Well everyone, it’s been a little longer than usual between posts for me, but I really focused on dedicating time to family for the holiday. As I return to writing, we can talk about how another year has come and gone – さよなら 2022, and いらしゃ〜い 2023!
This is actually one of my favorite times of the year, and not just because I get to give gifts to my friends and family (though I do love that part). It’s one of my favorite times because I get to look back on what I’ve done and what I plan to do in the coming year.
Reviewing the things we did (and didn’t) accomplish helps us stay focused on growth, even after the holidays inevitably put our goals on pause to some extent. So in the first post of the year, I’d like to cover what I’ve done and where I’m going.
2022: A Year of Focus
75 Hard
2022 kicked off with 75 Hard. I started this amazing program at the recommendation of my wife and my friend Jarrad, and man was it transformative. I actually reviewed the program in detail in my 75 Hard Review, one of the year’s most popular posts. I’d focused on goals and making the most of my time for multiple years, but 75 Hard really helped me to realize that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
Reading
I read consistently and was able to knock out around 20 books, nearly all of which were nonfiction and helped me to grow. I made the most of reading 10 pages a day (after learning to speed read this was even more manageable) and listening to audiobooks while doing house projects and yardwork. I’ll write another post about my Top 5 so you can see if any are worth your time.
Financial Growth
2022 was the first year in which I saw the market either consistently stagnant or declining since going all in on investments. I’m an advocate for buying index funds on sale (I’ve written multiple articles on investing), but the struggle is real when you go from a decade-plus long bull market to a market that’s suddenly just…stopped growing. Thankfully…
Investments
I continue to trust the process and stayed consistent all year. The stock market always goes up in the long run, so my index funds are purchased at a discount when the market is down.
My wife and I prioritized our tax-advantaged accounts first (401(k), Roth IRA, HSA) and maxed them all out. We also followed our budget and put the remaining extra money we had into index funds (VTSAX) with automatic contributions so we didn’t even feel the money coming out. Until inflation hit, that is.
Inflation Set Our Investments Back
We had to adjust our contributions once the everyday cost increases really set in. Gas rose to upwards of $5 per gallon here, food saw increases across the board, and the overall cost of living skyrocketed compared to years past.
We cut out our additional index fund contributions for the last 6 months of the year to weather this increase, which will be put back into place in 2023.
Year End Progress
Our investment portfolio still grew by around 20% YoY in 2022. Our paper net worth, however, grew much more. Real estate values went through the roof, so our rental and personal properties saw a strong increase. Always take these values with a grain of salt, though. Real estate net worth isn’t considered liquid. If you’re looking at financial independence, remember to use that 4% rule (focus on cash flow) for your calculations.
Starting a Blog
Hey, this is where you come in! In 2022 I rediscovered my passion for writing. I loved writing in junior high but hadn’t written for personal enjoyment since. After some tough situations that forced me to confront my mortality, I decided that I wanted to share my experiences and research with my family and anyone that was interested. Enter FIThinking!
Learning New Skills
I had to teach myself a lot of new skills to get the blog where I wanted it to be. Writing thankfully comes easily for me, but designing and rolling out the website was a whole different beast. I’m a perfectionist, so I was consistently revising the layout, design, and content until it was in a decent place. If you’ve been here from the start you saw how it looked at first and…well, let’s just say it’s come a long way.
I had to purchase a domain and licenses to WordPress and multiple plugins, create a logo, learn how to design in Canva (which I reviewed here), revise my writing style for a different audience, and learn about web site design and SEO. It was pretty rough, and my wife would tell you I definitely invested a lot of time getting things to a place that I liked. Thankfully spending one or two hundred hours building something doesn’t feel like work when you’re passionate about it!
Has The Blog Been Worth it?
Abso-freaking-lutely. It’s been really rewarding to put my thoughts on paper, and even more rewarding to see people actually engaging with it! In the 7 months since starting the blog, I’ve written 45 articles and 86 people have enjoyed them enough to subscribe and receive updates. I can’t tell you how incredible it feels to know that, at some level, people appreciate what I have to share and want to hear more. I even saved the email notification for the first “like” that I got, and I definitely won’t be deleting it.
Learning Japanese
My most recent project is learning Japanese. It’s daunting learning a language that doesn’t even follow the same phonetic or alphabetical structure as your own, but man has it been rewarding. I’m investing time every day to learn kanji, grammar, and vocabulary so that when I visit Japan again I’ll be able to engage with as little use of my native language as possible. Speaking of which…
2023: A Year of Growth
So what’s coming in 2023?
Japanese
Brace yourself, I’m going ham on this one. I’ve been wanting to make it back to Japan ever since I left in 2011 – I actually planned on commissioning and piloting the jets I fixed in Okinawa. Life, of course, has a way of forcing us to be flexible with our grand plans for life.
Over our holiday break my amazing wife encouraged me to just take the plunge and buy the tickets. Prices are cheap relative to what they’ve been, so I snagged the tickets and started planning.
Guys. I’m SO excited.
I’ll be departing in late February for a full 7-day trip. Rest assured, there will be many photos and posts about my experience as I explore Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hakone. Japan is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ll do my best to share that as well as I can. I’m even going to see about staying in a 旅館 (ryokan, traditional inn) with an onsen that looks up at Mount Fuji. Stay tuned.
Ryokan Image
Fitness
My primary goal is to bulk up as much as I can by autumn. Around that time I’d like to be around 175-180 lbs. I’ll begin an intense cut with a plan to do a natural bodybuilding show in November. I’m realistic and don’t expect (or plan) to win, but I do want to get in the best shape of my life in my late 30’s and do something that I never thought I could. Check out my 2022 Fitness Recap for more details.
Financial Growth
We’ll stay the course with our investments, focusing on maxing out our tax-advantaged accounts first. Any extra funds that are available after this will go right into our index funds to push that line higher toward early retirement. We’re just 8.5 short years away, and I can’t wait to ride the wave up Up UP once the market recovers and we’re rewarded for our investing consistency.
FIThinking
I’ll continue to write weekly articles on things that I find interesting. I’d also like to grow that subscriber count and expand the reach of this community, so please feel free to share any articles that you find particularly enjoyable or helpful!
Conclusion
2023 will be a very exciting year: a year of growth, learning, focusing on family, and healthy living. Let’s get to it!
Sounds like an awesome year! Wishing you a wonderful 2023.
Thanks, Erika! Wishing you a fantastic year as well.
Excited about your trip! Can wait to hear all about it this summer!!
Thanks, Brian! It’ll be adventure for sure.