5 months progress report

[Wolfsheim]

Since I found MMM, I really started making steps towards FI. Before, I was also experimenting with living frugally and saving, but I didnt do it with any real results. So I took the plunge:

June:

Cash: 3000 EUR
Car Loan: -3000 EUR
Life Insurance: 3000 EUR
Roth IRA equivalent: 1500 EUR

Net Worth: 6000 EUR

November:

Cash: 1500 EUR
Stock Portfolio with ETFs: 4800 EUR
Life Insurance: 4000 EUR
Roth IRA equivalent: 1700 EUR
Rented Apartment: worth 35000 EUR

Net Worth: 47000 EUR

Wow. :{)

[Bigote]

Nice!

How'd you get there?   What changes did you make?

[Wolfsheim]

Basically this was only about getting serious about curbing spending and investing.
I make currently about 71500 EUR per year (97000 $) but i just spend too much on useless things and debt I was just too lazy to pay off.

- paid off car loan in full at once
- did intense research for a investment portfolio and opened a (free) brokerage account with DKB
- selected some blue chips and ETFs and started investing spare cash and monthly in 400 EUR-chunks creating a diversified portfolio
- did again intense research and selected some undervalued real estate. I bought a 2 BR-apartment in Leipzig, where I live, which is currently rented out and was owned by a senior couple. They sold at a 11% discount too me. This financing is cheap at 3,5% p.a. and I plan to pay this thing off in 5 years.

So by just investing my income and cutting out useless expenses I got my hands on 32000 EUR worth of property and created a nice little stash I let grow over the next years. All this happened without cutting back on my quality of life, I spend two  wonderful holidays with my GF and bought some more energy-efficient equipment for my apartment while throwing old stuff out (stuff was sold on Ebay, not thrown away).

[Wolfsheim]

Ok Guys, I decided to give a little update:

In the last year, my income grew due to hard work to 78.000 EUR (99,000 USD) per year. My fiance makes about 36.000 EUR (45,360 USD). So our household income combined is currently about 144,000 USD per year.

In the recent months my investment in real estate paid a decent return. In the months since November I increased the size of my stock portfolio from 3000 EUR to just over 18.000 EUR (22680 EUR). I invested in some monthly-dividend-paying companies and REITS and in S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. This return just over 100 EUR per months in dividends. Also I will buy a second real-estate property this year to further increase my landlording business.

Next to that, I finally struck a deal with the family to inherit the family estate, a 1830s limestone farmhouse with another rented flat and 32 acres of prime farmland valued at 8000 USD per acre.

Assets Currently:

Stash 18,000
Property 1: 32,000
Property 2: 49,000
Cash: 1,500
(Inheritance): 336000

Assets Total: 436,500 USD