Whoah, I can’t believe I’m already halfway through my experiment. WARNING: Cliche ahead! It seems like just yesterday when I was telling the wife (no blog yet, so not known as Mrs. 1500) about early retirement and how I wanted to write about it. That day was truly one of the inflection points in my life. Until then, I had always just assumed that I’d work until 65 and never questioned or even thought much about it.
1500 Days is born
It all started when I had a terrible day at work and googled something like “How do I retire early?” I eventually stumbled on Mr. Money Mustache and was quickly addicted. His ideas exploded in my head like fireworks. I immediately had to tell Mrs. 15oo about it. The conversation went a bit like this:
- Me (speaking very fast and with much excitement): Hey, you need to check out this Mr. Money Mustache blog! He talks about early retirement!! I ran the numbers and I can probably quit my job in about 4 years!!!
- Mrs. 1500 (with great puzzlement): Are you drunk!?!? What are you talking about?? Mustaches? Money?? What does one have to do with the other?*
It was at this time that I explained MMM along with my financial calculations. The Mrs. embraced early retirement from the start. However, she did not embrace the idea of a blog:
- Me: I love the Mr. Money Mustache blog! I don’t think there are many other personal finance blogs either**. I like writing and I’d like to start a blog of our own to document our journey to early retirement!
- Mrs. 1500 (disbelieving and questioning): What? A blog? Huh?
- Me: Yeah, it will be great! I’ve always enjoyed writing. It will be a lot of fun and a way to keep myself honest through transparency.
- Mrs. 1500: I just don’t think it’s a good idea. You’ll run out of things to talk about really quick.
(Mrs. 1500 note: I knew what a blog was, despite this somewhat inaccurate depiction of our conversation…)
Before you jump all over Mrs. Dismissive, she had a good point. In person, I don’t open my mouth much. I’m just not much of a talker. Open eyes, ears and brain are better than open mouths.
The written word is a different story though. I can’t shut my mouth. As of this writing (1/31/2015), I have approximately 137 (!) posts in the Draft bin. Some of those are bad and will never see the front page of the blog. There are others that I’ve been working on for 2 years and I’m as excited as ever to publish when they are fully baked.
Profound pondering, wait for it.
So, this being the halfway point and all, you may think that I have something really big and profound to say. I do, but I’m saving that for another day and another blog. However, I wanted to throw you some thoughts that have been flowing through my grey matter just now:
- 1500 days is a short amount of time in the investment world. I knew that I could go down looking like a fool if the markets tanked. While it wouldn’t have been my fault, it is much more pleasant when the trajectory is upward as it has been. 750 more days of this please?
- I’ve always enjoyed writing. Working on this blog for 2 years has reinforced that. The hundreds of hours that I’ve poured into this thing could have been devoted to software development and I’d be better off financially. I enjoy writing code too, but this is a lot more fun.
- I had zero expectations when I launched this thing. I didn’t really expect many to read it. I had no idea where it would take me and still don’t. However, it does make me very happy that I’ve been able to share my journey and learn with so many great people. I’ve met a bunch of you in real life and consider you my friends. I love the community and hope that you’ll hang on to see where the next 750 days take me.
Wow, all of that just came out. See, I told you; I can’t shut up! Time to turn my brain off and tell you how I did this month.
My main goal is to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 in 1500 days with no debt***, starting from 1/1/2013. Every month, I provide an update on my status. My goal for 2015 is to get my portfolio up to $874,353. Because we saw exceptional returns in 2013 and 2014, I have already accomplished this. Let’s take a look at January.
January was not a good month for Mr. Market. The S&P 500 started the month off at 2058 and closed at 1995 for a decrease of 3.1%. My holdings kicked off the month at $987,351 and ended at $975,181 for a decrease of 1.2%.
