1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Performance Update (Day 1733): The Root of Competitiveness

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My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal last year and my 1500 Days are over, but in the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share my numbers.

Root of Competitiveness

Justin from Root of Good recently pointed out he and I are in a death match to reach the $2,000,000 mark:

Man, you edged me out on the net worth front by a tiny fraction of a million. I bet we’ll both cross the $2,000,000 threshold in the same month though! Will it be in a few months or will it be in several years after the next crash? Don’t you wish we could know that now!

What? He didn’t utter the phrase death match? And he inferred nothing about competition? Of course not. I made that all up because I am competitive. At the gym, this ridiculous thought has gone through my head:

And if I’m honest, this one too:

But I digress…

Justin has pulled ahead of me big-time this month ($1,936,000 versus $1,917,000). I’ve got some ground to make up, but October is earnings season and also time for syndication payouts.

Really though, I’d like nothing better than for Justin and me to cross the finish line together. Here is how it goes down in my mind’s eye:

Justin and I are running to the finish line together in slow motion. We’re both wearing running outfits like Richard Simmons except without the pink or sparkles. Chariots of Fire is playing. We are both a sweaty mess.

Richard Simmons + Justin = ???

The crowd goes wild as we break the tape together. Justin and I turn to look at each other with big smiles. We high-five like drunken frat-boys before we embrace in a hug. Again, don’t think of Richard Simmons. It’s a manly hug.

The scene fades away…

Try to purge that imagery from your head.

On with the Performance Update.

 

Performance Update: September

Personal Capital!***

September was another month of progress. Our portfolio started at $1,450,133 and ended at $1,462,077 for a gain of $11,994:

2017 (as of 9/1/2017)

Since the start (1/1/2013)

  • Days elapsed: 1733
  • Portfolio gains since 1/1/2013: $876,034
  • Needed to quit work ($1,120,000 in investments): Mission accomplished!
  • Net worth: $1,917,077 which includes:
    • Investment portfolio and cash: $1,462,077
    • Home equity: $390,000
    • Silly toy car: $45,000
    • Other cars, bikes, dinosaurs: $20,000

 

Fitness Update

I’m on the home stretch of my weight loss battle with Mr. WoW. I still have a lot of ground to make up, but I’m not giving up:

The good news is that I’m making progress. The belly is melting away:

And if I don’t make my goal, I’m hiring Justin Simmons to be my personal trainer:

 

 

Just can’t get enough?

 

*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. So, if I were to quit my job now, I could spend about $48,000 in my first year of retirement. I’d stick very close to that number too because market valuations are ambitious. Let’s say that Mr. Market caught a cold tomorrow and my portfolio dropped down to $800,000. No big deal. This would mean I’d be safer stretching my spending a little north of 4%.

**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. My compromise is to have enough money put away to cover the mortgage at the 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 (me) makes some cold, hard, beautiful, cash. Personal Capital is a totally free and awesome way to keep watch over your investments. It’s worth it for the fee analyzer alone. I would never recommend anything that I don’t personally use and completely believe in, so give it a try. If you’ve already signed up through the link, please know that you are a fine person of above-average intelligence.

****My 401(k) contributions include my own, Mrs. 15oo’s, and the contributions from my corporation. Self-employment with a solo 401(k) is a very powerful savings tool. I should have done this years ago.

Join the 10s who have signed up already!

Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.

*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.

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Comments

  3. Your minions are doing me in! Well that and my complete lack of self control. There’s just too much beer.. too much sitting around idle with great conversations… ahhhhh…..

    Trying… to…. stay…. on….. path….. next week it’s all kale and lemon juice.

    Congrats on the money stuff. Well done!

    Reply

  10. The site redesign looks fabulous! And I said that in the Justin Simmons voice. You should have heard it.

    I’ve been wondering when the bear market might hit, but I think you just answered it for me. It’ll start when you or Justin reaches a net worth of $1,999,999.

    Way to jinx it. Or did I just jinx it?

    Cheers?
    -PoF

    Reply

  19. Well that sounds grand!. Justin looks amazing … nice photoshopping …. I have reached around the same numbers …. maybe more …. it fluctuates … through real estate ….. from the far side of the planet …. think like the opposite side of earth ….
    I find teaching can also take you anywhere … God Bless 🙂

    http://christianprofessionalsoverseas.com

    Reply

  21. Competition is good. Without it we’d probably still be cavemen. Of course, as with anything it can be taken to unhealthy extremes. Also I find the best competition is with yourself. I’m more motivated to improve and beat my numbers/performance than comparing myself to someone else.

    I think the picture that cannot be unseen should count as a negative on your net worth balance sheet!

    Reply

    • Same as I’m doing now. Corrections are normal. I expect that on any given day, my portfolio could crash by 50%. As long as you’re confident in long-term growth of the economy, everything will be alright.

      Reply

      • Good reply Carl. I don’t know why corrections scare people so much. A healthy correction is actually a good sign the market forces are working and your portfolio value, while relatively lower from the peak, is also not so overvalued! So, it makes sense to stay invested.
        Ten Factorial Rocks recently posted…Counting The MarblesMy Profile

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