Everyone should have goals. Here are mine for 2013.
- Get portfolio up to $672,750: The whole point of this blog is to document my efforts to retire early, so growing my portfolio will always be goal numero uno. I started the year off with $586,043. I think that the stock market will have a pretty good year, so I’m counting on at least a 10% return. Combine that with the $24,000 I plan to save and the magic number comes to $672,750.
- Keep track of all spending: We started keeping a notebook on the kitchen counter. Every time we spend money, it will be recorded in the notebook. At the end of every month, we’ll evaluate our spending in an effort to improve. Its an eye opening exercise that I encourage everyone to try.
- Save $2000/month: I need to be a better saver and I actually think that I can do a lot better than 2K, but this seems like a fine place to start. Savings will be divided between my company’s 401(k), microlending (Prosper and Lending Club) and building up cash reserves.
- Lower my exposure to stocks: Buying individual stocks is not recommended. Most professional investors can’t beat the indexes, so there is no reason to think you can either. However, in my younger and more foolish days, I did buy stocks in some tech companies that I liked. I held onto them and now those stocks have grown to become a third of my portfolio (Danger Will Robinson! Danger!!). I’ll be selling some of these stocks and putting the money into income generating investments (P2P lending and rental properties).
- Move: We just moved to Colorado for all of the outdoor goodness the state has to offer. It had been an old dream that took a couple years to accomplish due to the depressed real estate market. Our euphoria with moving quickly turned to discomfort when we became more familiar with our new area. Instead of hikers and snowboarders, we discovered that our new neighbors are all spendaholics. They are constantly buying new junk to fill some void in their lives. The level of waste I see around me is staggering (future post). I don’t want to live around people like this and I also don’t want my children to grow up in this environment. In the spring, we’ll list our home and say good-bye (good riddance?) after just a year. We’ll probably stay in Colorado, but rent first so we can be sure of our new neighborhood (Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont; are you listening?).
- Grow my microlending account to $10,000: I’ve been on Prosper for over 2 years and Lending Club for almost that long. I think that both are great and I can actually see microlending providing a significant amount of living income some day. I have about $5,700 in them now.
- Purchase a rental property: This one is a bit of a longshot due to the upcoming move. I want to be really familiar with an area before purchasing a rental. Being that we’re unsure of where we will end up, this may or may not happen in 2013.
- Double my cash: I have about $6,500 in cash right now, not a very big safety net. I’d like to get this up to $12,000.
- Blog here 3 times/week: I hope to publish new posts every Tuesday and Saturday with a Thursday rant.
- Hike 5 14’rs: The joy of living in Colorado is having close access to a massive, outdoor playground; the mountains. I’m going to hike 5 new 14’r in 2013.
What are your goals? Leave a comment or contact me!
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I am curious about the amount you have in cash. Where is the money that you keep on hand to invest with? Does the cash balance fluctuate wildly when you invest or is the amount, $6,500, just the amount in one account that you consider your emergency fund?
Vanguard funds are now on the Toronto Stock Exchange and I think I will give them some of my money this year.
Hi Jane! I keep my cash in Internet bank accounts because while still pathetic, their rates are not as terrible as local banks. The $6500 is my total amount in cash.
I am trying to save at least $1000/month in just cash so I have a better emergency fund.
I do think about my investments every day and where to direct future money. I have no interest in buying individual stocks any more. I’ll go the same route as you with Vanguard (VFINX). I also really really like Lending Club (hopefully they open up to Canada soon). However, I won’t be making any moves soon while I build up my cash.
One other thing is too much of my portfolio is in individual stocks (I’ll break this out in a future post). While its been a fun ride, the risk is too much, so I’ll be moving money from stocks to Lending Club and hopefully a rental property this year.
About the potential move:
Why would you let OTHER people spending habits drive you to find a new home?? You seem pretty determined in your zest to save / make money and retire in 1500 days… so who cares??
Reason I ask is that I have a similar situation, my neighbors drive nice new cars and buy brand new North Face and Electronics, etc… they have housekeepers, vacation homes, and Crossfit memberships..
But guess what?? I feel like I am secretly surpassing the Joneses! We shop at the Goodwill and have older cars, plan our vacations… The only problem I can see in the future is with our kids and when they could possibly compare themselves to neighbor kids (when they DON”T get a paid for car at 16) but it build character..
Moving costs a lot of money and this would not be the only reason I would move….
Hi Jen-
You hit the nail on the head with the statement about the kids. Our oldest is 5 years old and within days of moving in, she was asked ‘How many American Girl Dolls to you have?’ When she said none, the other child rode away, acting disgusted.
No kids ride bikes, its all driving around on motorized scooters or pink jeeps.
All the teenagers in the neighborhood are ultra-spoiled brats. The kid across the street from me has had 3 different luxury cars over the summer. I have heard the teen in the home next to him calling his mother profanities.
Coming from a small town in the midwest, this was a massive shock for us. While my wife and I could tolerate it, we can’t let our kids grow up around these people. Can’t can’t can’t do it.
Regarding moving, it doesn’t have to cost a lot. We rent a truck and do all of the packing/unpacking ourselves. The whole thing should come out to less than $1000.
The real cost will be realtor commissions. To try to minimize that, I’ve been making many improvements to our home in order to get a higher price. We’re upgraded fixtures, tiled extensively and done a bunch of other work. Since we did it all ourselves and already had the tools, it didn’t cost us much.