Hey, everyone! Do you have a good month? April is a busy month for RB40 families. RB40JR is busy with school, debate, ultimate frisbee, martial arts and dating with friends. I have ceramic classes, open studios, catering delivery and driving the RB40JR. Mrs. RB40 retired and spent a lot of time baking and gardening. oops! Flying for us in a month. That is the key to happiness. Busy with fun activities, you won't have time to suffer.
When it comes to personal finance, we have a mixed bag. Our net worth looks pretty good, but our cash flow is tough. My income is falling. This is part of my transition to full retirement. I plan to stop working completely within a few years. This way, we can move our residence to California to prepare for the university. There are more colleges in the CA and moving will reduce tuition fees (residence). Less work will help FAFSA. California is expensive, but I think it's about the same as where we live now. We'll see how it works.
Well, I'll share my New Year's goals. I will then browse our net worth and cash flow. let's go!
2025 Target
This is my 2025 target spreadsheet. it's great. If you can't keep up with your New Year's goals, give it a try. The key is to check the spreadsheet monthly to keep track of your progress. This way, you can see which goals require additional attention.
It seems that most of my goals are normal.
Financial goals
Rental apartments for sale
This is my main goal for 2025. Our tenant moved out of our rental apartment in January. I fixed it and listed it for sale. Unfortunately, the apartment market is terrible in Portland. It may take a while to sell.
Anyway, I plan to travel more and I don't want to be a landlord anymore. I would rather invest in real estate crowdfunding. This is much easier.
Duplex for sale
Along the same line, I want to sell our duplex after the 2029 RB40JR completes high school. We need to move to California to get closer to the family. Mrs. RB40's parents are getting older and they need help.
This year, I want to meet with our real estate agents and figure out what we need to fix. The first thing on the list is external repairs and repainting. I would be happy if we could at least do so much. I plan to hire this. These days, I try to avoid ladders as much as possible. I also want to remodel the kitchen and bathroom.
This is on the burner at the back until the rental apartment is handled.
The biggest Ross Ella
Roth IRA is the best investment account you can have. When you exit, you do not have to pay taxes on your gains. This is very big. If you start young every year and issue a Roth IRA to the greatest extent possible, it will be a great resource for retirement.
I have made the most of Roth IRA contributions of over 20 years. But this streak will end sooner or later. The reason is very simple. You can only contribute to the Roth IRA that earns income. My income has dropped like a rock and I may not have enough income this year. In 2025, if you are over 50, the Roth IRA's contribution limit is $8,000. The challenge is to see how much I earn more when I work very little.
So far, I've made $2,633. That's not great, but I'm still expected to achieve that.
Track net worth and hope +10%
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It's great to see the progress. This year, I hope to see a 10% return. At this point, it all depends on the stock market and I can't do anything to affect that goal. I'll track it and keep my fingers crossed. +10% is a stretch goal.
At present, I am very pessimistic about the economy. Tariffs are destroying global transactions. Shipping volumes have dropped sharply and we will see higher prices soon. Stocks were high on Hopium in April. It will crash again. I would be happy if I could maintain a speed of more than -10% this year. This is my realistic goal, negative 10%.
Our net worth has dropped by 0.7% since the beginning of the year.
Health Goals
Exercise more than last year
Last year, I set a goal of exercising 3 times a week. However, I developed elbow pain and had to reduce it a little. Results: I exercised 120 times in 2023. This is not bad, but I want to do more this year.
I exercised 15 times in April. That's really good. The weather has improved and I have spent more time outdoors. I'm catching up with this.
Win a claim deny
Last year, RB40JR obtained a cochlear implant to improve his hearing. His left ear has 50%-80% hearing. He tried hearing aids for several years, but that didn't help much. He could hear a little with his left ear, but he couldn't understand the speech over there.
Recently, the FDA approved cochlear implants in children. At first, I thought we could wait until the RB40JR was adult. Then he can decide for himself. But, our audiologists say the sooner the implant is, the better. If you wait too long, your brain may not be able to adapt.
Anyway, he got the implant last year. However, the insurance rejected the claim. They say cochlear implants are experimental and cannot improve overall health. This is ridiculous. Since the 1980s, the device has been used to improve life. I'm fighting this denial. I think health insurance companies are denying as many claims as possible to boost profits. Many people are sick and cannot fight against denial. No wonder everyone hates health insurance companies.
I appealed with the hospital. Now, we are waiting for the reply.
