Hey, everyone! I'm back from a road trip in California. We had an explosion visiting friends and family. We also explored the Central Coast and the Sequoia National Park. Mrs. RB40 and I went to school in Santa Barbara and loved the area. However, houses in Santa Barbara are very expensive. That's why we want to check out other beach towns on the Central Coast. Morro Bay is a great place. I don't mind retirement one day. The bay will be perfect for boating and other recreational activities. We also like Sequoia NP. My parents took us there when I was a kid and I have wonderful memories of the park. The RB40JR wasn't impressed, but I think he's older. teenager…
The pictures here are from Oregon Caves National Monument and Conservation. We stopped for one night at Grants Pass and spent a morning in the Oregon Caves. Very good. The trip was fun and the hike wasn't too difficult either. If you drive from CA to I-5, I highly recommend visiting Oregon Caves. This is a good stop.
In terms of personal finance, the situation is very good. Our net worth has reached a new high again. That's crazy, but I'm not complaining. I'll be happy to feel rich when the stock market is doing well. Cash flow is OK, too. We travel most with friends and family and saved a lot of money. Road trips are cheaper than international holidays.
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 and work on them.
It seems that most of my goals are normal.
Financial goals
Rental apartments for sale
This is my main goal for 2025. The former 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. We only watch once in 4 months! I think buyers are scared right now. The economy is uncertain and interest rates are high. That's why I decided to rent an apartment for the time being. We will put it on the market again in a few years.
Anyway, I wanted to go on more trips and I was tired of being a landlord. 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 is finished with high school. We wanted to move to Southern California to get closer to families. Mrs. RB40's parents are getting older and they need help.
*We live in one unit and then rent another unit.
This year, I want to repaint the look. However, the plan is to be changed to a kitchen remodel. We are re-laying the cabinets and a new countertop. This will provide our kitchen with much-needed makeover. I also want to keep the new floor in the kitchen. I might make the floor myself. Reshaping is not fun.
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 may end this year. My income is falling rapidly. After 6 months, I only made $4,003. With this, I was lucky to make $6,000 this year. This is less money than when I was a teenager. I should find a new side hustle.
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 get 10%. 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. This is a stretch goal.
Our net worth has increased by 4.9% since the beginning of this year! This is better than I expected.
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 went to the gym in June and July. I went to yoga, cycling and hiking. We hiked a lot on our CA road trip. My joints feel much better, but I should talk to the doctor.
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 some sounds in 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 you get the implant, the earlier you get it. 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. We are 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.
Latest update – Insurance denies appeal. We filed another appeal and we are waiting for a reply. This is ridiculous because the RB40JR hearing has improved a lot since the surgery.
Interesting goals
For sale my ceramic project
I took some ceramic classes at the community center and it exploded. My project is not professional yet, but I will try to sell some items in the art sales in Community Center this year.
I sold about $190 in spring art sales! That was incredible. I didn't expect it to sell so much. Community centers received a 35% commission. very good. I'm glad to support them.
Miss's date more
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 stopped on the street and found a place that could be frustrating at night. Ah! I would rather be clumsy at home than go to a restaurant.
I will have a date lunch with Mrs. RB40. It's easy. Who wants to leave home after dark?
In July, we were on vacation and did not attend any lunch dates. We will be out in August.
Happiness Level > 8
I'm a natural happy person, so this should be easy. Life has been good for the past few years.
July is a great month. We had a great holiday. It was so fun to see old friends and family. My brother in North Carolina joined us and we had a mini family party. The RB40JR is getting older, and there are only a few years left in this kind of party. After college, it will be difficult to put all the kids (6 of them) together. I love hanging out with my nieces and nephews.
Net worth (+4.9%)
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 is crazy. The stock market performed better than I expected. I will like to be rich and stop complaining.
*** 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. They provide excellent free tools for DIY investors.
July 2025 Fire Cash Flow
This fire cash flow chart includes my online income, side shows and taxable passive income.
July 2025 Fire Income: $2,130
I spent most of July on vacation but didn’t have much work.
- Real estate crowdfunding: $1,144. On the crowdfunding side it was a good month. You can read more on Re crowdfunding's Passive Income page.
- Dividend Income: $242. Dividend income is slow in months.
- Rental income: $335.
- Online income: $251. Blog revenues quickly approached zero. Maybe it's time to move on.
- Odd number work: $158. I don't work much in July. Catering delivery is a simple show that can be very good. I might stop being busy within two years.
Expenditure: $4,053
Our spending was relatively low last month.
- housing: $1,780. 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. Housing costs will be two years higher than usual as we are slowly paying off the remodeling of the kitchen. Home Depot has 0% interest in 24 months.
- transportation: $124. Gasoline, parking and insurance. Repairs are becoming more and more expensive. Hopefully this car is OK for the rest of the year. I didn't count the gasoline we used on our road trip here. This is taken up in the travel category.
- entertainment: $105. We went to taste the wine and squandered it with 2 bottles of fine wine.
- groceries: $195. We spend too much at the grocery store in July because we are on vacation.
- healthy: $62.
- child: $214. Unfortunately, as the RB40JR ages, the costs associated with children are increasing. We are paying for his orthodontics, jiu-jitsu and various activities.
- Personal: $20.
- travel: $1,501. This is cheap every year. We live with friends and family most of the time. I used the hotel's bonus points during this trip.
Retirement savings: –$1,923
Summary of July 2025
July was a great month for us. We had a great time on our road trip. It's great to go out for a while. August should be very good too. The RB40JR has a few weeks of summer vacation. We will try to make a few more days of travel before school starts. Summer is almost over. 🙁
It's July. Do you have a good month?
Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I'm investing in commercial properties crowd. They have many projects throughout the United States. Go and check it out!
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Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects all over the United States, so check it out!
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