June 2016 Goals and Financial Updates - Retire by 40 (2024)

Can you believe 2016 is already half over? Time really flies, so don’t put off saving and investing. Everyone needs to start investing as young as possible since compound interest needs time to really take off. Speaking of investing, Brexit gave investors a scare for a few days at the end of June. The market seems to have recovered nicely, though. Our international funds are still down, but our US funds are doing pretty well. I guess investors are flocking to the US for more stability. We picked up a few shares of value index fund during the dip, so that was nice.

All in all, June was a good month and our net worth reached a new high. That’s great because we are still doing well in spite of the recent stock market gyrations. Let’s see how I’m doing with my 2016 goals and then check our cash flow for June.

2016 Goals

Non Financial Goals

Improve Fitness (Juneresult = Pass)

I got aGarmin Vivofit 2for Christmas and I’m using it to track my activity level. June was a pretty good month. The weather is nicer and we are spending more time outdoors. I had 188,891 steps in May. That’s 6,296 steps per day which exceeded my 6,000 steps per day goal. On the other hand, I also gained about 4 pounds since the beginning of the year. We need to modify our diet as we get older and our metabolism slows down. I’ll spend the rest of this year trying to lose a few pounds…

Control my triglyceride level (WIP)

I’m trying to eat better to control my hypertriglyceridemia. My doctor recently increased the dosage of my medication and I will go in for a blood test soon. It has been really tough to change our diet. We already eat relatively healthy, but still need to increase the amount of fish and vegetables in our diet, while reducing carbs.

Try 6 new great restaurants (50%)

Alright, we found a great place in June. Pine Street Market is like an upscale food court. You can choose from Ramen, sandwiches, gourmet hot dogs, Israeli street food, and more. I had a beef cheek sandwich. It sounded a bit weird, but the sandwich was great. We’ll be back to try the other places.

Take an extended trip to Thailand ($2,427)3,187

I’m planning a 3 week trip to Thailand in November. I want my family to experience the Loy Kratong festival in Chiang Mai. It was a big deal when I was a kid and I had fun with the various activities around the holiday. Saving for this trip is made easy by Digit. Digit deducts a small amount from my account every few days and I don’t notice the “stealth” saving at all. Check outmy Digit review if you don’t know about them. The current balance is at $3,187, an increase of $760 in June. This is a great way to save for a trip.

Attend a conference – (WIP)

I got a ticket to FinCon 2016 in San Diego! I booked the hotel room and now just need to find a cheap flight. Mrs. RB40 and Jr will take the opportunity to visit her parents while I’m in SD.

Visit a national park – (WIP)

We are going camping at Crater Lake in a few weeks. It is a long drive from Portland, but it should be nice to get out of town for a while. The trip is coming up soon and I can’t wait.

Start a non-finance website – (WIP)

I will start this project after kindergarten begins in the fall. This will probably kick off very slowly because I have all sorts of stuff to catch up on.

Financial Goals (50% of the year is gone..)

Invest $50,000 in our tax advantaged accounts(49%) $24,298

In June, we saved $3,632 in our tax advantaged accounts. That increased our total to $24,298 so far in 2016. We are right on schedule for 2016. I’m still contributing $1,500 per month to my i401k, but I’ll hold off on our Roth IRA and the employer contribution for my 401k. I still think we could see a big drop in 2016, so I’m waiting for a good deal.

Increase Dividends to $11,500 (50%)

We received $1,374 in dividends last month. That’s $5,730 so far in 2016. We’re right on schedulewith this one. I’m hoarding cash and holding off on reinvesting for now.

Surpass $50,000 in RB40 Junior’s 529 account (97%)

The stock market is volatile this year, so I don’t know if we’ll meet this goal. We will continue to contribute $400 per month. The account is now worth $48,445.

Increase Net worth by 3x risk free rate (currently +6.5%)

The 10-year US government bond yields about 2%. So my target net worth increase for 2016 is 6%. Brexit gave us a rollercoaster ride at the end of June, but we rode it out without losing any sleep. The US market recovered in just a few days, but the international markets are still reeling. Our net worth did pretty well in June, though. The energy sector is recovering nicely and gave our portfolio a nice boost. Our net worth is up 6.5% for the year and we met our goal! The rest of this year will still be a bumpy ride and I’m sure we’ll be up and down for the rest of 2016.

If you need help keeping track of your finances,try usingPersonal Capitalto manage your portfolio. We have many accounts and Personal Capital helps us see the big picture. Also check out their fantastic retirement calculator. You can read my review here –The Best Free Retirement Calculator.

Cash Flow

Take Home Income (target > $5,000)

Our take home income was higher than usualin June, at $6,791. Mrs. RB40 had a little bonus so that’s really nice. Our dividend income was also pretty good last month.

Mrs. RB40’s Paychecks:$6,252. Mrs. RB40 got a nice little bonus from work.

Rental income:$703.We had a great month with our rentals. It’s nice to have a good month once in a while.

Online income:$2,223. Our online income in June was good for a summer month. Summer months are usually slower because a lot of people are on vacation. I will break down the online income and expenses in our monthly newsletter so if you’re curious,sign up with our email list.

Dividend:$1,374. Our dividend income reached a new high in June! The 3^rd month of the quarter is great. You can seemy dividend portfolioif you want to see my investment.

Interest:$1. Ugh, I didn’t use my debit card enough and missed out on the bonus interest rate. It’s not a big deal, but I still don’t like passing up free money. I’ll pay more attention next month.

P2P lending:-$130. I had more defaults than usual and it was not a good month for P2P lending. I’m seriously considering pulling the investment and putting them in real estate crowdfunding instead. Real estate seems like a better way to invest than unsecure lending. Currently, NSR Investmanages my P2P lending account at Prosper. These defaults are from loans made prior to signing up with NSR.

Misc income:$0. No side income this month.

Expense (target < $4,500)

Our expense was within budget in June at $3,930. That’s our best month so far in 2016. I think a big reason is the reduction in our childcare expense. RB40Jr is going to summer day-camp every other week and that cost much less than preschool.

Housing: $2,256. Mortgage, HOA, and property tax.

Cash Allowance:$200.

Groceries:$400. Our grocery bill was great inJune at $400. I think we stocked up the previous month so the bill was lower than usual in June.

Child/Dependent:$238. Woo hoo! Our childcare cost is going down. It will be around $250 for the summer, then plummet once kindergarten starts. Nice.

Healthcare/Medical:$220.

Bills:$225. Electricity and insurance (auto, home, my term life, and umbrella.)

Entertainment:$77. Gym membership fee and eating out.

Misc: $372. I got a used cargo carrier for our car. I also got 2 air mattresses for our camping trip. From Amazon, I got a headphone, batteries, ukulele strings, and lemon oil.

Transportation:$28. We filled up only once in June.

Saving

Extra Saving($12,509 so far in 2016)

Our extra saving was $2,775 in June. That’s really awesome. Most of this will go into our Roth IRA and my i401k later this year.

All in all, we did very well in June. Our income was higher than usual and our expense was lower than expected. Our net worth hit an all time high. We are healthy and the weather is great, what else can you ask for? Life is good.

Did you have a good month in June?