After a lengthy hiatus due to technical difficulties, we’re finally back up and running! Several months of financial ups and downs to catch up on so let’s get on with hit. Here is my April 2024 financial update!
In our inaugural blog post, I briefly introduced you to our goal of achieving financial independence (“FI”) by the age of 35 and shared that we are already over halfway to our target net worth of $1,250,000! Since that time, our net worth has climbed to reach that goal…so we increased it to $1,875,000. Here’s last month’s update in case you missed it, and here’s how we fared last year in total.
This post is the latest in a regular series of monthly financial updates to track our progress to FI and beyond. Bear with me – I’m a little obsessed with spreadsheets and track every penny we make and spend in excruciating detail. I’ll do my best to summarize that activity in a way that gives enough insight into our financial maneuverings without boring you to tears.
Net Worth
Here’s where our net worth ended up through April 2024:
| | BALANCE | CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTH |
| ASSETS | | |
| Cash, Checking, Savings | $70,803 | $3,530 |
| Investments | $1,450,724 | ($53,785) |
| LIABILITIES | | |
| Credit Cards | ($7,644) | ($3,351) |
| Car Loan | ($26,300) | $291 |
| Misc. Other Debts | ($80) | $0 |
| NET WORTH | $1,487,503 | ($53,315) |
Just as quickly as we had cleared the $1.5 million mark in March, it was wiped out in April. No worries though, this is bound to happen from time to time.
Let’s check out each individual category:
Cash, Checking, Savings
This consists mostly of our emergency fund held in a high-yield online savings account at Ally Bank. The rest is held in a “big bank” for depositing our paychecks and paying bills. Now that we’ve re-entered the workforce, our goal is to continue socking away as much as possible (within reason) and building our savings back up to about two years of living expenses.
Investments
Most of our investments track the S&P 500, which fell in March. We contributed $9,700 of our own but that was wiped away (on paper) by $63,800 in market losses this month. With our cash buffer and regular paychecks, there’s no need to actually sell any investments any time soon, giving the market time to climb. The only real reason for me to track market performance is for these monthly updates.
Credit Cards
Just the balance on our various credit cards (we use these extensively to fund our travel hacking exploits) as of the end of the month. We pay these off on time and in full each month, so the change in this balance will usually manifest itself in the expenses below.
Car Loan
We were hoping to run our 2009 Toyota RAV-4 into the ground someday in the distant future, but that day came sooner than expected. So in January 2023 we purchased a shiny new Subaru Forester and *gasp* financed it all. The plan is to pay off the loan in full before leaving the workforce again, whenever that may be.
Misc. Other Debts
Usually just my administrative accounting of who owes what for various fantasy sports leagues. Fantasy baseball season is upon us so the league fees are rolling in.
Expenses
Here’s a look at our expenses for the month of April:
| EXPENSES | Budget | Actual | (Over)/Under |
| Home (mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, etc.) | $2,124.42 | $1,914.00 | $210.42 |
| Utilities | $136.67 | $106.80 | $29.87 |
| Automotive | $790.80 | $526.21 | $47.99 |
| Groceries | $500.00 | $624.75 | ($42.84) |
| Dining Out | $150.00 | $217.97 | ($67.97) |
| Health & Beauty | $487.33 | $359.98 | $127.35 |
| Cell Phones | $41.67 | $135.95 | ($94.28) |
| Travel & Entertainment | $1,174.67 | $1,285.58 | ($110.91) |
| Pets | $154.17 | $388.25 | ($234.08) |
| Merchandise | $175.11 | ($80.98) | $256.09 |
| Other Expenses | $515.17 | $2,243.18 | ($1,728.01) |
| Total Expenses | $6,250.00 | $7,856.38 | ($1,606.38) |
After relatively heavy spending in March, we outdid ourselves this month. $1,600 over budget doesn’t look great.
Let’s take a look at individual categories:
Home Expenses & Utilities
A full month of rent and utilities. Utilities included internet, electricity, water/sewer, and trash.
Automotive
The budget includes our $471 monthly loan payment and conservative estimates for insurance, gas, and maintenance.
In addition to the loan payment, April included just a bit of gas and a car wash.
Groceries & Dining Out
We upped the grocery budget for 2024 to encourage ourselves to buy healthier ingredients without worrying too much about the price. April ended slightly over budget but nothing too concerning here.
We have also informally upped the dining out budget, as we want to continue to explore new restaurants in the area. So while it looks like we spent quite a bit this month, it’s actually within reason of our new target.
Health & Beauty
This category includes all health and beauty related spending: gym memberships, beauty products, wellness treatments, etc. It does not include our monthly insurance premiums – I account for the cost of health insurance in our budget when paying out of our own pocket but that cost is absorbed by our paychecks while working.
Nothing really notable or unexpected this month.
Cell Phones
As I’ve explained previously, we both have cell phone plans through Mint Mobile that provide unlimited talk, text, and a certain amount of 4G LTE data. My plan is about $15 per month for 5GB, while Mrs. FIby35 recently upgraded to the unlimited data plan at $25 per month. Still fantastically affordable. Even better, Mrs. FIby35’s employer reimburses her bill. My annual renewal came through in April, which was partially offset by Mrs. FIby35’s reimbursement.
We love Mint Mobile and highly recommend their services for a much more affordable option than some of the big names out there. I’d be thrilled if you used this referral link and signed up with them. Mr. Rebates is also running a $5 cash back deal that you could use to stack your savings. Rakuten is offering $5 cash back as well if that’s more your style.
Travel & Entertainment
We continued the trend of moderate trips in April, as we visited the Destin, Florida area for a long weekend and did day trips to Amelia Island and Ocala, both in Florida. Finally, we booked a few items for upcoming trips to Alaska and Hawaii.
Amelia Island has a quaint little historical downtown that we enjoyed along with a guided boat tour up the Cumberland River. It was fascinating to learn some more of the long history of the area and we saw plenty of wildlife, including dolphins and the famous Cumberland Island wild horses.
In Destin, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Sandestin and paid cash (a rarity for us). We spent some time at the gorgeous Emerald Coast beaches and drove along the famous Highway 30A. Overall, we loved the area and would definitely visit again.
Lastly, we met some friends of ours at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, Florida. We enjoyed a short hike and a glass bottom boat tour to view the stunningly clear spring-fed river.
Pets
April was a more regular month of activity for our dog and he was given a clean bill of health during his annual vet visit. A full round of vaccinations and a little bit of food rounded out the spending this month.
Merchandise
Mrs. FIby35’s quest for new clothes continues and this month included more returns than purchases.
Other Expenses
April included paying our 2023 taxes owed to the IRS (on a credit card to generate a bunch of points) and work expenses by Mrs. FIby35 that will be reimbursed the following month. While this looks like a large amount of overspending, it was actually planned.
Conclusion
Financially, April entailed quite a bit of spending, though a good chunk was for taxes and reimbursable work expenses. We continued to spend a fair amount of time doing what we love (traveling and eating), so we definitely have no complaints there. Unfortunately, the S&P 500 didn’t cooperate but we have faith it will continue to go up over the long term. Overall, yet another successful month!
How did your month end up, financially or otherwise? Leave a comment below!
Welcome back! Blog has been missed