Hello everyone! It's October and the days are getting shorter in Portland. This year is a little crazier than usual, as troops are massing in “war-torn” Portland. I have not seen any ICE agents or National Guard troops near my home (20 blocks from downtown). However, Black Hawk helicopters are on patrol and we hear them every night.
Because of the news coming out of Illinois and California, I'm worried that ICE will escalate things soon. ICE raided a large Chicago apartment and rounded up everyone inside, including children and U.S. citizens. That's crazy. Is this the United States or Russia? They also randomly stop Latinos in California. It seems ICE can do whatever they want and the Supreme Court will approve it. Racial profiling is back. Soon, they will set up checkpoints to clear out undesirables.
I think I'd better start carrying my US passport with me when I go out. Once they have trouble filling quotas with Latinos, they start rounding up Asian-looking people on the streets. It's already started with attacks on modern factories, and it won't stop here.
We had a pretty good month on the personal finance front. Ms. RB40 traveled to California to help her parents for 4 weeks. Her father let his driver's license and car insurance expire. She has been working hard to get them back together. This is a very vexing problem. She also took him to the emergency room for a wellness check-up. A few weeks ago, he fell and refused to go to the hospital with medical staff. He needs more help and can no longer live alone. She arranged for home care services to assist while she was gone. This complicated our cash flow because she charged a lot to our credit card. Her father will reimburse us later. It didn't matter because her father was doing well financially. He just couldn't handle online bill payments and various maintenance tasks. I now put everything she charges under the travel category. However, our net worth looks good. This is a highlight.
Well, I’m going to share how my New Year’s resolutions came to fruition. Then I'll review our net worth and cash flow. let's go!
2025 goals
Here is my 2025 goals spreadsheet. it's great. 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.
Wow, there are only 3 months left until 2025. This goal sheet is very helpful. There is progress every month, which is very motivating. Have you worked hard on your New Year's resolutions?
financial goals
Apartments for sale and rent
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 right now. There is too much economic uncertainty and interest rates remain high. That's why I decided to rent out the apartment temporarily. We will put it on the market again in a few years.
Duplex ready for sale
Likewise, I want to sell our duplex in 2029 after RB40Jr graduates from high school*. We wanted to move to Southern California to be closer to family. RB40 Ms.’s parents are getting older and they need help.
*We live in one unit and rent the other.
This year I want to repaint the exterior. However, plans were changed to a kitchen remodel. We are re-cabineting and new countertops. This will give our kitchen a much needed refresh.
Kitchen and floor work is scheduled for next week. The RB40Jr will help me move appliances out of the kitchen. We also needed to move the sink and toilet out of the bathroom. This really stresses me out. I don't want to lose my kitchen in a week. Hopefully the workers will finish everything on time.
Maximizing my Roth IRA
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.
I have maxed out my Roth IRA contributions for over 20 years. But that streak may end this year. My income is decreasing rapidly. After 9 months, I had only made $5,440. At this rate, I'll be lucky enough to break $6,000 this year. That’s less money than I made as a teenager. Maybe it's time to truly retire.
Track net worth and hope for +10%
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.
Since the beginning of the year, our net assets have increased by 8.5%. This is much better than I expected. America is rewarding investors and punishing workers. Fortunately, we transitioned in time and no longer need to rely on work to support our lifestyle. For workers, life seems harder now.
health goals
Exercise more than last year
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 2023. That's not bad, but I want to work out more this year.
I worked out 10 times in September. It's not great, but it's better than nothing. I'm a little behind on this goal.
win claim denied
Last year, RB40Jr received a cochlear implant to improve his hearing. He has 30%-60% hearing in his left ear. He wore hearing aids for several years, but they didn't help much. 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.
Anyway, he got the implant last year. But the insurance company denied the claim. They say cochlear implants are experimental and do not improve overall health. This is ridiculous. This device has been improving lives since the 1980s. We are fighting this denial. I think health insurance companies are denying as many claims as possible to boost profits. Many people are too sick to fight these denials. No wonder everyone hates health insurance companies.
