In September we continued getting settled into our new place. We haven’t been in a major rush with the unpacking process but have gotten all of the essentials and furniture set up. Aria loves the new house with lots of extra space for her to play and explore. Being in this new area of town has been a really good choice for us so far. We’re really enjoying the mountain views in our neighborhood as well as the proximity to some good fall hikes and a much nicer gym.
At the beginning of the month, we drove about 7 hours each way to Hilton Head Island, SC for a wedding and turned it into a little family vacation for a week. The getaway was great, but the trips there and back were hectic. Aria does not like being confined in her car seat and doesn’t sleep well in the car either. We also had an issue with our van on the way down. It started to overheat about 3 hours into the drive, so we stopped at a garage to have it checked out. They couldn’t figure out why it happened, and I didn’t trust driving it another 4 hours without knowing, so we decided to rent a car for the rest of the drive. All in all, the 7 hour drive ended up taking us about 12 hours. Luckily the drive back was less eventful.
We did quite a bit of hiking in September taking advantage of the weather starting to cool down. I’ve been working more on my cardio so that carrying Aria on longer hikes isn’t as difficult. More than a few hours of carrying her still gets fatiguing though. She does really well in the hiking backpack and seems to enjoy seeing all of the trees and plants as well as waving at people we pass on the trails.
We closed on the sale of our townhouse at the end of September. After all of the fees and closing costs on both the purchase and the sale, we made about an 80% return on the investment in a little over a 5 year period. While I’m very happy with that, it actually isn’t as great as it seems on the surface. In the same time period that we owned the townhouse, the S&P 500 was up over 150% and Bitcoin was up over 1,400%. None of those numbers are normal and really go to show how crazy the asset inflation has been since 2020.
Income
Income from our business (FifthWheelPT and Travel Therapy Mentor) for September was about 50% higher than in August. Usually our income starts to pick up going into the end of the year with Q4 almost always being the highest earning quarter. Q3 ended up being our lowest earning quarter of the year so far, but looking back at prior trends, that’s fairly typical. We’re still right on track to match last year’s earnings numbers which is great.
Expenses
My expenses were high in September. The trip to South Carolina was expensive, and we bought some new stuff for the house. This was also the first month of paying the much higher prices for our housing. This was all expected and planned for though, so no big surprise.
In total, my savings rate for the month was around 40% when all was said and done.
Investments
The S&P 500 was up by 3.5% in September. That’s the fifth consecutive positive month coming off of the April tariff crash. Many people sold in April thinking tariffs were going to cause a recession, and now those people have missed out on a 40% rally from the bottom in 5 months. Timing the market is very difficult and should be avoided for most people. While the labor market continues to get weaker and inflation remains sticky, it’s hard to go into a recession with such a large ongoing federal deficit. The currency is being debased at a rapid rate, which makes things look much better than they actually are on a nominal basis.
Bitcoin was up by about 5.4% in September. It looks like September was a good recovery month after the drop in August before, hopefully, ending the year strong. I’d anticipate new all time highs in Q4 and possibly significantly higher than most people expect. If we do get a strong rally into the end of the year, I’ll be taking profits along the way. My Bitcoin position remains the largest it’s ever been, but I’d like to bring that down some before January in case 2026 does end up being a bear market like in prior midterm years. The amount I sell will depend on how aggressively the price moves. If we continue a slow and steady climb like over the past few years, then I’ll sell very little because I think the downside is limited, whereas if we see some real euphoria like in Q4 of past post halving years, I’ll sell a lot more.
Financial Independence Progress
My net assets increased by 2.0% in September. While not back to the July peak yet, the partial recovery is nice and I’m optimistic for new highs in October. With the business and markets doing well, as well as the sale of our townhouse, it’s hard for me to complain about anything financially right now.
My assets are now equal to approximately 38.9 times my average annual expenses!
In case you missed it, check out last month’s post for an update on why I adjusted my spending assumptions.
Next Month
In October I’ll be turning 37 and Aria will be turning ONE! It’s so hard to believe that almost a full year has gone by since she was born. It’s been a year packed with ups and downs, but overall I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
How was September for you financially? Let me know in the comments!
Fifth Wheel Physical Therapist 