m741's ERE Journal
Re: m741's ERE Journal
Have you noticed your LC returns slow down a bit? Some bloggers claim that returns aren't as insane as they used to be.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
To be honest, I haven't paid very close attention to LC. I had 3k in an account and invested maybe 1k, and then forgot about it for a while. I wasn't targeting particularly risky loans - 8-15% - so my returns were never exceptional.
I rarely heard about people losing money, so it stands to reason that it's gotten more efficient over time.
I rarely heard about people losing money, so it stands to reason that it's gotten more efficient over time.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
I think I'm going to can my blog - a lot of it was redundant with what I posted here, but I suspect with less traffic. It was a big psychic drain knowing that I had a blog which I wanted to update regularly, but never could find the time or interest to do so. So, I'd expect some updates here to be more than the normal monthly amount.
I also wanted to write a little about my work situation. It's been interesting. As you may recall, I decided to return to work partly to shore up finances and give myself a nice reserve, but also because I wanted to learn software development in a more rigorous environment - basically, a more instructive college.
I find it's really difficult to mediate my feelings though. I guess it's hubris, and pride - I feel like I ought to know a lot more than I seem to. After all, I've been developing professionally for 5 years. Now, I realize that's hardly a lot; and even worse that most of that time was with little to no feedback on actual design. So it's been a tough struggle coming to terms with criticism - even though it's clearly quite instructive.
A lot of the work I'm doing right now is pretty mechanical - moving code from point A to point B. That's not very interesting, and so it's a little tougher to be motivated. Even worse, when I do have a little latitude I always seem to choose a direction that people don't like. For instance, they don't quite like a name for a particular class of variable. Now, probably 60-70% of that is me personally doing an incorrect or unclear thing. But 30-40% is simply choosing one of two possible options, equally clear, and the other person happening to disagree. As a result, my development cycle is not one where I can press forward, and I rely overly much on other people validating decisions, since I can't trust my own judgement.
Anyway, I've really discovered that managing my emotions and staying detached is the single most difficult thing for me to do. Much of today my mood was not far from 'despondent' (for the reasons mentioned above). And yet, when I stopped and thought about it I realized I had been pretty excited about work on Friday. What had changed? Minor, local circumstances. A few small reviews or emails one way or another yielded big emotional swings.
I'm not sure how exactly to proceed. I'm considering doing some meditation to try to calm down my mind. I don't, however, think that this is really a psychological problem in the clinical sense. More likely, it's related to tying emotions too much to external things. I'm thinking about finding some interesting work to do on my own time where I have full discretion over things, so I can reduce that 60-70% of the time where my immediate decision seems objectively suboptimal.
I also wanted to write a little about my work situation. It's been interesting. As you may recall, I decided to return to work partly to shore up finances and give myself a nice reserve, but also because I wanted to learn software development in a more rigorous environment - basically, a more instructive college.
I find it's really difficult to mediate my feelings though. I guess it's hubris, and pride - I feel like I ought to know a lot more than I seem to. After all, I've been developing professionally for 5 years. Now, I realize that's hardly a lot; and even worse that most of that time was with little to no feedback on actual design. So it's been a tough struggle coming to terms with criticism - even though it's clearly quite instructive.
A lot of the work I'm doing right now is pretty mechanical - moving code from point A to point B. That's not very interesting, and so it's a little tougher to be motivated. Even worse, when I do have a little latitude I always seem to choose a direction that people don't like. For instance, they don't quite like a name for a particular class of variable. Now, probably 60-70% of that is me personally doing an incorrect or unclear thing. But 30-40% is simply choosing one of two possible options, equally clear, and the other person happening to disagree. As a result, my development cycle is not one where I can press forward, and I rely overly much on other people validating decisions, since I can't trust my own judgement.
Anyway, I've really discovered that managing my emotions and staying detached is the single most difficult thing for me to do. Much of today my mood was not far from 'despondent' (for the reasons mentioned above). And yet, when I stopped and thought about it I realized I had been pretty excited about work on Friday. What had changed? Minor, local circumstances. A few small reviews or emails one way or another yielded big emotional swings.
I'm not sure how exactly to proceed. I'm considering doing some meditation to try to calm down my mind. I don't, however, think that this is really a psychological problem in the clinical sense. More likely, it's related to tying emotions too much to external things. I'm thinking about finding some interesting work to do on my own time where I have full discretion over things, so I can reduce that 60-70% of the time where my immediate decision seems objectively suboptimal.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
"I've really discovered that managing my emotions and staying detached is the single most difficult thing for me to do"
I am having similar difficulties at work. Somehow, with only about 5-6 months left before we quit work, I can't help but feel completely engrossed and emotionally attached to what I do. I am frustrated with all the inefficiencies and characters I have to deal with at work. I am also getting exposed to some political maneuvering, which I have very little patience for.
