National Parks & July 2021 Financial Results

Today we’re sharing our July 2021 financial results, including all the details of this month’s spending, passive income, savings rate, investments, and changes in net worth for your voyeuristic pleasure.

Even though the temperatures are still well above 100 degrees, we’re (thankfully) coming to the end of summer. School is starting for our little one, which means that she will finally get some much needed interaction with other kids, and I’ll get to experience what early retirement is really like for the first time!

The highlight of this month was Mr. RFL’s and my annual kid-free vacation. Thanks to some brave babysitting by the grandparents, we were able to get away to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon national parks for some much needed solitude, hiking, and natural beauty. It was awesome! I’ll write a post sharing our itinerary and costs for the trip in the near future, so stay tuned.

In case you missed it, I shared our mid-year update on the blog recently which included updates on our budget, investments, and goals for the first 6 months of the year. July was another solid month, with financial results that continue to bring us closer to our 2021 goals.

Why share the details of our spending and finances?

Because I’m nosey and love reading about other people’s spending habits and net worth. Maybe you do, too.

Everyone’s financial situation is unique, and personal finance is personal. However, I do believe there is value in sharing information and providing context.

We’ve been motivated by people in the FI community who’ve happily embraced simpler lives. Seeing others succeed gave us the confidence to begin our own journey to financial independence and a lifestyle we believe will be healthier, happier, and more fulfilling. I’m just trying to pay it forward.

If you’re looking for the frugalist of the frugal, you won’t find that here. Life is short and we have no problem splurging on things that make us happy. Although we spend freely in these value areas, we’re trying to ruthlessly cut back everywhere else.

Sharing our finances each month helps us stay accountable.

Other information useful in reading our July financial results

Did we just buy a money pit?

We took a risk and bought a complete fixer upper in late 2018… with a toddler. When we moved across the country for Mr. RFL’s job, we found housing costs much higher than we were used to. So, when we found a great deal on a fixer upper, we decided to go for it.

We’ve been working on projects ever since, trying to do as much as we can ourselves to learn some new skills and save money. Since the costs of a whole home renovation are significant and non-recurring, we don’t include them in our monthly expense budget. However, we do share renovation costs each month for full transparency.  

How we define an “expense”

Outside of renovation costs, the table below shows all expenses for the month. Principal payments on debt are not included. As a former accountant, I don’t view principal payments as “expenses,” since they directly reduce debt and increase net worth. We don’t anticipate having any debt in retirement. 

JULY 2021 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Net Worth

We calculate net worth by subtracting debt & other liabilities from total assets. Total assets include cash, investments, home equity, and an immaterial amount of other assets.

Our net worth is up 1.4% this month due a minor dip in the market (which I definitely bought), that mostly recovered by the end of July. We’re up 19.0% year-to-date.

The further we get on the journey, the more our money works for us. Our net worth has grown by 30% in the past year and 85% over the past 3 years.

Investments

Our Financial Independence portfolio, which consists of cash and investments, excluding our renovation SINK fund and daughter’s 529 Plan, is up by 24.5% year-to-date.

We invested $9,889 this month; however, a small portion of this money came from existing cash. The net addition to our Financial Independence (“FI”) portfolio during the month was $7,992. We finished the month with a balance of $871,487…or 87.4% of our FIRE goal.

Debt

We ended the month with $202,000 in debt, the majority of which relates to our mortgage.

For the most part, we no longer make additional principal payments to our mortgage during the year. We shifted our priorities to investing excess cash once we got the mortgage balance below $200,000 and refinanced to a lower rate.

The remaining debt is for a small project loan (0% rate), and my student loans (0.75% rate). We only pay the minimums on these balances since the rates are so low.

Savings Rate

Our after-tax savings rate was 66.5% for the month, right on budget.

JULY FINANCIAL RESULTS: MONTHLY SPENDING

Ok, full disclosure time! The table below shows our expenses for the month, along with some additional thoughts (or excuses).

_{*Does not include monthly spending for home renovation from Reno SINK fund of $1,347, or charitable contributions made (which we don’t share publicly).}

Housing-Related – $878

Housing-related costs include mortgage interest paid, and a monthly allocation for property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues. 

Insurance – $465

This category includes our monthly premiums for auto, term life, personal liability, and health insurance.

Health insurance premiums are withheld from Mr. RFL’s paycheck, but all our other insurance plans are paid annually or biannually. We allocate an amount for auto insurance each month since the cost is high, but other insurance premiums are included here only when they’re actually paid.

Student Loan Interest – $1

I graduated with $40,000 in student loans, but only have a balance of $1,750 remaining. Because the loans carry an extremely low interest rate (0.75%), I only pay the minimum each month. Mr. RFL graduated debt-free.

