2023 Was My Best Year

December 31, 2023

I’m 10 months into early retirement and 2023 went great. It started out pretty rough, with the stock market down and me getting laid off from work, but it ended up being a fantastic year. I had some amazing adventures, I hit some goals, and my finances went well. The only thing that went wrong was my wife broke her leg, but she is doing much better and starting to heal up. I’m dying to go camping out in the desert, but that will have to wait a couple months.

Retirement Rocks

I truly enjoyed my early retirement this year and I cherished all of the small moments of freedom. It has been everything I dreamed it would be and then some. I don’t know how people get bored in retirement, because I am loving all the free time and there never seems to be enough of it. After 10 months, I’m finally starting to get a feeling for how it’s going to work out and I’m loving it. I also have a lot more confidence about my future. My only regret is that I spent so much time in limbo, when I first retired. If I could change any one thing about my retirement, I would have formulated a financial plan while I was still working, so I didn’t stress and worry so much.

Travel & Adventure

Visited 7 New States (37/50)
Visited 3 National Parks (15/40)
Took 3 Destination Trips (11/25)
Took a bunch of Weekend Trips
Hiked 1 of the Six Pack of Peaks (2/8)

Health & Fitness

Hit my Target Weigh of 160 Pounds
Walk or hike 2-3 times a week.
Cut way back on drinking.
Need to increase Strength Training.

Finances & Income

Grew my net worth by $52K, despite living on investments all year.
Came up short on my Million Dollar Goal by only $18K.
Turned 59 1/2, so I can withdraw from my IRAs.
Need to start a new side-hustle for 2024.

The Bottom Line

There are good and bad years in everyone’s lives, but often it depends on what you make of it. I turned around a rough year and finished it off strong. No matter how 2023 went for you, 2024 could be your best year ever.