Tag: investing

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Market Volatility – What Stocks I Am Buying

The market has been extremely volatile the last month. With everything going on, there is a lot of opportunity for people who are positioned well to take advantage of it. The stocks being hit the hardest are the hospitality and travel industry (in my opinion). There are other sectors that I am sure are also being hit hard with everything going on. The hospitality and travel industry are the two that I feel are hit the hardest with everyone self quarantining. I also have had a direct impact I have felt with my Airbnb business that I have been operating. 
Yesterday, I received my bonus check. This allowed me the opportunity to invest in the market.
 
I invested $10,244 into the market and this is what I purchased.
Action On Stocks
 
My regularly scheduled $1,200 of VTSAX like I do every Thursday. This doesn’t change.
 
With the volatility in the market and certain sectors being hit more directly, I decided to look at some stocks I wouldn’t normally consider.
 
With that, I decided to buy Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), Delta Airlines (DAL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH).
 
I purchased Carnival at $9.18 which is 81% down from their high before the market began crashing. Carnival is another cruise line that I believe will come out strong after everything settles down. What exactly happens and if they are at their true bottom yet is to be seen. To checkout some articles on Carnival, click here. 
 
I purchased Delta at $22.375 which is 62% down from their previous high. I believe Delta will come back strong after everything settles down. They might need some financial help in the meantime, but I believe they will come back strong. Here is an article that talks a little bit more about some of the things going on with Delta Airlines. 
 
And lastly, Norwegian Cruise is down 84% to $8.36 where I purchased shares. Here is a good spot to read more about Norwegian Cruise stock. 
 
I am in these stocks for the long haul now. I believe these companies will bounce back after the hard times.
 
I could be right, I could be wrong. Part of the fun of investing!
 
Are there are opportunities like this that you are similarly trying to take advantage of? I don’t agree with trying to time the market, but when a sector of the industry is hit hard, I feel there is opportunity. Whether the particular stocks I chose are the right ones, only time will tell.
 
There are many other stocks in the travel space that I am sure would be good to look at. These are the ones I decided to buy.
 
As always, this is for entertainment purposes only, this is not financial advice.
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@TheYoungRetireeBy33 3 Core Principles:
1 – Your money should make money for you
2 – Start early to realize the power of compound interest
3 – Eliminate your largest expense by house hacking
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W2 Bonus Season! Big Checks Are Always Nice!

Part of my overall compensation is my yearly bonus! I am extremely fortunate to earn a bonus each year for the company I work for. I am grateful of all the opportunities they have provided me and the compensation. I have busted my butt to get here, but grateful nonetheless.

My bonus has changed a bit over the years. There are two main things that have changed in regards to my bonus.

First, my bonus is now based off performance. Previously, everyone got the same bonus multiplier. Now, the higher rating you get for performance, the higher the multiplier. This means if you are a bottom performer (which I don’t plan on being) that you can get half or even 0% bonus.

Second, as I have continued to get promotions, my percentage bonus target of salary has also increased. Early on this percentage was small, around 18%, but now my target percentage is at 28% and continuing to grow if I get another promotion.

Breaking Out My Bonus

I will receive my bonus check this Thursday. My bonus came out to be $46,845. Yes, I know for a lot of people that could be a years worth of salary. Again, I have busted my butt at work to get where I am at and I am grateful for having the opportunity to earn this amount.

Overall, this paycheck comes out to $53,390. The reason for this is my normal two week pay is added on top of the bonus.

Of the $53,390, here is a breakdown of where the money is going:

  • Taxes: $10,901
  • Social Security: $3,307
  • Medicare: $773
  • 401k: $3,154 (this will put me at the max of $19,500 for the year!)
  • Net Pay: $35,085

I didn’t detail out some of the line item insurance stuff, but there is the breakout of my bonus!

With all the market volatility, I am going to look at putting a decent chunk into stocks and then the rest will help me float a the hiccup of the impact to my Airbnb business. Click this hyperlink to read more details of how everything that has been going on is impacting my Airbnb business.

Key Takeaways:

  • When negotiating salary, don’t forget that you can negotiate your bonus!
  • I like to frontload my 401k. This will bring much larger paychecks later on in the year. I am excited to say my 401k is now maxed out!
  • Maxing out your tax advantaged accounts is a great way to reduce my overall Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and helps me pay less in taxes. This is critical because of the amount of money I earn. 
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75% February Savings Rate – Here Is My Breakdown

Last month, my savings rate ended up at 75%! This marks one of the lowest savings rate months I have had in awhile, but I am extremely proud of it! There are months where you should always expect your savings rate to go down. Whether this is from a vacation or some extra fun you decided to have, you should celebrate every month!
2020 Savings Rate Feb
 
Time to go through a breakdown of February!
 
February Total Money Earned
February brought a little dip in my income. The main reason for this is how I breakout my W2 income when looking at earned income. For me, I take my pay and determine how much money I earn per day and then multiply that number by the number of days in the month. For that reason here is the breakdown of my income I generated. Note I exclude any investment income as I track that separately.
 
Income Breakdown:
  • W2 – $13,543
  • House Hack Room #1 – $900
  • House Hack Room #2 – $800
  • House Hack Room #3 – $650
This brings my total income for the month $15,893.
 
Not a bad income month. Now time to look at expenses.
 
February Expenses Breakdown
February brought some expenses that were definitely not planned for. I ended up taking a last minute trip to Vegas to celebrate a friends birthday and we went all out. Between VIP at Omnia ($5,500 for the night) and a suite at Planet Hollywood, we definitely didn’t hold back on expenses.
 
Breakdown of expenses:
  • Housing – $2,207
  • Entertainment – $1,329
  • Food – $234
  • Transportation – $123
Total expenses for the month ended at $3,895. The rest of my money went straight to investment accounts.
 
Investing For February
What a wild market we have been seeing the last couple months. This wild market doesn’t stop my investing strategy. In a singular statement, I would outline my investment strategy as follows:
 
Setup automatic investments in the market and retirement accounts while continuing to add income streams through real estate and other investment vehicles.
 
With that in mind, I had two paychecks for February. I have been automatically sending 50% of each paycheck to my 401k. This puts me at $13,076 sent to my 401k so far this year. I am close to maxing out my 401k. Only two more paychecks and I will be there.
 
I also maxed out my HSA with my first paycheck this month! Now that this account is maxed out, I can work to invest that money elsewhere and save for my next property!
 
From a taxable account perspective, I continue to invest $1,200 each week in my Vanguard account into VTSAX. At some point I think I am going to transition this investment strategy to buy a few other index fund. For now, I am going to continue investing in VTSAX!
 
All in all, it was another great month! House hacking and earning a great income at my W2 have been incredible ways for me to continue with my high savings rate.
 
Key Takeaways:
  • Have some months where you spend! Be just as proud of the months where you spend a little extra on doing some fun things!
  • House hacking continues to be an incredible way for me to have a high savings rate. If I wasn’t house hacking, my savings rate would be around 70%. Still not bad, but there is nothing better than living for free.
  • Automating your investments is extremely helpful! Don’t worry about what the market is doing. You can’t time the market. Trust me. You might hit the right timing once in a while, but over a 10 year period, you don’t beat the market.

Don’t forget @TheYoungRetireeBy33’s 3 Core Principles:

1 – Your money should make money for you⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2 – Start early to realize the power of compound interest⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3 – Eliminate your largest expense by house hacking