In February we went to Anaheim, California for the annual APTA CSM physical therapy conference. This was our 7th year attending the conference and hosting a meetup for PTs interested in travel therapy. This year was a little different though because we decided to leave Aria at home instead of taking her with us. It was a tough decision and hard to be away from her, but much easier and less stressful than taking her all the way across the country. She’s very active now and hates to be confined, so a three hour drive to the airport and two long flights each way would have been terrible. We were worried how she would do without us at home, especially during the night, but she actually did extremely well. Her sleep has been inconsistent, but luckily for our family, it was a good stretch of nights. The conference itself was great. We met hundreds of new aspiring travel therapists, many of whom have been following us on the websites and social media for years. It’s always exciting to meet people in person and share more about our experience and all that we’ve learned over our decade involved in the travel therapy world.
Besides the conference, February was a good month for us. Aria is growing quickly and able to do and understand more each day. We had some nice weather during the month and we were able to take her to play outside and do a little hiking. The warmer weather is getting us excited for the spring and all the outdoor activities to come.
Income
Income from our business (FifthWheelPT and Travel Therapy Mentor) for February was only about half of what we made in January. It really wasn’t a bad month though. It was more that January was an abnormally high earning month. March is actually looking like it’s going to be a much lower earning month for us based on my estimates.
Expenses
My expenses for February were pretty close to baseline despite the trip to Anaheim. We used points for the flights and the hotel so all of that was essentially free. I’ve actually figured out a way to use points for every single conference we’ve gone to for both the flights and hotels, which saves us thousands of dollars each year.
My savings rate for the month was about 65% when all was said and done.
Investments
The S&P 500 was down by about 0.9% in February. So far the price is still very close to the highs but the momentum has really stalled. There have been some ups and downs but overall the market is at about the same level it was 4 months ago. With little momentum, elevated valuations, deteriorating economic conditions, a potential war starting, and historically poor performance during midterm years, it seems pretty likely that the market gets at least a small correction here. All these conditions have the potential for a much bigger drop though similar to what happened in 2022 during the last midterm year. I’m not planning to sell anything with this in mind but will be watching for opportunities to deploy cash if we do get a substantial correction.
Bitcoin was down by about 14.8% in February. Five straight months down now and this was a big one. There was a major capitulation at the beginning of the month where the bitcoin price hit $60,000 very briefly. While not a huge surprise, another drop like this wasn’t my base case. Prices below $70k are a gift for the long term in my opinion. I managed to pick up some more Bitcoin as well as some MSTR shares on that early February capitulation. Although the price could definitely go lower this year especially if a bigger stock market correction happens, I think I’ll be very happy with these buys in a few years. I’ll continue to buy gradually this year but will buy much more if we do get lower prices later this year.
Financial Independence Progress
My net assets decreased by 6.3% in February. A drop like this never feels good but long term I’m happy with the portfolio I have. I have plenty of cash for stability in the short term and am as optimistic about the future of Bitcoin as I’ve ever been. During the 2022 bear market, I had a significant drop in my net worth but the next few years were my best ever, and I expect that to be the case again here.
My assets are now equal to approximately 31.4 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 March we have a trip to Virginia Beach planned for Whitney’s 10 year PT school reunion. We’re turning it into a short vacation and staying a couple extra days to take Aria to the beach and to have extra time to relax.
How was February for you financially? Let me know in the comments!
Fifth Wheel Physical Therapist 