PC building update: I built my new computer over the first weekend of November and it’s been working great ever since then. I was able to snag a Ryzen 7 5800X on launch day, so my computer is way, way overpowered for my day-to-day use. Still, I know I would feel some amount of buyer’s remorse if I opted to buy last year’s CPU for only a slight discount (CPU prices in Japan are inflated compared to the US). I’m confident that my new PC will last me for many years, which is more than I could say for my laptop (still bitter about that). I may try to get it repaired eventually, but it’s not a top priority now that I have a fully armed and operational PC again.
In other news, it looks like the market is getting even more jubilant now that several vaccine trials have promising results. I’m doing some minor rebalancing / profit taking at this time, but I also need to go over tax rules for IRA conversions in order to decide whether it makes sense for me to convert before the end of the calendar year. Weekend research project for me, I guess.
Here’s my November expenses:
| Category | 11/20 | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $951.55 | |
| Internet | $17.60 | |
| Cell Phone | $31.49 | |
| Natural Gas | $18.23 | |
| Electricity | $33.54 | |
| Water | $0.00 | I pay every 2 months |
| Groceries | $440.29 | |
| Transport | $50.30 | My commuter pass expired partway through the month |
| Health | $179.50 | Health insurance |
| Other | $0.00 | |
| Necessary | $1,722.51 | |
| Restaurants | $149.45 | |
| Entertainment | $14.37 | Visit to Shinjuku Gyoen |
| Shopping | $1,407.28 | Components for new PC |
| Travel/Parking | $0.00 | |
| Gifts/Donations | $0.00 | |
| Software/Games | $0.00 | |
| Business | $0.00 | |
| Other | $0.00 | |
| Discretionary | $1,571.10 | More than average for the month |
| Total Expenses | $3,293.61 | More than average for the month |
| Gross Income | $3,631.38 | Salary |
| Taxes | $429.15 | |
| Net Income | $3,202.23 | |
| Savings | -$91.38 | |
| Savings Rate | -2.85% | |
| Net Worth | $366,488.22 | Post-election market rally |
Projected time to FI (assuming 6% growth and 4% withdrawal rate): 6 years, 8 months.