2022 Goals – September Review

If you are new to this website, this year I have set up some goals for 2022 and they are:

1. Be more intentional
2. Write more
3. Max out our Roth IRAs
4. Research other means of income
5. Compartmentalize for long-term goals

The year started off with an article about this venture and it is here. And, for those who may be following along, here is where you can find the other articles:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August

 

The reason for this is twofold: to help keep me accountable as well as provide a model for others in the skilled trades to mimic. Sometimes it just takes a person to forge on and others will follow – which is what I hope: some in the trades see a plan and can adapt it to their own personal life. If you aren’t being strategic in what you are doing, you are not maximizing what you can do.

It has been nine months already – how am I doing with my 2022 goals? How does my intentional planning look, various goals written down to focus on, and formulate a plan of attack?

September has been another busy month for mainly work. Travel means disruption to my normal schedule and that takes some strategy to try and maintain what I normally do in a rhythm. This has challenges and adds to the complexity of trying to establish a routine.

I also did not put anything into the IRA’s for the month of September, either. Undisclosed reasons notwithstanding, I may also decide to do the same in October – I’ll weigh my options as the month progresses.

What trips for this month? Well, I started the month finishing up a trip to Alaska and spent a week in San Diego. Talk about polar opposites! My personal taste is colder weather so Alaska was fantastic but San Diego has its own charm, also. Not that I want to live there, mind you but it’s always nice to visit.

 

2022 Goals – September Be More Intentional

Seward Alaska

For this one, it’s fairly straightforward: by continuing to write on a consistent schedule I am strengthening my intentionality. To develop good leaders, intentionality is a must. To take it a step further, if you want to have a more successful and fulfilling life, you have to be intentional. Also, I have been talking with others who want to start their own business, and guess what? It takes intentionality – and A LOT of it, too. There really is no way around it.

There are instances where success seems to find someone without them doing anything to earn it – and I’ve seen it, too – but for any real, measured, significant, and lasting success, it takes intentionality. There really is no substitute for it. Not even natural-born talent.

To that end, I have taken steps in being more intentional about the things I do – and you should too. This means more structure, more focus, and more deliberate action. More things are getting done as a result and better things are happening. Intentionality is, as I’ve said elsewhere, the key to just about everything else for me going forward.

So, what does that look like for me – and for the month of September?

Traveling for work is the standard right now – both short trips and week-long endeavors – which seems par for the course. I get to visit some pretty amazing places, see some great sights, and I try to be intentional about taking LOTS of pictures. Memories are all I’ll have later in life of those places and a picture is worth a thousand words. Plus, the end of September signals the end of summer – and everyone should know by now how much I loathe the season. I have two articles that testify to my hatred for the season and they are here and here.

Downtown San Diego as seen from Coronado

2022 Goals – September Write More

Writing provides me direction, clarity, and an outlet for creativity

This one’s easy: I am certainly achieving this goal. The end of the month consists of these reviews and at least one more post per month helps me reach it. What’s more, these monthly reviews help me to realign with the initial reason I started this website in the first place: outlining ideas as to how someone can save for retirement in the skilled trades. I also have an article about how someone can prepare to plan – well, they can adapt the way I do it for their own lifestyle. That one is still in the works; I’d look for it to drop sometime soon.

Of course, I have many other great articles here and try to promote them in various ways. I just recently published an article about whether you need a college degree to get a good job (hint: you don’t), generational wealth, my time in Chicago and 150 North Riverside (engineering marvels), and the younger generations, technology, and the construction industry – it’s interesting to me to see just how much things have changed – and are forecasted to continue to in the coming years.

As it is right now, when you google “the pros and cons of the trades” or “talent or tenacity” or “passion vs opportunity”  or “work life balance in the trades” you will see this website listed on the FIRST page.  There are reasons for this – notably because google has metrics they track – and my content isn’t clickbait: it’s substantial in nature. This lends itself to quality and that is staying the same going forward.

It will take me some time to come up with some of the articles I have in mind and many of them have substantial research components. And building a brand takes time. I have been at this for four years now, and I still have a lot I can do yet. In the end, it will take a mixture of tenacity mixed with talent to see this become successful – something I’m invested in. The more content here the better the brand is perceived.

This month, just like the last four, due to a large amount of traveling, I will have more to write about as well as some really great pictures to incorporate into the various articles. I always like to be more personal when it comes to media content here and these intentional trips have provided me with an abundance of great pictures for future articles. Alaska and San Diego provided some fantastic pictures! I think I may write a yearly review piece with pictures of places I’ve traveled for personal and work reasons. I feel like that’s the best way to really dial in on the trips, progress, and writing for all to see.

What’s more, I have in mind to write some additional pieces on various topics – many are in draft form currently while others are only conceptual thoughts – and I need to take the time to just write. I hope to have some time in the future to decompress, read and write more, and simply enjoy the downtime. In the end, if I want this website to go further, it needs more content. A work in progress if I ever saw one.

