My Frugal Miser - 2026 Goals

Better late than never.  I've had a rough draft of my 2026 goals sitting here since December of last year.  If I don't publish them, I'm less accountable to achieving these goals.

Financial Plan 

I will increase my net worth by $100,000 in 2026.  I will reduce the real estate portion of net worth and increase the brokerage account portion.  Whenever a real estate syndication in my non-retirement accounts is closed, the funds will move to Brokerage accounts.

Manage Email More Efficiently

Simplify.  It's the overarching goal of just about everything I do... how do I eliminate the unnecessary?  The focus in 2026 will be to streamline my inbox.  Emails with outstanding "action needed" clog my inbox and waste too much of my time.  I'd like to end each day with less than 10 emails sitting in the inbox.

Read One Book per Month

I watch too much TV.  I'm already behind on this goal.  Time to catch up.

Mopeds

They have been sitting in the backyard and haven't been used in years.  It's past time to dispose or repair.

Prepare for the Next Chapter

I'm not ready to discuss this yet, but I am exploring some major changes to shake things up.

My Frugal Miser - March 2026 Income

I worked 23 days in March.  My rental property is still vacant (7 months and counting!).  I received income from the condo tenant.

Open Door Capital continues to pay interest on the promissory note.

March Income: $12,160

$9,288 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$27 Amazon Deliveries

$750 Rental Income (Rental Expenses: $343)
$2,095 Interest Income

$0 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value: ($6,185)

The S&P 500 was down 5.09% in March.  My brokerage accounts also fell, but by less (down about 1.5%).

My Frugal Miser - March 2026 Spending

Frustrating.  

I was doing quite well.  In Aruba for work, and the first couple of days I played a little in the casino.  I was up over $400.  Then one of my coworkers joined me and we drank way too much.  The alcohol has a way of making me do stupid things.  I accessed cash - a lot of it - from a credit card, and in about 10 minutes, I lost it all.

The rest of my March spending was reasonable.

• I replaced the brakes and got an oil change on my car.
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Fun (aka Personal Travel)

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans (well, not in March!).  

• I didn't book any trips.
• Except for a small amount spent at AMC, my spending was money lost gambling.

March Expenses:  $8,809

$905 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$363 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$205 Shopping

$6,593 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$214 Food

$259 Health and Dental

$0 Household/Home Repairs

$142 Work Expenses

$0 Interest Expense

$0 Miscellaneous (cat sitter, gifts)

$0 Taxes

$128 Utilities