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.
Life is busy over here in the 1500 household. I have a bunch of home improvement projects I’m taking on simultaneously. If everything goes according to plan, most of the heavy lifting in the live-in flip will be complete by end of year. I’ll still have a lot of little loose ends to tie up and a master bath to remodel, but the house will be in good shape and I’ll take a break.
September 2021
Because of my time scarcity, let’s get right to it. 2021 has been a pretty great year, but September was a down month. We started the month at $4,344,210 and ended at $4,258,593 for a loss of $85,617:
No big deal. The markets go up over the long term, but the journey is not always smooth.
2021 (as of 9/30/2021)
- Days elapsed: 272
- Net worth gains: $738,847
Since the Start (1/1/2013)
- Days elapsed: 3194
- Net worth gains: $3,522,540
Life
Life is looking pretty good right now. I frequently push myself too hard. Why retire just to work harder than you worked before you had a job? I enjoy the work I’ve been doing on the house, but life is better with balance. It’s ridiculous to work so much that you don’t make time for reading, exercise, and other creative pursuits. When the solar panels and kitchen are done, I’ll relax for a while and work on my Spanish, piano, and another project I’ve been planning for years.
See you soon.
More 1500 Days!!!
You can also find me (and the dinosaurs) at:
Mile High FI podcast:
Also here:
- EconoMe: Hey look, I’m speaking at EconoMe later this year!
- 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.
Other resources I like:
- Camp FIs are amazingly fun! I hope to attend Rocky Mountain and Joshua Tree this year. See you there?
- Need to learn how to invest? The Simple Path to Wealth is all you need.
- New to FIRE? Need some FIREy guidance? Check out Fiology and the accompanying workbook!
*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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Looking forward to seeing the progress on the DIY solar array and then following along to see the payback. I’ve been debating the install of the DIY system for some time now.
I’ll do a big write-up on it shortly! For me, it was definitely worth it to DIY, but definitely not if I paid someone.
Make sure to check SREC’s solar renewable energy credits, they will give you about $200 to $400 per year in cash for the energy you generate.
It’s been quite a year for you. Big stock market gains, and lots of home improvement projects!
Good stuff Mr. 1500!
Mr. Tako recently posted…Is The Economy Telling Me To Sell My Stocks?
Carl, did you checkout the Tesla Solar roof? I had them give me a quote but since my electric bill is less than $100/month the ROI did not justify it. My house has natural gas for heating so electric usage is minimal. Although they did offer the Wall battery so maybe the next blackout I might seriously consider it.
Financial Freedom Countdown recently posted…How To Retire Early With 401(K)? Here Is How You Can Do It
I didn’t. I’ve heard that they’re very expensive, so didn’t bother. My DIY project will cost me around $9,000 after the tax credit, so that was hard to beat.
I for one applaud your decision, regardless of the whether it’s gonna make you any richer
I don’t understand why so many FI types get hung up on whether solar is a good financial investment. I don’t think you need to defend yourself every time you mention it. Maybe I’m just tired of defending it myself since I bought solar panels (and labor to install) this year as well. Anyway, congrats on procuring some clean electricity for whoever lives in that house for the next 20-30 years!
Thanks Marc!
Yep, not everything in the world has to be optimized to make more money.
In my case, I’m installing 50% more panels than I need, so I’ll be putting a bunch of electrons back into the grid. My neighbors will have some clean energy even if they don’t want it! 🙂 I would have put even more on, but I ran out of roof!