Not too much to write about this month. Tokyo’s state of emergency was extended by 1 month, so more work from home for me. New virus cases continue to fall, but since the vaccine has only just started rolling out (only for medical workers at this time), it will probably be at least another 5 or 6 months until things can go back to normal in Japan.
Financially, the markets mostly continued to climb, with some volatility during the last week of February. Hopefully investors are starting to realize that a lot of the attention-grabbing names have been bid up to ridiculous levels and that they should realize their gains before the bubble pops. Although it might be a little painful in the short term, I think it’s healthier in the long term if markets don’t get too irrationally exhuberant, especially during an economic recovery period. Reasonably-priced shares allow people to gradually enter the market and still expect reasonable future gains from their investment. If you buy shares at too high a price, it may take decades before you actually start to see gains, even if the underlying companies are solid. As Buffett once said:
“For the investor, a too-high purchase price for the stock of an excellent company can undo the effects of a subsequent decade of favorable business developments.”
Here’s my February expenses:
| Category | 02/21 | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $932.12 | |
| Internet | $52.33 | |
| Cell Phone | $31.34 | |
| Natural Gas | $27.95 | |
| Electricity | $54.40 | |
| Water | $36.17 | |
| Groceries | $458.79 | |
| Transport | $12.71 | Didn’t go out much due to work from home |
| Health | $231.59 | Health insurance |
| Other | $6.40 | |
| Necessary | $1,843.79 | |
| Restaurants | $93.81 | |
| Entertainment | $0.00 | |
| Shopping | $38.45 | |
| Travel/Parking | $124.00 | Annual fees for hotel credit cards. Hope to be able to use my free nights this year! |
| Gifts/Donations | $14.55 | |
| Software/Games | $0.00 | |
| Business | $0.00 | |
| Other | $0.00 | |
| Discretionary | $270.81 | |
| Total Expenses | $2,114.60 | |
| Gross Income | $5,210.95 | Paycheck + interest payment from CD I opened last year |
| Taxes | $621.42 | |
| Net Income | $4,589.53 | |
| Savings | $2,474.92 | |
| Savings Rate | 53.93% | |
| Net Worth | $390,151.06 | I briefly exceeded $400k, but dropped with the market in final week of Feb. |
Projected time to FI (assuming 6% growth and 4% withdrawal rate): 6 years, 9 months.