Retirement Accounts Page Updated – A Lot Has Changed Since 2016!

As part of my ongoing effort to update the blog, I’ve finally completed a major update to my [RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS PAGE].

And this one was definitely overdue!

The last time I regularly updated this page was back in 2016, when retirement still seemed pretty far away. Fast-forward 10 years, and that finish line suddenly doesn't seem nearly as distant.

The updated page takes a look at the major components of my retirement plan:

• CalPERS Defined-Benefit Pension
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• Roth IRA
• Dividend Stock Portfolio
• Social Security

What has changed considerably are the numbers. In 2016, the combined reported value of the pension, 457, and Roth IRA I was tracking was approximately $411,000. Today, that figure has grown to approximately $1.22 million—an increase of more than $800,000 over the past decade!

The updated page includes:

• Historical balances going back to 2014
• Current 2026 retirement account values
• A look at the growth over the past decade
• Rough estimates of where things could stand four years from now
• My updated retirement income strategy
• Some thoughts about retiring in four years...or maybe even two

Perhaps the biggest change is that retirement no longer feels like some distant financial goal. For now, four years remains the target, but having the financial flexibility to potentially leave sooner is becoming increasingly important.

After more than a decade of saving, investing, and documenting the journey, it's pretty exciting to finally see retirement coming into view.

Check out the newly updated [RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS PAGE] to see all the numbers and where the journey stands today.

Multiple sources. Greater flexibility. Financial freedom.

Tracking My Road to Mortgage Freedom - Page Updated!

 

Mortgage Balance Page Updated!

As part of my ongoing effort to update the blog and bring everything current, I’ve recently started updating my Mortgage Balance page.

Home equity and paying down the mortgage have been an important part of my financial journey since long before I started this blog. In fact, when I wrote my original preface back in March 2014, I dedicated the first section to the story behind our home equity and the financial decisions that helped get us to where we were at the time.

A lot has changed since I wrote that post more than 12 years ago!

For those interested in the history, you can still read my original Home Equity preface here. While I’ve updated my Mortgage Balance page, I still need to write an updated Home Equity background post that picks up where the original story left off and provides some context for the many changes that have occurred since then, including the purchase of my current home and the start of a new mortgage journey.

Once that post is completed, I’ll add a link to it here as well.

In the meantime, I’ve begun updating the Original Home Equity Preface page itself to reflect where things stand today.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m actually more interested in tracking my mortgage balance than the equity in my home. Home values will fluctuate over time, and since I have no plans to sell or cash out the equity, paying down the mortgage is the number that matters most to me.

The page is still a work in progress, so I’ll continue adding historical mortgage balances, milestones, and other updates as I work my way through the numbers.

Like many parts of this blog, it’s fun to look back at where the journey started, see how much has changed, and continue documenting where it goes from here.

[ORIGINAL HOME EQUITY PREFACE]

[MORTGAGE BALANCE PAGE]

Updated Home Equity Background – Coming Soon!

 

New Background Page!

Click on the graphic or the following link: BACKGROUND

As part of my blog overhaul, I've completely rewritten my Background page to better reflect where I am today and where this journey is headed.

When I started this blog back in 2014, I was documenting our family's path toward Financial Independence. A lot has changed since then. Life took an unexpected turn with my divorce in 2024, and with it came a new set of challenges, priorities, and goals.

Rather than simply updating a few dates, I decided it was time to completely rewrite the page. It now tells the story of how my Financial Independence journey began, how it has evolved over the years, and what I'm working toward today.

Going forward, this blog will continue to focus on dividend investing, personal finance, and Financial Independence, but it will also include my experiences navigating life as a single father after divorce. I'll be sharing both the financial and personal lessons I've learned along the way, along with the occasional travel adventure as I work toward my goal of retiring in just four more years.

Whether you've been following this blog since the beginning or you're visiting for the first time, I invite you to check out the updated Background page to learn more about my story.

As always, thank you for following along and for being part of this incredible community. Your encouragement over the years is one of the biggest reasons I'm excited to begin this next chapter.