Kategori: Monthly Updates

The Quick Takeaways

This month savings rate: 67 %

This month leverage: 100 %

Rolling savings rate since February 2016: 55 %

Total value of portfolio: 590.000 DKK (90.000 $)

Years worth of annual expenses: 7

% Change since last month: 7.2 % 

So What The F*** Happen This Month

This month has been a very ambivalent one.

The finance is doing great, my portfolio went up 5 %, and I didn’t have to many expenses this month. That is why the portfolio is up almost 8% since last month. With I think is a significant amount.

I have also changed bank. Now I have an account where I make 5 % interest on the first 50.000 DKK (7.500 $). Which is better than the 0 % I made at my other bank.

I got told by the national team coach in rowing, that they didn’t want me on the 2019 season team. Rowing has been the main focus of my life since 2009. It is tough to do something that much, and then get a message that they will not spent more time on you.

My goal for a long time has been to qualify a boat for the 2020 Olympics. And the situation I’m in now is not very good to accomplish that dream.

It is a very weird feeling something I have been doing for almost 10 years, is maybe coming to an end. And it is not even my own decision. This is not my first time experiencing some resistance in rowing. The other times I have had a similar experience, it has been like gasoline on a campfire. My motivation just went through the roof.

This is first time where I’m questioning the whole thing. I have promised myself not to make any immediate decision. I will stay fit, and show up a bit more in my own rowing club, which is also nice to see all of my old friends. But I’m starting to see for the first time in my life, that there is other things in this life besides rowing.

For the first time in 10 years I’m able to go where ever I want, whenever I want. Which is a very ambivalent feeling. I’m used to having a coach telling me when and where to show up, and suddenly I’m able to do whatever I like. I can imagine this might be the feeling whenever a person has been to jail for long time. What would seem awful to the main public (training 12 times a week or being to prison) ends up being comfortable.

And I still love to work my ass off. But the big question is do I still want to do it 12 times a week, if I can’t be a part of the national team?

The Quick Takeaways

This month savings rate: 51 %

This month leverage: 100 %

Rolling savings rate since February 2016: 55 %

Total value of portfolio: 550.000 DKK (84.000 $)

Years till I hit a 7 % SWR: 2.6 Years

% Change since last month: 1.8 %

So What The F*** Happen This Month

I think we all know this month has been a rowdy one. Stock wise. Excluding this day (where everything seems to go up) my portfolio is down 25.000 DKK (3.800 $).

I have been quiet excited about the market drop. I have taken this quote from Warren Buffett quiet serious.

Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful – Warren Buffett

All stocks has pretty much only gone up for a long time.

The Shiller PE 10 were at the second highest ever recorded.*

So I can have a hard time justifying buying stocks. And because of that I have decided to have some of portfolio in cash. Around 10 %. There is several reasons for that:

• By having some cash I can rebalance if the market should take a big dive.
• And I think it is a responsible thing to do when I leverage my investments by 50-100%. It means that I can afford the leverage. If everything tanks, I still got some cash reserves to make sure that everything is good.
• Plus I would like to have a 1-2 years of cash when/if I quit my fulltime job. And this resonates very well by having 10 % cash. So if I end up with a portfolio of 2.500.000 DKK (380.000 $) I would have around 250.000 DKK in cash. Which is equivalent to two years of my spending.

BUT!

When the market did drop this month, I could finally justify buying some stocks. And Morningstar begins to call that the general market is undervalued**

I don’t practice market timing. So I will buy whatever the market does. But I would lie to you, if I said that I didn’t feel an inner resistance when everything just goes up and up and up.  And that’s where my 10 % cash allocation feels good.

Just Bring Another 2008

I think this month would be similar to something that happen back then. We just need to experience them for 9-10 consecutive months.

But this month has just proved that my portfolio can decline 4-6 %, and still be able to make the portfolio rise. 

*http://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe/

**https://www.morningstar.com/tools/market-fair-value-graph.html

The Quick Takeaways

This month savings rate: 20 %

This month leverage: N/A

Rolling savings rate since February 2016: 56 %

Total value of portfolio: 540.000 DKK (84.000 $)

Years till I hit a 7 % SWR: 3.1 Years

% Change since last month: 3.2 %

So What The F*** Happen This Month

This month has been the third worst month according to my savings rate since I started this journey back in February 2016.

I have been away with the national rowing team for six weeks. First we were on a four-week training camp in Austria, and then we left for the world championships in Bulgaria for about two weeks.

Even though we did terrible at the world championships, I’m still grateful for the experience.

Because of the six weeks away from my day job, I ended up with almost no money this month. That is not moving me closer to my FI goal. But I do love rowing. So getting the opportunity to eat, train and rest for six weeks where I don’t have to pay for it, is even more awesome!

After my last update, I ended up buying more stocks and leveraged more than I wrote. So the comparison to last month is a bit off. In the future I will do all of my savings, borrowing and investing before I make this post. So I don’t end up doing other stuff than I what I have written here.

Due to the bad savings rate I’m not going to invest, or leverage anything this month.

I would like to have about 10 % in cash. As a buying opportunity if the market will crash (Which if think it will soon). I do not believe in market timing, and the only reason I’m not investing this month is because of the lack of my saving. It doesn’t make any sense to buy a low amount of shares, because of the fees it will cost me on the transaction.

I have invested this month though. I maxed out a tax-advantaged retirement account with 5100 DKK (800 $) with funds from my account where I borrow my money.

The money of that retirement account is not included in my networth. Because I won’t be ale to use those money until I hit the “cultural retirement age” of +65 years.

Hopefully I will have a better savings rate next month.