Firefly's Personal Finance Blog

TSP $1,532,632

IRA $449,349

Brokerage $13,383

Sub-total Investments $1,995,364

Savings $3,057

Home Equity $141,000

October 2025 Net Worth $2,139,421

September Net Worth $2,096,356

Monthly Gain/Loss $43,065

Another milestone! I recently hit $2 million net worth, but today when updating my accounts I now have $2 million in investments on top of my other assets. My total net worth is now approaching $2.2 million.

I don't know how many years I've been reading the Finance Buff, but every year around this time I start checking for their projections of next year's retirement contribution limits.

In 2026 I expect to be able to contribute:

$24,500 to my TSP

$7,500 to my IRA

$3,400 to my FSA

That is an increase of $1,600. That seems like a lot to my FSA, but I've been using every cent of my FSA with no rolloever for a few years now. I don't even expect my income to go up by that much as our raise is projected at 1%, if we're lucky enough to get that. Also, I'm sure my health & dental insurance will increase.

I'm glad that I stopped electing for the maximum life insurance as that premium starts increasing at 45. All my parents need is enough to bury me if something were to happen & my basic benefit is many times over that. I have no dependents. They can sell my house. My mom actually prefers my car to hers. My mom gets upset at the idea that I have them as my primary beneficiaries. No parents want to lose a child, but it's just practical & right that they be my beneficiaries before naming my sisters.

TSP $1,499,790

IRA $440,022

Brokerage $12,995

Subtotal of Investments $1,952,807

Savings $2,549

Home Equity $141,000

September 2025 Net Worth $2,096,356

August 2025 Net Worth $2,031,090

Monthly Loss/Gain $65,266

Today is my mom's 75th birthday. I always take the day off from work. First we went to her doctor's appointment, followed by brunch. After those two activities she was tired & ready to go home. Parkinson's really drains her energy; she tires quickly.

Last month I paid off two low balance furniture accounts & it really impacted my credit positively. I owed less than $1,000 on each, but just paying them off has my credit score solidly above 800 again. I have one more furniture account that I'm due to pay off on 3 years. I already paid the 2% fee to incur no future interest so it doesn't pay for me to pay it off early. 

Today is the end of the third quarter as well as the end of September so I'll post a net work update soon!

On Monday, my TSP balance passed the $1.5 million mark for the first time. Pretty exciting! It first reached $1 million less than 2 years ago.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but when I took $10k out of my savings to pay off my credit cards I changed my monthly contributions to replenish my savings. I was contributing $100 a month to my savings and $500 a month to my brokerage account. I reversed the contributions to build my savings back up. So now I'm contributing $500 to my savings and just $100 to my brokerage account. I am still maxing out my TSP & IRA so I am still investing a significant account monthly even with this reduction. I have no plans to go back for the foreseeable future. My car is ten years old & I'm putting significant mileage on it now. I will need to fund my next car.

TSP $1,451,175

IRA $424,517

Brokerage $12,455

Investments Sub-total $1,888,147

Savings $2,043

Home Equity $141,000

August 2025 Net Worth $2,031,190

July 2025 Net Worth $1,975,090

Monthly Gain/Loss $56,100

I passed $2 million net worth for the first time in July, but ended a little under that here because I don't count cash in checking or car value.

TSP $1,409,145

IRA $412,305

Brokerage $12,102

Sub-total Investments $1,833,552

Home Equity $140,000

Savings $1,538

July 2025 Net Worth $1,975,090

June 2025 Net Worth $1,941,066

Monthly Gain/Loss $34,024

I just wrote the blog about me approaching $2 million net worth. Yesterday I logged into my Monarch account and I had already achieved $2 million net worth. That was fast! I achieved $1 million net worth in 2020. Only 5 years later & that has doubled.  I'm really blown away, honestly. I remember being in my 20's & knowing that it was possible, but it seemed so far away. I rember thinking that I could never max out my retirement accounts. I've been doing that since 2008. I just decided to do it & then it became automatic after that. Everything that seemed so unlikely has happened. I'm very grateful. 

It was not that long ago that I reached $1 million net worth. That was only during the Codid pandemic which was 5 years ago. Wow, seems like yesterday. It's wild that I'm now looking at $2 million. I may reach it before the end of the year if the market doesn't have a downturn. I really can't believe how quickly my net worth has grown. I just want to make sure that I don't accumulate debt again, which is why I'm being very prudent right now to pay off my medical debt  & traveling from this year.

