Check in: Net worth 1.18 M (around 760K CHF)

Interesting, how my values have changed. 

In my 20's, I thought all I needed was to have a net worth around 1.2M and I would be able to retire probably by 40. 

In my 30's, I knew I also needed a paid-off house, but thought I could still get there by saving 100k per year, and retire probably by 40. 

Now close to 40, I realize not only do I need investment accounts around 1.2M and a paid-off house; but I also won't be able to save 100k per year anymore because childcare expenses don't stop once your kid stops going to daycare (and in fact are almost equally expensive as daycare, by the hour - we pay around $1450 per month for after school care after E's kindergarten), and I now have 2 kids, which means the broader part of childcare expenses are still going to continue for about 5 years. 

At this rate, even if my investments grow, I will probably still have significant expenses (greater than retirement expenses) for the next 10 or close to 20 years, and probably need to work to make this happen. 

So now I understand why people are unable to retire until they are 55+. 

But I won't be able to survive 10 or 20 years in a job that I don't like, without a sense of purpose. 

How do I get that sense of purpose back? 

How do I stop looking at the numbers and start looking at having a wholesome life again? 

I would definitely counsel friends to work 4 days a week rather than 5 if possible, even if it means delaying retirement. 

So why is it so difficult for me to do it myself? 

Check in: net worth $1.15 M (740K CHF)

Now that I realize that net worth is relatively meaningless as a measure. I find it less necessary to keep up with these updates. 

But since the last update 3 months ago my net worth has increased by about 70k which I find incredible, which is considering that I have done nothing except just keep my money in the market, and work I guess. 

Why is net worth meaningless though? 

It doesn’t tell you about your relationship to the money. More important is where you have your money and what income you can generate. I can have it all tied up in a house and have a great deal of debt and be in a world of pain… or I can have a healthy and predictable cash flow and be happy. 

What I really need is to: 

Buy more income generating investments like stocks 

Do not buy unnecessary debt - eg buying less house 

Stay frugal or become more frugal except when it comes to education for kids 

Not much else. I have a downpayment already for a house. 

I need to adjust my measures in order not to include my primary residence in my calculations anymore. Or, just to calculate : 1) total net worth; and 2) investment portfolio which are two different things. 

My investment portfolio is currently about 540k, not counting my pension pot nor my downpayment for the primary residence. So... that's pretty good? This means I can retire, spending 40k per year, in 2031-2032 if I keep putting 40k a year into the retirement portfolio (above my spending and mortgage expenses). 

But is very early retirement what I want? Turning into a vegetable isn't really living my best life. I think I just really want a break, but I know work is extremely important for two things: 1) intellectual/social stimulation, and 2) having dental insurance for the kids!!... so I think that's something to consider. If I can hold out another 12 years or so there's also the advantage to pay for Emilia's university education, if she needs it. 

Looks like I'm in it for another decade, then. 

Dopamine and buying things

Most people get a dopamine hit when they buy something. It feels comforting to acquire something. 

I think we also get a dopamine hit when we think about something to buy. Usually my thought process goes like this: 

Think of something I am missing eg I am feeling tired and a coffee would help me feel better, or my ears are cold and I think I should buy ear muffs, or my breath is stinky and I think I should get some mints. 

Each time I think of the solution I get a little dopamine hit. But each of these things costs a lot of money and are more likely behaviourally-trained. 

But there are better, less convenience based ways of solving that problem that don’t involve the transfer of funds from me to other people to pay for the convenience. 

I have a hat at home. 

I can buy mints in bulk / I have lozenges at home. 

I can make a coffee at home or bring one with me. 

Same as financial independence. I think of the problem (financial pressure or work pressure), then I think of the solution (having a ton of money), then I feel better. 

But it doesn’t solve the convenience problem - I “pay” in lost productivity when I think about things along these lines. 

Being in control of your life involves recognising these circuits and stopping them when they are not useful, like when you are trying to save money, or when you need to be more productive and not distracted by social media. 

Money plans over next 6 months

 I am glad that our monthly childcare expenses won’t increase dramatically when I go back to work full time, because baby won’t be under 1 anymore so the daily cost goes down. So instead of $2201 for 4 days a week, per 4 weeks we will be only spending $2240, which is only a 1.2% increase. 

And for kid, there’s a chance we will stick to the current childcare plan of 1 full afternoon and three half afternoons, as I will take her to piano class (and maybe swim?), and she has a language teacher / babysitter one afternoon a week. So those costs will still run about $1000-1200 per month. 

So total fixed monthly expenses right now on childcare: 

$2500 baby care (adjusting for most months having slightly more than 4 weeks) 

$1200 after school care 

=$3700 on childcare (which we get 40% back, so cost is 2220). This is fixed for at least the next 4 years until baby is in school. But even then it will only go down by 15%. And kid’s expenses will not go down. If we get an au pair,  expenses would run about $1000/month also but we would be potentially more flexible. 

$1570 rent 

$500 transport 

$500-$1000 groceries 

=5290 total. Our take home income is around 15000 so this runs at 30% of that. It doesn’t feel like it but I guess this is the reality.

My reasons for a move would be: 

- trying to do work that is more interesting 

- potentially having more compensation 

I’m currently in a hybrid job where I can work 3-4 days a week remote and commute to the office the other 1-2 days. The workload is fine. It used to be very interesting but they brought on someone who is slightly more senior who has positioned himself between me and my former skip level and taken all the interesting work for himself. I am therefore left with pretty much the secretarial tasks (note taking) and shitty tasks (mediating between colleagues who are arguing). 

