December was a pretty big month for us. This was the first Christmas that Aria understood what was going on and she loved seeing the lights and opening presents. We spent lots of time with friends and family during the month for holiday celebrations as well as just visiting. Although it was busy and cold, we had a great month.
The biggest news of the month was that we bought two brand new cars! Neither Whitney nor I had ever bought new cars, but our old cars were starting to have some issues and we wanted to upgrade for more safety when driving around with Aria as well. We considered buying the cars at different times, but we saved time and money by buying them both together. It was right at the end of the year, we were paying cash, and buying two cars, so we were in a great position at the dealership to negotiate the prices down significantly. We went back and forth on what we should buy, but eventually decided to basically upgrade to new versions of our current cars. We got a 2026 Honda Odyssey minivan to have sliding doors and safety for kids, and a 2026 hybrid Hyundai Tucson. We had our old Tucson for 9 years and it was a great car and very reliable, so buying the new version made sense. Plus the new one is a hybrid and AWD which is nice to have. I honestly never thought I would buy a new car, much less two on the same day, but we’re in a position now where the cost was relatively negligible compared to our net worth, and we wanted reliable cars we wouldn’t have to worry about for many years.
Income
Income from our business (FifthWheelPT and Travel Therapy Mentor) for December was more than double what we made in November. November was a low earning month and December was a very high earning month though, so such drastic jumps aren’t the norm. Making so much in December made me feel better about buying the new cars as well. December is often our highest earning month of the year as we follow up on end of year payments, and that was the case again this year.
Expenses
My expenses for December were much higher than normal of course. Paying cash for the cars meant a massive up front cost, but not having to deal with payments, interest, etc. is well worth it to me. I like to keep debt at a bare minimum… except for student loans that is.
My savings rate for the month was actually negative for the first time ever, or at least that I can remember.
Investments
The S&P 500 was basically flat on the month. There were new all time highs set, but prices sold off going into the end of the month. Things in the market continue to feel precarious but holding up well overall. Bull markets climb a wall of worry, and that’s certainly been the case for this bull market. Every week there is some story in the news that seems like it should impact equities, yet they continue to grind higher.
Bitcoin was down by about 3.2% in December. October, November, and December were all negative months for Bitcoin which caught me off guard as well a many others. I was very optimistic about Q4 but it turned out to be a total bust showing a lot of weakness. Many analysts are now saying that October was the high and we’re in the midst of a bear market in Bitcoin now. While that’s always possible, I’m not overly negative despite the price action. There was no real euphoria or even much retail participation in this cycle, which means a lot fewer people buying the top and then panicking on the way down like in prior Bitcoin cycles. Because of that, I think the odds of a large drawdown like in prior cycles is unlikely, so at $87k Bitcoin is probably closer to a bottom than to a top. I think $60k-$70k is possible, although unlikely, but lower than that is very unlikely. $63k would be a 50% drop from the high, and I don’t see more than a 50% drop being sustainable with such a non-euphoric peak. I didn’t sell any of my Bitcoin holdings and am just holding for now, but if there’s any drop below $80k I’ll be looking to aggressively accumulate more. I’ve been selling way out of the money covered calls on my Bitcoin ETF holdings throughout 2025 which has been lucrative for me and made this drop less painful. I’ll probably write about put and call selling I’ve been experimenting with at some point in the future.
Financial Independence Progress
My net assets decreased by 1.6% in December. Buying the cars and the drop in the Bitcoin price pulled down my net worth this month.
My assets are now equal to approximately 33.7 times my average annual expenses!
In case you missed it, check out my August monthly post for an update on why I adjusted my spending assumptions.
Next Month
In January we’re going to have a much slower month. With the holiday festivities over, we’re going to be back to focusing on our diet and exercise. Also since January is usually one of the coldest months, we won’t be doing as much outdoors and will probably be spending more time laying low at home while we catch up on some work. We’ll also be spending a lot less money, and I’m optimistic on the outlook for our earnings for January.
How was December for you financially? Let me know in the comments!
Fifth Wheel Physical Therapist 