Hey neighbors, happy Thursday. I follow a writer (link to the article below) who writes about work. He’s the type of guy who reached a financial point where work became optional, but then realized he’s now bored.

I think many people wanna escape their 9-5s and chase that idea of “freedom is the highest form of wealth”, but they may not think about what’s next once that’s achieved. It’s hard to have a vision for “what’s next” without defining for yourself what’s meaningful and a fulfilling use of your time. Otherwise, you might reach a different kind of burnout.

I have daily daydreams about my 9-5 escape, but maybe I’m chasing the wrong thing and need check myself.

If you've found yourself in that "now what?" moment after achieving something you thought you wanted, reply and tell me about it! Anyways.

⏰ It’s what you do with your freedom: Turns out getting everything you wanted (time, money, freedom) may just leave you staring at a blank calendar wondering what the hell to do with yourself. Freedom without purpose is just expensive boredom.

📉 Real estate: The priciest condo to sell last week sold for $22.5M in Steinway Tower on Billionaires’ Row. Amenities include in-residence fine french dining, 82-ft swimming pool, and a porte-cochère (yes, I had to look that up too). 📣 Shoutout to Olshan Realty who publishes weekly “Making Sense of the Market” reports that share insights like this one. It’s how I found this data. They don’t sponsor this newsletter, btw. I just thought it was a cool report.

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Cash Confessionals are weekly stories where NYC locals peel back the curtain and expose their money habits.

Living situation: I rent in East Williamsburg with my partner for $3,320/month total (we split 50/50), plus about $100 for utilities. We just moved here in January and I love the location. It's close to friends and Manhattan is easily accessible. We're hoping to move to a beach town or split time between NYC/NJ within the next 2-4 years.

Career: I'm a data analyst in insurance making $130k base with about a $10k annual bonus. I'm satisfied with the salary, but my real career goal is to not have a corporate job. I want to build up enough investment income so I can have more flexibility in how I spend my time and focus on projects I find more compelling.

Expenses: I track everything obsessively. It's the only way to understand your money habits. My weekly spending breaks down to: $55 on activities/entertainment, $40 on groceries, $120 eating out, $10 on drinks, and $60 on Ubers (which shocked me when I calculated it). My biggest recurring expense after rent is my gym membership at $175/month. I splurge on eating out and traveling.

Best money decision recently: Tracking every single expense and categorizing it. Some people think it's overkill, but it helps me realize when my spending gets outrageous in certain categories, like taking Ubers when I could've taken the subway.

Debt: Zero debt. I pay off my credit cards in full every month using my salary. I refuse to pay interest to a bank on borrowed money; debt is a last resort for me.

Saving & investing: I save about 50% of my paycheck after taxes every month. I have a $20k emergency fund and mostly invest in broad-based ETFs with some dividend-paying investments for income. I max out my 401k and Roth IRA every year, plus contribute $100/paycheck to my HSA. Sometimes I feel like I'm over-indexing on saving for retirement and should be more liberal with my money now.

Retirement: I have $260k in retirement accounts, which is a little over half my total net worth.

What are your long-term goals? $1M net worth by age 30! It started as an abstract goal I never thought I could achieve, but after completing my 2024 budget, I'm projecting to hit it by 32-33 if my investments continue doing well. Long-term, I want to be financially free so I can spend as many years as possible not tied to a 9-5 and focus on work I find more compelling. I feel comfortable knowing I can cover any financial emergency up to $20k, but I still feel like I need to aggressively save to be truly financially safe and free.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition. If you have ideas for stories, know about new business coming soon, or want to do your own anonymous Cash Confessionals submission, let me know!

Josh Stilwell

P.S.

Read something you like or maybe don’t like? Hit reply and let me know!