How Do We Make Our Annual Vacation Affordable? We Started with a Financial Plan.
Finally turning the corner to close out the year. Inflation is stabilizing somewhat; however, these higher prices are here to stay. After two work transitions, my wife and I are finally settling into an extended stay in Washington, DC. It’s far from the worst thing that could happen, so we are grateful that you aren’t counted among the millions of people who were laid off in 2025. Total transition expenses hit around $7,500.
These changes caused us to postpone the trip to Peru again, but we were able to lock in Switzerland. Don’t worry, Peru is still on the list for a later date. That’s the nature of plans. You have to stay flexible and adjust as necessary.
Next up, another end-of-the-year trip to Brazil. This time, we aren’t jumping off a mountain, fortunately. Having my legs dangling mid-air at the whims of gravity and a zephyr, yeah, I can pass on that one. We will be hiking. Hooray for pain and suffering for travel pictures.
With the 2024 U.S. elections far behind us, stocks struggle through the tariff wars and AI bubble fears. October ended well, but November took the wind out of our sails. November is still a great month since it forces people to sit down. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Additionally, we have $40,000 cash on hand for stock purchases. Not a bad way to wrap up the year.
When it comes to financial freedom, once you build the foundational elements, the world is your oyster.
Table of Contents
At this point, what’s next?
Core inflation rate watched by Fed hit 2.8%, delayed September data shows, lower than expected. While we are far from the 9.1% (2022), the Federal Reserve will have to adjust and settle for 3.0% as the new going inflation rate.
Americans continue to dip further into consumer debt to fuel holiday spending. A record 203 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. More than $44 billion was spent online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, up about 8% from last year, data from Adobe Analytics showed.
The Federal Reserve is eyeing the next rate cut for December 11, 2025. However, it’s important to remember that although inflation slowed, the new prices are here to stay. This is the new normal, aka the global reversion to the mean. As a person who travels, I can tell you that prices are up globally. The world is reshaping politically and economically. As of now, I’d be happy to close out the year with a 7,000 S&P 500 new record high.
In response to the election, the market had its best rally since October 2024. Followed by its worst drop in April 2025, and then another high in October 2025. It has been a roller coaster of wealth.
No matter how it goes, the longer you hold onto quality stocks, the higher your probability of success. If the risk is too high for your taste, you can always invest in an Index ETF that tracks either the DOW, S&P 500, or Nasdaq.
It pays to continue to stay vigilant. There is always a new favorite stock for the month. Google (+13.9%) proved that it can even unseat Nvidia (-10%) as the bell of the market in November. Retail investors are fickle. One week we are riding high, the next a humbling drop. Even Bitcoin tumbled to a negative 4% year-to-date.
With the Consumer Staples and Real Estate sectors lagging, it’s time for us to buy in and reshuffle some profits.
Just in case you are new to TNFG?
If you are new, this article is part of the Net Worth series. In this post, I’ll showcase the TNFG monthly Net Worth Breakdown for November 2025. We are extremely transparent, so we share the Highs and the Lows. Additionally, we drop financial gems in hopes that you can model. The goal is to encourage you to take action.
Too often on social media, people portray their valuation of being wealthy. Instead, I ask that you mind your time. It’s our only true depleting resource. You can either invest to save your taxes and increase your wealth, or you can drop as little as $100 per week for 40 years in $VOO and retire with as much as $1.8 Million.
The choice is yours. Not doing anything is way more expensive.
TNFG Wealth as of November 30, 2025
Here comes the final push for the year. I’m guessing we have a solid Santa Claus rally for an extra 3 percent on market gains, followed by a positive Q1 2026. The rest is up in the air.
For now, 2025 retail spending on Black Friday increased to $11.8 billion, which was a 9 percent increase from the previous year. This was driven by a new demand for sales and impulse purchases. US consumers had grown more optimistic about inflation in November.
This is the time to pump your financial brakes. Always remember, while others are spending recklessly, it’s time to slow TF down. The rules of the financial game are the same. Decrease your spending so you don’t fall victim to going with the crowd. At some point in your 30s, you should realize that you have everything you need. Another easy lesson is that you save 100 percent on the sale when you don’t frivolously buy.
