Justinsomnia

At the end of every month I record the balance of our retirement and brokerage accounts in a spreadsheet.

Heartened to learn these exist, disheartened that they must.

With one notable exception, our savings strategy in 2024 was identical to the year prior: max out our pre-tax retirement plans at work, i.e., Stephanie’s 403(b) and my Individual 401(k), and max out our traditional IRAs—if allowable.

I speculated at the end of 2023 that the initial slowness in my schedule may have had less to do with the inclement weather and more with “my lack of any regular clients.

Previously…

Though I’m still internalizing the fact that I was self-employed last year, the IRS needs little convincing.

Telling people “I accidentally retired” usually gets a chuckle, but it’s actually pretty spot-on.

Judging by the cottage industry of books and videos hawking strategies for “Getting Things Done”, most people seem to be overwhelmed by how much they have to do.

I like to reflect on the financial decisions I’ve made over the past year because trying to explain them, in writing, ultimately forces me to better understand the machinery involved, and often suggests additional actions I might consider taking, now or in

This is a reminder, as much to myself as anyone else, that if you’re reading this in early November, it’s time to make the eggnog—specifically aged eggnog—so it’ll be ready in time for the holidays.

This was the “back-of-the-envelope” analysis (to which I’d previously alluded) that convinced us to buy a house in Fresno for the duration of Stephanie’s 3-year doctoral program.

At some point in early 2021, I started seeing this thumbnail on YouTube all the time.

There was a time when I couldn’t wait to start drafting these annual reports.

My alarm rang at 3:45 in the morning.

One row, highlighted red, near the bottom of the spreadsheet we use to manage the hike, has been giving us “the evil eye” since the beginning.