I don't think ERE Senioritis will ever come. I think I will continue to give a damn until my last day of work.
I am having similar difficulties at work. Somehow, with only about 5-6 months left before we quit work, I can't help but feel completely engrossed and emotionally attached to what I do. I am frustrated with all the inefficiencies and characters I have to deal with at work. I am also getting exposed to some political maneuvering, which I have very little patience for.
I don't think ERE Senioritis will ever come. I think I will continue to give a damn until my last day of work.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
When it comes to decisions solely based on the vague ideas of personal taste, your "30-40%" situation, you will find that a lot of people, especially supervisors, will disagree because it makes them feel like they are adding value. Of course, they aren't.m741 wrote: Even worse, when I do have a little latitude I always seem to choose a direction that people don't like. For instance, they don't quite like a name for a particular class of variable. Now, probably 60-70% of that is me personally doing an incorrect or unclear thing. But 30-40% is simply choosing one of two possible options, equally clear, and the other person happening to disagree.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
By the way, could it be that because you work in the IT world you meet a lot of people who don't spend even one second thinking how their comments affects others? If you go from "very social" to "autistic", my general impression is that a lot of IT people lean towards the autistic side of things. Perfect for creating good code, less perfect for working with other people. Maybe it helps to know that some people that you meet just can't help being blunt?
(PS Maybe it isn't even about being blunt - maybe "normal" people recognize that newcomers need to know what they're doing well next to what they're doing wrong, so they will tell you what to fix but will also tell you what you're doing well and where they see that you're progressing nicely).
Also: you're learning. It takes time. It's OK if it isn't perfect yet. (Perhaps at some point you can also ask for an evaluation, maybe you're doing really well and it's normal to get so many comments in the beginning - and others might get even more comments).
Good luck
(PS Maybe it isn't even about being blunt - maybe "normal" people recognize that newcomers need to know what they're doing well next to what they're doing wrong, so they will tell you what to fix but will also tell you what you're doing well and where they see that you're progressing nicely).
Also: you're learning. It takes time. It's OK if it isn't perfect yet. (Perhaps at some point you can also ask for an evaluation, maybe you're doing really well and it's normal to get so many comments in the beginning - and others might get even more comments).
Good luck
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George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: m741's ERE Journal
And/or the disagreement is because the other people have a different agenda. Chess moves in a game that you're not playing.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
it is unbelievable, but it is true that in most of the refactoring situations, the new code owner is put to much higher standards than the previous code owner. in many cases the previous owner has the attitude "do as i say not as i did" when it comes to review comments, and it does not help if you are new on the job.m741 wrote:A lot of the work I'm doing right now is pretty mechanical - moving code from point A to point B. That's not very interesting, and so it's a little tougher to be motivated. Even worse, when I do have a little latitude I always seem to choose a direction that people don't like. For instance, they don't quite like a name for a particular class of variable. Now, probably 60-70% of that is me personally doing an incorrect or unclear thing. But 30-40% is simply choosing one of two possible options, equally clear, and the other person happening to disagree. As a result, my development cycle is not one where I can press forward, and I rely overly much on other people validating decisions, since I can't trust my own judgement.
having said that, it is realistic to expect you being treated like a kid for an year or so unless your current boss knows you, or, you are an industry rock star. frankly, why would anyone listen to the new guy unless he/she has proved their competence in understanding systems, processes etc. it could get even worse in companies which have early-stage employees who made tons of money and are there to just socialize and know the systems/people well that they need to put little effort to survive. in some of those places, some of these characters could cut/paste your code and send it to mailing list for shame (praising of a code never happens in public).
if you are competent, you just need to get things done on time. fortunately, only minor percentage are really stellar and they rarely put people down. as for others, in 6-8 months it is easy to show who is the boss.
it happens almost everywhere, and even in open source projects. try committing code to linux for example. unless one is the caliber of say, Larry Wall, it is the same for rest of the masses.
all you can do is, be competent, be assertive, deliver your first project on time, and then you will be able to call the shots.
good luck!
Re: m741's ERE Journal
March 2014 Update
I'll go through finances first. My total expenses from March were $2,353, roughly on par with those from the last few months. A *lot* of that is social expenses from dating. I'm sorta letting go in that area. It's not a big deal; it doesn't really have an appreciable impact on my savings rate.
