May 2025 FIRE Update

Hey Everyone! Did you have a good month? May was another hectic month at the RB40 household. I felt like I was a full-time chauffeur for the family. There was an activity or an appointment almost every day. I need a vacation from retirement. Luckily, summer is coming up. I’m looking forward to having fewer things on our schedule. The weather is warming up nicely too. The sunshine is great after a long Pacific Northwest winter.

On the personal finance side, things are looking up. Our net worth increased because the stock market had a good month. Our cash flow was negative, but it improved tremendously from the previous month. I found a new tenant for our rental condo! A vacant unit was a huge drag on our cash flow. Next month should be even better.

Alright, I’ll share how I’m doing with my New Year goals. Then, I’ll go over our net worth and cash flow. Let’s go!

2025 Goals

Here is my 2025 goal spreadsheet. It’s great. Try it out if you can’t keep up with your New Year goals. The key is to review the spreadsheet monthly to track your progress. That way, you can see which goals need extra attention and work on them.

It looks like I’m on track for most of my goals.

Financial Goals

Sell Rental Condo

This was my main goal for 2025. Our tenant moved out in January. I fixed it up and listed it for sale shortly after. Unfortunately, the condo market was terrible in Portland. We only had one viewing in 4 months! I think buyers are afraid to buy right now. The economy is too uncertain. I decided to rent out the condo for now. We’ll try to sell again in 4-5 years.

Anyway, I plan to travel more and don’t want to be a landlord anymore. I’d rather invest in real estate crowdfunding. That’s much easier.

Prep duplex for sale

Along the same line, I plan to sell our duplex* after RB40Jr finishes high school in 2029. We need to move to Southern California to be closer to families. Mrs. RB40’s parents are getting older, and they need help.

*We live in one unit and rent out the other.

This year, I want to meet with our realtor and figure out what we need to fix. The first thing on the list is siding repair and exterior repainting. I’d be happy if we could get at least that much done. I plan to hire this out. These days, I try to avoid the ladder as much as possible. I would like to remodel the kitchen and bathroom as well.

Max out my Roth IRA

The Roth IRA is the best investment account you can have. You don’t have to pay tax on the gains when you withdraw. This is huge. If you start young and max out your Roth IRA every year, it’ll be a great resource in retirement.

I’ve maxed out my Roth IRA contribution for over 20 years. But that streak will end sooner or later. The reason is simple. You can only contribute to the Roth IRA with earned income. My earned income is dropping like a rock and I might not make enough this year. In 2025, the contribution limit for a Roth IRA is $8,000 if you’re 50 or older. We’ll see if I can earn enough to max it out. 

So far, I have earned only $3,275. That’s pretty sad.

Track net worth and hope for +10%

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s great to see the progress. This year, I’d like to see 10% gains. At this point, it’s all dependent on the stock market and there isn’t much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll track it and keep my fingers crossed. This is a stretch goal.

Currently, I am very pessimistic about the economy. The Tariffs are wreaking havoc on global trading. Shipping volume is down significantly and we will see higher prices very soon. The stock market was volatile in May and pushed higher. I don’t think it will last, though. Consumers are stretched thin.  

Our net worth is up 1.2% since the beginning of the year.

Health Goals

Exercise more than last year

Last year, I set a goal to exercise 3 times per week. However, I developed elbow pains and I had to scale back a bit. The result: I exercised 120 times in 2023. That wasn’t bad, but I’d like to do more this year.

I exercised 15 times in May. That was really good. I need to take a break, though. My joints feel terrible. I’ll talk to my doctor about joint pain when I go in for my annual visit.

Win claim denial

Last year, RB40Jr got a Cochlear Implant to improve his hearing. He has 50%-80% hearing in his left ear. He tried a hearing aid for a few years, but it didn’t help much. He can hear a little with his left ear, but he can’t understand speech on that side. 

Recently, the FDA approved Cochlear Implant for children. At first, I thought we could wait until RB40Jr is an adult. Then he can decide for himself. However, our audiologist said the earlier you get the implant the better. If you wait too long, the brain might not be able to adapt.

