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. every quarter.
Whoah, half of 2025 is in the bag. It’s been a year.
I have alluded to something big that Mindy and I are working on, but it’s taking a loooooong time to get through the planning stages. A very, very long time. It has taken so long that we may have to punt to 2026. More soon. I hope.
On the financial front, Q2 was good to us. Our investments jumped from $5,358,309 to $5,904,562 for a gain of $546,253. Add in our primary house and our net worth sits at $6,304,562:
But we’re still down since the start of the year. It’s because Tesla had a huge run up in the post-election exuberance. Since then, it’s down about 25%.
Zooming out to the beginning of the blog, here is how our portfolio has grown:
Not On My Bingo Card
It was obvious that Trump and Musk wouldn’t stay friendly. In a text to a friend back in November, I predicted the falling out pretty close:
However, I didn’t think it would get as nasty as it has become. Musk launching a new political party was NOT on my bingo card. The last thing most investors want is the CEO to get involved in something as divisive as politics. But here we are.
I’m slowly selling off stocks and moving to index funds so I don’t have to pay attention to these shenanigans.
Colorado, California, Portland, and Las Vegas
On a happier note, summer in Colorado is pretty great. Now that the heat has set in, I escape to the mountains at least once per week. I’m not a fan of high temperatures, so being at altitude provides relief. In a post-kid world (our youngest is in her second year of high school), Mindy and I will figure out a way to spend more time in a mountain town. I’m not sure what that will look like yet, but we have some ideas.
And I have some travels that I’m looking forward to:
- In August, I’ll roadtrip out to southern California to drop my kid off at college. On the way out, I am sticking to a northern route to avoid the heat. We’ll be stopping in Salt Lake City, Reno, Santa Rosa, Morro Bay, Hermosa Beach, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
- In September, Mindy and I head to Portland Oregon for FinCon.
- In October, we’ll be in Las Vegas for BPCon.
Hit me up if you’re in one of these places!
More 1500 Days!!!
You can also find me (and the dinosaurs) at:
- Longmont: Want to join our community? Get your ass here! While your at it, join our coworking spot!
- Instagram: Pretty pictures of dinosaurs, sunsets, and nail guns!
- Twitter: Spontaneous, often insane, ramblings
- YouTube: My channel is mostly devoted to home improvement, but I have some other material coming up soon too.
- 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.
***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.
Zooming out to see the growth of your portfolio over the life of the blog is amazing. The jump from 2020 to 2022 is incredible.
Have fun on the road trip and good luck on your plans to spend more time up in the mountains!
It is nuts. I never thought I’d even be a millionaire. It’s hard to spend it!
Shouldn’t be hard to spend, just buy a nice mountain property… 😉
Can always be like Warren Buffett and donate to charities.
Yes to both! Big plans soon.
Oh my goodness. You have a kid going to college? Aren’t they still little? HA HA HA…. anyway, congrats on having one in college.
I know, right?!??? Craziness.
Excited for your summer trip. Must be proud parents to send your kid to college.
Hoping to meet you soon.
Kudos on having reached the college years of parenting! I remember, a few years back, you were debating how you’d handle those costs; whether you’d pay everything or expect your kids to have some “skin in the game.” If you’re willing to write about it, I’d definitely love to see an update on how that played out.
Following your journey since 2014 or so ,its so inspiring for us who on the same track. Now your conviction in tesla paid off nicely.