I want to explain why I do a monthly net worth update.
- Keep me accountable
- Track my journey
- Prove that anyone can become a millionaire
- Prove that FIRE works

I hit FIRE in 2023 at age 38! Stay consistent and keep investing like it’s going out of style.
Income
This month I made $7,047. This is a mixture of passive income from my military retirement/compensation. I also made a bit of side hustle money this month from selling some wet shaving gear.

Expenses
Expenses total right at roughly $6,891. Now the graph below is a bit off. So I took out $3.5K from my cash stash to pay for a personal matter and thus why my real monthly spending was $6,891. But the below graph is only showing my monthly spending without that cash being taken out. I could not get it to show for some reason.

Savings
Now that I am retired the focus is not on a high savings rate. But seeing my passive income is 2x what I usually spend I foresee myself still saving and investing some money. This month I saved $2,655. I eventually will move this money to either my Vanguard MM account or just throw it in one of my taxable accounts. Though again not sure I would call this saved because I spent more money this month than I cash flow.
- $2,655 Money Market Account
Check out CC hacking it saves me a ton of money!
Side Hustle
Side Hustle Income: $835
Net Worth: $779,164
My net worth does not account for my passive income. I only account for my liquid investments, cash, and my paid-off RV on this net worth. However, I put my RV for far less than NADA says it’s worth and less than similar models are listed for on the used market. I eventually might take it off completely but as of today I have it on here and it accounts for $11K of my total net worth. I have been lowering the RV value by $500 every month. I think I will keep doing this until it’s at a rather low amount or off completely.

That is a +$16,194 gain since my last net worth update for August 2024 was $762,970.
I love using Empower to track my Wealth.
Final Thoughts
Another fun month down being retired early. This month was an oddball for sure. I had a few big unusual things happen that have my Net Worth graph looking crazy. The first thing Is I started to roll over my traditional TSP to a T-IRA with Vanguard. That is what that big drop and spike is. It was about $112K being transferred. However, about $1.2K of it got sent to me as a check as it’s not taxed because It was money from a combat zone. I’m still waiting on that check and should get it in a few days and then I can send it to the Vanguard account. I also took out $3.5K from my small cash stash to pay for some legal representation on a personal matter. Anything left over at the end of the month I transferred back into the cash stash.
I’m finally starting to DCA my cash stash into the market. I had about $35K at Vanguard and $5K in my credit union MM account. I have so much cash in case I decided I wanted to upgrade the RV or my truck this last year. Well, neither happened so it’s time to start dwindling that amount down. I plan to keep that $5K at the credit union and eventually get the Vanguard amount to zero I think. If I want to upgrade I can always get a loan and pay it off faster if the APR is too high. Or simply cash flow to save for it. However, I don’t feel I am losing out on returns by having that cash at Vanguard because it’s earning around 5%. But that is still about $1,350 a year I could be earning on average if It was invested. Because as we all know the market on average has a 10% ROI.
Overall I am impressed that I still had a $16K+ increase in my portfolio. All of that is simply because I was consistent with investing for 8 years before I retired. The market is now growing my wealth stash faster than I could have when I was working full-time.
I also made a little bit from selling some of my wet shaving gear. I love wet shaving and have a good amount of money into the hobby but I had some gear I was not using enough so I am starting to sell something off that just doesn’t get enough love from me.
My Passive Income
It’s cool that I make $74,232 annually without even touching my investments. That is the equivalent of $2,449,656 million invested at a 3% SWR. If you add my investment portfolio, I could have around $115,000 a year in passive income.
Could I hustle more to make it to $150,000 in passive income a year? I could and it does sound cooler than $115,000. But I don’t see a reason to do so yet. I don’t spend anywhere near $115K a year as is. Also, I only see my investment portfolio going up as time goes on, which will create more passive income.
It does feel incredible knowing that I can spend up to $115,000 a year and never have to work at a job to do so. It’s all passive income that I get no matter what I do that year or where I live.
Those of you who have been following my Net Worth Updates can probably skip the rest of this post.
Barista and Coast FIRE group.
I have created a FIRE group for Barista and Coast FIRE people. I saw there was a gap in the community and these paths seem like the more enjoyable path. So I said, “I have to take on this passion project.”
One of my desires this year is to get and build more community! Here is the Barista and Coast FIRE group HERE.
Join us in our no-judgment FIRE group

Fitness
No gym, weights, or fancy gear for over a year! I’m slaying this fitness routine. It’s Fun, Simple, and Works. I’m gaining flexibility, strength, and endurance it’s incredible. Mind you this is with me having multiple injuries from the Marine Corps. I have learned I never needed that gym anyway.
On top of that, I have started to cultivate a Facebook Fitness group where anyone is welcome to come to join us. I set Bootcamp challenges to get everyone motivated and active.
Do you have a fitness goal for 2023?
- Get stronger
- Lose stubborn body fat
- Get a more defined six-pack
- Be more active without being judged
Join my FREE no judgment fitness FB group HERE. The goal is to build a community and help positively impact your health for FREE.

Hopefully, you enjoy these updates and it inspires you to keep going!
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