Well another year in the bank & another year closer. Time for everyone to check in and brag about how well they did. Like everyone my investments went crazy last year...
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Investments
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I started the year with my investments at US$670k. This year I am including 2 new "accounts" - An outstanding loan to my GF (currently @ $5k), and a new HSA account (currently @ $4k). To those I add the totals of my 457 account, Roth IRA, brokerage account & DRIPs. As of the end of the year for everything I came up with a few hundred over $841k. I added about $53,000 for the year so the growth for the year was $118k, more than my current salary by a nice margin. The rate of return may have been in the 17% range, another banner year.
Don't know what to make of my dividends. My 457 plan account shows "dividends" of over $31,000. That's a rate of over 5.5%, which can't be right. I'm thinking that may be calling stock splits or spinoffs as dividends. I don't know, but in any case, given that amount my total dividends came in at $40.5k.
And my pension is another year funded/vested. I am now vested for $29k/year, but if I left I would have to wait 10 years for it to start. If I stay I will get it in 5 years and it should be worth $40k/year at that point. 5MY syndrome I guess.
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Everything Else
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No major expenses in 2017. The GF & I went on a two week vacation to DisneyWorld - spent 7 days in the parks, stayed at nice time shares, had a great time, and we paid total about $1,600 for the two of us (and each came back to a nice paycheck). I have zero debt with a paid off house & car. Haven't spent anything on home repairs, but they'll come sooner or later. And the car is a year closer to needing to be replaced but still chugging along.
My GF is down to ONE(!) year to go to retire & get an immediate pension. She is now much less stressed at work at her new position, which is great. Even with cutting back on her TSP contributions this year (and despite taking out a TSP loan for her son's college costs) she has more than ever as her TSP is hitting new highs and may hit $1Mil later this year, so she is doing fine even if she doesn't think so from time to time. And she does wonder how much she would have if she didn't take out the loan.
I completed a year of doing two-a-day workouts at work, lunchtime and after work (probably averaged 3.5 times / week over the year). Weight loss is minimal at this point, mostly just adding muscle. I've been concentrating on getting rid of more excess junk at home, but not getting too far with it. Though... last year my ebay sales were over $1,500 so not too shabby. In fact I came back from New Years weekend with my GF and found I had 7 sales to pack up. Now that's a plus, but I need to keep it up.
At work I have been put on a new project, what I call the project from hell. It seems management tried to do everything they could to make this as hard as possible to work on. I mean.... they like me and they're nice to me, don't give me grief about my going to the gym at lunch, so its good, right? But still, many days I wonder who I ticked off to be put on a project this much of a poorly designed mess. Sigh.
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Random Thoughts
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In two years I have gone from $540k to $841k. That's over a 50% increase. When you're used to living on $22k/year (and without a mortgage that isn't hard for me), and can live large on $36k how I am I going to keep myself motivated without a target amount? This is a big concern for me.
How am I going to feel if the market goes down and I end the year where I started (that is, my contributions only cover up the down draft)? I did fine during the last downturn, though really I was too occupied with other concerns then (and my investments were only 5 digits large). Now if it goes down, its going to be my main thought daily I am afraid to say.
I can now say I am just a little over 5 years to retirement (5 yrs, 3 mo.). At least that's a positive.
OK, lets hear from the rest of the 2023 Cohort.