January 2022 Financial Update:

As most people know, there was a market correction in January, so our investments went down quite a bit, which is okay. If you invest, you need to expect corrections and crashes every now and then.

Not much happened in January for us, some more of our relatives got Covid and we were by someone who tested positive so we mostly just stayed home. Also it has been in the negatives outside.

Then I had one of my rare hemiplegic migraines that mimic a stroke on Monday January 24th. I’m okay, but my head hurt for a week after the event. They suck to have and are scary for those around me. I couldn’t talk or function for 24 hours and had no appetite. I even threw up for the first time since 7th grade from the pain, it made me so nauseous. I need to go to a neurologist again because this isn’t okay and apparently as I get older they will happen for longer and more frequently, which I do not want. When they happen, nothing helps. Of course I’ve had Tylenol, Advil, even Ativan and Triptans. They do nothing for the pain and I think they just make me loopy. They have prescribed me triptans, but there is actually research that says they can increase my risk of stroke with a hemiplegic migraine, so I don’t feel safe taking them. Doctors disagree on how to treat this rare migraine.

Other than struggles with migraines, I am very healthy and this has only happened 3x in my life, but like I said I lose my ability to speak and get very confused at everything. Part of me goes numb and I can’t remember the date or who the president is or write my name correctly. And it is by far the worst pain I have ever felt. Because these migraines mimic a stroke, they always say to go to the ER just in case, which I did.

I can tell when they’re coming because my vision goes funny, a little blurred or a zigzag line, then my hand goes numb, then about 15-45 min later the pain begins and lasts for about 24 hours. Then I usually panic and text Brandon at work and he takes me to the ER. I don’t know if it will ever go away or if we will find a treatment, but I hope so! I guess now we will have an expensive medical bill to pay unexpectedly this month… got to love the U.S. health system.

Edit: I have realized that the day before my migraine I ate multiple foods that can trigger one! I also didn’t eat breakfast right away which is apparently not good too and was mildly stressed, so the combination of those things resulted in the migraine! Then I also did a lot wrong when it came to treating the migraine… apparently I was supposed to put an icepack on my head, I did a hot compress. I also went out in the light, I should have laid down in complete dark and silence. Now I know!

Okay, that’s enough about my migraine problem! It’s the only interesting thing that happened this month. On to the finances!

If you haven’t checked out my financial planning e-workbook yet, I suggest you do! It’s a great tool that will make you and/or save you thousands of dollars, if not more, for only $9.99. I’m really proud of it and know it will help people so much! Feel free to click here to read more about it!

Our Partial Financial Independence Goals:

• $0 Debt.
• Brandon works part time at his job.
• I am self-employed. I can choose how much or how little I want to work & when.
• We need $2,000+/month in income, whether that comes from investments, Brandon’s part time job, my blog, my workbook, etc. it doesn’t matter.

Our Current Numbers as of February 1st, 2022:

• Roth IRAs (Betterment -SRI Sustainable): $24,470.66 and $21,457.76
• My small Traditional IRA (From an old 401(k) rollover -Betterment): $1,783.86
• Tesla: $837.61
• AYRO (Free Crypto from signing up with Robinhood): $1.13
• Bitcoin: $1,041.91
• Total Invested: $49,592.93
• Savings: $18,003.18
• Debt: -$120,983.82 (Mortgage)
• Just Brandon is working full time.

For me, investing in Crypto & Tesla is gambling. I invested that money knowing full well that I could lose it all and be okay with that. I also don’t include the value of our house & car in our updates, any random cash we are saving up for house projects, or how much we have saved up in credit card rewards.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Meghan

My Links:

• My Financial Planning Workbook!
• ThriftBooks -I LOVE them as a company & order all of my books from them now! They ship super fast, great service, books always show up as described, super cheap, & good for the planet because they’re second-hand, but you get to choose the quality!
• BetterHelp -A week of Therapy for FREE!
• Betterment -Invest your first $5,000 for FREE!
• Back Market -My referral code: 6888f588d6f85083 -$10 off your order! Refurbished Tech! My sister & I both got “new” phones from there. They’re awesome, great quality, so much cheaper than buying new (by up to 70%), came super fast, was super easy to buy, AND we saved 123 pounds of carbon emissions, each!