Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Simple living, extreme early retirement, becoming and being wealthy, wisdom, praxis, personal growth,...
TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by TopHatFox »

Who knew five to 10 years could be so long, almost feels like 25% - 50% of my life. :P

Just realized I'm going to have to file a bajillion applications for paid summer internships and later, jobs. Then I'll have to do and exceed all the tasks required of me by the job to both reach FI sooner and avoid being fired. Either that or work really really hard at creating a lifestyle business. I think living in a tent is easier for goodness sake!

I think I should think carefully about the profession/industry I choose to pursue post-college; something I'd actually enjoy doing for a few years.

Dragline
Posts: 4436
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Dragline »

Yes.

But don't be confused by the idea that the first decision is the last or only decision. Just don't make a decision (a/k/a debt) that limits your future decisions. A few years really isn't very long.

User avatar
Ego
Posts: 6359
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Ego »

If it was easy, everyone would do it. :D

I'd imagine that from your perspective the years to X, Y or Z seems interminable. It may be helpful to look at yourself through our eyes. You've shown yourself here to have a good head on your shoulders and wisdom beyond your years. Ivy degree, soon enough. Immigrant gumption. Willingness to think beyond the herd. Ability to laugh at yourself. I don't know you personally, but I'd venture a guess that you're a pretty nice person in real life.

I'd be willing to bet that when you look back from X, Y or Z you'll say that the journey from here to there was spectacular.

sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by sky »

You are way ahead of most people, who don't even know there is something beyond accumulation.

IlliniDave
Posts: 3845
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:46 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by IlliniDave »

The lure is the option for many decades of leisure. But for most of us it takes a lot of effort to get there. That's one of the reasons I'm arguably going for overkill financially. I want to do everything I can to ensure my ticket is one-way. Once I'm out of the grind, going back would be difficult to say the least.

Chad
Posts: 3844
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:10 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Chad »

I want to second Dragline:
But don't be confused by the idea that the first decision is the last or only decision.
There are a lot more chances in your life to make big decisions and many chances to make these decisions can be manufactured whenever you want. The one after college seems so important at the time, but it's really only as important as you let it be.

vexed87
Posts: 1521
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:02 am
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by vexed87 »

I was 3 and half years out of university before I stumbled upon the concept of FI, it took another year to undo the consumer habits I had learned from my family and peers. Start the career game with modest student loans but no consumer debt with the right frame of mind and you're well ahead of the curve.

I'm in early days of accumulation and it's exciting watching that bank balance creeping up. I still dream about freedom, but actually I'm having such a good time learning new skills, cooking from scratch, planning my garden etc, the dreary office hours pale in comparison! Find a job with the right work/life balance and there's no reason the accumulation phase should be a chore. It's just another phase of life (real life!) where you progress from learning more than how to pass exams and write essays and dedicate your free time to learning about stuff that matters to you.

JL13
Posts: 645
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 7:47 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by JL13 »

It's going to take 10 years for the next 10 year to go by regardless of what you're doing in the meantime.

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Dave »

I understand what you mean Zalo. Learning new skills, becoming more financially efficient, reducing consumption - these things are enjoyable. Grinding it out in the workplace is the more challenging component for me. And having my eyes opened to ERE makes daily work a little bit tougher than if I was still stuck in Plato's Cave. But it is essential of course. I encourage you to follow through with your comment that you should find something you will enjoy* doing. You have a lot of years in front of you, and you will reach your FI goals well before most regardless of which job path you choose.

*Enjoy might be the wrong word. Dragline has commented on this several times, but there is danger in chasing "passion". I would focus on something you don't mind doing, that you are pretty good at, that pays reasonably well, and that allows you to live the life you want outside of your working hours.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by cmonkey »

Chad wrote:I want to second Dragline:
But don't be confused by the idea that the first decision is the last or only decision.
+2 for this.

You can always find ways to shorten the accumulation stage if you look. I have managed to shrink mine by about a year through careful thought and planning just over the last few months. I honestly think more changes might be coming.

I don't think I've ever encountered something except this that is so diametrically easy and not easy at the same time. Most days I feel like I have a huge meadow in front of me....a few days it seems like a huge mountain. I have found the trick is to stop thinking about the timeline and just get lost in what you are doing from day to day.

bryan
Posts: 1061
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2014 2:01 am
Location: mostly Bay Area

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by bryan »

cmonkey wrote:
+2 for this.

You can always find ways to shorten the accumulation stage if you look. I have managed to shrink mine by about a year through careful thought and planning just over the last few months.
....
I have found the trick is to stop thinking about the timeline and just get lost in what you are doing from day to day.
+3

Just in the past 1.5 years I've reduced my years til ERE from 11 to 4.. Don't think I can squeeze much more out of it, so mostly a game of patience now.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by TopHatFox »

@bryan and @cmonkey

How'd ya'll expedite your time to FI specifically, if you'd like to share briefly? <Expenses, >Income, >ROI?

