I’m updating my visual aid for my goal of financial independence. I plot my monthly expenses against my theoretical passive income. As soon as my average monthly expenses are less than my projected passive income, I could theoretically live off my savings. I started this website so I could point to something when people question why I’m a lazy butt and not working.
Here is where I stood at the end of February 2015. The markets were up and my net worth went up by its highest amount ever, inching that green line up! Go green line, go!
And here is where I stood at the end of March 2015. My expenses were up as I continue to run on the hedonistic treadmill, while my net worth increased by about $3500. I know that’s not exactly a paltry number, but I invested more than twice that, so a loss nonetheless.
I like my “hypothetical Chicago rent” chart better than my real chart.
I now have enough saved where my projected passive income would have covered my average monthly expenses in 2011, 2012, and 2013. It also would have covered 2014 if I had not moved to Sydney and still lived in Chicago and paid my glorious Chicago rent. That realization makes me pretty happy.
I don’t pretend to know what the market is going to do. It’s been a relatively smooth bull ride since I started this project and as I’m getting closer and closer to my end date, I realize that I have yet to encounter a true market dip. My IRA was ripped in half in 2009, but I did not track that money as carefully as I do now. I wonder how painful some months will be to plot when I’m only seeing my net worth decrease and I’m not able to offset the inevitable down months with my glee over buying cheaper VTSAX.
