Hello everyone! How are you enjoying 2026 so far? Life in America is getting crazier, but I’m doing okay. I hope you are safe too. This year, I’ve been blogging less frequently, but that’s good. The pressure to write a new blog post every week is gone. I enjoy my weekends more and take another step toward full retirement.
2025 is going to be a tough year for RB40 families. Ms. RB40 retired from her career to refocus on helping her father. He is transitioning from living alone at home to an assisted living facility. This is a difficult move. She spent a lot of time in California facilitating the process. Being a single parent was hard on me while she was away, but we survived. However, the house became quite messy. I'm not very good at cleaning.
RB40Jr started high school and he really enjoyed it. To advance, he took advanced courses and participated in several extracurricular activities. He did well in high school. We are delighted that he is adapting well.
We had a great year on the personal finance front. The stock market has done extremely well, pushing our net worth to new highs. Our cash flow is also looking good. We draw down our savings to plug some holes, but that's what retirement is about.
Well, let me share my 2025 report card. Then I'll review our net worth and cash flow. let's go!
2025 Goals Report Card
Here is my 2025 goals spreadsheet. This is helpful. If you can't achieve your New Year's resolutions, give this a try. The key is to review the spreadsheet each month to track your progress. This way, you can understand which goals require extra attention and work toward them.
Oh my God, if I had brought this report card home in high school, I would have been grounded for six months! Luckily, I'm retired and I'm much easier on myself. Overall, I'm doing pretty well. Although there were some failures, I tried my best. That's failure, or something like that.
financial goals
Apartment for sale for rent – failed
This is my main goal for 2025. The previous tenant moved out of our rental apartment in January. I fixed it up and put it up for sale. Unfortunately, the apartment market in Portland is terrible. We have only watched it once in 4 months! I think buyers are scared. That's why I decided to rent it out temporarily.
The next tenant violated the lease and moved out at the end of 2025. That's no problem for me because I'm really ready to sell. I painted the interior and it was ready. The device will be available in about a week. The condo market is still slow, but I'm more optimistic. Interest rates are a little low this year. If it doesn't sell by spring, I will lower the price slightly.
So the grade for this goal in 2025 is an F, but I'm very hopeful for 2026. I don’t want to be a landlord anymore.
Duplex ready for sale– B
Likewise, I plan to sell our duplex in 2029 after RB40Jr graduates from high school*. We wanted to move to Southern California to be closer to family. Ms. RB40’s parents are getting older and they need more help. My dad lives in Thailand and he needs more help too.
*We live in one unit and rent the other.
In 2025, I plan to repaint the exterior. However, plans were changed to a kitchen remodel. Our kitchen is completely outdated. We resurfaced the cabinets, new countertops, and new flooring. The kitchen is much nicer now, which should be a good selling point.
I give myself a B here. I didn't paint the exterior, but the kitchen remodel was complete. I'm happy with it.
Maximizing my Roth IRA – B
A Roth IRA is the best investment account you can have. When you withdraw money, you don't pay taxes on the gains. This is huge. If you start young and maximize your Roth IRA each year, it will become a valuable resource in retirement.
In 2025, I made $6,852. This is less than the maximum Roth IRA contribution of $8,000. I call it “Solid B”. I don't think this will improve by 2026 as I have less and less work to do. Who knows? In a few years, I might stop working altogether.
Track net worth and hope to hit 10% – A+
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It's great to see the progress. This year, I hope to go up 10%. At this point, it all depends on the stock market and there's nothing I can do to influence that goal. I will track it and pray. This is a stretch goal.
Our net worth increased by 11.5% in 2025! That's far behind index funds, but I'm fine with that. Last year I was very conservative. A+ here.
health goals
Exercise more than last year – B
Last year, I set a goal of exercising 3 times a week. However, my elbow hurt and I had to cut back a bit. As a result, I worked out 120 times in 2024. That's not bad, but I want to work out more this year.
In 2025 I worked out about 97 times. To be honest, exercise is my weakness. I used to be able to stick to a routine and exercise regularly. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit exercise into my daily routine. I give myself a B- on this one.
Winning Claim Denied – Failed, but…
Last year, RB40Jr received a cochlear implant in his left ear to improve his hearing. He has 30%-60% hearing in that ear. He tried hearing aids for several years, but the results were not noticeable. He can hear some sounds in his left ear, but cannot understand speech in his left ear.
Recently, the FDA approved cochlear implants for children. At first, I thought we could wait until RB40Jr came of age. Then he can decide for himself. However, our audiologist says the sooner the implant is placed, the better. If you wait too long, your brain may not adapt.