Like most months, my dangerously oversized Apple holding is what made the difference. Apple sold about a gazillion iPhones in the last quarter of 2014 and the stock enjoyed a nice ride up in January, even reaching an all time high. Despite this good fortune, I will get rid of at least some Apple shortly. It’s been a fun ride up since 2007 and the company is firing on all cylinders, but every empire must fall. Having 17% of my portfolio tied up in a volatile tech stock is plain silly.
Here are the numbers as of 1/31/2015:
2015
- Days elapsed: 31
- Days remaining: 333
- 2015 gains: -$12,170
- Left to go (2015): Goal accomplished!
Since the start (1/1/2013)
- Days elapsed: 761
- Days remaining: 639
- Gains since 1/1/2013: $389,138
- Needed for $1,000,000 (investments and cash only): $24,819
- Needed to retire ($1,120,000): $144,819
- Net worth*****: $1,175,181
Cha cha cha changes
I work as a consultant for a living. To continue at my job, I had to form a corporation which now gets paid by the client. This was a bit terrifying at first. I had to make many changes:
- Health care: I’m now on a bronze level Obamacare plan. This scared me, but it’s actually worked out well. Now, I pay less ($616 per month) for a plan that isn’t any better or worse than I had with my previous employer ($800/month). Put one in the win column!
- Pay: I worked out a juicy raise since I’ll have to cover the employer half of social security contributions. The raise more than makes up for this liability. Put another one in the win column.
- No pay: I will get paid eventually, but there is a big lag in the billing process. I haven’t received any pay since the end of November. I blew my emergency fund on the Lending Club IPO, so we’re down to about $1000 in cash. I should finally get paid again in a couple weeks and everything will be back to normal.
- Time: Keeping track of business expenses is yet another thing that consumes my precious time. Other time vampires include:
- Finishing the *&^%ing tile in my home
- Yelling vulgar insults at the neighbors’ cats when they poop under our deck
- Finishing the kitchen remodel that I started almost a year ago
- Fixing a clogged pipe (bucket under the bathroom sink is getting old)
- Breaking up skirmishes between the 1500 children: “She touched me!” “Did not!” “Did so!” “I don’t want a sister anymore!!!”
Anyway, this is not one for the win column.
- Solo 401k: I saved the best for last. I established a 401k for my company with Vanguard. I’ll contribute $18,000 this year. So will Mrs. 1500 who I hired on as an employee******. The corporation will then match 25% of our wages. After the dollars have settled, we’ll be able to sock away about $50,000 in sweet, tax advantaged contributions.
Are you still there? Wow, that was a long one. If you’ve made it this far, don’t stop now. Fun stuff in Asterisk Land follows.
*This may not be an exact quote. This may also not be anything near an exact quote…
**I had no idea why I thought there were no other personal finance blogs out there. I’m glad though. Had I known that there were 847,292 other blogs, I never would have done this.
***I still owe something like $120,000 on my mortgage. Because I have a low rate, I firmly believe in not paying it off. My compromise is to have enough money put away to pay off the mortgage at time of retirement. So, to retire today, I would need about $1,120,000.
****This is an affiliate link. If you sign up, the blog makes a little bit of money and I can afford to carry on publishing this incredible prose for the betterment of humanity (I’m gagging myself). With that out of the way, I would never, ever, ever, ever recommend anything I didn’t use myself and completely believe in because I love you. Personal Capital is a totally free and an awesome way to keep watch over your investments. It’s worth it for the fee analyzer alone.
*****The numbers on the right side of the page only reflect my investments and cash. Net worth includes, but is not limited too:
- Home equity
- Cars
- Bicycles
Crappus maximus Camper: We found this ugly-ass thing on Craigslist late last summer. We love camping and thought it would improve our chances of having good experiences with the girls. So far, so good. It’s still super-ugly though. Mrs. 1500 calls it Brown Betty. I have a vulgar name for it, also related to something that is brown.
******Let me tell you, Mrs. 1500 is on thin ice. If I catch her stealing pencils again or messing around on facebook when she’s supposed to be working, I’m going to have to relieve her of her duties her at 1500 Days Worldwide Galactic Headquarters. You’ve been warned Mrs. 1500.