That said, I do think the expenses will go down a bit. I now tend to cook breakfast at home rather than going out for brunch dates; I'd like to do more dinner at home as well (or picnics). I do have to set some sort of budget cap in this area. Nothing stringent, but at least to limit overall costs.
March was my biggest ever dividend month, with $1015 in dividends (woo! One thousand dollars!). I'm continuing to invest at a pretty good pace, with expected monthly dividends increasing by $80 over February. I invested mostly in non-stocks this month: bought up some muni bonds, gold, and indices. My only individual stock purchase was GE.
I guess the other big news was that I finally hired an accountant. I was just absolutely dreading my taxes. I had no idea what I was going to have to do about filing for my mother for 2013, and I hadn't filed for her in 2012, either. And there was the whole inheritance thing. I didn't want to think about it, and I didn't want to mess it up with a lot of money on the table. This accountant really knows his stuff, we went through everything and will do a followup after tax day. It was expensive but absolutely worth it. And I get a pretty good tax refund, too.
Job
My last post was when I was feeling at a low point on my erratic emotional cycle. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I don't feel that people at work single me out or anything. And I'm learning a lot so I can't complain. Mostly I'm used to a faster pace of development with less focus on naming conventions than at the new job.
I've had some really good days where I feel like I'm starting to understand everything, and some slow days where I can't get anything done. Overall the past month has been really good, and I'm getting official feedback from peers later this week. Even if it's bad (I don't think it will be, but who knows), at least I'll have a clearer picture of where I stand and what I have to do.
I'm planning on sitting down and really defining what I want out of the job. Money is secondary, and I have this sort of nebulous idea that I'll learn something. But I never took the time to figure out what my goals are. Instead, I feel them out and they shift far too much on a daily basis.
One really cool thing is that I found that there's a way to work 3 days a week for half pay, which would be stupendous. I have no desire to leave the company right now, but in a few years I'd like to spend some time traveling and then return to work on a part-time basis. That would be my ideal lifestyle. 4 day weekends and interesting work! Man!
Other
Let's see... I started tracking calories on my phone. It's a more time-efficient way to stay healthy than going to the gym. I used to track calories scrupulously in college, but I've found that roughly estimating things is sufficient and a lot easier than recording every gram of fat or carbs.
I've been playing a lot of board games recently - with the girlfriend and a former colleague. I've also been playing an online card game called Hearthstone. It's from Blizzard (makers of Starcraft/Warcraft). It's free and addictive. I'll talk about it more in the future.
I've been seeing the girlfriend twice a week: one weeknight and over the weekend. I'm really happy with her. Although the weather isn't cooperating and it's been raining a lot lately which limits options for things to do.
That about covers it. Overall the past month has been very good, with a few days where I felt I couldn't get any traction. That's pretty normal, but I'm excited to see where things are going. My birthday is in April and I've been thinking about the past year, so I'll probably write up a little review with some details.
I'll go through finances first. My total expenses from March were $2,353, roughly on par with those from the last few months. A *lot* of that is social expenses from dating. I'm sorta letting go in that area. It's not a big deal; it doesn't really have an appreciable impact on my savings rate.
That said, I do think the expenses will go down a bit. I now tend to cook breakfast at home rather than going out for brunch dates; I'd like to do more dinner at home as well (or picnics). I do have to set some sort of budget cap in this area. Nothing stringent, but at least to limit overall costs.
March was my biggest ever dividend month, with $1015 in dividends (woo! One thousand dollars!). I'm continuing to invest at a pretty good pace, with expected monthly dividends increasing by $80 over February. I invested mostly in non-stocks this month: bought up some muni bonds, gold, and indices. My only individual stock purchase was GE.
I guess the other big news was that I finally hired an accountant. I was just absolutely dreading my taxes. I had no idea what I was going to have to do about filing for my mother for 2013, and I hadn't filed for her in 2012, either. And there was the whole inheritance thing. I didn't want to think about it, and I didn't want to mess it up with a lot of money on the table. This accountant really knows his stuff, we went through everything and will do a followup after tax day. It was expensive but absolutely worth it. And I get a pretty good tax refund, too.
Job
My last post was when I was feeling at a low point on my erratic emotional cycle. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I don't feel that people at work single me out or anything. And I'm learning a lot so I can't complain. Mostly I'm used to a faster pace of development with less focus on naming conventions than at the new job.
I've had some really good days where I feel like I'm starting to understand everything, and some slow days where I can't get anything done. Overall the past month has been really good, and I'm getting official feedback from peers later this week. Even if it's bad (I don't think it will be, but who knows), at least I'll have a clearer picture of where I stand and what I have to do.
