How We Became Half Millionaires in less than 4 Years
Table of Contents
And They Said It Couldn’t Be Done
Impossible Limits
Some may dream of the day that life improves for the best. I’m in the camp that rather be behind the wheel, making decisions for good or for bad. Life is harsh and our unique experiences can leave most people burnt out, cynical, or disillusioned.
To some people, there is no way out. To this day, I still remember every person that said it couldn’t be done. It didn’t matter the tasks, for them, they were always the victim not the champion of their stories. Like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave or even those who know within the walls of the Attack of Titan series, they are convinced, or either they willfully convinced themselves of their upper limits.
Which means there is a chance!
Not sure how I ended up different. I grew to see the world for all the pieces, not just the outcomes. There are some things that are impossible, like jumping 100 ft into the air. However, no matter how impossible might merely be improbable, like a man learning how to fly.
Of course, we didn’t magically grow wings but someone saw fit to push the boundaries to find the improbable outcome. Now we have flights around the world. And one day, we will fly to Mars. Round trip for $1M or so, plus taxes with carry-on charges like Spirit Airlines.
A Million More Opportunities
My wife and I hit the $500,000+ Net Worth in April 2021. Last January 2020, we started with around $250,000. We knew the outcome was a matter of time. To be frank, IT WAS NOT EASY. The journey was definitely hard but we made it anyways. And you will make it there too.
Wait what did we do to celebrate? Oooh Yeah: Ramen!
This article is the TNFG monthly Net Worth Breakdown for April 2021. You are in the right place to see if we can make cents out of all the nonsense when it comes to expenses and money management. Additionally, there are always usable financial nuggets and aha moments that might help you along the way.
Casting the Daily Vote for Us
The goal of sharing monthly net worth and household expenses is to disprove limiting beliefs and improve wealth mindsets; It’s not impossible to grow wealthy. You might be doing all the right things the wrong things, or you just might need to let go of doing the wrong things.
One of the ideas that you need to embrace is Casting a Daily Vote for yourself.
Die-hard political supporters, be aware that you are always better off casting a vote for yourself and your livelihood daily before worrying about whoever is in the White House, the Executive Building, or the Capitol Building. You cast this vote by having a plan of action for 1, 5, and even 10 years.
What’s the point of voting for someone else, when you don’t have a plan for yourself?
Building Real Political Capital
Take action and turn off the old television or better yet put down the mobile phone.
For every weekend until the end of the year, ask yourself what are you producing and creating vs consuming. Are you putting and birthing more into the world, or are you just consuming and wishing on taking more?
In the end, this is the key to success. There are does who want to be either known or worth knowing, you aren’t doing that by simply sitting around and waiting for the world to come to you. Think bigger and change how you limited yourself in the past. Do more than just cast a vote for someone else, cast the daily vote for yourself!
It’s OK to dream, fail and succeed.
Half-Millionaire April
We hit our monthly goal of $500,000+ as of April 16, 2021. The Rental renovations are complete and the washer/dryer was finally delivered and installed. Pictures are coming up next month since I’m traveling down there to see the end product. The next goal is a $1,000,000 Net Worth in 2 more years.
Can we make it? Only time will tell.
Breaking and Setting New Goals
Investments Wavered Yet Again but Overall Positive
To start, we took a big hit from the rental property renovations. Though the cost was anticipated, it was still a lot of money. Close to $40,000 on Kitchen and Bathrooms. Is rental investing worth the effort? At this rate, it’s costing me way more wealth but we are still pivoting into this lifestyle.
Strategy Changes:
I will definitely look into property management as of 2022 so that I’m not wasting too much time thinking about this. Additionally, since we still owe $75,000, I would like to implement a 3-yr aggressive pay-off strategy as of 2022 to the tune of $25,000.
Besides that, the year is almost half done already. Time to focus on making the back half more productive. Additionally, we will be picking up more $NIO stocks, High-dividend ETF stocks like $FDVV, Travel, and Consumer Staples. People are brewing to send us back to a booming economy. And, we are here to support their urge to spend.
Here’s the Quick Summary:
Markets and Rental Post Reno for Half Millionaires
The world is changing post-vaccine. There is a rise in mental health issues and a slide back to poverty for a lot of people. The transition will be harder by Christmas 2021. Until then, my family plans to keep our heads down and plan for the next international trip in 2022. This is what half millionaires aka half Milly folks really do.
All in all +2.85% after a massive drop. It’s better to be positive over a negative month.
Our Expenses for April 2021
Food be Expensive
Inflation is a real thing. I’m not sure why people aren’t discussing this more but food costs have been going up.
We used to spend around $475 per month on average in 2019. Now we are deep in $800 per month territory.
It’s hard to control household expenses. Too much Amazon in the shopping category.
Hit the Running Trail Again and Now the Gym
For me, more work leads to more stress eating or stress snacking. It’s not good. Time to step it right back up. Health and fitness came up due to the new running shoes.
New Washer and Dryer, and stuff
Our washer crapped out. While we were slated to replace it in September 2021, it stop functioning and forced our hand. About $2,000 later we could not be happier with the new Samsungs. Just thinking of them, makes me happy. I’m always a fan of an upgraded home.
Still on the docket, consolidating our Geico insurances so that we can take full advantage of my (Marine Corps) Veterans Discount. Got to always dig deeper for discounts. You can still live a robust life.
1. Where was the bulk of the wins?
Investments pulling the wealth equation in 2020-2024.
We continued value investing throughout that time. Total growth for the month hit $8k. If you need tips on how to set up a solid portfolio, read How to Build a Long-Term Investment Portfolio Earning 250%.
Debt Repayment in 2021 as of April 2021
The total debt repayment goal is $100k in 13 months. This month was a great push for a $4.7k improvement. While student loans are in forbearance this is the best time to work to pay off debts.
Cash holdings increased Slightly
We have to get that number back to $2,500. That’s our Acid net/max EF so we invest more than keeping money in our savings at less than 1%. The net/max financial plan hasn’t failed me yet so I’m sticking to it until 2022 when we will boost up to $5,000.
2. Where did we falter?
Food Costs
I’m going to blame it on the food costs versus the fact we likely eat too much. I really need to do vegan cleanses in May or Juice weeks.
3. What is the Next Step for Us?
Loads of travel in May. From business to family trips, the wife is incognito. I’ll be headed to Tally to take pics of the rental and maybe do some showings.
Working on e-Books or other items for the website
Better content helps however beyond the SEOs, I need to rely on making this website pay for itself. As of now, it’s just a drain on the wallet. I could have used this money to pre-order video games.
Beyond that here are our overarching goals for 2021:
- Keeping our expenses where they should be. Too many merely spend for the sake of spending. Even in the DMV, one of the most expensive regions in the US, we are able to keep our annual expenses around $40,000. This is one of the key metrics of wealth. “Stop equating happiness and social acceptance based on the money you spend.“
- Investing $1,500 per month in M1 Finance Brokerage focused on Growth and Dividend Income that generates at least $2,500 in passive income in 2022. Check out the portfolio in real time. If you like the platform and want to start investing, I have the $30 for $30 referral if you need it – https://m1.finance/SYdqDJ2SyADC.
- Shooting for a sustained investment rate with the push for a $1 Million net worth in 2 Years. To help monitor your savings, cash flow, net worth, investments, retirement, and freer with Personal Capital! Sign up with my link & get a $20 Amazon gift card. *Terms apply. https://pcap.rocks/lawrencegonz
- Work on blog consistency while adding eBooks and eCommerce. Pushing to build out for the next 3 years until we hit a $1,000,000 net worth valuation. And, toss in some side hustles!
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