With savings decreasing and household debt increasing, I expect some households will scale out of the middle class entirely by 2030. This consumerism game can’t go on forever. The S&P 500 is expected to close at 7,000 for the year, followed by an exuberant +20% for 2026. Invest more on the front end so that your money can grow for you on the back end.
5-Year Look Back – Over $1M since November 2020
Sometimes it’s better to look at this data over the long term during low-performing months. It’s an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come. When I met my wife, I had less than $150 in my savings account. I now have $1,250. Funny but true. However, our net worth has gone over $1.5M since we got married in November 2020.
While social media is filled with sad stories about why income is meeting expectations, it’s likely to make your expectations meet your income. We started where we were and adjusted as needed. While we just celebrated another year of marriage, I know a few millennial couples who have barely lasted 1 year married. This is going to complicate the future. The US financial structure was based on married couples owning their home and/or their kids taking care of them. At this rate, too many singles aren’t aware of how much this will impact their day-to-day.
I recommend the Net/Max Financial plan since it incorporates Debt payoff + Investing by QTR. Year to date, we paid down over $70k in credit card expenses and invested $63k. It’s the best of both worlds while reducing our tax liability. On top of that, my VA disability benefits came in clutch during the recent government furlough, proving that going to the Marines was one of my best chess moves.
Here’s the Quick Summary:
What Happens Next!
We are down 1.8 percent for November from our investments, with an overall loss of 0.83 percent. A cash value add of $17,073. We win some, and we lose some. Overall, we are trending toward a+$434k net worth increase for FY2025.
No matter if the year is smooth or not, the net max financial plan holds firm.
What Did Our November Expenses Look Like?
Our home improvement or moving fees lead the way
As we moved back to the north due to the return to office order, expenses stabilized. We made adjustments, but it was costly. Happy we unceremoniously cut the Peru trip. The lack of PTO from Mrs. TNFG tends to slow us down. We are still grateful that we have our jobs, though, so no big harm done. Most people lean too close to doom and gloom.
In total, we’ve spent almost $22,500 on housing costs, including the two mortgages and HOAs. Our food costs hover around $1,000 monthly. With our auto loans draining nearly $900 a month, we will be happier cutting that off next year. Money was being thrown out of the window for travel (at nearly $30k).
Death by a thousand financial cuts?
Most people’s finances perish due to a lack of budget or awareness of what they are spending. I do miss the layout for Mint.com. The platform is being integrated with Intuit’s more famous siblings, Credit Karma and TurboTax. Now, we speak of it as a myth or legend.
New Xmas and no gifts
At this point, my wife and I decided on a quieter Christmas season. No gifts are necessary at this point, just quality time with the family. I gave blood and received 4 movie tickets. Next year, I’ll hit the milestone of 2 gallons of blood donated. Got to work on my iron level.
Our big YTD investment goal of $100k was reduced to $70k. However, we did hit our $1,250,000 investment portfolio goal while our YTD total debt repayments were $70k.
2025 took no prisoners. Now on to health challenges, balance, and resets. Trending toward $3.25 million net worth by November 2028.
What is the Next Step for Us?
Beyond that, here are our overarching goals to close 2025 and scale 2026:
- Sell high-performing stocks by December 2025 to increase cash balance and take profits,
- Pay off credit card debts to start fresh for the new year.
- Balancing $100k investment contribution and home renovation goals in 2027,
- Get to $100,000 in the primary M1 Finance, focusing on Growth while generating at least $5,000 in dividend income in 2026.
- Check out the portfolio. If you like the platform and want to start investing, put in a $100 referral if you need it (Limited Time) – https://m1.finance/SYdqDJ2SyADC.
- Shooting for a sustained investment rate with the push for $2 Million Net Worth by September 2026.
- To help monitor your savings, cash flow, net worth, investments, retirement, and more FREE with Personal Capital! Sign up with my link & get a $20 Amazon gift card. *Terms apply. https://pcap.rocks/lawrencegonz
- Work on the Financial Griot Podcast content with my co-hosts to enrich the lives of our listeners. The wealth-building community is growing,
- Travel 3x International and 3x Domestic, and
- Last but not least, HEALTH is wealth. I need to lose weight.
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