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. I’m not quite sure what purpose this serves, so I may discontinue this feature soon.
Reader Note: I was going to publish part 3 of my happiness series this week, but ran out of time. Instead, you get my performance update for September. Tune in soon for the final part of the happiness series. (Read parts One and Two)
Bathroom Madness
Life is busy here in the 1500 Household, but not for much longer. We’re completing our final* home projects this week. I like to jump around, so we’re actually working on two bathrooms simultaneously. The first is our master bath which is really, really close. I just need to install metal corner trim around the shampoo storage and window:
The girls’ bathroom needs a little more work, but we’ll finish it this week:
And then, we’re done. I have to replace a railing, but I’m going to outsource that*.
It feels great to be at the end. After 20+ years of working on homes almost non-stop, I’m ready to move on. To be clear, I still enjoy the work and look forward to small projects and helping friends, but I’m done with big projects.
The hardest part of retiring early from formal work was never money, it was worry about finding fulfillment. For fear of being bored, we bought a house to fix up (our current home) and just for fun, another one to fix up and rent out. No more.
I look forward to:
- Finishing the book that I’m working on with Doug
- Working on my webcomic that I’ve punted for 5 years
- Doing more with the Mile High FI podcast
- Working on a new podcast with Mindy
- Sitting around and doing nothing
It’s been an interesting, busy, fun, and unexpected couple of decades. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have done everything the same, but it’s been a good ride and we’re in a great place.
*Plot twist: I thought I had a contractor all lined up to build a modern iron railing, but now he’s ghosting me. This behavior doesn’t surprise me at all. I’d be more surprised if he did what he said he was going to do. I may not be out of the construction business quite yet. Sigh…
Performance Update September: Watch Out Below!
September was a down month. Our net worth started the month at $4,698,622 and ended at $4,583,063 for a loss of $112,559.
2023 (as of 10/1/2023)
- Days elapsed: 274
- Investment gains: $1,240,242
Since the Start of The Experiment (1/1/2013)
- Days elapsed: 3,926
- Investment gains: $3,767,020
Why So High?!??
Someone recently sent me this:
The answer is simple, Tesla:
- On 1/1/2023, the stock price was $118
- On the date of Jim’s email, it was $260
I have 4,500 shares, so that comes out to $639,000. The rest of my portfolio is heavy in tech which was on a roll for most of 2023 as well.
However, Tesla is a double-edged sword. Since this email, the company had an earnings call that featured a worrisome Elon Musk so the stock is now trading around $200. Unless you have a very strong stomach, I’d just stick to index funds.
Tesla isn’t an easy stock to own. If you believe that electric vehicles are the future and Tesla will solve autonomy, the stock is undervalued. If not, the stock could go a lot lower. It’s complicated.
In related news, we now own a Tesla, but that’s a story for another day. In the meantime, if you’d like to save some money on a Tesla, here’s my referral link. If you use the link, please shoot me an email and let me know: mr1500 at 1500days dot com
More 1500 Days!!!
You can also find me (and the dinosaurs) at:
Mile High FI podcast:
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.
*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.
that’s one sexy car!
Hello,
What is the book you are working on with Doug about and when do you think it will be finished and published?
Thanks.
Hi Lou!
Deep down, it’s about happiness. On the surface, it’s about doing more by doing less.
It’s the book I needed for myself. It’s been really hard to me to reconcile a high-energy career with slowing down and living a little. Or a lot.
We hope to have it out early 2024.
Thanks for asking!
Nice color on the Tesla, Carl! And to work on so many projects over the years while not having to with millions in the portfolio, shows your work ethic and that you’ve truly “made” it. Sitting around and doing nothing, hiking, volunteering, whatever you want to do sounds like a great plan. I hope I can do even a fraction of what you’ve accomplished in retirement!
Gary, you’re very kind! I have done a lot, but it’s probably because I’m insecure.
Are you still in the Bay area? We’ll be passing through next year in the Y. Maybe I’ll see you then?
This hits so close to home (literally my house lol). I’ve had multiple contractors ghost me over this past year of renovations. I constantly joke that if I started a contracting business and JUST answered my customer’s phone calls and emails, I would be more successful than 99% of the competition. I want to hire out more work, but always end up doing it myself because of how bad they are. Glad I’m not the only one! By the way, congrats on the Tesla!
Haha, yes! I don’t even care that they don’t want the job. I wish they would just let me know.
That’s pretty much my recipe for success. I show up when I say I’m gonna show up.