Category: Investing

Sweet Sweet Dividends

by A Purple Life, posted in Investing

It’s the end of Q1, which means it’s once again DIVIDEND SEASON! I look forward to it every 3 months because even though I know this is a distribution from the 3,000+ businesses I partially own it still feels like it’s free money that’s dropped into my account.

So how did I make out this quarter? Like a bandit if I do say so myself! I made $787.04 from my investments. That’s a 43% increase from last year! Yes my investments have increased 56%, but that’s besides the point 🙂 . Just assuming an overall 43% increase from last year’s dividends of (even though it will be more) I’ll receive $3,916.04 in dividends in 2018. Woah. That’s like 2 weeks of salary! And I’ll receive it no matter what the market does (we’re down 1% for the year at the time I write this). An extra half a month’s salary no matter what. I like the sound of that. To next quarter!

Exposure Therapy

by A Purple Life, posted in Investing
One of my favorite bloggers GoCurryCracker has a wonderful article on Exposure Therapy. He basically gives advice that is contrary to a lot of other finance bloggers who say ignore the stock market completely (which I would argue is a little impossible in our tech heavy, media heavy world). GoCurryCracker suggests that yes we should ignore it as in not change our plans based on it, but that we should also pay attention when it drops so we can see how we feel ‘losing’ money.

Continue reading “Exposure Therapy” →

2017 State of the Union

by A Purple Life, posted in Annual Accomplishments, Early Retirement, Investing, Net Worth Update

This year I had more than just monetary goals. They were:

  • Max my 401K ($18,000)
  • Max a Roth IRA ($5,500)
  • Overall invest $54,500 for a savings rate of 75%
  • Have a net worth of $200,000
  • Decrease my spending from $22,491.86 to $18,000
  • Lose 28 lbs by eating low-carb/high-fat and have a normal BMI for the first time without starving myself
  • Determine when I can retire based on my current salary and savings rate

Continue reading “2017 State of the Union” →

Dividend Season

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Investing

It’s that wonderful time of year again: Dividend Season! When I feel like free money is reigning down on me. It feels like my cash is just sitting in something boring like a bank account so I usually forget that it’s actually at work within 3,300+ businesses within the US and as a result those businesses pay me money every quarter for doing basically nothing. It feels like Christmas! This quarter I received $670.17 from my Vanguard account (which sadly doesn’t include my 401K or HSA), which is a 30% increase from the $514.02 I received last year and a 143% increase from the year before that ($275.23). And it will just keep increasing because of the miracle of compounding. AH! So exciting. The end of Q4 in December usually brings the largest dividend payouts of the year…on literal Christmas. I can’t wait to open my presents!

Retirement Inevitability

by A Purple Life, posted in Early Retirement, Finance, Investing, Net Worth Update
[The Matrix has a quote for every occasion]

An article I read this morning made me realize something: early retirement is inevitable. I currently have almost a $200,000 net worth (so close!). I could stop saving now, not touch my money and let it grow. If I did that then based on historical averages I would have enough money to retire at 43 years old. That’s 12 years before my mom and 19 years before the earliest social security payout options without me adding another penny to my accounts. I could suddenly quintuple my lifestyle, live like that for the next 15 years and still retire earlier than I could have ever imagined. That’s INSANE! I might start thinking of all the money I invest from this moment as money that’s buying back my time between 32 and 43 years of age. I’m slowly rolling back the clock. I like that visual. Even if I do nothing I will get there. And fast. Let’s do this!

Brexit 1776 and Asset Allocations

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Investing, Musings

On this 4th of July I’m reminiscing on this crazy country I live in. Despite my pessimism it’s a pretty great place to live. We do have a large amount of opportunity and diversity that slightly combats all our issues. I’m happy to live here and wouldn’t roll the dice again if given the chance. That’s one way to show someone’s true feelings 🙂 .

Continue reading “Brexit 1776 and Asset Allocations” →

401K and Roth IRA Challenge Complete!

by A Purple Life, posted in Investing

World record! I maxed my 401K and Roth IRA in 4 months. The last time I took up the max your 401K challenge it took me 6 months. Improvement! It’s crazy what two years, a cross-country move and a 52% increase in salary can do. Now to the next challenge: Pouring as much money as possible into my taxable account. Let’s do this!

Maxing 401K in 4 Months

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Investing

I seem to always inspire weird looks in my HR departments :). Apparently they see 62% contribution to 401K and think I forgot a decimal point. At my new company I’ve been asked I believe 3 times in a 2 month period if my election was correct. Yes it is :). When I started at my new company on November 15, 2016 I calculated what election percentage I needed to max my 401K by December 31 despite being funemployed for 4 months. And that was 62% so I made it happen and I maxed it (within a few hundred that the no decimal point awarded me). Continue reading “Maxing 401K in 4 Months” →