019 is $500 pm or $6K per year. The main reason for the lower target was a pending home purchase…but I have still not been lucky in finding a home that fits the needs and budget 😐
    • But good news is that my monthly passive income has been higher than my targets 🙂 In addition, I am rebuilding my passive income streams. So, all in the right direction.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Added to my tax efficient passive income stream via MUNI bonds.
        • VCAIX:
          • Vanguard California Muni
          • Federal and State tax free
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Added some more $$ to my rainy day investment fund…for use when the next recession comes and brings down asset prices
      • Money market is giving a decent 2.4%…so, am getting paid to wait.
      • My goals are to invest in the following order when the chips are down:
        • For IRA cash:
          • VEIPX: Vanguard Equity Income Fund
        • For 401K cash:
          • Dividend growth fund or
          • US large cap equity fund or
          • US total market fund
          • …..all based on what funds are available in my 401K
  • Miscellaneous
    • Got a super positive surprise for HSA this month.
    • Due to a mistake, my HSA contribution was not getting forwarded to my HSA investment account. It had accumulated to over $4K.
    • Was unhappy that it was not invested…but very happy for the additional $4K!!

Financial Independence Progress Report for March 2019

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

March 2019 is done….still fighting flu in the family…..flu shots do not seem to be working well this time 😐 But enough of that….lets get on with March.

How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets in March 2019? Lets look at the numbers and find out.

4/02/2019
Emergency Fund 100.0% Done
College Fund 62.54% 64.50%
Passive Income (2018 vs 2019) $1391.30(03/2018) $1211.21 (03/2019)
Retirement Fund 91.00% 94.57%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 13.66% 14.12%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • For part of 2018, I was on a quarterly dividend system that I later converted to a monthly dividend system. Since March is a major dividend paying month in quarterly system, March 2018 beats March 2019.
    • My passive income goal for 2019 is $500 pm or $6000 pa. For 2018, my goal was $12000 which I achieved. So, there will be lots of RED this year 😦
    • But good news is that I have started rebuilding my passive income streams…more on this below!!
  • Emergency Fund
    • My emergency fund rebuilding is done…I achieved 100% of my target.
    • This sets a floor for the next couple of years where recession and a down market can put pressure on finances, cash flow, etc.
    • No more updates on the Emergency Fund from now on…..will let it grow in the background.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Very happy to have re-started  a tax efficient passive income stream
        • VCAIX:
          • Vanguard California Muni
          • Federal and State tax free
          • Got 85 cents (first) dividend in March 🙂
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Added to my portfolio in cash…a rainy day investment fund when the next recession comes in and brings down prices
      • Money market is giving a decent 2.4%…so, am getting paid to wait.
      • My goals are to invest in the following order when the chips are down:
        • For IRA cash:
          • VEIPX: Vanguard Equity Income Fund
        • For 401K cash:
          • Dividend growth fund or
          • US large cap equity fund or
          • US total market fund
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing. this week.

Financial Independence Progress Report for February 2019

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

February 2019 is done….and I realized that I forgot to write the January update! It was a busy life was in the first two months of the year. Mainly fighting the flu and some kid issues. But lets get on with February.

How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets in February? Lets look at the numbers and find out.

3/02/2019
Emergency Fund 80.07% 97.11%
College Fund 55.46% 62.54%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $657.17(02/2018) $1037.33 (02/2019)
Retirement Fund 86.30% 91.00%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 12.56% 13.66%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for Feb 2019 was $1037.33…looks nice compared to last Feb right?  Not so fast…for part of 2018, I was on a quarterly dividend system…later converted to a monthly dividend system….so, 2018 will catch up to his year in a hurry…
    • My passive income goal for the year is $500 pm or $6000 pa. But I do not have the same higher dividend paying investments this year. So, getting ahead earlier in the year is good!
  • Emergency Fund
    • Rebuilt my emergency fund to almost 100% of my target.
    • Time to take some risks now 🙂
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • None.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Started two cash fund streams:
        • IRA: Took a 12% gain from selling a portion of a REIT fund
        • 401K: Took a 11% gain from selling some international funds
      • My goal is to set aside 10% of my portfolio in cash…a rainy day investment fund to better dollar-cost-average good investments.
      • Money market is giving a decent 2.4%…so, am getting paid some…
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing.

Financial Independence Progress Report for December 2018

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

December is done….and I realized that November was done before that and I did not update my monthly report! Too late now. I was extremely busy with unsuccessful house hunting. But lets get on with December.