Regardless, he got the implant in 2024. However, the insurance company rejected the claim. They say cochlear implants are experimental and do not improve overall health. This is ridiculous. The device has been used to improve lives since the 1980s. We fought hard but the insurance company continued to deny it. In the meantime, we are working with audiologists to appeal the bill to the hospital. The operation was successful and the hospital wrote off most of the cost of the operation. We just need anesthesiology. We are so grateful to the hospital and audiology teams. They are awesome.
At that time, we abandoned further appeals as there was no need to continue. Anyway, I couldn't get over the denial, but we didn't have to pay the full price because the hospital helped us. We are very lucky. Our audiologist defended us.
interesting goals
Selling my ceramic projects – A+
I took some ceramics classes at the community center and had a great time. I signed up to sell some of my work at an art auction. Overall, I sold about 60 units and made about $900! marvelous. The community center takes a 35% commission. That's totally fine with me. I'm happy to support them.
More Dates with the Wife – A
Last year I wanted to hang out with the RB40 ladies more often. If you're a parent, you know how difficult this can be. Luckily our son is now a teenager. We can go out whenever we want. However, I need to overcome my reluctance to go out at night. We parked on the street and it was difficult to find parking at night. Ah! I would rather stay at home than go to a restaurant. As a result, we mainly went for lunch. We only went for dinner once, and that was at 5pm. We are truly becoming senior citizens. One here.
Happiness – A
2025 is going to be a tough year for me. The Trump regime keeps attacking my mental health with new hoaxes. I have to minimize my news consumption to avoid falling into depression. We have other things to deal with. Unfortunately, I don't think 2026 will be any better. The United States appears to be preparing to compete with Europe for Greenland. Meanwhile, ICE is conducting door-to-door raids and randomly picking up brown people on the streets. These are crazy times to live in America.
Net worth +11.5%
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It's very encouraging to see our progress. The power of compound interest is incredible. Today, our investment returns far exceed our income.
2025 is going to be a great year for investors. The stock market has performed much better than I expected. The artificial intelligence revolution is driving markets higher and shows no signs of slowing down. It's hard to work now, but at least investors are doing well.
***Important*** If you're young (under 50), my best advice is to stay the course. Don't stop investing. Whether the stock market is rising or falling, you should continue to invest. You may think the stock is too expensive, but ten years from now it will look cheap. Keep investing and one day you will achieve financial independence. Don't try to time the market. If you are retired, you need to be more conservative and diversified.
Here is a chart of Empower's net worth. Sign up for a free account with Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. They offer great free tools for DIY investors.
2025 fire cash flow
This FIRE cash flow statement includes my online income, side hustle income, and taxable passive income.
The most important number here is the annual expenditure, $66,265. This is well below our 4% SWR. As long as we keep it that way, our retirement will be financially secure. I’m going to try to loosen up my wallet a little this year.
2025 fire revenue: $38,083
- Real estate crowdfunding: $9,764. We had a really good year with RE crowdfunding. However, one project failed. This will impact our overall profits.
- dividend income: $16,272.
- Rental income: -$5,060. We've had a tough year as landlords. Our rental apartment has been vacant for 5 months. I also spent a lot of money on repairs, maintenance and remodeling.
- Online income: $2,824. My blog income was declining rapidly. I will continue blogging for now, but once we start losing money on this show I will lose motivation.
- Odd jobs: $4,028. My other job was food delivery. I deliver a few orders every week. I will be cutting expenses in 2026, so this income will also decrease.
- interest: $3,134.
- Miscellaneous: $2,061. Tax refunds, reimbursements, and all kinds of other messy stuff.
Cost: $66,265
- housing: $27,740. Wow, housing is a huge part of our expenses.
- transportation: $3,789. Gas, parking and insurance. This is very good. Our car is paid off and we don't need a new car yet.
- groceries: $6,282. This is also very good. I tried taking advantage of sales opportunities and it worked.
- entertainment: $2,817. This includes dining out and other fun activities.
- healthy: $4,457. As we age, so do our health-related expenses. I guess that's life.
- child: $8,691. Wow, teens are expensive. We paid for the orthodontist, summer school, jiu-jitsu, racquetball club, ultimate frisbee, sports equipment, debate club, health, shoes, clothes and all kinds of fun stuff.
- personal consumption: $3,554. Hobbies, clothes, hairstyles, gadgets, ukuleles and more.
- travel: $8,146. We went to North Carolina to visit my brother. We also visited California several times last year.
Retirement Savings Withdrawal: –$33,242
2025 Fire Summary
2025 was a tough year for the RB40 family, but we got through it. Ms. RB40 and I are getting older and we are starting to have more health issues. This is the main question for the future. Financially, we're doing great. I hope you are doing well too.
This is how 2025 ends. Stay safe and have the best of luck in 2026!
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