(Mrs. 1500 note: Oooh, I’m so afraid for my job. Please don’t fire me. Please don’t. Otherwise, you may have to make your own lunch and bring your own dishes out of your office.)
Lol…This was so funny. It is amazing how much money you have made. I can’t even imagine doing what you have done. I know I really need to stop being so conservative with my money and take some type of risk. I’m just waiting until I become debt free, then I’ll get my feet wet. In the meantime I’ll just keeping living through you and the Mrs.
Petrish @ Debt Free Martini recently posted…How Many Credits Cards Do You Need?
I don’t know about your situation, but it looks like your young! I hope you don’t keep your money in the form of cash under the mattress. Low cost index funds are where its at! Remember that not taking risks is a risk.
There is a saying that I always live by and that is “Without [Prudent] Risk, There is now Reward”.
I subbed in the word “prudent” 🙂
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…January 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #1
Couldn’t agree more.
Oops, now reward should be no reward. Fat finger on my iPhone.
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…January 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #1
Glad to hear that the time seems to feel like it’s zooming past since by our calculations we’re about 4 years out from early retirement and it’d be great if those years went by in the blink of an eye! =)
Mrs. PoP recently posted…PoP Income Statement – January 2015
4 years! You guys are gonna have like $10,000,000 in 4 years! Are you planning on owning 6 houses and “his and hers” Ferraris in retirement? 🙂
The above statement is a compliment on your financial prowess by the way. Please don’t take it any other way! 🙂
Ha ha ha! Firing your wife is sooo not a good idea. I think she may restrict more than lunch 😉
I really enjoyed reading this! Just the laugh I needed this morning. Glad to see you’re still making awesome progress towards your retirement goal. I would love to retire early but I’ve made many a silly money mistake which I’m on my way to fixing.
Michelle recently posted…A Financial Cleanse Of Sorts
Yeah, firing Mrs. 1500 would be a bad idea, no doubt about that. I’d have to at least do it in the summer when I wouldn’t freeze when I had to sleep in the garage.
Ah, most of us have made mistakes. In a decade, it will be but a small bump in the road.
Mr. 1500, I’m so glad I’m not the only one with issues with the neighbors’ cats (and various feral ones). My wife thought I was obsessing over those little furry bâtards until she went out the back door and had her nose hairs spontaneously combust due to the ammonia fumes. I’m thinking of investing in a little light artillery and starting a side gig: Covert Cat Solutions.* And you know what I mean by “solutions,” right? (I hope my sister-the-cat-lover, another of your faithful readers, is not reading comments today.)
Mrs. 1500, I love the passive/aggressive sarcasm used to keep Mr. 1500 in place. Keep up the good work.
*Yes! Am I the first to integrate asterisk technology into the comments section? Anyway… nobody call the authorities. This is a joke, only a joke. I would not ever really do this. But I may call the animal warden so he can.
LOL! Let me tell you, I ordered one of these to stop a neighbor’s dog from barking. I tried it on a cat too and wow, it works: http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Dazer-II-Ultrasonic-Deterrent/dp/B000IBRI2Y
Thanks. Not nearly as “effective” as my solution, but then again, I won’t end up in court, either.
Yes, court or jail is never a good outcome.
Awesome! Mr SSC and I started counting months recently – we are down to 49 months!
Your conversations with Mrs 1500 sounds like mine with Mr SSC…. but surprisingly, after 8 months or so of talking to Mr SSC about these things, he was the one who wanted to start a blog – which was awesome, because now he is really much more focused with our FIRE plan. He has had so much fun blogging!
Oh – I’d advise you not to fire Mrs 1500. I can guarantee with a 99.99999% certainty that it will not end up well. Just go to IKEA and take some of their mini-pencils to replace the ones she is stealing…
Mrs SSC recently posted…Why FIRE “Freaks me out, man!”
