I Turn 40.

So I think it says a lot about how I prioritize things that my children's birthdays all get posts on my blog, but I let my own birthday just slip on by, even though it is one of those "big" ones.
Last August I celebrated my 40th year on this Earth, by myself, thousands of miles from home. I was in Vegas for Black Hat and DEFCON.

I know some people like to make a big deal of their birthdays (cough, cough, H (aka Cupcake Girl)) but I am a more reserved person who is happiest with a meal and some cake shared with family.

It is funny, I don't feel 40. I am probably lighter and in better shape than I was 20 years ago. I have a beautiful wife, 2 awesome children, 1 great cat and 1 good cat, and a job that I like and that pays well (and I even got to fulfill my dream of being a member of the US Military). Does my life seem hectic? Yep. But busy is better than not having all these wonderful things in my life. I feel like I have done a lot already in my life and there is a lot more to do and I look forward to the future.

Financial Housecleaning

So in another week or so my birthday will wind around (I like birthdays, they are a sign of accomplishment of living another year). This one is pretty notable as it will be my 40th (crazy to me... I know I just said birthdays are accomplishments but... It is hard to believe we are more than halfway done with 2016 already).

One thing I like to do is step back and look at my financial state (I read blogs like this (which address how you should be investing at certain ages) and use tools at Personal Capital, like their retirement calculator. As I get older and the target window for retirement (I am planning on a hard stop at 62.. that's when I can start drawing my full FERS retirement from my government job). I will give an example of what I just did for my Thrift Savings Account (TSP, 401k for the US Government workers), without any real dollars behind it (I overshare a lot between social media and whatnot, but I have not reached the point of sharing my net worth with the world... I think the only person other than my wife that knows my full net worth is my broker team at Personal Capital (that and Google... but they swear that they won't do evil)).

At the beginning of the 2016 it was 40% C, 15%G, 20% S, 25% I. In March I started the long road to more stable assets, with the plan to decrement C, S, I (subtracting C twice) and slowly build up G and F every six months. So now I am at 38C, 16G, 1F, 20S, 20I. Adjusting both the contribution amount as well as the actual balances. I also did the same with another account (Betterment)  decreasing my total exposure to stocks by 2% there (with a bump in bonds to compensate).

Yes, I know that swinging slowly to more stocks will decrease my potential gains, but it also decreases my total risk exposure, which at this point in my life since I have been a prolific saver overall (not as good as I could have been but I also lived life) means I have a fairly large amount to protect.

So overall, birthdays are a good time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.