Happy 4th of July!!!
I hope you are enjoying the holiday celebrating with family and friends.
Since we are just past half of 2016 (can you believe that?)I thought that today would be a good day to give you an update on my 2016 Financial Resolutions.
Here’s where we stand:
- Meet net worth goal — So far, I’m making progress. 2015 was a stinky year for my net worth but so far in 2016 I hit my highest net worth ever in April (thanks to the stock market). That said, I still have a lot of work to do.
- Review/manage investments — I have been reviewing my status monthly as I make plans for complete financial freedom.
- Earn extra money — Real estate earnings are lower than expected as I had some tenant/vacancy/repair issues at property #1. All seems to be under control now so I’m hopeful we will see some nice income months ahead. My P2P loans are doing better than expected though, so that’s nice. Still looking for that next income stream to supplement these two.
- Complete death file — Blog readers renamed this a disaster file. I have it planned to do in the next few months.
- Update will/estate plan — I have contacted an attorney and we are working on these.
- Review credit report — Still to be done.
- Meet giving goal — On track to meet the annual goal.
- Earn at least half bonus — Made it the first quarter and missed it second quarter, so I’m right where I planned to be.
- Network at least twice a month — Doing quite well at networking. My LinkedIn connections are now approaching 1,800.
So that’s my update. How are you doing on your plans for 2016?
That’s great discipline in developing such detailed financial goals for the year and doing a six-month check-in!
I know that my savings goal is on track because it is all automated, but I need to do a better job of developing additional concrete goals. Well done!
My dividend income goal is on track after having a few companies cut their dividend.
My side business pursuit is struggling but coming along and I hit the goal that I set in the first half of the year.
Otherwise the train continues to chug along.
-Mike
Roth IRA for both wife and me fully funded.
My goals are not as defined but definetly on track.
401k on track to max out.
Portfolio up 10% for the year so far.
BREXIT vote did not impact my portfolio negatively.
In the final stretch for my youngest son to finish college so more money will free up next year for investing.
ESI, you are doing great, working your system and closer each day. Even when you pull the trigger, the numbers will continue to change and you will surprise yourself (in the best way) at the gap between what you have planned for, and what your actual burn-rate is. The nice thing about your position is that you are prepared for any eventuality.
My own financial goals are predictable (3% NW y-o-y growth, after all expenses) and on course. I am using Naseem Taleb’s 90/10 risk-profile for investments, which he details in ‘Black Swan’.
A thought on LinkedIn. The number you have is impressive, by itself. Another metric might be, how many people can you contact for an assist? My finding on LinkedIn was that it was terrific for HR and Headhunters, as well as Sales/Marketing, to insinuate themselves into your network, and use it for their own advantage. Colleagues and contemporaries on my own career level would view me as ‘competition’, and as the ‘pyramid’ gets narrower, the incentive for helping others becomes a zero-sum game. The vast, vast, majority of users just check out people they knew from school, or view as competition. Sometimes there is actually a disincentive to actively recruit a former classmate or work colleague from the past, as that recruit might enter the organization with expectations or an agenda based on that prior relationship.
I would love to hear a real story about someone who used LinkedIn to make a genuine professional connection that resulted in a career improvement. Used to be active in the online (and IRL) professional groups, and when I posed this question to others not once did I hear about a job that materialized. LinkedIn is ‘perceived potential’, and one cannot act on ‘potential’ forever. LinkedIn is good to have a general (not detailed) profile with keywords, but one can spend almost unlimited time on what might seem to be ‘networking’ but in reality has not benefit.
There’s a post I have on my idea sheet tentatively titled “How My Network Has Helped Me”. It will include some real-life examples of the power of networking, some from LI. Maybe I’ll write a different post on how LI has helped me and can help others. 馃檪
When I made my transition a bit over a year ago, reaching out to my network both by email and through LI was vital to my quick success.
I also consider the cost/payout potential. Cost is very low, so I don’t really need much from LI to be “worth it.” In fact, the articles I find there alone more than pay me back for the time I invest.
As usual, YMMV.