This is the last month I will have passive income for a while….I have sold all my investments and plan to prioritize buying a home for the family. Based on how that purchase goes through, I will re-enter the market with whatever money is left. This was a tough call but in the face of lots of uncertainties, this is the only reasonable path I see. I think I will again become a beginner in dividend investing….lets see how things go the second time around!!

How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets in December? Lets look at the numbers for December and find out.

1/06/2019
Emergency Fund 28.41% 80.07%
College Fund 55.37% 55.46%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $939.90(12/2017) $1387.59 (12/2018)
Retirement Fund 85.72% 86.30%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 12.36% 12.56%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for Dec 2018 was $1387.59.
    • Compared to this time last year, the total dividends this year through end of December is 32.69% more than 2017.
    • My first year of developing passive income streams was 2014. December dividends in Dec 2017 was $297.68. It has been a good ride with lots of lessons learnt along the way.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Sold some more investments to tax-loss-harvest some gains.
      • Using the proceeds, I continued to rebuild my emergency fund.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Was forced to liquidate some holdings because the 401K plan offerings changed.
      • Invested back into three buckets
        • US Intermediate bond funds
        • International Equity funds
        • US Equity funds
        • Money market fund
          • Building a cash fund because I am seeing a lot of red here.
          • Time to invest more and dollar cost average down the investments will be here soon!!
  • Miscellaneous
    • I was walking through all my investment categories and I am seeing red in many of them.
      • Investments in the  GREEN
        • US Equities :
          • VDIGX
      • Investments in the RED
        • International equities:
          • VIHAX, VTIAX, VEMAX
        • REITs:
          • VGSLX, VGRLX
        • Investment Grade Bonds:
          • VFSTX and VFICX
        • Bonds:
          • VTABX
    • In my experience, when I see such broad declines across many investing categories and across many geographies, then it usually indicates that a storm is gathering. The entire world is connected in many ways and non-performing markets (like emerging markets) have a way of spreading fast.
    • It is time to shift focus on how to not only prepare for a downturn but also how to benefit from a downturn.
      • If you have time, you can read this post I wrote a while back.
      • How to prepare for the next recession?
      • Since I have have been house hunting, it is amazing how similar the scenarios I wrote in 2015 are in comparison to today!!

Financial Independence Progress Report for October 2018

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

October is done….one more month closer to the end of year. Like last month, I am seeing a lot of red in many parts of my portfolio….bonds and stocks in both taxable and tax-advantages accounts. We have definitely reached the inflection point in the market and choppiness is back with a bang.

How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets in October? Lets look at the numbers for October and find out.

11/02/2018
Emergency Fund 24.56% 28.41%
College Fund 57.67% 55.37%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $711.44(10/2017) $1320.40 (10/2018)
Retirement Fund 88.97% 85.72%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 12.45% 12.36%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for October 2018 seems a lot more than October 2017. But it is fake 🙂
      • Earlier this year, I redistributed where my funds are invested. Cashed out some gains and converted quarterly dividends to monthly and more importantly more tax efficient monthly dividends.
      • The June, September and December dividends are going to be much less. But, the total dividends for the entire year will be higher though.
      • Compared to this time last year, the total dividends this year through end of October is 38% more than 2017….just distributed differently.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing new to report here as I am out of cash 😐
      • Continuing to rebuild my emergency fund.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • No cash here too 🙂
      • But, need to build a cash fund because I am seeing a lot of red here.
        • I.e. time to invest more and dollar cost average down the investments will be here soon!!
  • Miscellaneous
    • I was walking through all my investment categories and I am seeing red in many of them.
      • Investments in the  GREEN
        • US Equities :
          • VDIGX
        • Bonds:
          • VTABX
      • Investments in the RED
        • International equities:
          • VIHAX, VTIAX, VEMAX
        • Municipal Bonds:
          • VCADX, VWIUX
        • REITs:
          • VGSLX, VGRLX
        • Investment Grade Bonds:
          • VFSTX and VFICX
    • In my experience, when I see such broad declines across many investing categories and across many geographies, then it usually indicates that a storm is gathering. The entire world is connected in many ways and bad markets have a way of spreading fast.
    • It is time to shift focus on how to not only prepare for a downturn but also how to benefit from a downturn.

Financial Independence Progress Report for September 2018

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

September is done and so is the third quarter. End of year is coming closer and that means yearly evaluations also 🙂 But lets not jump ahead…lets see how September fared.

I am seeing a lot of red in many parts of my portfolio….bonds and stocks in both taxable and tax-advantages accounts. Feels like we have reached the turning point in the market and nowhere to go but down. I.e. buying opportunity! Need to build up cash reserves again to profit from it. I have a note on this later in this post.

