Posting your personal finances online for all to see is rather intimidating. The modicum of privacy the internet provides is making it easier, however there is always the fear of your private matters becoming too public and not being as successful as you had hoped to be. But, I have been reading financial blogs for years and loved seeing real numbers.
On a side note: I will say though that many/most bloggers had amazing incomes and savings rates (personal choices such as no kids, moving for jobs, etc) which almost made it seem impossible for the “average person”. I hate using the term “Average”, or aspiring to be such, so please don’t think I am putting them down. I just found it hard to relate because I had different life priorities (especially children, desiring to live near family, and initially foregoing college due to cost) which consumed more of my budget or precluded me from a large income early in my 20’s. While frustrating from the financial aspect, hopefully my smaller numbers will be easier to relate to.
So, where are we at for mid 2016? I just climbed above $46,000 in my retirement and investment accounts! Woo Hoo! May not seem like a big deal, but as of January 1st, I only had $22k in there. My goal for the year was to break $50,000 and I should bust right through that! In less than two years, I should be over $100,000! I’m excited about entering my 30’s with a much better financial outlook than just a few short years prior.
I have been using Personal Capital for just over a year now, and I love it. It makes it so simple to get excited about all the little contributions adding up week after week and month after month. Before, I would have to log into each account individually and be less excited about the seemingly small jumps. I currently have 7 different investment/retirement accounts (doesn’t include bank or credit cards) from two jobs and other personal investments. These include the standard 401(k), Roth IRA’s for the wife and I, a brokerage account, and a Prosper investment. When I have a choice, I use Vanguard due to low fees and excellent options. My current Portfolio Allocation is a little crazy because I am saving for a house down-payment in one of these accounts (hence large cash percentage) and all the different accounts make it difficult to keep an exact percentage of each category. As time goes on, I will be able to consolidate and have larger $ amounts in each account to overcome this.
I mentioned my financial plan before. Another thing I like about Personal Capital is their Retirement Planner. You input your desired retirement age, add how much you think you will need in retirement (used $45k/yr), and any other estimated expenses (e.g. kids’ college) and increases. While merely an estimate, it does use your actual investment balance and savings rate to make it more realistic. If I work until I am 65 and live an OK life in retirement, I should be good:
The problem is, I don’t want to work full-time until I am 65 years old. But, the numbers look less promising when I retire at 50 and work part-time (making $15k/yr) for the next 15 years. The main lesson or take-away here is I need to save more money each year ($25-30k minimum). The difficulty will be balancing this living well below my means with wanting to live life to the fullest. We will see how the numbers improve as Personal Capital “sees” a higher annual savings rate.
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