May was a busy month for us. Whitney and I were in the middle of our part time travel therapy contracts in Charlottesville, VA, while still doing a lot of work on the business, and trying to do as much hiking and exploring on the weekends as possible.
These Travel PT contracts haven’t been the worst, but they also certainly haven’t been the best. Things got much better after the first month once we both felt more comfortable with the documentation system and started treating more of our own patients. With that being said, this is definitely the last time that we’ll work in busy outpatient clinics. Needless to say, 12-16 patients per day is too stressful, especially after a year and a half away from treating.
The business continues to do well when we have time to spend on putting out content and following up with companies and affiliates. Although growth is not nearly as quick as it used to be, we continue to gradually grow our email list and social media following, which directly translate into more revenue.
In May we also had a Gender Reveal party on Mother’s Day Weekend back at home in Roanoke. We found out we are having a little girl, which we are both very excited about! We also celebrated Whitney’s birthday at the end of the month on Memorial Day Weekend by going to historic Jamestown, VA and Colonial Williamsburg. It’s been cool exploring some history as well as nature in a different part of our home state where we haven’t spent much time before.
Whitney has done an awesome job of staying active while pregnant. We’ve stayed consistent with weekly hikes over the last two months, some of which have been pretty difficult. She’s really impressed me with her determination to continue doing hard things even when not feeling the best. May was the start of the second trimester, and with it came improved energy and reduced symptoms which has put her in a much better mood. Watching and supporting her through this pregnancy has been incredible. It’s amazing what the human body is capable of!
Income
Income from our websites (FifthWheelPT and Travel Therapy Mentor) for May was up 30% compared to April. While income from month to month still fluctuates quite a bit, it’s getting more and more predictable as our data and metrics improve. I can pretty accurately predict our income 3-4 months out usually now, which makes planning for expenses and estimating future savings easier. To this point in the year, income is just slightly ahead of where it was in 2023, and the end of the year is looking solid. I’m optimistic that we can at least match our income from last year, which was by far our highest earning year ever.
Expenses
May expenses weren’t bad overall. Our short term housing cost in Charlottesville is moderate, but not having many expenses back home means that I’m spending right around $1,000/month on total housing costs between the two. Besides that, our fixed costs are low, which leaves only weekend activities, groceries, restaurants, gas, and gifts as my main expenses. I really don’t try very hard at all to keep costs low anymore, but since our expenses have been low for many years, it’s second nature to have a low cost moderate lifestyle.
I have some plans coming up for some big purchases which will certainly change things though. We’re actively house searching, and most of what we’re looking at is 3-5x the value of our current townhouse, which will mean higher costs for all associated expenses. We’re also most likely going to be upgrading both cars within the next year, and building an awesome home gym when we do find a “forever home.” All of that will still be well within our means, but it will be weird to suddenly be spending a lot more than I’m used to.
In total, my savings rate for the month was around 85% when all was said and done.
Investments
The S&P 500 was up by about 4.8% in May. With that increase, the stock market is back to all time highs. The last year has been amazing to watch and taught me even more than I already understood that the market is completely unpredictable. We continue to be at insanely stretched Shiller PE levels seen only in the Tech bubble of 2000. Even higher than before the great depression or before the financial crisis of 2008. In the past, the elevated levels have been a very good predictor of negative future market performance; yet this time, the market just keeps going higher with no end in sight. Either this time really is different or we’re in an extended blow off phase before a severe drop. I’ve clearly been wrong so far as I would have thought that drop would have come long ago, and have been very conservative with my equity exposure.
The Bitcoin price increased by about 11.3% during the month of May. After the drop in April, it was nice to see a recovery in the price. The Bitcoin price has basically been in the same range for about three months now. Usually the extended periods of time chopping around close to the prior all time high is a good indication that the market is cooling off before going higher. With that being said, it’s concerning how closely this phase of the market cycle looks like 2019 when Bitcoin had an explosive rally before dropping over 50% before the real bull market started. Both now and 2019 were during periods of Fed increasing interest rates and performing quantitative tightening. Both then and now also had inverted yield curves which are often a good predictor of a coming recession. In 2019 the recession that followed was during the pandemic and really crushed the Bitcoin price. While I would love it if this was still near the beginning of the bull run like in mid 2020, it definitely feels more like 2019 to me. I’m still keeping a lot of cash on the sideline in case the price does drop a lot later this year to buy more but have plenty of Bitcoin right now in case there is a lot more upside ahead.
Financial Independence Progress
My net assets increased by about 7.0% in May, thanks again in large part to the increase in the Bitcoin price but also due to business income being high.
This increase put me at another new all time high in both net assets and net worth!
Even though I continue to hold a high proportion of my assets in cash earning only about 5% per year in high yield savings accounts, which has been a big drag compared to equities and Bitcoin, my assets and net worth continue to increase at a steady pace. I don’t regret being more cautious at all because hitting a home run in terms of my investments isn’t needed at all anymore. Losing half of my net worth would hurt exponentially more than doubling my net worth would feel good now. If that’s the case, then why take excessive risk? For me being cash and Bitcoin heavy has been the perfect mix of risk and safety and has allowed me to outperform a 100% equity portfolio over the past four years.
With this increase in my net asset value, my assets are now equal to approximately 102.6 times my average annual expenses! My assets continuing to grow quickly over time is a big reason why upgrading our house and cars isn’t really a big deal these days in my mind. With assets worth over 100x my yearly spending, if there was ever a time to inflate our lifestyle a little, it’s now.
Next Month
In June we’ll be finishing up our travel PT contracts already. It seems like just last week that I was nervous about being back in the clinic, and now we’re already in the home stretch. Time really flies. After that, we’re headed back home at the end of the month to really start preparing for the baby. We haven’t decided yet if we’ll be working part time at home in the clinic, or if we’re just going to focus on the business fully for a while. Either way, it will be really nice to be back home!
How was May for you financially? Let me know in the comments!
Fifth Wheel Physical Therapist 