Latest updates – Denied coverage is final. Now we are working with hospitals to reduce costs. This actually looks pretty good since the insurance company pre-approved the surgery. I will continue to work hard.
interesting goals
Selling my ceramic projects
I took some ceramics classes at the community center and had a great time. My project is not yet on a professional level, but I will try to sell some items at an art auction at the community center this year.
I sold about $190 at the spring art sale! This is incredible. I didn't expect to sell so many pieces. The community center takes a 35% commission. That's totally fine. I'm happy to support them.
Some of my pottery from last quarter. I hope to sell some of these at the next community center event.
More dates with Mrs.
This year, I want to hang out with Mrs. RB40 more. 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.
I'll go on a lunch date with the RB40 lady. It's much easier this way. Who wants to leave the house after dark?
We went on a few dates in September before Ms. RB40 left town. The highlight of the month was the Breitenbush Hot Springs. This is a spa/retreat with outdoor clothing optional. We did a day trip but you can also stay there overnight. It was nice to get out of town for a while. The outdoor hot springs are great, as is the vegetarian lunch. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend Breitenbush.
Happiness>8
I'm a naturally happy person so this should be easy. Life has been good the past few years.
September has been a tough month for me. I went through a rough patch as a single parent of a teenager. We got along well but had some arguments. This news also makes me a little depressed. The black hawk hovering near us didn't help. Finally, my upcoming kitchen remodel is stressing me out. However, when I look at the chart, this seems to be a pattern. My happiness declines as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. It will take me a few weeks to get used to rainy weather again.
Net worth (+8.5%)
I have been tracking our net worth since 2006. It's very encouraging to see our progress. The power of compound interest is incredible. Our investment returns far exceeded last year's revenue.
2025 is a pretty crazy year. The stock market has performed much better than I expected. I will enjoy the feeling of being rich and stop complaining.
***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.
September2025 fire cash flow
This FIRE cash flow statement includes my online income, side hustle income, and taxable passive income.
September is a very good month. Our passive income is higher than usual due to dividends. I'm happy with it.
September2025 fire revenue: $4,Chapter 667
- Real estate crowdfunding: $420.
- dividend income: $3,120. A good month with dividend income.
- Rental income: $516.
- Online income: $143. Blogging income is quickly approaching zero. It might be time to move on to other things.
- Odd jobs: $420. In September I delivered 12 catering orders. It was a lot of odd jobs for me. Once it starts raining more heavily, I'll take a break from this side hustle. I don't need to drive in that condition.
Cost: $4,Chapter 932
- housing: $1,608. This includes mortgages, utilities, furnishings, repairs and maintenance. Our monthly housing costs are low because we live in a duplex. We share many of the costs with our tenants. However, since we are slowly paying off the kitchen remodel, the price will be higher than usual in two years. Home Depot has 0% interest for 24 months.
- transportation: $170. Gas, parking and insurance.
- entertainment: $312.
- groceries: $348. I didn't buy much groceries last month because we needed to move our kitchen remodeling stuff.
- healthy: $40.
- child: $648. Wow, teens are expensive. We paid for the orthodontist, jiu jitsu, ultimate frisbee, new glasses, and a new cell phone.
- personal consumption: $214. My ceramics class, eye drops, sink drain, whey protein, and various other personal items.
- travel: $1,240. Ms. RB40 was visiting her parents and put a lot of charges on our credit card. Much of it would soon be repaid by her father.
retirement savings: –$264
September 2025 Summary
September has been a tough month for me. Being a single parent frustrates me. America turned into a police state and it almost drove me into depression. My upcoming kitchen remodel is also stressing me out. It doesn't matter. I've had worse experiences than this. At least I don't have to worry about paying my bills. life goes on. I hope you are having a better month than I am.
That’s it for September. How are you doing this month?
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