I like the idea of getting lost in the day to day; I've been trying to do that while concurrently developing flexible guidelines for what I want future me to be like.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by cmonkey »

Zalo wrote:How'd ya'll expedite your time to FI specifically, if you'd like to share briefly? <Expenses, >Income, >ROI?
For me it was contributing to 401K and getting company contributions to the tune of 1200/month (and learning about SEPP withdrawls). It reduced my time by about 6 months. I talked about it in my last journal update.

I have also made some tax withholding changes (added two exemptions) that increase my income now and reduce my tax refund later. No sense loaning money to the IRS interest free.

Just fine tuning/cleaning up my Excel sheet helped a bit too.

The truth is that your expense level is the biggest arbiter of FI. For the past two months we have been sub-1000 in our expenses and so maybe I don't even need to work as long as I think.

bryan
Posts: 1061
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2014 2:01 am
Location: mostly Bay Area

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by bryan »

Zalo wrote:@bryan and @cmonkey

How'd ya'll expedite your time to FI specifically, if you'd like to share briefly? <Expenses, >Income, >ROI?
I've been fine tuning my spreadsheet quite a bit as well. The biggest change in the past year was moving into a van. Thus ere spending (current spending + lost benefits from employment) is quite low and desired savings shrunk significantly.

My FI number ($40k/yr spending) stays constant in the spreadsheet. The years til FI have shrunken significantly (32,22,15,11) thanks to moving to CA (where the pay is high) for a new job and getting raises subsequently. Also, my spreadsheet doesn't take into account any investment gains until I plug in the networth number.

Although expenses is obviously what determines if you can ERE/FI, I think growing your income early is pretty important. Penny wise, pound foolish.

edit: I was just looking through ere book and this focus on growth early (as well as the other thread about coasting in the corporate setting) is on pg 111 "putting in a large initial effort is a guaranteed way of seeing immediate and growing returns" etc.

Noided

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Noided »

Zalo, we are close in terms of age, so I can relate to how you are feeling. I think/thought a lot about it and the conclusion I reached is that I may not be the type of person who just grinds in a job for years and years. I either change jobs so that I am at least distracted with the novelty or I have to find a job where I am learning things I find interesting and that I can use that knowledge (or at least a portion of it) in my personal life.

You seem to be a person who has many interests and skills. Why do you have to grind your way to ERE? I don't know what life holds for me in the future, but if my day to day just feels like a chore I have to endure to reach point XYZ in my life, changes have to be made.

Scott 2
Posts: 2825
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:34 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Scott 2 »

Think about converging the need for money with the life you want to lead. 10 years to FI loving 80% of what you do is way better than 5 years suffering the whole way.

Grinding out the accumulation phase in misery is likely to permanently change you as a person, and not for the better.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15907
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by jacob »


steveo73
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:52 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by steveo73 »

Zalo wrote:@bryan and @cmonkey

How'd ya'll expedite your time to FI specifically, if you'd like to share briefly? <Expenses, >Income, >ROI?

I like the idea of getting lost in the day to day; I've been trying to do that while concurrently developing flexible guidelines for what I want future me to be like.
I honestly don't feel that I can cut much more than what I have cut now. I also think I have at least 5 years to FIRE but it will probably 6 years.

I have though cut a fair bit since discovering ERE/MMM etc. We basically never travel (we used to do cheap holidays), we have no cable (we used to have $70/month cable), rarely buy lunch (I can't remember the last time I did this) and we eat at home most of the time (we used to do this anyway). I did used to get my hair cut occasionally and shaved with the Gillette razors. Now I cut my own hair and always use a safety razor. I use bikes a lot more now as well. We've really just taken small little steps and I reckon that has cut a couple of years off our target time.

The thing is without discovering this lifestyle we probably would have worked for a long time.

I haven't increased my income at all and I don't really intend too.

steveo73
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:52 pm

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by steveo73 »

Scott 2 wrote:Grinding out the accumulation phase in misery is likely to permanently change you as a person, and not for the better.
I'm in this phase right now and it sucks. I shouldn't be so melodramatic either because its not that bad however it does feel like a grind. Its also not my lifestyle that is a grind but turning up to work.

User avatar
Ego
Posts: 6359
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: Turns out this accumulation phase shenanigans is a lot of work.

Post by Ego »

To help put things in perspective....

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4841aa88-5dd6 ... z3mBJrHB34

A Indian job advertisement for humble office tea boys and night guards​ has attracted 2.32 million applicants, including highly qualified graduates, in a sign of how desperate the swelling millions of young Indians are for job security.

Officials said it would take up to four years to conduct interviews for the 368 junior posts advertised by the Uttar Pradesh state government even if candidates were processed at the rate of 2,000 a day by multiple interview boards.

The Uttar Pradesh government said it wanted the peons for the state assembly in Lucknow to be able to ride a bicycle and have at least five years of school education, but among the applicants were 255 with doctorates in subjects such as engineering as well as 25,000 with master’s degrees. Salaries start at about Rs16,000 ($240) per month.

Post Reply