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My 2025 in Review: Retired at 40, Hit the Road in an RV, and Started the FIRE Journey2025 was a wild, transformative year—the official kickoff to my FIRE journey. In February, at age 40, I retired, sold the house, and my partner and I moved full-time into a Class C RV to travel the country. It's been an adventure full of freedom, beautiful places, new experiences, and yes, some financial ups and downs. Here's a rundown of how the year went.
Financial Overview, We run three separate portfolios:
* Traditional IRA: Untouched (won't be for another \~20 years), so nothing exciting to report there.
* Taxable Growth Portfolio (on M1 Finance): Ended the year up 25.72%. Not terrible given the market volatility, but I made some timing mistakes—held certain funds too long, sold others too early. Current top holdings by value: GDE, SPMO, VGT, WPAY, SCHG, SMH. There's some overlap in exposure (e.g., big tech across a few), but I'm happy with the allocation overall. WPAY is an experiment to fund weekly buys into the others via its payouts, though it's struggled the last couple months—its underlying assets (big tech + crypto-related holdings) haven't performed well since inception, dragging down recent returns. I recently moved USD into SMH, but my timing was off and I would've done better leaving it in cash. Plan is to leave this one alone for a very long time and let it compound—no new money going in, just occasional tweaks.
* Taxable Income Portfolio (on Robinhood): This is our workhorse for generating steady payouts to fund the lifestyle. I don't auto-reinvest dividends; instead, I manually buy more shares when opportunities look good. Performance was the biggest letdown this year—was up 17% in October, but crypto-related holdings tanked hard in the final months, finishing at just +2.72% (excluding distributions). On the bright side, it generated $97,425 in payouts for 2025. Without reinvesting, it's currently projected to produce \*\*$116,183\*\* in 2026—plenty of room to grow that number as I continue selectively adding and as markets recover. Diving into the holdings (ranked roughly by position size/value as of year-end):
* WPAY (largest holding): Similar to the growth port, this has been a drag lately due to its big tech and crypto exposure. It's based on swap contracts, so I'm optimistic about recovery as names like Microsoft, Amazon, and BTC rebound—should boost share price and payouts over time.
* QDTE (2nd largest): Consolidated here by dropping XDTE and RDTE to go all-in. Solid covered call strategy on QQQ; provides decent income with some upside capture.
* EGGY (3rd largest): Egg-themed yield fund (fun name, serious returns)—has been a steady performer.
* FEPI, CEPI, AIPI: Mid-tier positions focused on enhanced income from tech/AI sectors. FEPI (FANG+ enhanced) and AIPI (AI-powered) have held up okay; CEPI (crypto) benefited from semis strength earlier in the year.
* KYLD: Building this up aggressively.
* YieldMax funds: A few selective ones here—CHPY (Chipotle) has been a standout winner; GPTY (GPT-themed) solid but volatile; LFGY (crypto-related) got hit hard with the downturn. Small position in ULTY (only 38 shares, ultra-yield crypto play).
* ULTI: New buy this year with high hopes (another REX Shares fund), but crypto weakness crushed it—down significantly, but holding for potential rebound.
* Crypto-related others: BLOX (blockchain focus) and GIAX (from Nicholas Funds)—both down but intriguing for long-term crypto and world exposure. Excited about Nicholas's newly announced funds; might add those in 2026.
* Standouts I regret not buying more of: KSLV and KGLD—both killed it this year (leveraged silver and gold, respectively). Perfect hedges during volatility; prices were low earlier, and they've soared.
* Smaller holdings I'm planning to build: EGGS, IYRI, NIHI, KQQQ, CAIQ, CAIE, XV, XXV, TLTW, TLTP, TDAQ, DRKY, QQQI, SIOO, ACKY. These are mostly niche yield enhancers or thematic ETFs (e.g., TLTW/TLTP for Treasuries, QQQI for Nasdaq income). I'll add gradually when dips hit or payouts allow.
Annual expenses came in around $60k (higher than planned due to one-time purchases like e-bikes, RV supplies, rental cars, and helping family). Target going forward is closer to $46k. We keep about a year's worth of expenses in cash earning interest for emergencies.
RV Life & Monthly Expenses, Living nomadically means every month looks different—different states, fuel costs, food prices, and whether we're boondocking or paying for a site. We prioritize boondocking (free dispersed camping) whenever possible: minimal costs, minimal people, just peace and nature. Only real expense there is generator gas to charge batteries (planning a solar + lithium upgrade in Arizona this spring).Breakdown of some key ongoing costs:
* Food & drinks: Aim for under $1,000/month. Lowest month: $796; highest: $1,080. Energy drinks from Sam's Club add up, but their cheap café meals help offset. (I count alcohol as "food," which doesn't help the total—might switch more to THC gummies in 2026. Cheaper and no 3 a.m. bathroom runs after a bottle of wine or margaritas.)
* Laundry: Try to keep under $50/month. Honestly the worst part of RV life—finding a decent, safe laundromat can be a hassle. We've been in some sketchy spots where you have to stay alert.
* Gym/showers: Black Card Planet Fitness membership—great for reliable showers and workouts nationwide. (I prefer swimming in lakes/rivers when weather allows, but winter makes that tough.)
* Internet: Starlink at $165/month. Absolute game-changer. Zero cell service? Deploy the dish and you're back online.
* Domicile & mail: Using [Escapees.com](http://Escapees.com) (one of their three low-tax states). Mail forwarding and services run us \~$13.33/month.
* Entertainment: Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime—could cut them to save, but not necessary yet.
* Mobility: No tow vehicle, so e-bikes handle errands and local exploring when parked.
We've spent way more time swimming in lakes, rivers, and waterfalls this year than in my entire life before. Met some fascinating (and occasionally odd) people along the way. Tips for Anyone Considering Full-Time RV Travel
* iOverlander app: Gold for finding free boondocking spots, dump stations, and water fills. (Free version pain: have to delete old state filters when crossing borders.)
* GasBuddy: Essential for hunting cheap fuel with our low-MPG rig.
* Exploration style: Often just zoom into Google Maps, spot a cool lake or weirdly named spot, and head there.
* Might try Harvest Hosts eventually, but free spots have treated us well so far.
Overall, 2025 had its bumps (market timing regrets, crypto drag, higher-than-expected spend), but the freedom has been worth it. Looking forward to refining the setup in 2026—lower expenses, better income growth, and more epic spots.
I'll try to answer some questions if any, but post is mainly just for me to document my journey, and for others to comment their journey if they are trying to live the same kind of lifestyle.