You have a spending problem
Make a detailed list of your expenses so we can have a face punch fest :)
With your income you could probably retire in 5 years....unless your business is your happiness
Ran the numbers via Mint looks like $100k spent in 2014 on a pre tax income of $280k.
2014 Breakdown:Home $24,535.08 (Mortgage + home improvements e.g. new bathroom supplies etc)
Shopping $21,336.53 (Gulp)
Food & Dining $15,776.24 (Organic mostly)
Uncategorized $10,161.73 (I did best to categorize these but most are checks and I need to get access to older bank records to see the checks)
Health & Fitness $9,293.15 (Doctor bills out of pocket primarily - this does not include $12k paid via business for health insurance - long story)
Bills & Utilities $6,738.22 (power, etc)
Auto & Transport $3,828.79 (no car payment)
Travel $2,437.50
Kids $1,861.87
Entertainment $1,775.22
Business Services $1,049.32
Pets $816.57
Education $633.04
Misc Expenses $597.50
Personal Care $417.93
Fees & Charges $115.24
*Does not factor in charitable giving which is typically done via business.
Surplus earnings from 2014 went $32k to student loans (all gone now) then $52k towards SEP IRA and the rest to early mortgage payoff. I did buy a car in cash to replace ailing vehicle. I suspect house pay off by end of Q1 2015 or Q2 2015 at the latest (then no more personal debt).
What I'm doing for 2015:I set myself on a fixed salary of $65,000 after taxes. In the past we've tried the no credit cards thing, the debit card only thing and now we're trying the envelope system with cash only for non fixed automatic payments for January. The higher income has bailed us out in the past ("oh crap we spent too much better write another check" - yah I know first world problems).
Anything else I'm missing though?I feel like the fixed salary should help and the envelope system is new. Ultimately I do really get a lot of enjoyment out of my business and feel like it could grow significantly. I could easily see $500k+ pretax take home income from business in 2015 (maybe $1MM+ eventually - which would obviously be a massive increase over 2014. Even with a relatively large personal expense of $100k per year that still leaves a lot left over). I am anticipating "financial independence" before age 35.
But my attitude is that if I'm good at business and at generating wealth why not continue to do so? Perhaps I can take my foot off the gas, but the more I make the more I can give.
Perhaps I need to learn what early retirement looks like, but I feel compelled to work hard still.
One reason why I want to grow income much larger:Before age 40 charity my goal is 200 wells for Charity Water ($1 million needed). That would be 50,000 people with clean water. If everything goes the way I have things planned for the next 5 years in business this number could be larger.
How should my face be punched in?