We’re back with another monthly financial update. Despite being a leap year, February came and went seemingly as fast as any other year. How did the extra day impact our finances? Read on for my February 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 our goal…so we increased it even more. 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 February 2024:
| | BALANCE | CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTH |
| ASSETS | | |
| Cash, Checking, Savings | $62,060 | ($882) |
| Investments | $1,447,473 | $89,665 |
| LIABILITIES | | |
| Credit Cards | ($4,967) | $1,507 |
| Car Loan | ($26,892) | $270 |
| Misc. Other Debts | ($20) | ($20) |
| NET WORTH | $1,477,654 | $90,540 |
Clinging to the triumphant climb of the markets, we achieved yet another new all-time high net worth!
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 rose over 5% in February alone. We contributed $13,800 of our own to add to $75,800 in market gains 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 is right around the corner so the league fees are rolling in.
Expenses
Here’s a look at our expenses for the month of February:
| EXPENSES | Budget | Actual | (Over)/Under |
| Home (mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, etc.) | $2,124.42 | $1,914.00 | $210.42 |
| Utilities | $136.67 | $132.95 | $3.72 |
| Automotive | $790.80 | $658.31 | $132.49 |
| Groceries | $500.00 | $459.56 | $40.44 |
| Dining Out | $150.00 | $188.90 | ($38.90) |
| Health & Beauty | $487.33 | $165.96 | $321.37 |
| Cell Phones | $41.67 | ($16.75) | $58.42 |
| Travel & Entertainment | $1,174.67 | $325.89 | $848.78 |
| Pets | $154.17 | $93.03 | $61.14 |
| Merchandise | $175.11 | ($524.14) | $699.25 |
| Other Expenses | $515.17 | ($87.07) | $602.24 |
| Total Expenses | $6,250.00 | $3,310.64 | $2,939.36 |
After a spending spree in January, things calmed down considerably in February. Nearly every category came in under budget, which has to be some sort of record.
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, we went through a couple tanks of gas and a car wash in February.
Groceries & Dining Out
We upped the grocery budget for 2024 to encourage ourselves to buy healthier ingredients without worrying too much about the price. This approach seems to have been successful as we came in slightly under budget in February.
Despite an increased budget for dining out, we still exceeded it this month. I think as long as we are exploring Florida, we will probably continue to overspend here.
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.
A relatively quiet month in this category as we continue to test which health, wellness, and beauty treatments we want to continue.
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 plans to upgrade to the unlimited data plan at $25 per month. Still fantastically affordable. Even better, Mrs. FIby35’s employer reimburses her bill, thus the negative amount this month.
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 actually did travel a bit in February, though most of it was prepaid. I took a guys’ trip to Jamaica, staying at the Bahia Principe Luxury Runaway Bay. Flights were reasonably cheap and paid for in cash last year. Overall, the resort was decent and it was an enjoyable week with friends.
Later in February we made a road trip to Orlando to meet up with some friends we met while traveling in Asia last year. It was great to catch up since we had all done a fair amount of traveling since we last saw them. We stayed one night at the Hyatt Regency Orlando on points ($346 value) and took advantage of Mrs. FIby35’s Hyatt Globalist status to have dinner, drinks, and breakfast for free in the lounge. Out-of-pocket expenses included just lunch the next day and about a tank of gas.
Pets
One large bag of food that will last a couple months and a face trim this month. Next month will likely include a more substantial grooming procedure.
Merchandise
Nearly all of the clothes purchased in January were returned. Good news is we got all that money back; bad news is that we didn’t like much of what was ordered so the quest for clothes continues.
Other Expenses
Like the Merchandise category, we received reimbursement for almost all of the spending in this category from last month. Mrs. FIby35 spent about $500 on plane tickets for another work trip that will be reimbursed in the future.
Conclusion
Overall, February was an incredibly successful month for us financially. The stock market continued its upward trajectory while we plowed more of our hard-earned cash into it. While we realize the returns won’t be so great every month, we trust that the good months will outnumber the bad and will continue to invest.
Spending was also exceptional (in my opinion) in February, and not just because it was considerably lower than budget. It was heavily weighted towards the categories we actually value: a comfortable home, delicious food and drink, and creating memories with friends and family. As we strive to direct our spending on what brings us happiness and health, I’d say we did pretty well in February.
How was your February? Leave a comment below!