“Just go to IKEA and take some of their mini-pencils to replace the ones she is stealing…”
Ha! Plus, I think you you can up the “99,99999%” to “100%.”
50 months will fly by, trust me!
Why not do some creative landscaping to get rid of the cats? Pavers, wire, landscaping fabric, thorny plants and a good sprinkling of red pepper flakes may all help.
I have started tracking my net worth on the last day of every month and so far it is depressing and the only reason I have a number that is not negative is because I own most of my house. I am single and have decided that I may have to actively hunt for a male companion to share expenses if I ever want to retire.
Do small landmines count as landscaping? 🙂 Just kidding! Maybe.
Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try!
“I have started tracking my net worth on the last day of every month and so far it is depressing and the only reason I have a number that is not negative is because I own most of my house. I am single and have decided that I may have to actively hunt for a male companion to share expenses if I ever want to retire.”
Well, the fact that you have started tracking it is a great first step. Owning most of your home is a great accomplishment too.
I hope that your hunt goes well! Be careful and hold out for a good one. There are plenty of bad specimens out there. In the meantime, what about a sidegig? Drive for Uber or rent a room out via AirBnB!
Uber is not too big in Canada yet. It is not in my small city. There seems to be a backlash against it in some Canadian cities.
As a single woman I am not comfortable with the idea of having strangers in my home especially when I am away at work or sound asleep. That may sound strange but I don’t think it is a good idea for a person, like you, with small children either.
I will keep my eyes open for a very old guy with no living heirs.
If we ever to AirBnB, we’ll carefully screen people. You can deny peoples requests to stay in your home. Also, the part of our home the family sleeps in can be locked off from the rest.
Don’t underestimate the power of the side hustle! My neighbor makes good money dog sitting. Another one takes care of people’s plants.
How about this? http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/personals/
Brilliant, as always. I’m glad the own corporation thing has worked out well and the added bonus of picking up Mrs. 1500 as an employee is a huge perk. Nothing like accelerating the journey towards retirement while also minimizing your tax liability.
Also – in such an accurate representation – why is Spendasaurus on top of the freedom sign. He must be confused.
writing2reality recently posted…Trades – January No-Cost Dividend Growth Portfolio Purchases
I think that Frugalsaurus invited him to the top of the sign so he could shove him off. You know how dinosaurs are. I broke it up before Frugalsaurus could commit dinocide.
It’s amazing how the beginning of our journeys started in such similar ways… Who Googles things like “how to escape the rat race” or “how to retire early”?? Apparently brilliant people. Mr. Maroon came across two crazy men – Mr. Money Mustache and Mr. 1500. Oh, and similar to the SSC household, those initial conversations between the two of us were quite similar. I was a bit skeptical at first – looking at him as if he had sprouted two additional heads – but a year into this, I could not be more thankful and excited about the future. I am certainly glad you started the blog. How else could I get such cheap entertainment to start the work day??
Mrs. Maroon recently posted…Moneystepper 2015 Savings Challenge
Awe Mrs. Maroon, thank you so much for the kind comments. After the nonsense I’ve written for Thursday, you may change your mind! 🙂
“I could not be more thankful and excited about the future.”
I know, right?!? As I approach FI, I feel the weight melting away. Life is good. Very good.
I wouldn’t fire Mrs. 1500, you don’t want to get hit with a lawsuit. 🙂 Love the progress!
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Net Worth Update: January
Oh wow, that would be bad. Or a divorce! That would be really bad: 50000 days to Freedom.
Wow, can’t believe it’s been two years! Time flies when you’re having fun right? I love the banter between you and Mrs. 1500. While we are not as close to FI…I really need to put the numbers down and have a better so that I can show Mrs. Living Rich Cheaply how we can attain FI and in how long and what steps we need to take.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…Stop Being Time Poor
It is very motivating to see the numbers on paper. I highly encourage you to proceed with this exercise as soon as possible!
Seems like just yesterday when I was reader #1. Congratulations on your successful blog.
