FIRE Metrics That Matter: Monthly Check-In

Yesterday was the start of the month, so I did my usual financial check-in.

I’ve been doing this for years—either the last day of the month or the first.

Post-FIRE, I’ve found I primarily care about three numbers:

·       Withdrawal Rate

·       Net Worth

·       Cash Flow

These are also three of what I think of as the 7 FIRE Metrics That Matter:

·       Cash Flow (from investments, not a paycheck)

·       Savings Rate

·       Net Worth

·       ROI

·       Burn Rate

·       Debt

·       Withdrawal Rate

First four: you want them going up.

Last three: you want them going down.

Before I hit my crossover point, my focus was different:

·       Eliminate debt

·       Increase savings rate (I was aiming for 50%+)

·       Understand my burn rate

Those were the levers in my control that I found would get me to the cross-over point the fastest.

Now? It’s mostly about maintaining and paying attention.

You’ll hear some people say: “Don’t check your accounts often.”

I get this idea. You don’t want to overreact and you don’t want to tinker too much.

But I’ve never followed that advice.

I prefer awareness.

There’s a kind of calm that comes from knowing where things actually stand—even when it’s not great.

Case in point: My results for March.

Due to the war in Iran, the stock markets dropped. My liquid net worth was down a bit over 4%. Overall, my total net worth was down about 3%.

Yikes.

If that kept up all year, it’d be ugly.

But I don’t think like that, much.  Only once, Post-FIRE, did I get extremely concerned (March or April 2020, when markets tanked due to Covid-19 scare).

One month doesn’t tell the whole story.

And there were positives:

·       Withdrawal rate: 3.8% (target is 5% or less; at 4.1% in my 12 month rolling average)

·       Cash flow: up about 26% compared to last year at this time.

That last one matters most. By far.

Post-FIRE, cash flow is THE key metric.

If your assets are producing enough cash to cover your lifestyle, everything else becomes less stressful.

Net worth still matters—but mostly as a support metric. You can adjust your withdrawal rate up or down based on the previous year’s status.

And when I look at it, I focus on what’s liquid.

I do track my house and car (using estimates), but let’s be honest—they don’t pay the bills.

So, they’re nice to know… and both were up last month, another positive for March.

But forget trying to track all your other “stuff.” It’s probably not worth what you paid anyway.

Here are a few things for you to think about:

Which of these metrics matters most for where you are right now?

If you had to improve just one, which would it be?

And how often are you actually looking at your numbers?