Q1 2026 FIRE Update – Retire by 40

We purchased this condo in 2011 for my parents to live in. We live in the same complex and thought they could move there. However, it didn’t work out. Instead, my mom moved in with us, and my dad lived in Thailand. It has been a rental ever since.

Our tenant moved out at the end of 2025. I fixed the place up and put it up for sale. The condo market in Portland is pretty slow. Portland has a bad reputation since the COVID pandemic. Things are slowly improving, but the condo market is still very slow. Also, the interest rate is over 6%, and the economy is uncertain. We cut the price once and might need to reduce it again to generate more interest.

Optimize withdrawal and taxes

2026 is the first full year that Mrs. RB40 won’t have active income. Our taxable income will be pretty low, probably around $40,000. I need to figure out how to replenish our cash cushion and optimize for taxes.

For example, the long-term capital gains rate is 0% for AGI up to $98,900 in 2026 (married filing jointly). I should sell some stocks in our taxable account to take advantage of this rule. I should also do some Roth conversions to reduce future RMDs.

Help Mrs. RB40’s mom file for Social Security Benefits

Mrs. RB40’s mom applied for social security benefits years ago, and they told her she didn’t qualify. She was a teacher in California and had a pension. She didn’t pay into Social Security. Her pension also offset any spousal benefits. However, the rule changed in 2025, and she can appeal the denial. She should be able to get the spousal benefits now. She was reluctant to do it because she got rejected previously. I finally convinced her to appeal.

I cajoled Mrs. RB40 and her mom to talk to the Social Security Office, and they are planning to do it next week. This shouldn’t be that difficult. Her mom doesn’t need the money now, but it will be helpful when her healthcare expenses increase in the future. (Mrs. RB40’s dad is paying a ton for long-term care.)

Track net worth and hope for 10% gains

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s great to see the progress over the years. This year, I’d like to see 10% gains. At this point, it’s all dependent on the stock market, and there isn’t much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll track it and keep my fingers crossed.

The stock market was doing quite well before Trump started an ill-conceived war with Iran. Now, Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and the global economy probably will go into recession soon. Our net worth is down only a bit so far, but I think it’ll get much worse soon. I don’t understand why people believe this war will be over in a few weeks.

Health Goals

Lower my triglyceride level

On the last annual physical, my triglyceride was 486 mg/dL. That’s very high. I had this problem for a long time, but the medication helped keep it under control. My new primary care physician told me to go on a low-carb diet, and we’ll see what happens next time. My goal is to reduce it to around 150.

I replaced white rice with brown rice and cauliflower rice. I also need to stop purchasing chips and other junk foods. I’m making some progress on that front, but lifestyle change is tough.

Help move Mrs. RB40’s dad

Mrs. RB40 successfully moved her dad into an assisted living facility. He couldn’t live at home anymore because he lost his mobility. We hoped he could regain his ability to walk with physical therapy, but it doesn’t look good. It seems to me that he isn’t making the effort.

He is pretty antisocial. He stays in his room and watches TV all day. Mrs. RB40 is spending a lot of time in California to help with taxes and various appointments. He let a lot of stuff slip through the cracks last year. His tax refund is still on hold because he needs to verify his identity with the IRS. Now that Mrs. RB40 is retired, she has time to fix all the problems. Unfortunately, this means she has been in California for most of Q1. I’m looking forward to having her back at home soon.

Fun Goals

Pottery profitable

My pottery hobby is pretty expensive. I spend about $150/month on it. This year, I’d like to sell some pieces and break even. We’ll see how it goes. That’s actually a tall order. I don’t see how I can sell that much pottery. I’ll try…

My latest pieces…

Meandering toward full retirement

This year, I plan to retire more and work less. This means less blogging and delivery driving.

I committed to posting at least once per month. That’s been good so far. As expected, the blog traffic declined. Let’s finish off this year and figure out the rest later. It’d be tough to continue blogging if it cost over $100/month to maintain. Thank you for your support over the years. I truly appreciate it.

I also cut way back on delivery driving. Now, I deliver only a few times per week. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze, but it’s hard to quit completely. I gotta pay for my pottery hobby somehow, right?