My mortgage company refunded me $3,140 in escrow surplus. Right now I've just deposited it into my checking account. I will use it to pay off all my medical bills & vacation expenses.

Investments $1,800,032

> TSP $1,382,848

> IRA $405,449

> Brokerage $11,735

Cash Savings $1,034

Home Equity $140,000

June 2025 Net Worth $1,941,066

May 2025 Net Worth $1,859,826

Monthly Gain/Loss $81,240

TSP $1,315,805

IRA $387,414

Brokerage $11,077

Investments Subtotal $1,714,296

Home Equity $140,000

Savings $5,530

May 2025 Net Worth $1,859,826

April 2025 Net Worth $1,761,972

Monthly Loss/Gain $97,854

I am depleting my savings to pay off debt this month. It makes me nervous to see the balance go so low, but debt makes me nervous as well.

I have always paid off all my debt monthly since I paid off my credit cards in 2020. Last month was the first time since then that I wasn't able to do so. I have been spending a lot and have another vacation planned next month. That will probably be my last big vacation for the year until I bounce back from all these expenses:

Italy vacation (February)

Boston vacation (March)

Surgery (April)

Auto repairs (May)

London vacation (June)

My deductible for my surgery was over $5k. I'll get some reimbursed through my tax free contributions to my FSA account, but the yearly maximum is only $3,300. I did contribute the maximum as I knew I would be spending on medical needs this year. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

TSP $1,236,104

IRA $365,510

Brokerage $9,957

Total Investments $1,611,571

Other Assets:

Home Equity $140,000

Savings $10,400

April 2025 Net Worth $1,761,971

March 2025 Net Worth $1,755,161

Monthly Loss/Gain $6,810

TSP $1,232,064

IRA $363,335

Brokerage $9,492

Savings $10,270

Home Equity $140,000

March 2025 Net Worth $1,755,161

February 2025 Net Worth $1,835,751

Monthly Loss/Gain -$80,590

TSP $1,297,598

IRA $378,475

Brokerage $9,539

Total Investments $1,685,612

Savings $10,139

Home Equity $140,000

Feb 2025 Net Worth $1,835,751

Jan 2025 Net Worth $1,866,262

Monthly Loss/Gain -$30,511

Checking $6,698

Car $11,000

My raise for the year was $1.02 per hour or $2,121.60 annually. My TSP contribution increased $500 and I'm increasing my contribution to my FSA by $700. That is $1,200 for the year before taxes. I don't see where I can contribute or save more at this time. My savings & checking account are at their lowest point and I'm hoping to build them back up, but I also have a lot of fun planned for the year. Expensive fun, too. 

I took one trip to Maryland last month when my sister had surgery. Not fun, but I did at least one fun thing while I was there - dancing! 💃🏾 

This month I'm going to Italy: Venice, Bologna, and Florence. 🇮🇹 

In March I head to Boston. 🦞 

In April I will have an elective procedure which will keep me home for only a week. 🤕

In June I head to England. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇧 

In the fall I am hoping to take a cruise to Canada. 🇨🇦 

And in between that all I hope to keep dancing & maybe travel to some dance events. 💃🏾 

First net worth for 2025! How did I fare? Pretty good! Despite the panic posts I kept seeing, I didn't pay too close attention. I ended up a significant amount for the month when the dust settled. 

TSP $1,321,757

IRA $381,285

Brokerage $9,221

Sub-total of Investments $1,712,263

Savings $14,99

Sub-total cash assets $1,727,262

House Equity $139,000

January 2025 Net Worth $1,866,262

December 2024 Net Worth $1,805,796

Monthly Gain Loss $60,465

Checking $2,065

Car $11,000

For 2024, I completed all of my goals save for the savings goal. For the last few months I had to pause savings as I was spending so much money due to the new home & move.

I did not get my eye surgery this year & I am expecting to have a surgery for my fibroids so some of my FSA money will probably go towards that. I will reassess having eye surgery. I got contacts, but I am not happy with them yet.

2024 Goals:

$23,000 TSP ✅

$6,000 TSP employer match ✅

$7,000 IRA ✅

$6,000 brokerage ✅

$12,000 savings ❌

$2,600 FSA (to fund my vision surgery) ✅

My Net Worth increased by $316,569 in 2024.