How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets in September? Lets look at the numbers for August and find out.

10/06/2018
Emergency Fund 24.21% 24.56%
College Fund 56.98% 57.67%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $15495.52(9/2017) $1451.35 (9/2018)
Retirement Fund 87.91% 88.97%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 10.18% 12.45%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for September 2018 is a bit less than August 2017. It is by design and not unexpected.
      • Earlier this year, I redistributed where my funds are invested. Cashed out some gains and converted quarterly dividends to monthly and more importantly more tax efficient monthly dividends.
      • The June, September and December dividends are going to be much less. But, the total dividends for the entire year will be higher though.
      • Compared to this time last year, the total dividends this year through end of September is 32% more than 2017….just distributed differently.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing new to report here as I am out of cash 😐
      • Continuing to rebuild my emergency fund.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • No cash here too 🙂
      • But, need to build a cash fund because I am seeing a lot of red here.
        • I.e. time to invest more and dollar cost average down the investments will be here soon!!
  • Miscellaneous
    • I was walking through all my investment categories and I am seeing red in many of them.
      • Investments in the  GREEN
        • US Equities :
          • VDIGX
      • Investments in the RED
        • International equities:
          • VIHAX, VTIAX, VEMAX
        • Municipal Bonds:
          • VCADX, VWIUX
        • REITs:
          • VGSLX, VGRLX
        • Investment Grade Bonds:
          • VFSTX and VFICX
        • Bonds:
          • VTABX
    • In my experience, when I see such broad declines across many investing categories and across many geographies, then it usually indicates that a storm is gathering. The entire world is connected in many ways and bad markets have a way of spreading fast.
    • It is time to shift focus on how to not only prepare for a downturn but also how to benefit from a downturn.

Financial Independence Progress Report for August 2018

/ humblefi / 1 Comment

Delayed update this month as I was out of town on work matters. But, August is done and so is 66% of the year 2018….somehow the year seems to have slipped by stealthily!! How much closer did I get to my financial independence targets? Lets look at the numbers for August and find out.

9/01/2018
Emergency Fund 20.73% 24.21%
College Fund 55.80% 56.98%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $535.78(8/2017) $1244.20 (8/2018)
Retirement Fund 87.38% 87.91%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 9.79% 10.18%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for August 2018 is much higher than August 2017. It is expected to be so 🙂
      • In March an April, I redistributed where my funds are invested. Cashed out some gains and converted quarterly dividends to monthly and more importantly more stable and tax efficient monthly dividends.
      • The June, September and December dividends are going to be much less. But, the total dividends for the entire year will be higher though.
      • Compared to this time last year, the total dividends this year through end of August is 29% more than 2017….just distributed differently.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing new to report here as I am out of cash 😐
      • Unplanned vehicle maintenance has taken a chunk of money out of emergency funds again. So priority is to rebuild my emergency fund.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • No cash here too 🙂
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing.

Financial Independence Progress Report for July 2018

/ humblefi / Leave a comment

July has come and gone and August is almost half way done and I am late with my monthly report!! Jeez…time flies fast. I was out of town for work related matters and it was a tiring one. But, post coming back, counting dividends for the month of July was definitely helpful to break out of the funk! So, lets look at the numbers.

8/11/2018
Emergency Fund 38.78% 20.73%
College Fund 53.70% 55.80%
Passive Income (2017 vs 2018) $486.86(7/2017) $1233.78 (7/2018)
Retirement Fund 85.73% 87.38%
Roof for our Family($750K) 00.00%
Medical Fund (via HSA) 9.82% 9.79%
Life Insurance Done (term life insurance policy)

Main Takeaways this month

  • Passive Income Stream
    • My passive Income for July 2018 is much higher than July 2017. It is expected to be so 🙂
      • In March an April, I redistributed where my funds are invested. Cashed out some gains and converted quarterly dividends to monthly and more importantly more stable and tax efficient dividends.
      • The June, September and December dividends are going to be much less. But, the total dividends for the entire year will be higher though.
      • Compared to this time last year, the total dividends this year through end of July is 33% more than 2017….just distributed differently.
  • Additional Investments
    • Investments in taxable accounts
      • Nothing new to report here as I am out of cash 😐
      • Unplanned vehicle maintenance has taken a chunk of money out of emergency funds again.
      • So priority is to rebuild my emergency fund now.
    • Investments in tax-deferred account (IRA)
      • Bought some more of VIHAX (International High Dividend) to dollar cost average down.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nothing.