As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time for my fifth annual year in review. This is a reflection and goal-setting exercise that I do at the end of each year.
You can view my previous year-in-reviews here.
Overall highlights from 2024
2024 has been quite a positive and busy year for me, filled with some huge life milestones! Here are a few of my general life updates/highlights from this year:
- I got engaged to my incredible girlfriend, now fiance! We have been dating since 2021, and I proposed to her on a (very windy) hike overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe. She is very financially savvy herself and is onboard with my goal of us being financially independent and work optional in our 30s.
- I got more into biking this year, and did three endurance cross-country mountain bike races which were really challenging but also rewarding to finish.
- Towards the end of the year, my fiance and I moved out of the tiny studio that I had lived in for the last 4.5 years and into a one bedroom apartment with enclosed garage that is very close to my work.
- I made multiple trips out to Colorado this year, and we are increasingly interested in Colorado as a long-term home base as part of our our FIRE plans.
- In the beginning of 2024 I was grateful to get an 8% bump in base pay and a 10% bonus, at a time of widespread layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech industry. Over this past year, I have continued to take on increasing responsibilities in my job as a mechanical engineer, while at the same time keeping health and fitness a priority.
2024 goals review
Here’s a look back at my goals for 2024:
- Finish the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL MTB race and the Tahoe Trail 100 MTB race ✅
- I put a big focus on training for my first mountain bike race this year, and I ended up doing three big events, including the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL (68 miles and 8,400ft gain), Tahoe Trail 100 (60miles and 7,300ft gain), and a race in southern Utah near Zion (70 miles and 5,600ft gain)
- Hike / backpack the Timberline trail around Mt Hood in Oregon ❌
- Hike Cactus-to-Clouds (San Jacinto Peak) again ❌
- Create one piece of content per month on WalletBurst ❌
- I’ve been pretty busy between work, travel and fitness over this past year and haven’t put as much time or energy into this site as I should.
- Add $100k to my net worth from saved income (including 401k and HSA contributions and matches) ✅
- I took full advantage of my company’s mega backdoor roth option this past year, and invested the rest of my savings through my taxable brokerage account.
2024 fitness and travel
- Health and fitness is core pillar of my life, and I continued to pursue my love for hiking and biking in the mountains which are shaping up to be lifelong passions for me.
- Looking back at my Strava, I covered a lot elevation gain in 2024! Roughly 425,000ft of total vertical gain over ~3,800miles, with the breakdown being ~36% hiking and ~64% biking.
Here are some of my fitness and travel highlights from 2024:
January:
- Went cross-country skiing at Lake Tahoe with my fiance
April:
- Drove to St George, Utah for a mountain bike race
- Did the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL mountain bike race
May:
- Mountain biking and hiking up at Lake Tahoe
June:
- Hiking at Lake Tahoe with my fiance
- Stayed in Sonora, CA and hiked at Pinecrest lake with my fiance
July:
- Did a 10 day trip to Colorado with some friends which included hiking Mt Massive and Mt Huron (14ers), mountain biking in the legendary Crested Butte, and some 13ers.
- Hiking at Lake Tahoe with my fiance
- Did the Tahoe Trail MTB race in Truckee
August:
- Went camping and hiking near Mammoth Lakes, CA with my fiance
- Did another long weekend trip to Colorado with my fiance and hiked at Rocky Mountain NP
Sept:
- Visited my parents in Wisconsin for a week and did a spontaneous century road bike ride.
October:
- Proposed to my fiance in Lake Tahoe!
November:
- Hiked Alta peak in Sequoia NP
- Hiked Mission peak (if you’re a hiker in the bay area you’re probably familiar) 5 times in one day for a total of 31 miles and 11k feet of vert gain.
- Won a step challenge at my employer with 158k steps in one week
- Did a road trip to Lone Pine, CA with my fiance to see the Alabama Hills and do some hiking
December:
- Went cross-country skiing at Lake Tahoe with my fiance
The good
Overall, 2024 was overflowing with positives. Getting engaged is at the top of the list! My fiance
I tackled a bunch of fitness challenges this year and realized that Colorado would be a really awesome place to live being lower cost than California and closer to the mountains. My dream is to have the free time and live somewhere where I could hike or bike in the mountains most days, and this past year really confirmed that.
With the growth in the markets, my net worth went up way more than I expected over 2024 and it feels like I am really on a timeline to reach financial independence in my 30s.
The bad
However 2024 wasn’t perfect, and my biggest negatives over this past year were actually health-related. I dealt with a series of skin issues including a posion oak reaction and then a bacterial infection that were really unenjoyable.
I also struggled with a biceps femoris (hamstring) tendon injury triggered by biking that lingered for about three months and had me off the bike for most of it. At this point I am pretty much fully recovered, but this injury taught me that I really need to take care of my body as I go into my 30s and focus on injury prevention and not just treatment. As part of this, I recently got a professional bike fitting done which for just $200 for 2 bikes I should have done a long time ago.
My annual spending in 2024
This year I continued to closely track my monthly spending using my monthly personal budget template, which you can get for free here.
In 2024, I spent a total of just about $50k, which was about $10k more than my annual spending in 2023. Here is the breakdown from my budget template:
I’m super happy about the “life value” that I get for my spending, considering that I traveled a lot in 2024 and live in Mountain View, CA which is actually ranked as the #1 place to live in the SF bay area which as a whole is one of the most expensive regions in the USA.
Here are some details about my spending:
- My fiance and I really only go out to eat while traveling, and we don’t drink alcohol. However we do buy organic for a lot of our groceries.
- I do cover our rent but my fiance buys most of our groceries.
- I get daily free lunch at work.
- This spending includes some big purchases like 2 bikes ($4500 total), some medical bills, and furniture for our new apartment.
- When it comes to things like clothes, we do really enjoy higher end gear such as Patagonia and Lululemon but find ways to buy it at a discount, like shopping at outlet stores and gear exchanges. I am big on Craigslist, Offerup, and Goodwill and love the treasure hunt aspect of these.
- This total does not include buying an engagement ring for my fiance 🤑.
2025 goals and plans
Here are my big goals / plans for 2025:
- Get married!
- Travel to Vietnam with my fiance (her home country)
- Beat my vertical gain and mileage totals from 2024
- Do at least one endurance XC mountain bike race, likely Sea Otter again
- Backpack the Timberline trail around Mt Hood
- Backpack a section hike of the John Muir Trail from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Valley. I plan to use this as a baby step towards my goal of eventually thru hiking the full JMT.
Thanks for following along on my journey! Wishing you and yours the best in 2025.
-Andrew 🫡
