November was one of the best months I’ve had in a while. I went on my last trip of the year and it was so relaxing. I definitely went into it with the mindset that I wanted to have a really relaxing tropical vacation after the year I’ve had so while I did some planning, it was a pretty laid back trip.

Mid-November, my team also finished up a huge project for work and since then, if I’m being completely honest, I was just coasting till my vacation. I thought the time off would get my drive and enthusiasm back but surprisingly enough since I’ve been back, while I’m continuing to do my work, I haven’t gone above and beyond.

It wasn’t until I read an article on “quiet quitting” that I was able to put a phrase on what I was doing. And the concept truly resonated with me. My company has been particularly unstable in terms of many manager/upper management changes. We’ve also been through a layoff before and after my own previous layoff experience I’m not particularly keen on putting work above all else when I know at the end of the day, I’m simply a number.

It also doesn’t help that I’ve been fighting for a raise and haven’t gotten it. If they’re not going to pay me more for doing more work, I sure as heck am not going to go above and beyond to add work for myself.

I spent quite some time running through my FI numbers because I am finally coming to the acceptance that I’m truly burnt out. The vacations are nice but I would love to be able to take a longer period off to do some “slow travel” or even relax at a new place for a longer term rather than rushing the travel process.

Plus, slow travel is just so much cheaper. It’s simply very costly to spend money for air tickets for only a weeklong trip.

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it on the blog, but the idea of taking a sabbatical has always been at the back of my mind. When? Who knows. But now more than ever I’m really considering it.

I am currently CoastFI and I think that if I put my home up for rent, I can absolutely cover my mortgage and possibly half if not my full spending by taking advantage of geo-arbitrage. Can’t lie, in my wildest dreams, I do sometimes imagine quitting.

November Budget

Fixed Spending

No changes in the fixed category. 

Variable Spending

Utilities – Under budget. This is only my gas and electric spending. No water bill yet as HOA/city is still sorting that out as it’s a new construction community.

Gas – Under budget. I was at home or out of town so only filled up gas once.

Entertainment/dining out – Surprisingly reasonable dining out expenses (even if it is over-budget) considering I ate out for every meal during the vacation.

Groceries –  Chase Freedom is offering 5% cashback on Walmart purchases this quarter and I do quite a bit of grocery shopping there so I took advantage and bought a $300 gift card to reap the cashback offer. 

Shopping – My Louis Vuitton purchase from last month’s Europe trip did not make it into last month’s update so that’s the majority of the $2k in this category. I only spent $10 on souvenir purchases on this trip.

Travel – Plane ticket and ground transportation from this trip is included in this category.  

Miscellaneous

No miscellaneous purchases this month.

Investments

I did not add any money to my brokerage account this month either and in hindsight I am thankful! I have been engrossed in reading about tax loss harvesting and to prevent a “wash sale” there needs to be a period of 30 days before and after where I cannot buy the same stock so I believe I can safely get some tax deductions and benefit from the down market.

On a great note, I’ve fully maxed my 401k for the year! As it turns out, my company offers a “true-up” meaning that although I’ve finished contributing, my employer matching will continue until the end of the year so there’s really no penalty to finishing up my contribution early.

Student Debt

Student debt paid this month: $880.77

Student debt remaining: $27,498.24

Here are all my previous student debt statements.

Loan forgiveness is still pending but I did receive an email that my request has been accepted so I’m still leaving my federal loans alone. 

Goals for Next Month

While I think I missed the best opportunity for tax loss harvesting last month when the market was at its lowest, I do want to get my feet wet with the process. I may not be able to take full advantage but anything helps and the learning opportunity is priceless!

Spotify coded my music personality as “Enthusiast” in their end of year review. I definitely think as the years have passed, I’ve become more of an optimist (especially compared to my teenage years). With that, I’m channeling my inner enthusiast and hoping for a great end to the year. 

I am definitely looking forward to running through the numbers at the end of the year. Spoiler alert: I already know my spending will be an all-time high this year but I’m still looking forward to it.

My last goal is to get any extra tax advantage knowledge before the end of the year especially in regards to homeownership so let the research continue!