 

2022 Goals – September Roth IRA

Time and money – the two we need for Roth IRA (and other investment vehicles) growth

 

For year 2022 our monthly contribution rates are:

January 2022: $923.04

February 2022: $923.04

March 2022: $923.04

April 2022: $1,153.80

May 2022: $923.04

June $0

July $0

August 2022: $ 923.04

September 2022: $0

Total for 2022 year up to this point: $5769.00

*I plan on catching up end of year/beginning of 2023 (you still have until April to contribute to the previous year’s limit) but what’s important for you to note here is that we are less than $300 from reaching a single IRA contribution limit. We are a single-income household so I am contributing to BOTH. If we can get this far SO CAN YOU.*

Every tradesman can do this – and they should.

IF you are NOT contributing the max amount to a Roth IRA then you are missing out: not just on an opportunity to increase your retirement savings but also diversifying your retirement income. How? Because it’s highly likely that any contributions an employer has made on your behalf (whether it is a 401k or an annuity fund for those who are union) are pre-tax or tax-deferred – meaning you will have to pay the taxes later in retirement. By maxing out your Roth IRA you have a retirement account that you pay taxes on now so it is tax-free when you withdraw it. You are effectively diversifying your retirement streams – by all metrics a smart move. Click here to learn why I chose a Roth IRA.

*I get it: things come up that keep us constantly reevaluating things – that is precisely what has happened to us. It is my hope that the way we approach this is something that others can replicate.*

And, in the end, I have talked about making this part (the financial component of this website) of a greater consulting package – a good segue into my next section.

2022 Goals – September Researching Other Means Of Income

I had an idea a few months back that I was eager to explore. It’s cooled a bit now but may resurface in the future. For a couple of months, I’ve had another idea I’ve been toying around with based on the sheer amount of opportunity I see in my daily grind. What’s more, it would be something that is a long-term initiative and one that takes a fair amount of energy, intentionality, and opportunity. I won’t tip my hat too much because it may never manifest itself but for the sake of this review, I am still contemplating other possibilities.

The above is a nice idea – and definitely something I keep on the backburner per se – but if I am being honest, I am getting really busy with work. I travel quite a bit, am in the midst of a class, and this website along with family takes up large portions of my time. This means, of course, I have little time in the way of trying to drum up additional income. What’s more, my role as I know it is expanding. I knew this was going to happen, and it’s something I welcome, but overall it definitely puts the brakes on additional streams of income.

BUT – should my primary gig earn me more denaro, isn’t that the point of earning additional coin?

2022 Goals – September Compartmentalize For Long-Term Goals

I am a BIG fan of compartmentalization

This section is fairly comprehensive, as it has layers to it. In this section, I detail:

1. Build up my emergency/opportunity fund more
2. Build up another savings fund
3. Build up another investment account
4. Build up custodial accounts for each of my kids (UGMA/UTMA & Roth IRA)

I’ve said this before but I prefer to compartmentalize – it helps me to keep things straight. Keeping various accounts separate for various reasons helps me to organize things – intentionality is at play, here. That being said, I have been focused on growing each of the above and a breakdown follows.

Build up my emergency/opportunity fund more

Our main Emergency fund is still where it has been at – we have at least 6 months of savings if needed – and we have no intention of touching it unless we have to. Otherwise, my personal goal here is to build it up to at least 9 months, something I have wanted to do for a while now but have lacked discipline.

Our large fund has taken a hit due to paying cash for our van but that is exactly why we save amounts in the first place – so we don’t carry debt. I’ll be methodically building that fund up over the next year. I actually have a plan to build this up in the first part of 2023 and hope to have it back to what it was by the first part of 2024. Still, I have some plans to begin increasing this fund end of this year and it’s duly noted.

The key takeaway, though, is to know that by creating a plan and exercising discipline, we were able to save up and not have to finance a vehicle. As such, we owe nothing on it. What’s more, this is something that everyone in the skilled trades can do – and should. For all that you are worth, you should steer clear of D.E.B.T. (Don’t Ever Borrow That). It has taken many a person down to the poor house. If you don’t have a small savings fund and a larger, 6 months of expenses fund – get on it right away. Things happen and you definitely do not want to be in a perpetual cycle of using plastic.

Build up another savings fund

Now, I have set up a small automatic deposit to another checking/saving account I have, utilizing it as another e/o fund. The amount is small but you have to start somewhere; you do not want to fall victim to paralysis by analysis – you feel overwhelmed and can’t figure out where to start – so you never do. Currently, I am transferring $10.00 a week into it for a year-end total of $520.00. I increased this contribution to $20.00 this month. It’s a small enough amount that doesn’t cut too deep but builds up over time – and that is something I recommend to everyone. The goal, as outlined previously, is to develop this account into a possible larger vacation/opportunity fund.

I’m not confident this account will grow into something substantial; instead, it will likely take time to develop and extra coin should go here. Still, $1,040 a year is more than many intentionally save. As you can tell from the listing, funding the Roth IRAs are the most important financially here. (Well, that AND rebuilding our large expense account). The thing to remember here is – and if you are just starting out pay close attention – to start somewhere. Don’t get overwhelmed at the complexity of it all; instead, compartmentalize, focus on just one or two things (whatever you have the bandwidth for), and focus on accomplishing that. Then, when you feel like you have a good grasp on it, start elsewhere. We eat that elephant one bit at a time.