Interesting goals
For sale my ceramic project
Last year, I took some ceramic classes at the community center and it exploded. My project is not that good, but I'm trying to sell some items this year. The Community Center will have several art sales this year. I will put my name on the list and hopefully get the best. My ceramic project may not be for sale, though. My aesthetic is a bit weird. Most of my stuff is Wabi Sabi style and imperfect.
I sold several pieces on the weekend’s spring art sale. Wow! This exceeded expectations. Now, I only need to sell 100 times to break it.
More dates
This year, I want to go out with Mrs. RB40 often. If you are a parent, you will know how difficult it is. Fortunately, our son is now a teenager. We can go out anytime, anywhere. However, I need to overcome the reluctance to leave the house at night. We parked on the street and it was hard to find a place at night. Also, I would rather be clumsy at home than go out and spend a lot of money in the restaurant.
I will have a date lunch with Mrs. RB40. It's easy. Who wants to leave home after dark?
In April, we had 2 lunch dates. very good. It's a crazy busy month.
Happiness Level > 8
I'm a natural happy person, so this should be easy. Life has been great for the past few years.
I had a great month. Mrs. RB40 is retired and she is at home more. She baked a lot of delicious stuff, spent some time in the garden and pushed around the house. I need to adapt to her so much. We've been busy anyway, so life is good.
Net assets (-0.7%)
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivated to see our progress. The power of compounding is incredible. Last year, our investment income exceeded our income.
2025 looks bad. Our net worth has dropped by 0.7% since the beginning of the year. The stock market was very volatile in April. The market took a dive, but recovered. No one knows where to go next because there is too much uncertainty. I adjusted our asset allocation and I'm ready to go crazy next month.
*** Important***My best advice if you are young is to keep the course.Don't stop investing. Should you continue to invest in the stock market going up or down. You might think the stock is too expensive, but it looks like it will be cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and one day you will achieve financial independence. Don't try to time the market. If you retire, you need to be more conservative and diverse.
Here is a chart of our net worth from Empower. Sign up for a free account on Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I often log in to check our net worth and use their free tools. This is a great website for DIY investors.
Fire Cash Flow in April 2025
This fire cash flow chart includes my online income, side shows and taxable passive income.
Our cash flow will look bad before selling the rental apartment.
April 2025 Fire Income: $1,657
Alas, our cash process looked bad last month. The expenses are OK, but my income from fire turned into anemia. Rental apartments are still frustrating us. We will exit retirement savings as needed. We planned for this and we should be fine.
- Real estate crowdfunding: $195. You can read more on Re crowdfunding's Passive Income page.
- Dividend Income: $895. Dividends are slow.
- Rental income:– $899. We will receive negative rental income until the apartment is sold.
- Online income:$131. This is disappearing quickly. Last month, I paid taxes and hurt my income.
- Odd number work:$425. I send out some catering orders every week. Currently, this is a simple show. I might stop being busy within two years.
Expenditure: $5,299
Our spending is good. Children and health spending is higher than usual, but should come back next month. I think our spending is still very reasonable. Many families spend much more than we do.
- housing: $1,388. This includes mortgages, utilities, furniture, repairs and maintenance. Our housing costs are low because we live in duplex. We allocate many fees to our tenants.
- transportation: $360. Gasoline and insurance. We renewed our AAA membership and supplemented our public transport card.
- entertainment:$205. This is mainly about dining out.
- groceries: $711. Wow, our grocery bill is high. I think last month is lower than usual, so it's even.
- healthy: $918. Earlier this year, Mrs. RB40 underwent minor surgery.
- child: $1,110. Unfortunately, as the RB40JR ages, so are the costs associated with children. We are paying for his orthodontics, international school trips and various activities.
- Personal: $555. We go shopping for clothes and expect to rise soon. We should be fine for about a year.
- travel: $0.
Retirement savings: –$4,541
Summary of April 2025
April was a good month for us. We have been very busy and enjoy life. Our cash flow was negative, but I strengthened my cash buffer earlier this year as Mrs. RB40 retirement is expected. We should be fine for the next two years. Also, I'm ready for the recession and now we have to stay stable. In the current asset allocation, I think I can tolerate a 50% decline in the stock market. It will be a difficult journey. Good luck to everyone.
It's April. Do you have a good month?
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I'm investing in commercial propertiescrowd. They have many projects throughout the United States. Go and check it out!
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The April 2025 Fire Update first appeared at the age of 40 when he retired.
