So we bought our second EV last month before the tax credits expired.  We qualified for it based on our 2024 income and had been considering it since 2024, but decided in May 2024 to buy a used Tesla instead for $30k because paying $50k seemed a lot.  Anyway after we bought our 2021 Tesla DH really enjoyed the self-driving and foudn it useful.  So we made a plan to buy a new tesla end of 2025 right before we would lose the $7500 tax credit.  Since they moved it up, we moved up our purchase.  So we have two Teslas Model Y now a generation apart and will honestly buy the next generation after it comes out.

The cost to insure the tesla are substantial.  But i'm not sure if it's expensive because it's newer cars that cost more than what we we were driving or because rising prices.  Either way i used chatgpt to calculate the kwh averaged and the cost.  It worked out to 447 kWh per month for the EV. That worked out to about $67.27/month or $807/year.  Is this cheaper than gas?  A little.  Based on my spreadsheet we spent around $2000/year on gas.  That works out to about $1200/year savings.  But the cost of electricity has bee rising fast as well.  

Of course it's also cheaper to maintain the EV so there is that.  But the increased cost of tires and insurance might balance that out.  Either way it's fun to drive and I think there is some savings gas wise. 

Would i suggest people buy an EV?  I think if you are at the point of replacing your gas car it's worth looking into. I don't think if you had a new car it's worth trading in.  We got our EV because DH last year had his car totalled so we needed to get a new car for him.  Then because it was definitely what we wanted we got it new and now I'm driving the 2021 Model Y.  It replaced my 2015 Sienna minivan which was also a great car but we don't really need a people hauler anymore since I've been carpooling less.  This is pretty much my last year.

It last 8 years 2017-2025 and we paid $28k for it and sold it back for $16k.  Great deal bought used.  I'm sure we could also trade in the used tesla but for now we are keeping it. I am leaning to seeing if DK1 drives ok for year then giving her the 2021 tesla and then getting something different for me, or potentially DH will get another tesla and we'll just keep handing them down.  

So the reason we stayed in Hakone where we did was go to the once a month Geisha Event show.  We stayed at the Hakone Tenyu Kowaiken hotel and they had a special dinner and show.  It was fantastic.  We had a great time.  Got to interact and play games with the Geisha. I'm not sure the kids got it.  Perhaps one day we'll head to Kyoto and do Gion.  

From Kyoto to Nara we took a special sightseeing train called the aoniyoshi train. It was good but I'm not sure it was worth getting up early to do.  But it was comfortable and ride was pretty.  

We stopped in Nara to see the Deer Park and visit the Buddha's Nose at the Todaiji Temple.  10 years ago DH went through the nose and 20 years ago we both did. This time I dare not and DH was going to do it but got scared off.  Honeslty he'd have fit.  

The buddha's nose.  Go through it for enlightenment.  yeah I fit 20 years ago and he fit less than 10.  Since DH hasn't gained weight like I have I'm pretty sure he'd have fit but it's a lot harder.  Kiddos refused to be so undignified and our DK1 had short skirt on or I'd have made her.  She'd definitely fit.

The deer in Nara you feed them at the temple ground. Those pesky things always bite me.  yep every single time.  The kids love it.  We have to stop though we've been multiple times.

this is a specific type of sushi from the Kansai Region.  it's sushi preserved in a persimmon leaf.  Delicious.

That's the salmon unwrapped.

Kushikatsu again a kansai area speciality. It's deep fried food on a stick.

Another Osaka Kansai speciality Takoyaki.  Michelin level street food from Dontonbori area of Osaka.

Osaka Kansai traditional Japanese Okonomiyaki.  We were eating our way through Japan as my mom said.  We mostly did places where they didn't speak english and everyone was a local. My kids thought it hilarious that we walked into random joints that were packed but no tourist and no lines.  

The one expensive dinner was Kobe Beef.  Wagyu Kobe beef.  World famous need I say more?  I will admit we dropped 4 figures on this one meal and it cost more than all the rest of our meals combined including all the sushi.

Tomorrow I'll try to do the Osaka Expo and USJ nintendo world.  The posting now of photos appears to be so much easier than before.  

