Retirement, Savings, Pages, and Dog Farts

So far this year has been very busy for Leisure Freak Tommy. For this post I wanted to cover what’s going on with Retirement, Savings, Pages, and Dog Farts. I always struggle putting out there in the Inter-Web financial details of my life. But I think showing real numbers and situations is important to give a peek at how things can work when you retire early and often.

Retirement

I am still busy with my early retirement side hustle that was extended into 2015. But I am looking very much forward to returning to my early retirement #2 on May 15, 2015. Or earlier if their funding dries up.

To recap: The original gig was mid-October 2014 until end of year. It was a sweet assignment. In fact the best gig I have ever had. However the extension did not come without hiccups.

I had laid out some rationally unreasonable boundaries in order for my accepting an extension and all were in agreement. At the last-minute (12/31/14) my 2015 project and funding collapsed. Instead of rolling-me-off back into retirement I was passed to another team. A team where their Manager was less than receptive to my previously agreed upon boundaries.

It was awkward and tense but I held my ground. I would be perfectly happy to return to retirement. I don’t have to beat my head against a wall anymore doing things that I find unpleasant or invasive to my passion-driven lifestyle.

That is the beauty of being financially independent. So far things have gone well. But the extension assignment is more like what I retired from (retirement #2). That said  I am looking forward to once again leaving this type of work behind me. There have been some new experiences, awesome moments, and I have learned some new skills. So it isn’t a total drag or anything. However I will always now measure any opportunity against that sweet initial 2.5 month side hustle that brought me back here. Why do good things have to end? WHY?

Savings

Since I pretty much live off of my retirement portfolio and any income is saved. I started with an 80% 401k contribution until the end of the year. I then changed it to 50% for the 2015 extension. I am now getting a take home check for around $1500 twice a month.  It felt strange during the end of 2014 with almost all the money funneled into the 401K and getting a check for just a few bucks. The take home money in 2015 will be put to good use.

I was able to put 80% of my 2014 qualified pay checks into a 401k which ended up a little above $11K contributed tax-free.

If I finish this extension I should hit my target 401K savings of between $23K and the $24K limit ($18K+$6K age 50 makeup).

Mini Financial Report

I have saved $2500 from the pay checks for January and will also hit it for February. $500 a month has been diverted to cover a budget buster associated to our pet’s medical costs.  From the expected $7500 in paycheck cash savings I plan on fully funding my 2015 Roth with $6500 of it. This is of course if my project funding stays through to the end. Any remaining cash will be held to continue paying for pet care if still necessary.

Once all the pay checks end and 401k contributions have been deposited I will roll the 401K into a low fee IRA fund. The Roth and IRA fund decision is still to be determined. This is the benefit of living a retire early and often lifestyle. I can add to my retirement portfolio whenever I CHOOSE to work for pay. I look forward to setting up the new IRA with the total 401k rollover of $34,000+ and new Roth with $6,500. Over $40,500 added to the retirement pot from one early retirement side hustle.

Pages

I have added static pages to the Leisure Freak site. My goal was to offer to Leisure Freak site readers the information I was looking for when I was trying to reach FI. I researched a lot to boost my confidence in my early retirement decisions by obtaining the knowledge necessary to understand all of my options. I plan to actively add posts and/or new static site pages to Leisure Freak weekly.

Dog Farts

Our terminally ill pooch is hanging in there. The medication for his heart is working but the side effects are causing him reduced appetite and rotten gut issues. Hence the prevalence of aromatic insults.  The good news is he has dropped from 94 Lbs. to a more healthy 83 Lbs.

After another Dr. visit and some more tests we only had to cut back on one of his medications (split the pills) which will save money. He is picky but now eats better. Still no idea how long he will be with us. In the meantime we are managing with the budget hit, his condition, and all of us taking each day one day at a time.

In Closing

All in all things are going exactly as planned. I can’t complain about that. Well, other than our old dog but that is life. That concludes my run-down on Retirement, Savings, Pages, and Dog Farts.

Has your 2015 been going as planned?

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