My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share my numbers. For now…
Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix!
Just a quick one today to update y’all on my numbers. But before I get into that, I’ll regale you with a tale from FI life.
One of the greatest parts of FI is that it allows you to be spontaneous. No job to get in the way of the fun that life has to offer.
At the end of November, I flew to Austin to attend the Tesla Cybertruck event. I know; it’s a weird looking thing, but I appreciate it when companies take big chances:
To hell with a focus group! We’re gonna do what we’re gonna do!
I’m not a truck person, so won’t be getting one. But it will be fun to see them on the road.
The best part of the event was seeing the assembly line. I like seeing how things are made:
I then flew to Las Vegas to see U2 at the Sphere. I was worried that the Sphere would be a gimmick, but could not have been more wrong. The show was spectacular. If you’re a U2 fan, this one is a must see.
After Las Vegas, I drove to Phoenix to visit Taliesin West and friends:
I even brought home a new friend. It’s a baby saguaro that will live in a south facing window in the family room. Should I keep it alive and it gets big, I’ll bring it back to Arizona and plant it in my friend’s yard:
November Performance!
November was great! After 3 months of down, down, down, the portfolio staged a comeback:
Our investment portfolio started the month at $4,027,929 and ended at $4,362,836 for a gain of $334,907. Throw in $230,000 in home equity and here’s our net worth:
2023 (as of 12/1/2023)
- Days elapsed: 335
- Investment gains: $1,250,051
Since the Start of The Experiment (1/1/2013)
- Days elapsed: 3,987
- Investment gains: $3,776,793
Zoom Out
Our 2023 has been spectacular, but the portfolio still isn’t anywhere near it’s all-time high reached at the end of 2021 when Tesla went bonkers ($400/share then, $260/share now).
It’s all good though. Tesla had a very aggressive valuation then and is still quite aggressive now. Sometimes, irrational exuberance has its way, but logic eventually prevails.
More 1500 Days!!!
You can also find me (and the dinosaurs) at:
Mile High FI podcast:
MindyOnMoney podcast! We’re launching on 1/1/2024!
Also here:
- Facebook: Facebook group and page
- YouTube: My channel is mostly devoted to home improvement, but I have some other material coming up soon too.
- Instagram: Pretty pictures of dinosaurs, sunsets, and nail guns!
- Twitter: Spontaneous, often insane, ramblings
- Coworking space: On the surface, MMM HQ is a coworking space. Look a little deeper and you’ll see that we’re really building community. The members of MMM HQ are some of the finest people I know
- Buying a Tesla? Use my referral code to get some perks!
*My goal wasn’t to have $1,120,000 at the end of 1500 days, but at any time before the day count was up. Why? It all goes back to the 4% Rule. Remember that our little friend, Mr. 4%, is nothing more than the most conservative safe withdrawal rate. Since my investment portfolio now sits at $1,550,000, I can spend about $62,000 in my first year of retirement.
**My original goal was $1,000,000 and no debt, I later raised the goal by $120,000 to $1,120,000 because I will have debt in the form of a mortgage and I firmly believe in not paying it off (LOOK at the MONEY I’m MAKING!). My compromise was to have enough money put away to cover the mortgage at the time of retirement.
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I took a screen shot of my unrealized Tesla gain at its high. I long for its return!
It could be a while. The current business doesn’t justify the high PE (82!). But this is what growth stock investing is all about. It’s not the state of the company today, but what it could be in 10 years. The stationary storage and Supercharger businesses will grow to be major profit centers soon.
I don’t have much hope for FSD though. I’m skeptical of V12.