It’s not exactly the end of the year but I’m writing this post now because I’ll be in Europe for most of December and I have a busy itinerary so I doubt I’ll have time to write too many posts. Here are the most important reflections for me in 2024 from a personal finance perspective.
Fear – Synapse Bankruptcy
While I didn’t lose any money with the Synapse debacle, there were many people who lost everything. Below is a quote from this article from CNBC.com:
For 15 years, former Texas schoolteacher Kayla Morris put every dollar she could save into a home for her growing family.
When she and her husband sold the house last year, they stowed away the proceeds, $282,153.87, in what they thought of as a safe place — an account at the savings startup Yotta held at a real bank.
Morris, like thousands of other customers, was snared in the collapse of a behind-the-scenes fintech firm called Synapse and has been locked out of her account for six months as of November. She held out hope that her money was still secure. Then she learned how much Evolve Bank & Trust, the lender where her funds were supposed to be held, was prepared to return to her.
“We were informed last Monday that Evolve was only going to pay us $500 out of that $280,000,” Morris said during a court hearing last week, her voice wavering. “It’s just devastating.”
I wrote earlier that if there is ONE piece of universal financial advice I would give to everyone on planet earth, it would be to NOT keep all your financial eggs in one basket.
Health
In 2024, I decided to take control of my health to a degree I’ve never done before and it’s paid off. I’m on my way to losing 30 lbs largely because of taking Zepbound. I also started my own parallel medical ecosystem and I will be extending it into 2025 including planning a trip to Southeast Asia to get a full medical work up before I retire.
Taxes
After a disastrous 2023 tax year where I ended up owing Uncle Sam $15,000 on top of the six figures I had already paid in taxes, I decided to take drastic action, conduct an autopsy, and created a plan to avoid the same fiasco in 2025. Buying municipal bonds, deferring my compensation, and tax optimizing my retirement buckets are all part of a holistic strategy to be fully prepared for my financial future.
Retirement
My main drive right now after reaching burnout points in my career has been to focus on my retirement planning by creating a multi-step retirement plan, retirement spreadsheets, and signing on with new software, Boldin, to create a master retirement plan.
Share The Wealth
Have you reflected on your year? Let me know in the comments below…