Anyway, he got the implant last year. However, the insurance denied the claim. They said Cochlear Implant is experimental and doesn’t improve overall health. This is ridiculous. The device has been used since the 80s to improve lives. I’m fighting this denial. I think health insurance companies are denying as many claims as possible to improve profits. A lot of people get too sick to fight the denials. No wonder everyone hates health insurance companies.

I worked with the hospital to file an appeal. Now, we are waiting to hear back.

Fun goals

Sell my ceramic projects

I took some ceramic classes at the community center and had a blast. My projects aren’t professional level yet, but I’ll try selling a few items this year at the community center’s art sales.

I sold about $190 worth of ceramics in the Spring Art Sale! That was incredible. I didn’t expect to sell that many pieces. The community center took a 35% commission. That’s perfectly fine. I’m glad to support them.

My latest piece – a little soy sauce jar.

More dates with the Missus

This year, I want to go out with Mrs. RB40 more often. If you’re a parent, you know how difficult this can be. Fortunately, our son is a teenager now. We can go out whenever we want. However, I need to overcome my reluctance to leave the house in the evening. We park in the street and finding a parking spot nearby is a pain at night. Ugh! I’d rather hunker down at home than go out to a restaurant.

I‘ll go on date lunches with Mrs. RB40 instead. That’s way easier. Who wants to leave home after dark?

In May, we had 2 lunch dates. We barely made it.

Happiness level > 8

I’m a naturally happy guy so this should be easy. Life has been great over the last few years.

I had a pretty good month. Life was so busy in May. That’s the key to happiness. You need to keep busy enough to avoid boredom.

Net Worth (+1.2%)

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see our progress. The power of compounding is incredible. Our investment gains far outpace our earned income last year.

Our net worth is up 1.2% since the beginning of the year. The stock market was very volatile in May. The market dropped, but it recovered. Nobody knows where it will go next because there is so much uncertainty. I adjusted our asset allocation to be more conservative and I’m ready more craziness next month.

***Important*** If you’re young, my best advice is to stay the course. Do not stop investing. You should keep investing whether the stock market is up or down. You might think stocks are too expensive, but they’ll look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you’ll achieve financial independence someday. Don’t try to time the market. If you’re retired, then you need to be more conservative and diversify.

This is a chart of our net worth from Empower. Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. I log in often to check our net worth and use their free tools. It’s a great site for DIY investors.

May 2025 FIRE Cash Flow

This FIRE cash flow chart includes my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income.

Things are looking much better now that the rental condo is occupied. Next month, we won’t have a rental loss.

May 2025 FIRE Income: $2,498

My FIRE income improved a bit in May. However, I’m transitioning into full retirement. This year will be the first year we’re drawing down our retirement savings.

Real estate crowdfunding: $563. You can read more on the RE Crowdfunding Passive Income page. Dividend Income: $1,293. Slow month with dividend. Rental Income: -$57. The rental condo was rented for half a month. Next month, the rental income is expected to be positive.     Online income: $236. This one is disappearing quickly. This year might be the last year I have online income. Odd jobs: $406. I delivered a few catering orders per week. It’s an easy gig that pays pretty well, for now. I’ll probably stop doing this side hustle in 2 year.       

Spending: $4,017

Our spending was good last month.

Housing: $1,338. This includes mortgage, utilities, furniture, repair, and maintenance. Our housing expense is low because we live in a duplex. We split many expenses with our tenant. Transportation: $388. Gas, parking, and insurance.     Entertainment: $152. This was mostly eating out.        Groceries: $524. Not too bad. Health: $14.        Kid: $818. Unfortunately, kid related expenses are increasing as RB40Jr gets older. We are making payments for his orthodontist, an international school trip, and various activities.     Personal: $304. Lego, hair cut, clothes, art supplies, etc… Travel: $332.

Retirement Savings: –$1,576

May 2025 wrap-up

May was a good month for us. Our cash flow was negative, but that’s part of our transition into full retirement. We’ll draw down our retirement savings and enjoy life while we’re relatively young and healthy. As long as we spend less than 3% of our net worth, we’ll be fine.

That’s it for May. Did you have a good month? 

Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I’m investing in commercial properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the United States. Go check them out!

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