Thanks Wayne, much appreciated!
That’s one thing that scares me about this financial independence / retire early thing. What happens if I have a plan set in place to say retire at 40, and then the market decides to slide starting on my 39th birthday, and my portfolio is down 20% come my target retirement date! Therefore I think real estate is a good hedge to this, as you will (should) be receiving a nice rent check in the mail. I know you’re on a journey to become a landlord, so good luck!
Fervent Finance recently posted…Rich Uncle Pennybags
Yeah, things like that are always bound to happen. However, recessions usually don’t last decades, only a few years. If it does happen, the worst that would happen is that you’d work another year or 2. Retiring at 42 surely wouldn’t be that bad of a thing, would it? 🙂
It sounds hideous!
Fervent Finance recently posted…Rich Uncle Pennybags
LOL! My mom is almost 65 and still working the 9 to 5. Now, that really sounds hideous!
Half way point, well congratulations. Also please finish blog post draft #67, this is the one I tell you or #88 totally up to you.
Even Steven recently posted…Comcast Xfinity Internet Plus and Share the Awesome $25 Prepaid Card #MoneySavingWeek
#67 is loaded with profanity, so I’m not sure that one will see the light of day. #88 has a vulgar picture, so that one may never see the front page either…
Nice post. And congrats on reaching the half way point. I am looking forward to hitting the 6 figure mark for my portfolio this year… Will be several years before I can hit the 1M mark (if at all 🙂 )
Wishing you all the best for the rest of your journey.
Dividend Growth Journey recently posted…Portfolio update – January 2015
Hi DGJ-
Thanks!
6 figures and even 7 will be there before you know it. Save until it hurts; then save some more!
Very interesting post Mr. 1500. I really enjoyed reading it, especially the banter between you and Mrs. 1500.
Looking forward to see how that Solo401K works out for you guys. $50K is a lot of cheddar to put away tax free. The wifey and I are excited to start contributing an extra $5,500 on top of my 401K that I max out every year.
Cheers!
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…January 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #1
The solo 401k is completely awesome. You inspired me to do the calculation and we’ll put away $54,750 this year. How cool is that?!?
Your drafts folder in WP is five times the size of my whole blog so far. Apple did have a pretty amazing quarter–I’m sure you’ll be happy when they update their shareholder return program later this month.
Eric
Eric recently posted…January 2015 Financial Report
Apple is freakin’ killing it now. I worry about them long term though. No one has real staying power in tech. Look at RIM and Nokia.
“Open eyes, ears and brain are better than open mouths.”
I would argue that louder mouths beat out the open eyes, ears, and brain. I’d also argue this really loudly (even more so after a few beers). Caveat is I can talk and listen at the same time (much to the chagrin of every teacher I’ve ever had).
That solo 401k is fantastic. Huge way to reduce your taxable income!
And I’m jealous that your wife makes your lunch.
Chris @ Flipping A Dollar recently posted…January 2015 Profits – Need More Listings
Ha, loud mouths cause me to cover my ears and walk away quickly. Unless there are smart things coming out of that mouth. I find that this usually isn’t the case with people who just like to hear the sound of their own voice: diarrhea of the mouth, constipation of the brain…
Hi Mr.1500, new enthusiastic reader – I love your writing style! I too am overweight Apple (in spite of trying to go totally index funds) but have started selling. After watching the patterns and reading a lot of Apple commentary, i am a believer that it is in the channel of $109-$119. As such, I’m a seller at $119. Of course, if it breaks above $120 it may be off to the races, but selling at near all-time highs sure feels better on volatile or down days!
Hi Marla, thanks for reading!
Apple is a tricky one. They are selling loads of phones, but I think its year will be defined by the watch. It it’s a success, I can see the stock approaching $150. However, I’m just not sold on it. When I saw the phone, I knew I’d have one someday. Not so sure about the watch though…
Hey 1500,
I checked out betterment. Neat idea, i like it! With built in tax loss harvesting and deposit based balancing to boot. That’s almost exactly what i do in my 401k. I’m 32 years old and have a high risk tolerance because of time to retire.
