Finance Clever

April, May, and June brought some big changes. We had been discussing the possibility of buying a new house to have an extra room and better public schools. We started looking at houses early in the year and ended up closing on our new house in June (I’ll write an article dedicated exclusively to the new house, you’ll see some numbers related to it here). I also enjoyed some additional weeks of parental leave. It is difficult to take all 16-weeks at once, so I have been taking it in chunks. We also took a couple of trips to the … Read more…

As you might recall from our Q1 financial update, we are under contract on a new house. While we are still early in the process, we now have the inspection results back and learned that the house appraised for the total value on our offer. While nothing is guaranteed until closing, these two pieces of information make the transaction more likely to occur. As such, it is time to seriously consider what to do with the house we currently live in. Should I sell it or should I rent it out? We bought this house in the fall of 2016. … Read more…

The first 3 months of 2021 were good for us. I was on paternity leave for a month and half and enjoyed a lot of quality time with my daughters. When that ended, I went back to work and my oldest back to daycare in the middle of February. Other than that, we continued to adjust to life as a family of 4 and made the most of the winter. With that, let’s dive into the numbers: Daycare is once again one of our largest expenses. It started back up in the middle of February so the above is only … Read more…

The last 3 months of 2020 were quite special for us. We welcomed our second daughter into this world, and started a new phase of life as a family of four. Fortunately, we had time off from work and my mother in law was here with us to make the transition as smooth as possible. We also enjoyed lots of time outdoors, taking advantage of the fantastic weather and knowing that winter was coming. Last but not least, we celebrated all of our birthdays and enjoyed time together as a family. Let’s Dive Into the Q4 Numbers Health was one … Read more…

The third quarter of 2020 had a little bit of everything. From enjoying lots of time outdoors, to a bit of a personal crisis, to general busyness due to the updated tax filing deadlines this year. Last but not least, we eagerly awaited the arrival of our second daughter and enjoyed the great weather. The due date was in late September but she ended up being born in early October. So that will be a story for the 4th quarter 🙂 With that, let’s dive into the numbers: Daycare used to be our largest expense in early 2020 and prior. In … Read more…

The second quarter of 2020 was mostly about settling into our new reality. With our daughter out of daycare and both of us working from home, we tried to adjust as best as we could and make the most of everyday. On the bright side, we remained healthy, enjoyed more time as a family, and saw our second daughter grow and turn into a baby bump. With that, let’s dive into the numbers: Daycare used to be our largest expense. In Q2 it wasn’t even a line item at all since we pulled our daughter out in the middle of March. … Read more…

Two years ago, my friend David from fiology.com asked me to take a close look at his performance as a real estate investor. Now that he has filed his 2019 tax return, I’ll be updating his numbers to include the most recent information. If you are new to this case study, I recommend you read the original post to get the full context. If you already read the initial post, feel free to start here for the 2019 update. 2019 Update As you might recall from the original post, David used to own 6 rental properties that he started acquiring back in 2011. The rental … Read more…