2023 Net Worth $1,489,227

2024 Net Worth $1,805,796

TSP $1,274,564

IRA $368,934

Brokerage $8,447

Investments Sub-total $1,651,945

Savings $14,851

Home Equity $139,000

December 2024 Net Worth Total $1,805,796

November 2024 Net Worth Total $1,858,899

Monthly Loss/Gain -$53,103

Other Assets:

Car $11,000

Checking $4,071

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2025! 🎇 🎆 

I am currently in Maryland as my sister had surgery yesterday, but when I get home I will post my December 2024 Net Worth entry, as well as my 2024 Year End review.

Happy New Year! 2024 was good to me, despite health challenges for myself and my mom, who spent a month as an inpatient between the hospital & rehab. I have great expectations for 2025. 

My financial goals for 2025 have not changed much. I am readjusting my budget & cash flow after building my home.

1. Max out TSP: $23,500

2. Max out Roth IRA: $7,000

3. Max out FSA: $3,300

4. Contribute $500 monthly to brokerage: $6,000

5. Begin to replenish my savings re-starting with $100 monthly contributions: $1,200

6.  Rebuild cash cushion in checking to at least $10,000.

7. Automatic contributions to church & charity. 

8. My TSP match will be $6,300.

TSP $1,319,624

IRA $379,382

Brokerage $8,194

Sub-Total Investments $1,707,200

Savings $12,699

House Equity $139,000

November Net Worth $1,858,899

October Net Worth $1,762,802

Monthly Gain/Loss $96,097

Other Assets:

Car $11,000

Checking $5,207

TSP $1,240,049

IRA $361,961

Brokerage $7,210

Investments Sub-total $1,609,220

Savings $14,882

Home Equity $138,700

October Net Worth $1,762,802

September Net Worth $1,789,495

Monthly Gain/Loss -$26,693

Car $11,000

Checking $4,939

I continue to have issues with the moving company. I submitted all pictures & documents and they took weeks to offer me a whole $75. No, thank you! I contacted a furniture repair company and paid a $125 fee to get an estimate of $3,711 to repair their damaged. Not even including the scratches on the floors.

They counter offered $125. Which just covers the fee I paid. No, thank you, again! I disputed the claim for a second time & will continue to do so until I get a reasonable offer.

My mom mentioned that I should be getting my deposit returned once I moved out of my apartment. I honestly did not remember paying a security deposit & told her I didn't pay one. Well, I unexpectedly got my deposit returned. That was $250 I was not expecting, but was happy to see.

My request to turn off (or stop) service on my move out day was not processed. Entergy says that they can't even see where I requested it. So I'm on the hook for another month. It's only $53, but I am aggravated that the property wouldn't pay for it when I sent the bill showing it was after my move out date. Poor business ethics on their part. I will certainly include that in my review of their property. Along with all the noise issues I endured for 3 years.

Last night when driving I could barely see with my headlights. I have never had this happen, but do headlights just all of a sudden stop working? I  have a very low headlight that only shows just what I'm passing over & nothing ahead. I kept hitting my brights to avoid getting in an accident because I couldn't see ahead. I would turn them off when encountering other cars. I made a service appointment to have my headlights checked out. I may still drop in today since it's just that one issue for them to look at. 

Total Investments $1,629,864

Savings $20,931

Home Equity $138,700

September 2024 Net Worth $1,789,495

August 2024 Net Worth $1,760,970

Monthly Gain/Loss $28,525

September was so very expensive: moving, new home, new furniture, a lot of home supplies & services purchased. I'm looking forward to settling into a more normal or routine schedule as far as expenses goes.

Moving is expensive, so very expensive!

The actual move cost just under $6k, then there's the new furbiture, window treatments, appliances, home supplies, etc. I love my new home & have no regrets, but I am taking a break on my cash savings in order to recoup cash flow.

Also, absolutely do not use 3 Brothers Moving & Storage. They are a moving broker & you will do so much better hiring a local company. They bring in people from out of state which is super expensive. You are paying essentially not just for your move, but for their transportation & hotel costs as well. Ridiculously overpriced & the people that they use are highly questionable. I wish that I had done more research prior to hiring them. Even their moving reviews are a scam. They pay for them!