Food – $712

Another month under budget in the food category, which gets us closer to our budgeted range. We’re now only $538 over budget for the year. There is hope for us yet.

In addition to several grocery runs, we also ordered take out a couple times from a local restaurant to support the small businesses in our neighborhood (and because the food is delicious). We were able to stack a 20% bonus on gift cards with a 20% discount promotion to reduce the cost.

We did some eating out on our vacation as well, but that food goes in the travel category.

Alcohol – $73

Another low spend month on alcohol, with just one small stock up during a sale. We’re still well below budget in this category, despite Mr. RFL’s doubts at the start of the year when we set the budget. Additionally, we still have a lot of “special occasion” bottles from our previous wine club memberships.

Household Consumables – $91

This category includes most of the non-food consumables used in our household, such as toilet paper, shampoo, skincare, laundry detergent, cleaning products, batteries, etc.

About half of this month’s spend was for toilet paper. With COVID cases on the rise, I do not want to be short on this commodity. The rest of our spending was for some Costco-sized foil and cleaning supplies.

Utilities (incl. internet) – $270

This includes electric, water, gas, security, and internet.

It’s hot here and our electric bill showed it this month. Though we have learned how to save money on our summer cooling bills, which keeps our bills lower than most people in our area.

Additionally, the promotional rate on our internet bill ended last month, and as a result the rate skyrocketed from $42 to $67 per month. Mr. RFL promptly gave the cable company a call and secured a lower internet rate for another 24 months.

Mobile phone – $44

This month we’re finally beginning to see the savings from my switch to Verizon’s prepaid plan. Next month, the bill will go down another $5, plus I’ll get to make use of the $40 credit Verizon added to my account for the “third month free” promotion. This isn’t an affiliate link; I’m just pretty happy with the switch thus far.  

Home maintenance – $97

We paid for our bi-monthly pest treatment this month, plus a few other small items.

Medical – $118

Received the bill for my annual skin cancer check. Apparently, this is not considered a preventative visit. Good to know for next year when I try to find a doctor who will actually spend more than 30 seconds scanning me.

Entertainment – $13

This category is for television, streaming music, books, games, concerts, and happy hours. We’re down to just Hulu & Spotify for paid streaming, though we have a prepaid Disney+ subscription and I got Apple+ free for a year with my recent iPhone.

Travel – $943

We finally got back out on the road again for a 5-day road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park! Even better, we got to enjoy it kid-free, while Little A enjoyed some quality time with Grandma & Grandpa. 

Stay tuned for a future blog post containing the details and cost breakout of our trip.

Child Activities & Other purchases – $147

We paid $88 in monthly dues for swim lessons. We also picked up a cute new thermos from Amazon, along with some other required back-to-school supplies. I understand requiring parents to supply things in the public schools, but was surprised by how much we were required to buy for Pre-K when we’re paying tuition of almost $700/month.

Other Shopping – $164

This month we bought some solar string lights from Costco for our backyard renovation.

I also purchased some glass milk bottles from Amazon for my homemaking hobby. If you’ve never made your own almond milk before, you should give it a try. It’s super easy, cheaper than store bought, and strangely satisfying to “milk” them using these nut milk bags.

We also got a like-new couch for our bonus room from a family member. All for the low, low price of FREE! We did rent a truck to pick it up, but that only cost $66 and a couple hours of time. I would have spent more time just researching options if we were to buy one new.

JULY FINANCIAL RESULTS: OTHER INCOME

While the majority of our income comes from W-2 wages and related employee benefits (i.e. 401k match), we continue to build on our passive and other income streams. The total non-employer related income either earned or gifted to us this month was $690.

Interest

We earned $94 in interest this month, primarily from our high-yield savings account and interest earned on Mr. RFL’s deferred compensation investments.

Dividends

After receiving $1,783 in dividends during June, seeing only $294 roll in during the month of July is a bit of a letdown. But that’s the nature of dividends. We’ll have a couple slow months before this income picks up again in September.

Reselling

We’re continuing to declutter and sell our unwanted clothes and baby gear on the secondhand market. I was inspired by a challenge on Instagram to declutter 100 items this month. We’ll sell maybe 25% of the items I decluttered, while the rest were donated to neighbors, our local library, or Goodwill.

It was a pretty slow month for resale. I only sold a couple items during the month on Poshmark for a net reselling commission of $45.

If you join Poshmark using my referral link above or the promo code “RFL2024”, you’ll receive $10 off your first order.

Cash Back Rewards

We earned $157 in cash back rewards this month, primarily from our credit cards. We charge everything we can on our cards to maximize cash back, but always pay the full balance off each month.

There you have it. A transparent look at our July 2021 financial results.

How did your July go?

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