First, Create the Foundation to Build Perpetual Wealth. Now We Staycay
Inflation is stabilizing while higher prices are here to stay, my wife and I will postpone our annual year-end trip until next November. Don’t worry. We went to a Michelin-style restaurant [BACÁN] instead. It was GREAT by the way. Had to name drop.
With the 2024 U.S. elections behind us, stocks soared. November is fast becoming my favorite month. In conjunction with Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary, and my birthday (looming), it’s a lot of fun. Even if we settled on two staycations this year. I should have doubled down on Tesla stocks [$TSLA] since they shot up 40 percent, post-election results. We were able to cash out $35,000 in investment profits after reaching our $1 million portfolio goal (two years early). Much needed too. We spent nearly $10,000 in moving expenses and renovations at the in-laws.
Additionally, the Staycation downtime allowed us to set our 2025 destinations. It’s looking like Switzerland (w/Portugal), Peru (for the World Wonder), and back to Brazil for New Year 2026. Life is truly a wild ride. We will see if it can top 2022’s travel season. But let’s be real, any time we have Portugal and Brazil, it’s already peak.
When it comes to financial freedom, we invest to enjoy more of the world.
Table of Contents
At this point, what’s next?
The annual inflation rate in the United States increased by 9.1 percent in 2022 (August), however, the Federal Reserve managed to bring it under 2.5 percent. The hold is tenuous as Americans dip further into consumer debt to fuel holiday spending.
The federal rate hikes worked and now we are in the cycle for rate cuts. It’s important to remember that although inflation slowed, the new prices are here to stay. This is truly the new normal. Then we have the tariff scare going around. The world is reshaping politically and economically. As of now, the stock market is relatively happy with 2.6 percent as of October 2024.
In response to the election, the market had its best rally since October 2024.
A total value of $2 trillion in wealth for investors that held the line. The DOW, S&P 500, and Nasdaq hit Record Highs.
Continue to stay vigilant, since retail investors are fickle. One week we are riding high, the next a humbling drop. Even Bitcoin is having a resurgence.
Bitcoin climbed 100,000 (+40 percent since Q2). 2024 was another wild lesson with a blockbuster 2025 redo ahead. With the Energy and Utilities sectors lagging, it’s time for us to buy in.
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 2024. 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, 2024
Here comes the final push for the year. I’m guessing we have a solid Santa Clause rally for an extra 3 percent on market gains followed by a positive Q1 2025. The rest is up in the air.
For now, 2024 retail spending on Black Friday increased to $10.8 billion, which was a 10 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.
“Worldwide, 69% of all Black Friday purchases came from mobile devices, up from 68% in 2023,” reported software company Salesforce.
This is the time to pump the breaks. The rules of the financial game are the same. Decrease your spending so you don’t fall victim to going with the crowd. Our household spent $40 on Black Friday this year. That’s just because I needed some slacks for the fancy dinner. At some point in your 30s, you will have everything you need. And you save 100 percent on the sale when you don’t frivolously buy.
With savings going down and household debt going up, I expect some households to fill the squeeze by mid-year 2025. This game can’t go on forever. The S&P 500 should close at 6,300 for the year and most households will feel the pain intermittently in 2025 with a pullback in 2026.
5-Year Look Back – Over $1M since November 2019
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 checking account. I now have $7,500.
This was a funnier statement when we had $185 but true nonetheless. 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.
I recommend the Net/Max Financial plan since it incorporates Debt payoff + Investing by QTR. Year to date, we paid down over $102,664 in credit card expenses and invested $65,571. It’s the best of both worlds while reducing our tax liability. On top of that, I just got approved for my VA disability benefits. Going to the Marines was one of my best chess moves.
Here’s the Quick Summary:
What Happens Next!
We are up 3.11 percent for November from our investments with an overall win of 2.59 percent. A cash value add of $42,065. That’s a lot of money. We’ve long since recouped our losses from 2022. Overall, we are trending toward a +$540k net worth increase for FY2024.
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 toward our new home, expenses were piling up. We are making adjustments and it’s always costly. In total, we spend almost $7,750 on housing costs including the two mortgages and HOAs. Our food cost hovers around $1,000 (with groceries at $786.26). Subscription renewals came up like the iFit (Bike) for $640. Shopping settled near $500. Money was being thrown out of the window. All this while our income was cut down by $20,000 annually so far from the move. I say so far since my income cut will likely be $30,000-$40,000.
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. We gave blood and received 8 movie tickets. And we would like to return to Bacan to try a few of the standard dishes.
Our big YTD investment goal of $100k was reduced to $70k. However, we did hit our $1,000,000 investment portfolio goal while our YTD total debt repayments were $112.5k.
We took no prisoners in 2024 (Hard but doable). Now on to health challenges, balance, and resets. Trending toward $2 million net worth by April 2025 and over $3 million by election 2028.
What is the Next Step for Us?
Beyond that here are our overarching goals to close 2024 and rebalance 2025:
- Sell low-performing stocks by December 2024 to increase cash balance,
- Pay off credit card debts to start fresh for the new year,
- Balancing $100k investment contribution and home renovation goals in 2025,
- Get to $100,000 in the primary M1 Finance focusing on Growth while generating at least $5,000 in dividend income in 2025.
- 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 April 2025.
- 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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