Now that we enter a new year it is always good to go back and look at everything I was able to accomplish this year. Below are the highlights of my path to Financial Independence:
- Opened a Vanguard account and transferred $70,000 I had sitting in my bank account. Setup two auto investments to purchase $1,550 every two weeks in VTSAX
- Started this blog to document my journey to Financial Independence: theyoungretireeby33.com
- Started an Instagram account to supplement the blog. IG: theyoungretireeby33
- Decreased my car insurance monthly payment by $100/month by negotiating terms
- Cut the cord for cable saving $60/month
- Stayed 100% rented out in the two additional bedrooms in my home renting one for $1,000 and the other for $900. My mortgage payment will drop to $1,750 beginning in February 1st, 2019.
- Created a Personal Capital account to track my Net Worth in a very simple one stop shop
- Created a detailed expense tracking spreadsheet that will project out net worth by the pay check. This spreadsheet even goes as detailed as to outline when I will place money into my 401k, HSA, and Roth.
- Maxed out my 401k for the first time ever in my working career
- Wrote out my goals both personally and professionally
- Homestead my property to reduce taxes by approximately $700/year
- Enrolled in a HSA plan at work so I can take advantage of what people in the FI community say is one of the best kept secret tax advantaged accounts
- Received $1,700 in travel credit through taking later flights on busy days from Delta
- Put a heavy focus on excelling at work and I was able to increase my total compensation from $119,165 to $177,424. Increasing my income continues to be a focus in my life so I can speed up my path to FI
- Used tax loss harvesting to save over $10k in taxes in the next 5 years
What can I say, I took the idea of FI and took it to the next level based off what I learned at the time. Now it is time to 10x again! Let’s go 2019!