So I do love sushi and this was quite an experience.  Kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi but michelin grade.  We were there before it opened at 10 am (9:30 am) and we were still number 5 on the waitlist.  I've never had 3 different types of Uni (sea urchin) purple, green, and orange.  Delicious. Scallop, Salmon, and a O-Toro in the background.

We left tokyo and journey to Hakone for a two night stay at an Onsen.  It's a traditional Japanese Bath.  When we arrived late we had this traditional meal they are apparently famous for a Oyako Donburi but made with Tofu breaded cutlet instead of chicken. They make the tofu locally.  Spectacular.  My mom said we ate our way through Japan.  Probably true since i'm not even posting the photos of the kids with food in hand.

next up the view from the onsen.  Taken super early in the morning when I was solo.  The outdoor bath had a private secluded view.  Like an infinity pool.  The peace of nature was glorius.  We arrived early from Tokyo and did the famous Hakone Loop.

next we had dinner at the Ryokan (traditional Japanese Hotel with onsen) and it included a dinner buffet.  Truly traditional ryokan you eat in room a Kaiseki (multi mini course meal) Dinner.  I wasn't feeling it and DH preferred western beds not Tatami mats (sleeping on bedrolls on floor).  So we choose a more modern and westernized Ryokan.  That mean a bigger place with a buffet instead of a home cooked meal.  But the buffet included a quick 10 minute show of cutting the Maguro (bluefin tuna) at least 100 lbs if not more!  I've never actually seen a professional cutting. Yes I'm from hawaii and yes I've seen friends and family cut fish all the time.  But this was insane!  Look at the size of the head.

Enjoy the journey.  If i run out of Japan photos I'll do more from earlier in the year and maybe even more photos from a few prior trips I always meant to post but never did.

So I missed yesterday and I figured i'll post two photos and they kinda go hand in hand anyway.  In japan we went to this place called harry's hedgehog cafe.  We played with hedgehogs and otters.  https://harinezumi-cafe.com/en/

Photo Day 3  well a neighbor sent me this so i will post and detour from trip photos.

It's a bobcat in my neighborhood.  Wow gotta be careful with our dog.  I'm enjoying these quick little photo posts

Photo Day 2  Japanese Fluffy pancakes are delicious and we happened to eat some.  It has fresh peaches and jelly.  So delicious.

I wanted to post a photo a day so I'm going to post photos of our travels throughout the year.  So this summer our big trip was to Japan.  We started our trip in Tokyo and we stayed at Tokyo Shibuya Excel Hotel. It is directly attached to the train station and overlooked the famous pedestrian Shibuya Crossing.  We arrived at 5 pm then had to clear customs and take an hour ride in from Narita Airport.

We had a lot of awesome adventures this year and i'll be hard to only pick one.

It's hard to picture compounding as it happens.  It's hard to see it as you save and all your effort seems to get you nowhere.  You seem to tread water forever.  I mentioned the wealth ladder by Nick Magguli before and I said it was the spending muscle.  I mentioned getting lost in rung 4.  All true but something interesting has happend along the way. I've gotten to see a really clear pattern of compounding.

DH started his 401k in 2005.  20 years ago.  He didn't have it before even though he'd been in the US since 2000.  We had no money and graduate students didn't have a 401k.  But in 2005 he contributed $4870 because he started working that September I believe since he graduated in June 2005.  

We also maxed out our Roth IRA contributions every year since.  I started in 2003 but it was a struggle for us.  In 2005 the 401k contribution was $14k and the IRA max was $4k. So we could save a total of $22k/year into retirement accounts.  I haven't had a 401k until I started my own business but that's a different issue.

So since then he only missed one year of maxing out his contributions 2022 when the startup didn't offer a 401k.  2021 he contributed to his job in January before he quit.  In 2023, 2024, and 2025 he's maxed out his contributions.  So he's saved $375k into his 401k and into his Roth IRA $121,500.  But let's call it 20 years of contributions, not quite but close.  For me i've saved around $127,500 into my Roth IRA.