While this has reduced my workload substantially and that is great with 2 kids under 7 (I probably only work 15-20hrs per week really but get paid full time) I am worried about flatlining on my career. We also could use more money, who can’t. 

So I guess - job with no responsibilities and an annoying manager, or something where I could potentially make more but would probably have to work more. 

I guess the answer is clear - stay as long as the role stays like this, and get a certification/skill/degree in the meantime, or just spend time with the kids, and keep and develop good health habits like exercise and diet, for the majority of the next decade. I guess both should be fine and if I stay in this type of position it will at least be a wonderful financing of another programme. 

When I am 45 I guess I want to have raised 2 well adjusted kids and have a job that I can do for at least a decade longer. Maybe at that time I will do a PhD or some other degree. Pharma stuff is interesting to me and I guess I can try and position myself to go forward in this area. I guess you can never spend enough time with your family, nor spend enough time exercising. 

Can I stay in this position for another 2-4 years? Only time will tell… 

check in: net worth $1,050K ($698K)

I guess most of the growth in my income comes not from actual savings or anything important but from EXCHANGE RATE ISSUES - the growth of the Swiss franc in relation to the Canadian dollar. But it happens on both fronts between Canada and the US. 

It's crazy the differences and a little disheartening that over the last year and a half I've just barely managed to increase my Swiss net worth by 48k CHF. If you look at it in Canadian terms, though, it looks completely different - over this timeframe my net worth has increased by a pretty decent $168k CAD, and I've reached "millionaire status"; this happened back in April already, but you know my life has been pretty baby-dominated for the last 8 months. 

In terms of insights? Well, it looks like I can do better on savings, actually, although my numbers look good because of the exchange rate and because I'm measuring in Canadian dollars. I should probably keep moving cash into Canada given the current situation (which I expect to improve, given what I believe is the continued strong state of the Canadian and American economies).  

I will keep making updates. It's good to know that by end year I will have just over 700k Swiss francs almost regardless of whatever else happens. 

Baseline spending over last 3 months

Ok, here goes a total breakdown of all of my personal spending from November 2022 - Jan 2023, aka the last 3 months. 

As a parent with no time for other things I basically only spend money on two things: 

1) Groceries / Food 

2) Things for the kids including clothes, gifts for parties, etc. 

My transportation expenses are paid once per year - it's just a general subscription to the national transportation system. One-time payment of $2800 per year and I'm covered. 

All amounts in CHF. 

Spending	Nov 2022	Dec 2022	Jan 2023	Average
Total	845	1131	1202	1059
Total Food	626	776	1159	854
Total Other	219	355	43	205

Total spend: 1059 per month 

This is approximately equal to my budget, surprisingly. So I guess that's fine. But it doesn't account for vacation purchases or a few big Christmas gifts for husband, for kid, and for the broader family. 

Insights: 

1) Food spend is much higher (70%) than my anticipated 500/month. 

This does not include my many one-time expenses like vacations etc. If I do include those, the number will be even higher. So, the question is, we can try and cut down on the Food spend - less restaurants, less takeout at the train station. Or, I can budget for more and live with it as we don't really do much outside eating at all. 

2) Spending seems to be creeping up over the months. 

I'm not sure what's going on but it seems like my spending has been going up. This could be lifestyle inflation, or due to the gestational diabetes diet being more expensive (cheese, meat, almost no carbs). I can see what happens over the next few months once the diet normalizes a bit more. 

Either way, good to track this over the coming months. 

At it again... one month later :)

Well, look how long that PF ban lasted... just over a month. 

Part of it is that I just got a large infusion of $27,000 post tax (ok it's not that big, other people earn this in a normal month) and I am trying to figure out if this changes anything. Short answer, given the falling markets right now, it doesn't. 

I think around the time I hit 1m NW, I will change the way I do my accounting. 

As I started to spell out in my last post, I need to start thinking of things not just in terms of overall net worth, but in four chunks: 

1) Whether I have a primary residence paid off 

2) Whether I have enough retirement funds (separate from emergency funds) 

3) Enough emergency funds 

4) Continued savings for 2 children 

Whether I have a primary residence paid off 

This goal is going to take a long time, given I don't have a primary residence at all and have just most of a downpayment saved up. I estimate between 10-20 years. I do still believe that it is important to purchase a primary property, to help with wealth accumulation and financial security. 

This goal will probably require around $1 million in capital overall for my share (given a split with my husband). I have about $100k towards a downpayment. 

Whether I have enough retirement funds 

Given annual expenses around $40k in current terms, I will need $1.3 million at a conservative 3% withdrawal rate. I have about 500k towards this now if we count the rental apartment and pension. I should still try and put additional money into paying off the property when possible. 

Emergency funds 

Will need to cover a year's worth of living expenses, so around $40k. I currently don't have this separated from my regular accounts but have around 30k that I could immediately liquidate for living expenses. However my job is at least guaranteed till January 2024, so this is not the most essential part. 

Savings for two children

Should cover their university education expenses. If I keep working at my current job this will likely not go over $80k each (so $160k for both). I currently have $20k set aside for Kid 1 and she still has about 10 years to go, so about $6k per year into her account. 

In total, it means I should have $2.5 million minimum as net worth. It does look like I will only get there around age 55 or so barring any increase in fortune or otherwise. I will have shaved 10 years off my working life this way. 

I still have my BHAG of $20 million - but no plan to get there yet!!

ALSO - the huge point that my own finances cannot realistically be separated from that of my husband. We are a family unit now.