When is the Best Time to Invest? Might be in May.

For the second time, the month of May seems to be our investment performance rebound. While the bulk of the heavy lifting was due to the powerhouse Nvidia (+27.71%), retail traders are moving feverishly across the board to recoup losses.

After the rush rebalancing act in January and a near-stock market correction in March, the world hinges on the next interest rate cut decision and US politics. Both of which won’t be resolved until November. It’s kinda unsettling how most months fluctuate from positive and catastrophic at the same time. From an investment and general governance standpoint, and even celebrity news, the old world of 2019 is far gone.

As AI surges, just make sure that you aren’t missing the human component. Check on your friends and family. Better yet, take care of yourself. Health is a strong component of wealth. Get out of the house for some much-needed sunshine and grab some grass as they say.

As for the TNFG family, we were spending like the sun won’t shine tomorrow. With our dog with the inlaws for three months, my wife and I step out the door and spend $140 (average on date nights). It’s expensive out there. These new prices are not the old price. Global demand for similar goods and services is rising. If that wasn’t enough spending, we dropped over $2,500 on travel and gifts. At least, we ended up with a great feature on BankRate.com.

Check it out, How Black families can build generational wealth, according to experts.

If it’s not Inflation, it’s NVIDIA!!!

In market news, inflation continues to persist.

The initial projection was a turn for the better by June 2024 but we are likely in this for the long run through November 2024. US families are financially fatigued at this point. Pandemic savings have run out and debts are mounting. We are all feeling the pinch from groceries, shopping, and even casual dining. The Average American is struggling to pay an extra $6,000 in additional expenses per year.

The Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates late into the 4th quarter or even Q1 2025.

Unfortunately, nothing changes unless you change. We are in a rolling recession based on our excess lifestyle spending loop. The more we spend, the worse it will get. Layoffs are one thing, the employment recovery is quite another. There is a growing contingent of younger Americans ending up jobless. Inversely for investors, times are great. The S&P 500 is up 11% year to date. I’m still holding out for an S&P 500 closeout of 5,750 pts (+8%). The Financial Samurai did a great breakdown of the expert analysis, and we are beating it so far.

Nvidia ($NVDA) stock breached the $1,000 per share after beating expectations for its fiscal 2025 Q1. Additionally, the company announced a 10-for-1 stock split and doubled its dividends. Recently, they also announced Rubin, their next-generation AI platform for 2026. Nvidia saw its revenue climb to $26 billion from $7.2 billion in the last 12 months, while earnings per share jumped to $6.12 from $1.09. The impressive results were helped by strong data center revenue, which surged to $22.6 billion from $4.3 billion one year ago. 

Inflation, Elections, and Expensive Date Nights

Intuitive ways to stop losing future opportunities; “Learn to Spend Less.”

Treat the rest of 2024 as if you were in 2020. Invest more in Energy, Utilities, and Consumer Staples even if the Tech side is surging. Try to buy when quality companies are low.

Pull back where you can and try not to stash money in a savings account. For example, if you have your money in a savings account at the bank for 0.01% while inflation is at +3.5% for the year, it means you are losing 3.49% of your hard-earned money annually.

Try not to stand flatfooted out here while high-interest savings accounts are going for plus 5% and bonds north of 7%. There are asset classes that perform well in inflationary environments. For example, tangible assets like real estate and commodities. Others typically suck like tech, which may lead to a BUY moment.

It’s all about how you want to approach long-term investing. If you can’t invest, pay down more debt or save more money. Most people make the mistake when thinking everything will stay the same. It won’t. And about Date Nights. I feel sorry for your single folks, ie casual drinks and an entree will break you at $100 plus tip. It’s madness. Stay home and invest.

Check out our TNFG portfolio on Google Sheets, if you want to see a full break out of our portfolio.

Building Toward Our May Goals

Back to business. If you are new here, this blog post is all about TNFG’s monthly Net Worth Breakdown for May 2024. Additionally, there are always usable financial nuggets and aha moments that might help you along the way.

Strategic Changes from May and Beyond. We have one more month with a focus on paying off consumer debt before doing the $30k home renovations (starting in August). Beyond tightening the war chest, we are headed out to Canada for trip number 1. It’s my wife’s birthday month and it’s always more expensive than I anticipate. But at least, I throw in an adventure for me.

After that, it’s hyperfocused until 2025, our goal is to end the year with over $950,000 in our investment portfolio with a systematic play to pay off more debt. The new 2023 car is still very expensive. It’s costing us nearly $1,000 per month. Learned a very tough lesson about waiting until our old car breaks down to get a new one.

