Ascent to Independence
Total Net Worth: $4,582,720
Liquid Assets: $4,032,720
$4,032,720 of $5,000,000 (80.7%)
I think of this portfolio as our financial engine, relentlessly compounding towards our aspirational family goals. Every dollar invested is the result of thousands of deliberate daily choices, imperfect but persistent, laying the path to financial independence.
Total Liquid Assets: $4,032,720
| Ticker ▲▼ | Class ▲▼ | Shares ▲▼ | Price ▲▼ | Total Value ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FZROX | Total Market | 41288.31 | $27.22 | $1,123,867.80 |
| FZILX | International | 37105.18 | $17.11 | $634,869.63 |
| FNILX | Large Cap | 15767.57 | $28.05 | $442,280.34 |
| FSPGX | Growth | 7191.13 | $50.70 | $364,590.29 |
| MA | Growth | 274.88 | $570.06 | $156,698.09 |
| FSKAX | Total Market | 1014 | $214.95 | $217,959.30 |
| FXAIX | Large Cap | 623.41 | $271.69 | $169,374.26 |
| AMZN | Growth | 280 | $259.92 | $72,777.60 |
| FDRXX | Cash | 53288 | $1.00 | $53,288.00 |
| T-BILLS | Bonds | 797015 | $1.00 | $797,015.00 |
Total Real Assets: $550,000
| Asset | Purchase Price (2007) | Mortgage | Zestimate | Equity Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Home | $387,000 | $0 (Paid Off!) | $550,000 | $550,000 |
Note: I do not track depreciating assets here (like cars, furniture, stuff), nor do I include the College 529 plans for my kids. I view the Zillow Zestimate as a rough indicator, not a valuation tool; the real objective is maintaining a mortgage-free home and the flexibility it provides. This portfolio focuses only on wealth-building assets, the capital that will fuel financial independence.
Market Based Portfolio Income
These figures are calculated using my ESP Income System. It does not include real assets like my fully-owned home, which quietly reduces my monthly burn rate. It also excludes roughly ~$75K/year my wife and I will collect in social security at age 70, because that's 14 years away!
🐂 Bull Market
4.5% Rule
$181,472
🐑 Lamb Market
4% Rule
$161,309
🐖 Pig Market
3.5% Rule
$141,145
🐻 Bear Market
3% Rule
$120,982
My Wabi-Sabi Liquid Asset Allocation
Here's a breakdown of how each asset class contributes to our liquid net worth. Is this the perfect allocation? I have no idea, likely not. In theory I could model correlations, volatilities, and efficient frontiers to see if my portfolio is optimal. In practice, markets fluctuate, covariances shift, and persistence usually beats the illusion of precision. The perfect allocation does not really matter (at least not to me). What does matter is PERSISTENTLY CONTRIBUTING to each category.
Stocks: 78.9% | Bonds & Cash: 21.1%
Target vs. Actual Liquid Asset Allocation
This is what I’ve decided my ideal portfolio should look like: a balance between ownership assets to outpace inflation, and lending assets to keep me afloat in market corrections. Is it perfect? Doubtful. But I think it’s a reasonable plan, and I intend to consistently follow it to $5M and beyond. My real metric isn’t perfection; it's persistence. This table shows where I stand today and what it would take to reach my targets.
| Asset Class | Target (%) | Actual (%) | Difference (%) |
|---|
Liquid Net Worth-Based Allocation Glidepath
Age-based allocation rules never made sense to me. They treat risk as a birthday problem, not a balance-sheet problem. I prefer a net-worth-based approach: stay aggressive while building wealth, then lock in a permanent bond fortress once the portfolio can support it. For us, that meant 100% equities until $3M in liquid net worth, then anchoring a $1M bond floor and letting equities scale upward from there. Inflation is the real long-term threat, so stocks naturally take the lead, with a modest 5% cash cushion for living expenses that gets topped up each year. At our current liquid net worth of $4,032,720, this is the net worth allocation bracket we fall into today.
| Liquid Net Worth | Equity (%) | Bonds (%) | Cash (%) | Equity ($) | Bonds ($) | Cash ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000,000 | 65.0% | 33.3% | 1.7% | $1,950,000 | $1,000,000 | $50,000 |
| $3,100,000 | 65.5% | 32.3% | 2.2% | $2,030,500 | $1,000,000 | $69,500 |
| $3,200,000 | 66.0% | 31.3% | 2.8% | $2,112,000 | $1,000,000 | $88,000 |
| $3,300,000 | 66.5% | 30.3% | 3.2% | $2,194,500 | $1,000,000 | $105,500 |
| $3,400,000 | 67.0% | 29.4% | 3.6% | $2,278,000 | $1,000,000 | $122,000 |
| $3,500,000 | 67.5% | 28.6% | 3.9% | $2,362,500 | $1,000,000 | $137,500 |
| $3,600,000 | 68.0% | 27.8% | 4.2% | $2,448,000 | $1,000,000 | $152,000 |
| $3,700,000 | 68.5% | 27.0% | 4.5% | $2,534,500 | $1,000,000 | $165,500 |
| $3,800,000 | 69.0% | 26.3% | 4.7% | $2,622,000 | $1,000,000 | $178,000 |
| $3,900,000 | 69.5% | 25.6% | 4.9% | $2,710,500 | $1,000,000 | $189,500 |
| $4,000,000 | 70.0% | 25.0% | 5.0% | $2,800,000 | $1,000,000 | $200,000 |
| $4,100,000 | 70.6% | 24.4% | 5.0% | $2,894,600 | $1,000,000 | $205,400 |
| $4,200,000 | 71.2% | 23.8% | 5.0% | $2,990,400 | $1,000,000 | $209,600 |
| $4,300,000 | 71.7% | 23.3% | 5.0% | $3,083,100 | $1,000,000 | $216,900 |
| $4,400,000 | 72.3% | 22.7% | 5.0% | $3,181,200 | $1,000,000 | $218,800 |
| $4,500,000 | 72.8% | 22.2% | 5.0% | $3,276,000 | $1,000,000 | $224,000 |
| $4,600,000 | 73.3% | 21.7% | 5.0% | $3,371,800 | $1,000,000 | $228,200 |
| $4,700,000 | 73.7% | 21.3% | 5.0% | $3,463,900 | $1,000,000 | $236,100 |
| $4,800,000 | 74.2% | 20.8% | 5.0% | $3,561,600 | $1,000,000 | $238,400 |
| $4,900,000 | 74.6% | 20.4% | 5.0% | $3,655,400 | $1,000,000 | $244,600 |
| $5,000,000 | 75.0% | 20.0% | 5.0% | $3,750,000 | $1,000,000 | $250,000 |