Goals Update

Here is a progress report on some of the goals that I created for 2015.


Financial

Since I plan on reaching FI within four years I think that it would be good to lay out at least a basic framework of how the next 35 years might look. Even the best laid plans have flaws and need adjustments from time to time. Without a basic plan, success rates diminish so it I at least needed to put the FI ball in play. I think I came up with a conservative, attainable FI plan and will tweak it from time to time. This plan is not perfect, but it's a good start. As always any suggestions or recommendations are certainly welcomed.

Here is my FI Hybrid Model.

The Lending Club plan as I mentioned last month is a no go in Texas so I will look at some other ideas to diversify my income streams. I do qualify as an accredited investor, so that may open my options to some alternative investments. I still hope that Lending Club will become available to Texas residents sometime in the near future.

18K in forward passive income and 16k in passive income received is on track. I will continue to take it easy as I exhausted myself and my a lot capital last summer and fall chasing my 14.5k in forward income goal. It's too early to say, but I think my heavy investment in energy companies is going to work out pretty well. Once I make it past tax season, I will ramp up the purchases and hopefully the markets will provide some good opportunities.

Another financial goal I made some progress on last month was to improve the quality of companies I invest in going forward. I think my purchases in TD, CAT, and JNJ will help towards this goal. I plan to continue adding higher quality companies throughout this year. Also I sold my entire position in ARCP and replaced it with NOV.


Health Goals

My largest goals involve running and a lot of it. During the middle of last year, I reached a personal best of 6.2 miles or 10k. Shortly afterwards I suffered a high ankle sprain which sidelined me for two months and when I started running again in September, my right knee started to bother me. That has never happened before and while the pain disappears within a few days it comes back if I try to run over 3 miles.

Recently I decided to just keep running since the pain is more of a nuisance than an injury (so I think) and I felt my left knee starting to hurt. I'm pretty sure that this was caused my trying to compensate for my right knee. The following day both knees were really sore.

I plan on resting them a few weeks and then try a different running pattern. I am beginning to think running exclusively on the track is causing problems because of all of the turns that I have to make. This is just a hunch, but that is why I plan on running straightaways and on dreadmills in the future.

If I see no improvement with my knees, then no big deal. I will swim, bike, hike, or something else. What I won't do is do is give up on cardio as my blood pressure and lower standing heart rates are very important. Nothing can replace good health and of course that includes protecting my knees as well.

Turkey, tilapia, salmon, and a lot of green vegetables are being consumed regularly so without question my diet is improving.


Education goals

I read The Choice by Og Mandino which is about a man who gives up a great career in management for the opportunity to chase his passion for writing and spend more time with his family away from the chaos of the rate race.

Og also wrote an excellent book called The Greatest Salesman in the World which I have read many times and is an excellent book whether you are in sales or not.

I also read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham which is fantastic as well, but it is not casual reading. Also the copy I read had somewhat annoying commentary from Jason Zweig which I mostly ignored.

I found this website called Coursera which offers free online course covering a variety of subjects from many different colleges and universities. I am currently taking a course on Microeconomics and find it very interesting. There are music courses, computer courses, physics (puke), and many others. I will definitely look into taking a few more throughout the remainder of this year.


Fun goals

Unfortunately I haven't made much progress in this category, but I have reduced my work schedule from six days a week to five and a half. Today I left at 12:00 and spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies with my wife who was sick today....no really she was sick not just playing hookie. :-)

Anyway the Horns baseball season starts in a week or so and I look forward to making the short drive from Houston to Austin to watch a weekend series soon. There is nothing like being outside watching or playing baseball in the spring.


Professional goals

Everything is going great at work and the team is kicking ass. We increased sales by 8% over last January and net profit rose by 28%. It feels great getting the year off to a good start primarily because January can be a tough month due to weather, taxes, and possibly some economic problems in Houston due to falling energy prices. I have seen no effects yet.

Overall I think I am off to a pretty good start and plan on reaching a few more goals by the end of this month.

Weekly Run Log 10k Milestone Reached

Here are my runs for this week.

Sunday:  10k--6.25 miles  (high school track)                       
Monday:  Idle
Tuesday:  3.5 miles  (neighborhood) 
Wednesday:  Idle
Thurday: 2.75 miles  (neighborhood)
Friday:  3 miles  (neighborhood)
Saturday:  3 miles  (high school track)

Weekly Total:  18.5 miles

The weather in Houston was about normal for this time of year----80 and humid in the mornings.

Sunday

I finally finished a 10k after six months of running.  It was only one more lap than last week, but it was both difficult and very rewarding.  I started running at 6:45 and finished in 1 hour and 3 minutes which is a 10:03 minute per mile pace. 

I was dying at the end and needed three fifteen second water breaks during my run.  Sunday is my only day off each week and I hate the idea of getting up 5:30, but the heat is too much during a long run. 

