I’m sorry for updating so late. It’s almost time to write my April report.
So right after the March state of emergency was lifted, I went back to the office to work, only to find out a couple days later that my neighboring coworker had been exposed to a virus carrier, and he later tested positive (no symptoms) a few days after that. We all promptly returned to remote work until we could all get tested. I’ll save you the suspense of waiting until next week’s report and reveal that I tested negative on April 5. I think it shows the futility of companies looking for any opportunity to get employees to return to the office before the pandemic has been solved for good. Especially as employees have demonstrated for over a year that they are able to work remotely. I’m perfectly happy to not ever have to step foot into an office again (isn’t that the whole point of this FIRE thing?), so any company that doesn’t get with the times and make full (or nearly-full) remote work the norm for all employees that are able (and willing) will have a hard time retaining talent (hint, hint).
[steps off soapbox]
Financially, the markets continued their relentless climb, with the US Schiller PE reaching 36.6 by the end of the month. The only time in history that it got this high was the dot-com bubble of the late 90s, and though I was slightly too young to have been paying attention to finance back then, I think the manic attitudes of many retail investors today are very similar to how people behaved at the time. Sure, the names might be different (E-trade -> Robinhood, Pets.com -> Tesla, etc.), but there’s a well-known saying:
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes
I hope that investors have the self-awareness to remember (or at least recognize) this situation and prepare accordingly!
Here’s my March expenses:
| Category | 03/21 | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $897.02 | Exchange rate dropped my rent below $900 for the first time |
| Internet | $50.50 | |
| Cell Phone | $31.03 | |
| Natural Gas | $30.71 | |
| Electricity | $35.45 | |
| Water | $0.00 | |
| Groceries | $515.31 | Been eating fancier lunches during work from home |
| Transport | $29.15 | |
| Health | $234.97 | Health insurance |
| Other | $7.39 | |
| Necessary | $1,831.53 | |
| Restaurants | $99.03 | |
| Entertainment | $0.00 | |
| Shopping | $0.00 | |
| Travel/Parking | $233.48 | CC annual fee + weekend in Yokohama with girlfriend |
| Gifts/Donations | $0.00 | |
| Software/Games | $0.00 | |
| Business | $0.00 | |
| Other | $0.00 | |
| Discretionary | $332.51 | |
| Total Expenses | $2,164.04 | |
| Gross Income | $5,512.72 | Paycheck + 1st quarter dividends |
| Taxes | -$801.98 | 3rd US stimulus check! Thanks, Biden! |
| Net Income | $6,314.70 | |
| Savings | $4,150.66 | |
| Savings Rate | 65.73% | |
| Net Worth | $399,477.34 | So close! |
Projected time to FI (assuming 6% growth and 4% withdrawal rate): 6 years, 2 months.