How to Work Smarter with a Financial Independence Plan
Hey, TNFG fan and newcomer; time to learn to work smarter, not harder.
Hope you are having a wonderful day. I know that budgeting and net worth tracking isn’t the norm. Being normal leads to being broke. In contrast, you were not born unique only to die a copy.
Be different
2020 was a year that we will not soon forget. Although we retreated into our homes, I would hope that there were lessons learned. They will serve us well going forward like meal prepping and quality time. Got to ensure that the home is a functional dual-purpose space.
Table of Contents
Our 2020 Net Worth Summary Overview
*Although the numbers get a bit wonky as final transactions are reported. 91.36% is a huge jump in value. Over $215,000 in real value was earned in one year. As you can see it’s not all investments nor debt payments (of which we did the opposite); we are managing money at a high capacity.
We took in almost $90,000 after-tax income and spent about $72,000 in FY2020. This was an abnormal year since we hit the pandemic. Other changes to bifurcate include a $35,000 wedding and about $14,000 of home renovations. We did enjoy a couple of days in New Orleans in December.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
The wife and I technically don’t need more money. Surprising but accurate. After trying three times and failing to get the Audit manager position, I realized that I didn’t need it at all. Understanding how money works to generate more wealth than my 9-5 ever would. I’m going to work smarter and game the system my own way.
The added stress and responsibility just for a title with more work for $10,000 sounds like it would be a no-brainer but I think I’m better served using my mental energy to formulate a better plan to earn a bigger game. Growing the Neighborhood Finance Guy brand can possibly yield +$30,000 per year by 2025. That’s a better gamble.
Sometimes doors will close so that others stay open. Be flexible with your journey and why things don’t work out. Know that God wants things to work out for you in the long term.
Investing in the Long Haul
We experienced our first super drop of $50,000 in March 2020 but it’s been going hard ever since. While there is a ton of day trading and speculative trading going on via social media, I see the importance of staying the course instead of jumping ship. The 2021 tax season will wake up a bunch of people to their trading shenanigans in 2020.
A Smarter Strategy: Debt Management over Fear
Dave Ramsey would definitely disapprove. We piled on over $20,000 worth of credit card debt in four cards and we still have more home renovations to come for an additional $40,000 in 2021.
While packing credit card debt is generally a bad idea, if you can manage it well it might be a trump card. For us, we do have one card with no APR for 2021, and two others with reduced APRs. While we won’t be able to escape all the interest fees; $1,000 is the price to pay for the business.
We will be tracking the $100k Debt repayment in 13 months journey on the website so stay tuned to the tips and tricks.
2020 Month to Month Breakdown
| Ending Net Worth | Growth/Loss in Dollar Value | Growth/Loss as a Percentage | |
| January 2020 | $252,618.72 | $13,069 | 5.34% |
| Feb. 2020 | $247,360.01 | -$5,259 | -2.13% |
| March 2020 | $225,731.50 | -$21,629 | -9.58% |
| April 2020 | $258,480.81 | $32,749 | 12.67% |
| May 2020 | $275,646.11 | $17,165 | 6.23% |
| June 2020 | $295,002.28 | $19,356 | 6.56% |
| Recap Below | |||
| Mid-2020 Review Jan – Jun 2020 | $295,002.28 | $42,383.56 | 16.78% |
| July 2020 | $317,184.96 | $22,183 | 6.99% |
| August 2020 | $349,117.79 | $31,933 | 9.15% |
| September 2020 | $385,013.29 | $35,896 | 9.32% |
| October 2020 | $386,084.66 | $1,071 | 0.28% |
| November 2020 | $430,421.30 | $44,337 | 10.30% |
| *December 2020 | $453,715.95 | $23,925 | 5.13% |
*December ’20 – April ’21 – Estimated Major Renovations on Rental Property
Check Out How Alainta Starter To Work Smarter with the NetMax Financial Plan
Jump Start Your Journey
- Investing $1,500 per month in M1 Finance Brokerage focused on Growth and Dividend Income that generates at least $1,000 in passive income in 2021. 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. Offer only available until February 28, 2021, when it will revert to $10 for $10.
- Shooting for a sustained investment rate with the push for a $500,000 net worth. To help monitor your savings, cash flow, net worth, investments, and retirement. All for FREE with Personal Capital! Sign up with my link & get a $20 Amazon gift card. *Terms apply. https://pcap.rocks/lawrencegonz
- Build out Financial Literacy Workshops for 2021 – Setting new goals and pushing the community forward. Hopefully dropping Mid-February or early march. I’m tempted to start sooner but greatness takes time. Trust the process.
- 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.
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