Happiness level > 8

Q1 was tough for me. Mrs. RB40 was gone most of the time. The RB40 household was much less lively without her around. RB40Jr was good, but he’s a teenager now. He is more independent, and we don’t have much in common anymore. He always says no whenever I ask him to do anything. That’s alright. I kept busy and had fun with my hobbies – pottery and ukulele. However, current events made me quite unhappy in Q1. ICE running rampant, Iran War, tariffs, birthright citizenship fight, and a lot of other bullshit from Trump and his cronies. I’m bracing myself for a few more years of this craziness.

Also, my dad had radiation treatment for prostate cancer. It worked out well, and he is recovering nicely. I’ll go visit him this summer.

All in all, Q1 wasn’t great, but I guess it could have been a whole lot worse. The gloomy weather didn’t help.  

Net Worth (-3.7%)

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see our progress. The power of compounding is incredible.

2026 was going pretty well until Trump bombed Iran. Now, the Strait of Hormuz is closed and everything is more expensive. I don’t see how energy price will come down as long as the situation spiral out of control. We already modified out asset allocation to be more conservative when Mrs. RB40 retired last year. We’ll stay the course and rebalance as needed.

***Important*** If you’re young (under 50), my best advice is to stay the course. Do not stop investing. You should keep investing whether the stock market is up or down. You might think stocks are too expensive, but it’ll look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you’ll achieve financial independence someday. Don’t try to time the market. However, you need to be more conservative and diversify more if you’re retired.

This is a chart of our net worth from Empower. Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. They have great free tools for DIY investors. This chart looks suspiciously flat. I think you have to log in more often to get a more accurate picture. I haven’t been paying much attention to our net worth lately.

Q1 2026 FIRE Cash Flow

This FIRE cash flow chart includes Mrs. RB40’s pension, my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income.

This year, the main goal is to keep our expenses below $80,000. This is a 25% increase from 2025. We’re doing well financially and we’ll try to loosen up a bit.

Q1 FIRE Income: $10,630

• Pension: $3,273. Mrs. RB40 has a small pension from her job.
• Real estate crowdfunding: $963. RE crowdfunding is doing okay. One project is failing, but the rest are good. Overall, we are doing okay.  
• Dividend Income: $4,397.
• Online income: $145. My blogging income is disappearing. I’ll keep blogging for now, but I’ll lose motivation once we start losing money at this gig.
• Odd jobs: $950. My other side gig is catering delivery. I delivered 20 orders in Q1. I don’t get out of bed for less than $35. This means I rejected many orders.  
• Misc income: $902. This is the reimbursement for Mrs. RB40’s expenses from her dad.     

Spending: $16,938

Previously, I updated this chart monthly. Now, I’m doing it quarterly, and it’s harder to compare the numbers. It’s a different format, so I can’t see the trend. Generally, things look fine for now.

• Housing: $4,971.   
• Transportation: $503. Gas, parking, and insurance. This one was pretty good. Our car is paid off, and we don’t need a new one yet.   
• Groceries: $1,573. Groceries are more expensive than ever. I try to stock up when things are on sale and keep it under control.
• Entertainment: $2,382. This includes eating out and other fun activities. This one was higher than usual because I splurged on an expensive Sumi ukulele ($1,000).              
• Health: $1,008. Our health-related expenses are increasing as we get older. I guess that’s life.   
• Kid: $1,024. This wasn’t too bad. RB40Jr grew a lot this past year, and we spent quite a bit to replace his clothing and shoes. He had plenty of activities as well – debate, racquetball, Ultimate frisbee, Jit Jitsu, etc…
• Personal spending: $887. Hobby, clothes, haircuts, gadgets, and more.
• Travel: $4,417. We purchased flight tickets for our summer trip to Thailand and Australia as soon as the Iran war started. I still need to book rooms and activities.     
• Rental Loss: -$3,593. That rental condo is vacant and really needs to go.           

Retirement Savings Withdrawal: –$9,901

• Our withdrawal is pretty low so far. Our taxable account should be able to support this until we can withdraw from my retirement accounts, in 2033.

Q1 2026 wrap-up

Alright, Q1 is over. It was a tough quarter for me. The gloomy weather, Mrs. RB40 gone, and craziness in the news. They all weighed me down psychologically. However, the weather is finally nicer. It was sunny and warm in Portland when I wrote this blog post. I can already feel my mood improving. Keep at it, everyone.

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Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.

Joe recommends Empower for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.