40% large cap
20% mid cap
15% small cap
15% foreign (10% developed, 5% emerging market)
5% REIT
5% Bonds
If this were my personal portfolio i would have picked almost the exact same funds and mixes as betterment. Since my 401k allows me the entire fidelity and ishares universe i simply use the Fidelity Spartan funds which are pretty close to vanguard ones picked. Obviously it’s a 401k so tax loss harvesting doesn’t net me any gain there.
A few things of note compared to standard asset allocation strats:
1) Less foreign exposure since ALOT of large cap are multi-nationals
2) Less bond exposure because of my age and risk tolerance
3) REIT exposure (via KBWY and FRXIX)
4) Careful with international funds, gotta look at list of countries and mix of developed vs EM under composition, can be misleading sometimes
5) I don’t do this but a buddy of mine does. He add’s a new catagory (roughly 10% of the portfolio subtracting evenly from each) and rotates across sectors (biotech, nasdaq, energy, ect) based on his best guess of who is overvalued / undervalued. This is a little too active for me in a 401k so i don’t do it.
6) Rebalance every 6 months (12 months if im being lazy)
7) Deposit evenly based on my allocation (fidelity / ishares are free txn costs so not a concern)
As for betterment, my main concern would be fee’s and risk as far as SIPC insurance goes. Looks like betterment is covered under SIPC (500k) and the fee’s are quite reasonable for what they provide. Especially if you don’t enjoy doing this sort of stuff by yourself. If i had as large a portfolio as you and wanted to use betterment i’d split the money between two different strategies and brokerage houses to stay under that SIPC limit just in case for added diversification.
I do the above for my 401k (maxed out).
And for my taxable acct i do DGI. As i get more into my taxable (and that snowball is starting to roll!) i might start doing 50% DGI and 50% passive approach or even betterment sounds very very intriguing.
Really the only other thing i can think of as a knock against betterment is the “unknown” factor. Is there a risk of letting them do this for you? Can they change their mind on the strategy? What if they start picking other different funds that aren’t vanguard efficient to skim more off the top? I dunno, the only red flag is the “all in one” shop so to speak. What’s under the covers but that would require more research? I dunno, eitherway thanks for the link!
Hey, thanks for your thoughts! I’m not going to use Betterment any time soon, but the way they divvy up the money seems good. I’m with you on bonds. I have 4% in them now and will probably never go any higher.
With that said, when I rollover my current 401k into Vanguard, I think my allocation will be similar to Betterment’s. I do like tech though, so VGT will get some of my dollars too.
I like your idea on REITs and I know Vanguard has one, so I’ll toss some money that way too. Seems like a nice hedge.
International scares me a bit. The US has been the center of innovation for a long time and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Also, much of Europe is a mess right now. China is slowing and even South Korea has issues. Dunno.
Halfway there and way past half your goal. Let’s hope the next two years go smooth too!
Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom recently posted…Update: January No Eating Out Challenge
Thanks Emily! If every day just went like today (markets are up huge), I could call the blog 200 Days and be done with it!
I would be careful firing Mrs. 1500. 🙂
You sure have a lot of drafts… I barely have any for my site. Maybe I need to write down my ideas more often so I can post more hilarious posts like you.
Tawcan recently posted…How we got started with dividend investing
Tawcan, thanks for the kind comment!
I have a notepad on my phone where I write stuff down constantly…
Wow, congrats on that incredible progress! Glad you’ve still found time to yell at the neighbor’s cat. In life, as in finances, it’s important to have you priorities in order. 🙂 I’m also glad you decided to start (and keep) blogging – I just came across your page a few weeks ago, and am really enjoying your writing so far!
Becca recently posted…Resolution check-in: January
Thanks for the kind comments and best of luck on getting those college loans paid off! I still remember the day I made my last loan payment. It was fantastic.
