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About Me:

Dido

Former academic turned CPA/Financial Planner (CFP(r))

My philosophy
Invest wisely and for the long term. Invest in yourself and not just in the market. While sometimes you need to be frugal to save funds to invest, at other times, spending more money in the short term will yield more valuable long-term results. Think about major decisions, THEN make saving for them automatic. Creating good financial habits and systems is key to success. The goal is not to die with the most money, but to live a full, meaningful, and satisfying life!

Goals for 2024
Word of the year = Simplify and key areas of focus = health, wealth, and systems, habits, & routines.

1. Health: Maintain/improve on health gains from 2021-2023. 150-300 "zone minutes" per week. Keep up the running and run the Turkey Trot next November in under an hour. Add in "micro workout" resistance training weekdays. Take kayaking lessons over the summer and possibly try stand-up paddle boarding.

2. Wealth: Continue to save, and to pay down total debt to 60k by January 2025.

3. Systems, habits, and routines: Improve workflow to get tasks completed earlier. At home, add some time weekly and monthly to maintain my filing system, and bring in some professional help to declutter the guest room.

Home Improvement Projects for the next several years..not sure about order
2018: landscaping (some)
2019: decluttering (some); main roof coated (10-year warrenty)
2020: replaced front & rear porch roofs
2021: replaced water heater; washing machine, A/C, bed; plumbing upgrades; decluttering;
2022: nada
2023: replaced refrigerator
2024: decluttering; possibly replace oven and dryer, but first take care of hopefully minor electrical and plumbing issues.

2024-28: replace dryer & oven (last of the original appliances that came with the house in 2005); external painting; front steps; door/window updates; update kitchen & bath; replace current car

2029-2031: consider selling & moving to a home more suitable for retirement.

Looking at Spending Compared with US Averages

July 31st, 2006 at 05:13 pm

Compared to US Averages (info from BLS, based on CPI)

US averages: 40% on housing & utilities, 18% on transportation, 16% on food & drink, 6% each on medical care, recretion, education & communication, & other, 4% on clothing.

Mine: 30% on housing & utilities, 13% on transportation, 18% on food & drink, 5% on medical, 3% on recreation, 6% on education & communication, 1% on clothing, and 24% on other (my biggest "other" categories are pet expenses and unreimbursed business expenses, which are books and films I use in teaching).

Barely present in mine in the current year (but to change with the resumption of paychecks in September) and absent in the US averages are SAVINGS (where the U.S. average is now in negative territory...can you believe that on average, people now spend more than they earn? Not just the occasional spendthrift, but on average!!!!

Posted in Cost of Living | 1 Comments »

1 Responses to “Looking at Spending Compared with US Averages”

Bookie Says:
August 1st, 2006 at 01:53 am 1154397222
1154397222

The savings rate statistics are disturbing, particularly when seen in view of the escalating debt load carried by the average family. As a society we have begun to cannibalize our assets to support our current living standard. That cannot continue indefinitely.

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Fiscal Fitness

On a journey to improve health and wealth!

Looking at Spending Compared with US Averages

1 Responses to “Looking at Spending Compared with US Averages”

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