Build up another investment account

I love acorns! This investment platform has tremendous potential for wealth growth

I signed up in January and as expected, it has grown via unintentional intentionality. The robo round-up platform has managed to help us save the nickel and dimes – you know what I mean: you break that $20 bill and the next thing you know, it is gone. So, when we use our credit cards (those linked to the platform), the value is rounded up and when the total reaches $5.00, it is withdrawn from the bank and placed in the investment account. As of the end of this month, we have over $400 from a little at a time. Those can really turn into something substantial later on.

Another great feature is their chrome plug in. You download and add it to your chrome browser, and you can clearly see where Acorns has deals with numerous companies. A portion of what you spend is automatically invested into your account – likely to encourage acorn users to use those specific companies. Here’s a snapshot to show you what I mean:

In this example, up to 1.5% is invested into my acorns platform just for staying at Holiday Inn – my preferred place, anyway. Getting a portion invested into my account just for using them when I have been using them already? Talk about winning! ( I think at last I saw we look to have around $61 invested into our account by someone else just for staying somewhere/renting somewhere I was going to already). Talk about a win!

Acorns is a fantastic way to save a little at a time – something I definitely recommend for those of you in the skilled trades. Remember, every little bit helps. Again, don’t get overwhelmed – just start somewhere. Be strategic – be smart – and be intentional. People who put the time in to build wealth do these things – it doesn’t happen overnight (realistically anyway).

Build up custodial accounts for each of my kids (UGMA/UTMA & Roth IRA)

It takes money – and time – to grow a sizeable nest egg

This is another area I hope to inspire other skilled tradesmen to adopt. One of the best things you can do for your kids is to educate them on financial literacy – setting them up with the best possible chances as they move into adulthood. The next best thing is to start saving for them as early as possible. Fortunately for us, we are doing both – and you should be doing this, too.

We have chosen to open and deposit UGMA/UTMA accounts for each of our kids and deposit a modest amount in it per week (currently, it is $5.00 per kid). These accounts are at Acorns and when the kids turn 21 (the age my state says a custodial account is to be turned over), they will have some money to make a down payment on a house/pay for school/whatever they need/want. Obviously, the hope is to educate them about fiscal responsibility so they make responsible choices. To that end, our yearly goal from automatic deposits is $260.00. Extra coin will eventually find its way into it – the first $1,100.00 are tax-free, after all. Again, compartmentalization and starting small.

As an example, we started this at the beginning of the year. After 9 months, each of our kid’s UGMA/UTMA accounts has a balance of just over $150. That isn’t a lot BUT it is a humble beginning. IF we kept the contributions as they are, and at the current rate, in 10 years I estimate over $2,000 in each of the kid’s accounts. That’s nothing to shake a stick at and it’s all by doing something small.

The Custodial Roth IRA accounts are not on a weekly basis; rather, they are when the kids have earned income – and chores don’t count. Things like walking someone’s dog, yard work, etc. I had initially planned on doing it on a weekly basis – but to ensure I don’t tread on the IRS, I’ll keep an Excel spreadsheet when they have earned income and continue saving. There are income qualifiers and rules that I’m not detailing here; instead, I plan to detail them in a separate post – perhaps part of a consulting/building generational wealth for those in the skilled trades package. Plus, if I do launch something for additional funding via consulting, I can hire my kids to do tasks for me – which can be then turned into IRA contributions. Sometimes, it just takes one person to forge a path to inspire others to follow.

And follow I hope they do: after all the time I have spent researching and scouring the internet, much of the advice here is for those in the office and their respective 401ks. I have found very little by way of those in the skilled trades and especially those who are union. Most advisors have an erroneous understanding of what annuities are when it comes to unions – they are NOT what they think they are. Therefore, the advice and direction they need are unique – and I hope to be that unique voice in the forest as they forage on.

Wrapping up the month

September 2022 is wrapped up, a success by and large, even if we have postponed our June/July and September IRA contributions, and has given me food for thought going forward throughout the next few months. Although we had a major purchase earlier in the year and our large expense account has taken a hit, we do not have payments and that is something I relish. Moreover, we have embarked on a large amount of travel and we always seek to make the most out of business and bring personal pleasure along. I have some great articles in the queue and I look forward to exploring other areas to write about.

All in all, the month was good, I’m gaining some consistency on most fronts, and those areas that I lag in I will eventually get nailed down. One thing I have going for me is that I like to write – and I am tenacious. After all, I have been at this for 4 years now, and building a brand takes time. Which is exactly what I’m doing.

And I’m building a model for other tradesmen to follow. The more detailed I get here, the better the opportunity there is for others. There is a very real need for many to see things mapped out so they can adapt it to their own situation. I’m experimenting to see how I can create a message that resonates with many others.

Follow along, partner up, and share with others your ideas; trust me, there are numerous others who can benefit from collective wisdom. And when you find some success, tell others.