I love reading your blog so I’m so glad you didn’t know how many blogs there are out there. You really are an inspiration and incredibly fun to read. I love reading your articles and what happens in your life that changes everything in your plan.
Thanks Bree for the kind comments and welcome to the world of blogging!
I’m curious, sometimes you say portfolio, sometimes you say networth […] does it include the value of your home or just investable assets? It seems it is investable […]
Sweet progress as well. Word of caution, make sure your wife does equitable work for pay. Otherwise, awesome.
Elroy recently posted…File your State Income Taxes for FREE!! Maybe […]
Portfolio is just investments and cash. That sits at about 975K. House is worth about 300K and I owe 120K on it. Throw in all the other crap we own (about 20K) and net worth is about 1,175,000. All of those dinosaurs are pretty valuable, you know…
I remember deciding to get the f*** out of debt last September and I’ve paid off over 5K in the ensuing months. (I make less than 25K a year.) Now I’m exploring the idea of early retirement…43 is looking like my year! I’m so inspired by y’all and what you’ve done- makes me want to work harder!
Kara recently posted…January Loan Payoff- My Highest Ever!
Debt sucks and congratulations for kicking its ass! 43 is awesome! My planned age too!
Wow, halfway through and you are nearly there already! Are you going to carry on working till the end of the 1500 days regardless or quit as soon as you hit the number?
Beware of the one more year syndrome! 🙂
theFIREstarter recently posted…Brain Dump IV – Should we buy an Air Source Heat Pump or New Boiler? Plus the GDHIF
Yeah, I want to get up to 1.1 million to counter the mortgage debt I have…
OMY syndrome is something I need to deal with…
Congrats on being halfway! So many good things often seem to come out of having a bad day at work.
I also really dig the camper…just think of it as being tastefully retro. 🙂
Yeah, that day was really, really bad, One of the top 10 worst days in my life probably. However, out of it came this, so I’m happy I paid that price.
“Tastefully retro!” Love it! Maybe I can unload it on an unsuspecting hipster for a sweet profit? Nah, I’d rather be camping…
Halfway is huge. Love the updates.
You’ve got to be stern with those employees. Don’t let Mrs. 1500 walk all over you.
Adam @ AdamChudy.com recently posted…The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe – Book Review and Notes
Oh, she does, believe me. Very stubborn. I’m thinking about only allowing her 2 bathroom breaks per work day. Sweat shop style.
My wife and I are 36 and 34 respectively with two kids. We’re going to begin semi-retirement this Fall (I will fully retire–substantial military retirement pension and she’s a consultant–about 20 hours/week) I set her up with the Vanguard solo 401k last year (VTSMX) last year. As your employee, can your wife contribute up to $18000/year to the 401k? Can you also put employer contributions on top of her individual contributions with the strange 1/2 Self Employment Tax calculation?
I’m trying to figure out if I can do that under my wife’s sole proprietorship. It looks like I can, but the IRS fact sheets don’t seem to give a lot of examples. I think it would fall under “joint qualified venture” rules. I know she can do a spousal IRA for me. Anyway, it would be a nice way to shield almost all of her income from income tax if it’s allowed.
Congrats on halfway. Our net worth is now north of $2.7M and expecting it to pass $3M this year. Starting to think seriously this could be a good year to downsize the house and move to a smaller town while the kids are still young enough to not be traumatized by the move. Wife could quit and I could go down to coming in one day a week and working another 20 hours a week from home…
Will you be kicking around Omaha the first weekend of May? If so, we may have to meet for pizza and beer 😉
Steve recently posted…The Power of Asking: How to Save 50% with BlueHost
Are you *&^%ing serious?!?!? First and second rounds are on me.
Wow, congrats on that amazing progress and love your dinosaurs picture. I think you are so close and I will have to catch you up slowly!
Cheers,
BeSmartRich
BeSmartRich recently posted…Mutual Funds Suck