November 2019 Update

I guess I better post November's update before we reach the end of the year and it's time to post updates for December and the year over all. I guess it's true what they say about this journey; that the middle is boring. Early on my journey, I obsessed over the numbers, compared my progress to others, and strategized about how I could maximize my net worth as fast as possible. Now that I've been doing this a couple of years, I've lost the motivation and excitement those things used to bring me. I still save aggressively, but not with the same zeal I had before. I don't care to proselytize about this lifestyle. This is part of the reason my posts are growing late, but I'm still honoring the commitment I made to make a monthly progress post along this journey. Without further ado...At the end of November, my net worth was...

$208,811

At the end of October, my net worth was $206,072; a difference of $2,739. Good but not as impressive as savings amounts I've had in the past. Most of this is due to my employer's retirement contribution plan. I didn't save much outside of this because we took a trip to Milan, Italy and I spent plenty on food and drinks. We also went to PAX Unplugged in Philly and I bought a few games in addition to eating and drinking in some of our favorite restaurants.

Quick report on Milan: it was great! I never got to leave the United States until I turned 45 (although I had a couple of opportunities; I just never took advantage of them). Luckily, my wife enjoys traveling to foreign countries (she went to college in London!) and is a great travel companion. First, we traveled to London and Ireland. Next we went to Scotland. Milan is the third trip abroad we've been on since our first together in 2017. I've already booked a trip to Madrid in December and in spring 2020, we're going back to Italy for a pilgrimage. So, back to Milan; like I said, it was great. Despite it raining the whole time, we visited the Duomo and the canal district. We ate and drank at roadside cafes and nice, fancy restaurants. My wife was targeted by two women on the metro who tried to pick her pocket. (Yeah, that's a story for another time. Luckily, they got nothing and the encounter was very brief.) Seeing the Alps in the distance to the north was majestic. And if you want to watch television in the hotel room, you're limited in English-speaking shows. I mainly watched a German station that aired a real-time cop show and then episodes of people renovating their homes.

Needless to say, the trip for three adults (me, wife, and daughter) was nearly 2k. I put it on my credit card and then paid it off to take advantage of the cash back deal. Of course, I used my credit card for my expenditures on the trip as well, which I paid off once we returned. So there was some needless spending, but I would do it all the same if given the chance. Sometimes you just gotta live.

These were the major expenses in November. Everything else was routine: rent, car maintenance, groceries, etc. So, while I didn't save a boat load of money as I have in the past, it was still a net positive month. I doubt December is going to be any more impressive with the gift-giving ahead. I'm just going to try to come up with a budget and forecast for the next month/year.

November 2019 net worth