Saturday, November 10, 2012

In time



          One of the most recent challenges i have is strong sense that i do not have time for anything, but even when i stand still it still running at ever increasing speed.
I think that the main contributing factor is number of responsibilities, non-value added things i involved in. It does clutter the life and takes away precisions moments when you could simply sit and dream.
            An analogue with personal finance is buying thing you can afford but do not need. Over the period of time their number grows and you do need to replace them. It eats up and limit the potential savings you could make.
Positive moment that i am so stressed about lack of time that i can work almost anywhere, when i have a moment to myself.
          On the other hand (to be brutally honest) i feel like i have not made any measurable progress in educating myself towards financial independence. The savings have been made do not count, as i always been pretty careful (scared do not have money). Yet again i spent  perhaps 2000 hours blogging, reading and commenting on the posts. It gave me a unique insight into personal finances but sometimes i wish i spent that time reading books and learned fundamentals about modern economy.
        What i understood that for the most of the people financial independence is a challenge  and life long process with no silver bullet. Some of us on a higher salary or (and) with no kids achieve better results but with the real returns of 3-5% on the investment  one cannot expect an early exit.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

November 2012 update (224,500 +20,100 or +9%)



It has to be highlighted that the change is for the last 3 months, rather than one.

The portfolio changes:
Accumulate additional $17,100 as part of my annual savings plan (just slightly over three months worth of savings)
The stocks went down by €1,500
Mutual funds went down by  $100
$ is weaker towards €, £ and RUB the additional gain from those currencies overweight the stock market losses.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Family budget comparison 2008 – 2012 ..after the relocation.



We had to move last year and relocated to a more expensive area.  Evidently we spent $ 16K more.

As new place of residence  and more expensive area,  I averaged our three previous 3 years of expenses, when we lived in the same environment.  

Non-inflation adjusted table:
Family budget 2012 comparison - http://www.niterainbow.com