The good news is I felt no effects of fatigue, shin splints, or general pains during the next few days.

Weekdays

I added a lit bit of distance to my three weekday runs and felt great after each one.  I still prefer running on the track and will probably do that more often.  I have not noticed any ill effects from increasing the mileage this week.  My knees feel great and my breathing is normal.  I have also noticed more energy while at work.

Today--My wife joins me

I was going to take today off since I have a long run tomorrow and a 12 hour workday today.  My wife for the first time asked if I would go running with her at the track.  She recently started running about 6 weeks ago.  Obviously I was excited she wanted to go running with me and I jumped out of bed full of energy at 5:30 this morning.  Even though we run at different paces, this was by far my most enjoyable run of the week with her present.  I finished 3 miles in 27 minutes.

I will probably work on increasing the mileage totals during my weekday runs and lower my time on Sunday runs.  10k is a good solid base for now.

Weekly Run Log

Here are my runs for this week.

Sunday:  6 miles (high school track)
Monday:  idle
Tuesday:    2.5 miles (neighborhood)
Wednesday:  idle
Thurday:  2.5 miles (neighborhood)
Friday:  2.75 miles (neighborhood)

This was a great week for running in Houston.  We have had a lot of rain which has kept the temperatures lower.

Sunday

I set a new personal best with 6 miles completed in 1 hour and 2 minutes.  This equates to just over a 10 minute per mile average.  I did take a 15 second break for water twice.  The first break was at the 3.25 mile mark and the second was at the 5 mile mark.  While I don't know what the official rules are for taking water breaks, I know that it is summertime in Houston and I don't want to die! While completing 24 laps was fantastic,  I should have probably completed lap #25 as that would have been a 10k run.  That will be my goal for this Sunday.  I also will start running at 6:00 am instead of 7:30 like I did last week.  The heat was pretty intense even at 8:30 when I finished running.

Weekday runs

I decided to change things up during the week as time is more of a factor.  Instead of going to the track I decided to run though my neighborhood.  Road running is without a doubt more difficult.  The road is harder on my feet an knees.  Also my neighboorhood has many hills and this makes for a more rigorous run.  I think the worst part about road running is the the center to side slope in the roads.  My ankles and knees always feel like they are bent sideways. 

About half a mile of the run was on a trail though a wooded area.  Even though the terrain is uneven and at times a bit muddy, this was the most enjoyable part of the run as it is easiest on my feet and the scenery is enjoyable.  I will look for a longer trail in the area and try to run off-road more often.

Stay tuned for more updates next week.  Again, Sunday's goal this week is 25 laps or 10k.

Weekly Run Log

Warning:  There will be no mention of dividends, stocks, or financial independence.


2013

One of my goals for 2013 was to run 5 miles by the end of the year. As easy as this goal should have been, It did not happen---in fact I think 2 miles was the most I ran all year.  I would run for a week and then take take a couple of weeks off hiding behind a myriad of weak excuses.  All my momentum would be lost and then I would attempt to start over again.  This happened throughout the first 7 or 8 months of the year.  By September, I received a job promotion that requires SIX day work weeks and 60+ hours.  That pretty much put the kibosh on my running program for the year.  By the end of my year after reaching most of my goals, the fly in the proverbial ointment was the 5 mile run goal.  To make matters worse a friend I have not seen in ten years posted on Facebook that he had just completed a Half Marathon.  Last I remember he couldn't run even half a mile back in high school.


2014

This past January I decided to start running again so I could lower my blood pressure and hopefully reduce some of the stress in my life. I half-assed it for the first couple of months like I usually do when I get the bright idea to start an exercise program.  In spite of a damn cold winter here in Houston (yeah I know, 35-40 degrees is not cold in most areas of the country.... In Houston it's Damn cold),  I dragged myself out of bed into the cold and decided to start exercising once again. 

After a few months of seemingly little progress, shin splints, sore feet, and blisters I finally reached 3.5 miles in March.  While 3.5 miles in not exactly a marathon, it is a helluva lot better than sitting on my ass after a long day of work.  Last Sunday while at the track I told myself  "5 Miles or Bust".  About 4 miles in I was dying, but I reminded myself that I had been "dying" for the past 2 miles.  I sucked it up summoned my inner "Rudy" and finally stopped running at 5 1/2 miles.  The feeling was awesome.  The fact that I could barely move on Monday was inconsequential.


Here are the runs I completed this past week.

Sunday:  5 1/2 miles
Monday:  Idle
Tuesday:  Idle
Wednesday:  3 miles
Thursday:  Idle
Friday:  3 miles
Saturday:  Idle
Sunday:  6 miles      I have not done this yet, but I am visualizing the end result. :-)
                                  Completed!!!  I may have to start logging my Sunday goal   
                                   every Saturday for extra motivation.