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Category Feb-19 Comments Rent $768.75 $750 for rent, paid via Plastiq Internet $55.92 Internet is kind of expensive. Cell Phone $0.00 Nothing this month. Natural Gas $27.82 Slightly above average Electricity $24.97 Slightly below average Water $35.25 Slightly above average Groceries $162.41 Slightly above average Car Insurance $0.00 I pay every 6 months in April and October. Gasoline $63.07 Slightly below average Car Expenses $0.00 Nothing this month. Health $42....

In the Financial Independence community, there’s a lot of talk about one’s savings rate (SR). People argue about how to calculate it, how to compare it, and the best ways to improve it. But, I don’t think there’s enough attention given to one of the best consequences of having a high SR: market independence. In other words, a high savings rate reduces market risk. I’ll say that again: as your savings rate goes up, your ability to reach your financial goals in your desired timeframe depends less and less on the market’s performance....

Ah, tax season. It’s my favorite time of the year as it’s a great opportunity to assess my financial standing from the previous year, as well as plan ahead for the year ahead. Plus, it usually brings a cash infusion in the form of a tax refund! Who doesn’t like getting money, right? As I’ve progressed in my financial education, I’ve had changing views about the nature of the tax refund, and thus different behaviors as a result....

This was an interesting month.The stock markets seem to have regained their confidence this month and have rewarded investors accordingly. In January alone, the total US market returned about 8.7%, and the non-US market returned about 7.5%. Meanwhile, between October and December of last year, the total US market declined by 14.8% and the non-US market declined 12.6%. I believe that the last 4 months present a teachable moment for many novice (and/or not-so-novice) investors....

Here’s my final expense report for 2018. Highlights include a weekend trip to New York to visit family, and holiday gift shopping.After looking at my year as a whole, I decided to adjust how I account for my business spending. Previously, I had been recording all business expenses under its own category, but lumping in business income with the rest of my income. This had an effect of making my expenses look higher than they actually were, since the business expenses weren’t being negated by the income it brought it....

CategoryNov-18CommentsRent$768.75$750 for rent, paid via PlastiqInternet$55.92Internet is kind of expensive.Cell Phone$0.00Nothing this month.Natural Gas$19.59Little below average.Electricity$21.64Below average for the month.Water$35.25Slightly above averageGroceries$106.39Less this month, due to travel.Car Insurance$0.00I pay every 6 months in April and October. Gasoline$50.81Less this month, due to travel.Car Expenses$1,104.55Did a bunch of maintenance since my car recently passed 100k miles. Not too bad considering all that was done.Health$38.34Heavily subsidized, high-deductible health plans through my work. Includes health and dental....

Well, October was an interesting month.The markets panicked a bit this month, dropping about 7.4% in the US and 8.5% internationally. The headlines tell me that this was the biggest monthly drop in 7 years. But honestly, I wasn’t paying that much attention while it was happening. These things happen from time to time, and it’s part of the deal with owning stocks: higher risk in exchange for the potential of higher returns....

Another month has come and gone.This month I have tried to refocus myself towards being more productive with how I use my time and how I organize my tasks. I noticed that I go through this kind of phase about once a year, but I want to do better at holding myself accountable and forming better habits in order to reach my goals.One of the things that I noticed is that I am very good at maintaining my financial habits without too much thought or effort....

CategoryJul-18CommentsRent$768.75$750 for rent, paid via PlastiqInternet$55.92Internet is kind of expensive.Cell Phone$0.00Already paid for 1 year of service through MintSIM. = $15.51 / month!Natural Gas$19.72Little below average.Electricity$24.79Below average. I switched providers recently because they offered a low intro rate. Will cancel in a month or two when the rate changes again.Water$35.25Below averageGroceries$124.21Below average, due to work travelCar Insurance$0.00I pay every 6 months in April and October. Gasoline$95.55Above average, due to work travelCar Expenses$0....