With 2017 wrapping up and all of us getting ready for 2018, I decided to share an update on how I did this year. First, a quick summary of the year’s big highlights:
- Got a promotion and raise
- Lived on the west coast of the US for a few months (long enough to know that I’m jealous as heck of the weather/beach/national parks/food, and that I have absolutely no interest in contending with Bay Area traffic or housing)
- Visited 3 new states and revisited 8 other ones
- Visited the Grand Canyon and Yosemite for the first time
- Entered the 6 figure club!
- Dropped my investment fees under 1% by moving things around
Overall, a stressful but blessedly busy year. So how did I do financially?
Expense Category | % of pretax income | % of post-tax income |
---|---|---|
Taxes | 23.7% (this is prelim & will drop after I do my taxes) | NA |
IRA/401K/HSA/Brokerage | 45.9% | 60.9% |
Living Expenses | 32.1% | 42.5% |
My savings rate goal for 2017 was 60% so I’ll call this year a win at 60.9%! All of these in combination with the bull market saw me increase my net worth by ~$60K, or 45%. I’m enjoying these early years of accumulation jumps. I doubt I’ll see a 45% increase in net worth in one year very often in the future.
Looking forward, my goals for 2018 are:
- Change jobs
- Move to a lower COL city
- Increase my savings rate to 65%+ of post-tax take home
- Purchase rental property? This one is a bit ambitious, but I’m on the lookout