We will keep this months financial update relatively short as the writing mood is just not in us at this time. As we wrap up our stay in Montana and head to South Dakota we will be doing so with heavy hearts. If you follow us in social media you know by now that we lost our travel buddy Murphy unexpectedly this month.

The loss has brought down our enthusiasm levels considerably and driving away from here without him is going to be extremely difficult. We know that time will heal our hearts and our adventure will go on. But an important and loving part of our lives for the last 13+ years will be missing as we go forward.

So long little buddy!

Setting aside our emotions for a minute and focusing on the financial update it was a a great month for the markets and our portfolio. It could have also been a surprisingly good month for our spending. However, due to these unexpected events that didn’t happen. Obviously this was not something we could control so we will just deal with it like everything else and move on.

Let’s look at the numbers……

Here is how our portfolio performed in June 2023:

(Our original portfolio goal $1.5m)

Portfolio = $1,441,295

Our Portfolio Increased By $67,454 or 4.91% From The End Of May 

Year-To-Date Our Portfolio Has Increased By $116,668 or 8.81%

Net Worth = $1,500,466

Our Net Worth Increased By $69,596 or 4.86% From The End Of May 

Year-To-Date Our Net Worth Has Increased By $120,638 or 4.86%

That’s a pretty good month right there! It’s also nice to see our net worth number climb back up to the $1.5MM mark. Hopefully our portfolio can get there again as well as that’s what really matters.

Just for prospective, we are still over $200k from our portfolio’s peak in December 2021. While we have come along way, we are not even close to where we were. We also have to keep in mind that we have been living off our investments for a couple of years now. As such, the drawdown makes the recovery harder and slower. In hindsight, our timing for moving into this lifestyle was not great. But that’s why we plan for things!

Here is how we did on our spending for June 2023:

Monthly Budget = $5,000

Total spend for June 2023 = $5,876

Over/Under Monthly Budget = -876

Over/Under Budget YTD = $1,694 

Less Prepaid Site Fees = -$18.64

Net Over/Under Budget YTD = $1,654 Over Budget 

As we said in last months financial update, we planned on being over budget for the summer months. This happens every year because the summer travel season is expensive and if you want to visit a prime location it’s going to cost you. For example, our site in Montana was double our monthly budget. Well worth it by the way!

We were actually on track to keep our expenses in check to offset the higher cost of our stay in Montana. Had tragedy not struck we would have been at or near our monthly budget amount. But, as if losing a member of the family isn’t hard enough, the bill for it afterwards is like an uppercut to the jaw.

Again, there is nothing we could do about it so there is no reason to dwell. It sucks, and it’s already difficult enough to deal with. There are times when finances are not as important as doing what’s right. This was one of those times.

Looking ahead to July, we will be spending the month in our new home state of South Dakota. We have a lot of plans and we will carry on despite the difficulty and constant reminders of what should have been.

As for the markets, they look overbought at the moment considering expectations going forward. I would normally expect a pull back in July after that run in June. But the way these markets have been who knows. We are just sticking to the plan and not really concerned with market movements right now. In fact, we haven’t had TV for almost a month now and it’s been great. I love watching the markets, but CNBC has become insufferable lately. Trees blocking our satellite reception has been a blessing!

As the year goes on we should reel in the overspend on our budget. The second half of the year always gets much cheaper for us which is why we are ok with being over budget at this point. In fact, we are actually $300 better on this years budget when compared to the same period last year. So we are right on track despite some unexpected expenses and costly RV maintenance.

Thank you as always for reading our blog!

See you on the road!

Joe

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