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September Performance, Day 2829: Down $140,847

November 2, 2020 by Mr. 1500 Days 11 Comments

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.

Not every month is a winner. In September, the portfolio took a kick to the nether regions to the tune of $140,847. Oof! More on that in a moment.

The COVID Cave

If you’ve been following along, you know that we bought our current home to fix and flip (more videos coming soon!). When we sell it, we’ll pay $0 in capital gains because of the Tas Man’s 2 out of 5-year rule. This strategy can be painful because you live in a construction zone. However, not having a job gives me the time to do the work quickly. That is until a pandemic happens and your life pivots to home-schooling and breaking up sibling fights.

Fun! Not really.

Life is a little more fun when you throw in some insurrection!

I had planned to have the home done by May of 2021, but now all work is pushed back by at least 1 year. So, I’m prioritizing projects that will make COVID life a little more pleasant. A remodeled master bath is nice. However, a finished basement (COVID Cave?) with a fun place to watch movies will bring more joy than a fancy shower. Besides having a little media area, the COVID Cave will have a small kitchen, exercise area, and bathroom.

So, I’ve been busting ass on the basement. About 15 minutes ago, I passed the insulation inspection:

Note the mineral wool in the ceiling for noise suppression

Frugalsaurus has been a huge help:

Spendosaurus, not so much:

Next up is the one task I will not do, drywall. I can do it, but it would take me forever. I’d rather be taking pictures of plastic dinosaurs, riding my bike, and writing bad blog posts for you.

Time To Hit The Road

Even with the near completion of the COVID Cave, life is a bit repetitive and stale. Local friends have faded away as everyone sits tight waiting for life to go back to normal. This may not happen for a long time. I’m getting a little stir-crazy.

I don’t like sitting still, so it’s time to hit the road.

In a couple of weeks, we’ll head west to visit Moab, Monument Valley, and the Grand Canyon. We’ll end the trip with a visit with family in Las Vegas. It will be nice to get out of the house for a bit.

September

Our net worth started the month at $3,252,689 and ended at $3,111,872 for a loss of $140,847:

Chart from Personal Capital***

With big numbers come big movements. At some time decades down the road, I’m sure that there will be a time when we lose more than $1,000,000 in one month. I’m perfectly fine with that as long as the overall, long-term march of the dollars is upward.

2020 (as of 9/30/2020)

  • Days elapsed: 273
  • Investment portfolio gains: $926,802 (Our gains are outsized because we took equity out of our home in order to increase our investable assets. The next number, net worth, which includes home equity, is more accurate.).
  • Net worth gains: $711,832

Since the Start (1/1/2013)

  • Days elapsed: 2829
  • Investment portfolio gains: $2,375,799

Honey, We Sold The Elevated Living Estates!

In other news, the trailer park (Elevated Living Estates to the easily offended) is under contract to sell in a little over one month. If the deal goes through, financially it will end well for us. I’ll write about this in detail should the deal close.

Our experience with mobile home park investing started way back in 2017!

The reason I wanted to sell isn’t related to money though. I can’t discuss it, but the reason isn’t related to the property itself. On that front, I think we did well. We cleaned up the place and made life better for the occupants. I feel good about that. I don’t feel good about other aspects though. Sorry to be mysterious, but…

*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.

****My 401(k) contributions include my own, Mrs. 1500’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.

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Filed Under: Performance Tagged With: performance update

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Adam says

    November 3, 2020 at 9:35 am

    I’m glad you’re able to do what you feel comfortable with when it comes to your share of the trailer park, even when your paper losses for the month are more than our annual household income. Way to be in a position of strength.

    Take hella photos on your road trip and share them with us! Don’t get stuck in the snow!

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 7, 2020 at 7:07 am

      Yeah, I can’t wait for the road trip! And yeah, I plan to post loads of photos!

      Reply
  2. Ralph says

    November 4, 2020 at 10:58 am

    “I’m perfectly fine with that as long as the overall, long-term march of the dollars is upward.” – But what if someday it doesn’t come back like in Japan and stay low for decades? That’s my biggest fear, especially with China rising to be soon be the #1 economy in the world by all metrics.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 7, 2020 at 7:05 am

      I don’t know enough about Japan’s situation to comment on it, but it seems somewhat unique.

      I do worry about America’s escalating debt though. I know it isn’t an issue now, but what happens if this trajectory continues for 30 years?

      Reply
  3. Jacq says

    November 5, 2020 at 4:36 pm

    The elevated living estates did seem curious to me when you first mentioned it. It hasn’t seemed to ‘spark joy’ the same as other topics and investments you discuss. Enjoy the trip!

    Reply
  4. JRobi says

    November 5, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    You continue to crush it, Carl! Keep up the great work and thanks for a nice stock addition to my portfolio!

    Reply
  5. Financial Freedom Countdown says

    November 5, 2020 at 10:28 pm

    Definitely interested in the trailer park post with whatever details you share. The buy, rehab, value add. operational costs and exit. I assume this was the one with Brandon?
    Financial Freedom Countdown recently posted…How Will Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), Reserve Currency Status and Central Bank Digital Currency Impact YouMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 7, 2020 at 6:59 am

      Yep, I’ll share all in December should the deal close.

      Reply
  6. Chris@TTL says

    November 8, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    Moab is a blast of a place to be! I spent a couple of weeks out there with a buddy hiking all around Arches and Canyonlands. Beautiful.

    Congrats on the real estate sale, I’ll be watching out for the follow-up post!

    And of course, congrats on taking a huge (paper) loss in stride and not letting it affect you.
    Chris@TTL recently posted…ETF vs Stock: Invest to Be Bill Gates (or Just Be in the Bar)?My Profile

    Reply
  7. FreshLifeAdvice says

    November 10, 2020 at 8:47 am

    Carl, you’re the man! Your memes continue to make me laugh. The basement will be finished before you know it! Keep up the great work!
    FreshLifeAdvice recently posted…October Side Income Report | 2020My Profile

    Reply
  8. The Millennial Money Woman says

    December 13, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    Incredible performance – and especially for being able to take that money out of the real estate.

    What a way to maximize your portfolio.

    Keep up the great work!

    The Millennial Money Woman
    The Millennial Money Woman recently posted…How to Save Money in College [6 Proven Strategies]My Profile

    Reply

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Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821
2/1: $3,582,368
3/1: $3,716,852

Overall
2023 investment gains: $604,031
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $3,130,809
Net worth***: $3,946,852

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

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Investing is risky business. The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only. As with all matters financial, proceed with caution. Do your research and seek professional advice.

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