Here’s a quick Summary of the Net Worth So Far:

All in all +4.46% which is better than zero. The cash value grew north of $57,979. This is way beyond my expectation of $9,000 but that’s mainly due to our investments climbing back from the darkness. I also learned that for every $5 we make from our combined 9-5 jobs, our investments bring in $3 on average. This wealth ratio is pivotal.

Investing is mandatory if you want to buy back your time. For every $8 we earn, we spend $2.5. We pocket at least $5 in this equation. Wealth is simple arithmetic at this point.

Our Expenses for May 2024

I miss the way Mint.com laid out expenses but I’ll do my best to represent the information. However, the screenshots for Empower do the trick. Due to travel, we spent the least on food (in months). Our Food & Dining budget typically ranges up to $900 but we settled at $599.55.

The graduation trip was not too bad.

I separated it from the Travel categories since it was a gift for the high school graduation. In total, we came in a bit shy of $2,000.

We spent a massive $1,200 on the graduation dinner but it was AMAZING. If you are ever in Miami, go to Chica for their Dinner. It will be cheaper since we splurge for the best that night. The final AirBNB payment for Banff hit at the end of the month so that didn’t register until June 3.

Our tenants are great and opted to renew. We kept their rent at the same cost for the last 3 years. We aren’t slumlords or real estate barrons. The rental is here to park cash and provide a spot if the kids in our family decide to go to FSU. Besides, it’s one less out-of-town trip ($1,000) to turn over the rental. My cousin is headed to FSU and hopefully, we can slot her in starting August 2025-2028. I’ll likely decrease her price to the base level ($1,000 per month).

Our interest and rewards turned extremely positive. We pocketed $405.83 in interest income. Other bills were OK as well. See the images of our cash flow income vs expenses.

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1. So Where were the May wins?

In order; Debt Repayment and that’s pretty much it.

Debt Repayment in 2024 is going well. The goal for total debt repayment is $84k in 12 months. This month’s total liabilities decreased by $2,789 (1.36% improvement). The credit card debt is almost wiped out and our FICO scores are amazing. If we have extra dollars, we sneak in a few extra payments to the principal. The next phase post-2025 is to through in a dedicated +$250 per month.

We are using this time to prep for more debt. I know a lot of people are afraid of debt. For the wealthy, it’s all about cash flow. If we can make more money on our investment versus our debt’s interests, it’s a smarter play for wealth.

Bumpy road for investments but positive nonetheless.

We pulled in over $50,000 in investment growth in May.

Minus the contributions for the month, It’s a $40,000 increase. It pays to be invested in forward progress. If you need tips on how to set up a solid portfolio, read How to Build a Long-Term Investment Portfolio Earning 250%.

Cash holdings increased a little

The end-of-the-year savings goal is set at $5,000. We are currently at $2,875 but we will boost that number in December. How? Our Acid Emergency Plan. I’m telling you the net/max financial plan hasn’t failed us yet.

2. Where did it go wrong? And does it even matter?

Food, Fixed costs, and unintended expenses

As stated earlier, we can’t control food costs due to inflation, shipping costs, and global labor shortages. My wife and I had a chat about our financial blindsides.

The cost of life, things are just blowing up left and right. And we still need to do some repairs. The cars are about $1,000 per month. And our mortgages are $2,000. Our fixed costs are $3,000 per month before anything. I’m saying all this because most people don’t know how much they are spending.

And that’s worst. Make sure you are aware of your cash inflows and outflows. You want to be at least +$500 per month to be financially stable. Quadruple that and you will be a millionaire in no time.

3. What is the Next Step for Us?

Quick Banff Trip in June. Mrs. TNFG’s BDay month is in full effect and getting back to shape afterward.

Beyond that here are our overarching goals for 2024:

1. Keeping our expenses where they should be. “So stop equating happiness and social acceptance based on the money you spend.“
2. Get to $95,000 in M1 Finance focusing on Growth and Dividend Income that generates at least $4,000 in passive income in 2025. Check out the portfolio in real-time. If you like the platform and want to start investing, I have the $10 for $10 referral if you need it – https://m1.finance/SYdqDJ2SyADC.
3. Shooting for a sustained investment rate with the push for a $1 Million portfolio by March 2025. To help monitor your savings, cash flow, net worth, investments, retirement, etc. All FREE with Empower formally Personal Capital! Sign up with my link & get a $20 Amazon gift card. *Terms apply. https://pcap.rocks/lawrencegonz

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