What does he have now?  His old 401k is $1,197,300 and he has a new 401k of $52,934 (when I last checked in January 2025.  So for $375k in contributions he now has $1.2m.  His Roth IRA has $896,936, just shy of $900k.  We did a few conversions and rollovers, but mostly it's been growth.

So this year our entire portfolio has been up around 20%.  But I thought the most interesting part has been his old 401k.  He has not touched it since 2021.  it's been the same investment of 80% total stock market and 20% Global Stock Market.  We didn't even rebalance. 

2021 February - $708,978 in the total market and global market

2022 January - $847,934 - we couldn't contribute only growth

2023 January - $694,765 - that was the bad year

2024 January - $852,245 - recovery

2025 January - $1,046,748 - growth

Today 10/1/2025 - 1,197,300 

Since 2021 it's been all compounding.  It's hard to see when you are contributing the growth since you only see your contributions.  But seeing an account we just leave alone without messing with it, without contributions it's a bit mind blowing how it's growing.  From here on out a 10% year over year growth will mean in 20 years when DH is 67 mean there will be $8m in his 401k alone. 

At a very conservative 5% considering we aren't going to touch it and leave it in total stock market $3.2m.  So a bad 2 decades we will still have $3.2m.  At 8% compound annual growth rate it is $5.6M.

But the first 20 years took his saving a lot to reach $1m.  The next 20 is when it really takes off.  I'm not sure if we will leave it alone or do some conversions because it'll be about 30 years before he has an RMD.  At 5% he'll have $5.1m.  At 8% for 30 years he'll have $12m.  At 10% for 30 years $20m.  That seems a bit crazy to be honest.

I'm not sure where we will end up.  But the RMD on $5.1M which is the 5% conservative growth for 30 years is $194k/year.  From that one account DH will have $194k RMD potentially.

Seeing this in black and white, listening to the wealth ladder.  Thinking about coast fire.  This is why I decided we needed to start spending.  I honestly think we might have oversaved in a way I certainly didn't think was possible as we were going along.

Yes I did feel like we deprived ourselves.  But I said we had to live below our means.  That if we saved say 40% of our income then we only had to replace 60%.  All true.  And we are at our FIRE number in our 40s because of it.  A very fat fire.  But it was hard to picture in my 30s that we could ease up.  That we could save 15% of our income and be fine and retired at 55 or 50 and live a little more lax.

I guess i'm reflecting so others can maybe think more about what they are saving for earlier.  Why?  And is it really necessary?  I ask myself that daily now.  Is it necessary to be so cognizent of money?  Do i need to say I don't need it. Or is it okay to say sure we can have it.

Sure we can afford to eat it, buy it, wear it. I can unflinching pay for all school stuff and do so immediately. I can donate to the PTSA more than they ask.  I am not going to waste things but i can relax about splitting a check because it's not going to ruin our monthly budget.

Honestly we don't have a budget anymore.  I was never the serious budgeter, I was a pay yourself first and spend the rest and I still am.  But now I am starting to lean in. I am starting to be more like we can spend all of our salary after we max out our Roth IRA, 401ks, and ESA.  Why not?   We are coasting to retirement.  We hit our number.  Every year of saving gives us nothing but excess so we need to thoughtfully spend now instead of save.

I probably could have been less harsh on myself 4 years in 2021.  When DH started the startup.  I was freaking out that we didn't have a 401k.  That we weren't saving 15%.  That we weren't able to save more than 25%.  I was like "failure".  I worried we were reckless.  I realize and hindsight is 20/20, that if we didn't save a penny since 2021 we'd likely still be okay to retire today.  That compounding and the fact we are still working would do the work for us.

I think i sort of realized it a little last summer 2024 august.  But it really hit me this summer when the wealth ladder crystalized how I felt about our net worth.  I felt I had "enough".  That we were fine and I was fine never getting to rung 5 and hanging it up instead.  And that acceptance really helped me feel enough.

It helped me accept it didn't matter and I could stop stressing about running out and being "prudent".  I could stop penny pinching and looking at a budget.  Instead I should breathe and say we're fine.

I hope this shines a light on others who are hoping to retire or retired about their spending.