Hello, again.
I have officially moved back home after 13 months. Things were a little stressy in December and January, but I finally feel settled and refocused to continue moving through life back in this direction with my husband. I am beyond grateful things worked out– we’ve put in a lot of work, and I know that, even with that work, sometimes things don’t always work out.
We never actually split up finances during our separation. I was preparing too, thinking that things were over and there was no real hope for reconciliation. It could have been risky doing it that way (as in, he could have cashed out the accounts and left town), but we really delayed cutting that cord. In the end, it worked out to our advantage, as not a lot of things changed.
The month of January was for moving and settling back in. I have some boxes lying about, but from a family administration point of view, it felt time to realign with financial goals.
I’ll discuss my thoughts on FIRE later. I still want to incorporate some of those principles in our financial strategy again, but I don’t think that level of strictness is necessary or advisable at this time.
2024 will be a year of realignment and getting back on track. At the end of 2023, I did make full contributions to both of our Roth IRAs. We also finally logged into my husband’s 401(k) after 3 years, and found another $7,300 to add to our investment tally.
Goals for 2024
- Max out Roth IRAs
- Contribute to 401(k)s to the company match
- Fully fund HSA
- Get long-term savings to $50,000
These aren’t earth-shattering or even much different from previous years. We have some future plans for trips, purchases, and perhaps growing a family (which is where cash savings and HSA become most important).
We started our new year with a new worth of about $538,000. I’d be happy if we could round out this year at $600,000 net worth, but the markets will have to see to that. Also, we may be making a bigger purchase or two this year, so that could slow things down quite a bit. Not to mention the ridiculous inflation. I do NOT miss my government job at all, but that annual cost of living increase was nice.
More to come, I’m happy to report.
-K