I'm planning on sitting down and really defining what I want out of the job. Money is secondary, and I have this sort of nebulous idea that I'll learn something. But I never took the time to figure out what my goals are. Instead, I feel them out and they shift far too much on a daily basis.
One really cool thing is that I found that there's a way to work 3 days a week for half pay, which would be stupendous. I have no desire to leave the company right now, but in a few years I'd like to spend some time traveling and then return to work on a part-time basis. That would be my ideal lifestyle. 4 day weekends and interesting work! Man!
Other
Let's see... I started tracking calories on my phone. It's a more time-efficient way to stay healthy than going to the gym. I used to track calories scrupulously in college, but I've found that roughly estimating things is sufficient and a lot easier than recording every gram of fat or carbs.
I've been playing a lot of board games recently - with the girlfriend and a former colleague. I've also been playing an online card game called Hearthstone. It's from Blizzard (makers of Starcraft/Warcraft). It's free and addictive. I'll talk about it more in the future.
I've been seeing the girlfriend twice a week: one weeknight and over the weekend. I'm really happy with her. Although the weather isn't cooperating and it's been raining a lot lately which limits options for things to do.
That about covers it. Overall the past month has been very good, with a few days where I felt I couldn't get any traction. That's pretty normal, but I'm excited to see where things are going. My birthday is in April and I've been thinking about the past year, so I'll probably write up a little review with some details.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
Congratulations on exceeding $1000 in dividends in a single month! That's a great milestone. Seeing a number like that is incredibly empowering.
Hearthstone sounds intriguing. I look forward to reading your review (I don't want to check out the game myself just yet because I fear I'll get super addicted right away). Blizzard is quite something, they excel at just about anything they get into.
Hearthstone sounds intriguing. I look forward to reading your review (I don't want to check out the game myself just yet because I fear I'll get super addicted right away). Blizzard is quite something, they excel at just about anything they get into.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
I would summarize it as a good month.
Glad that you got all of that tax stuff out of the way. Perhaps for 2014 you can again do them by yourself.
I wish you all the best for April and for your birthday.
Glad that you got all of that tax stuff out of the way. Perhaps for 2014 you can again do them by yourself.
I wish you all the best for April and for your birthday.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
Time for a mid-month update.
I'd like to talk a little bit about Hearthstone (and Poker, I guess). For those who don't know, Hearthstone is a card game created by Blizzard (who also made classic video games Diablo, Starcraft, World of Warcraft). It's an online card game, and plays like Magic: The Gathering.
Typical games take 15 minutes. You can pay for packs of random cards (like other collectible card games), or you can earn 'credits' to pay for packs by winning matches. It has a lot of depth, meaning that the better players will reliably win with high frequency (though, since it's a card game, not 100% of the time). It's possible to string together combos of 4-5 cards in a turn, which is a great feeling.
I was introduced to the game by a former colleague who I'm still good friends with. I like that you can pay for free but still get that little rush from unpacking cards. I have three goals for playing (beyond entertainment):
1. Get accustomed to losing. I've played a lot of games, and for video/online games in particular I feel very uncomfortable losing. It's a weird mindset I've discussed before. I need to get used to losing! So, I kinda hope playing will inoculate me against this fear. It's really easy to start the game and be playing in 1-2 minutes, which is nice. No way to talk yourself out of it!
2. I wanted to get good at a complex game. This was a primary motivation for playing Poker (though unfortunately I haven't played recently). I've played a lot of simple/random games and not many where skill was heavily rewarded.
3. I wanted to get familiar with games of chance. I played a fair amount of chess when I was younger, and I've historically been more comfortable with deterministic, perfect-information games. I didn't have a good feel for odds. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. It's far more random. Card games are a perfect way to think rationally about odds. Personally I think they give you a more nuanced feel for randomness than dice do, which is good, because I hate dice!
I'd recommend Hearthstone. I'm looking to play it pretty regularly.
I'd like to talk a little bit about Hearthstone (and Poker, I guess). For those who don't know, Hearthstone is a card game created by Blizzard (who also made classic video games Diablo, Starcraft, World of Warcraft). It's an online card game, and plays like Magic: The Gathering.
Typical games take 15 minutes. You can pay for packs of random cards (like other collectible card games), or you can earn 'credits' to pay for packs by winning matches. It has a lot of depth, meaning that the better players will reliably win with high frequency (though, since it's a card game, not 100% of the time). It's possible to string together combos of 4-5 cards in a turn, which is a great feeling.
I was introduced to the game by a former colleague who I'm still good friends with. I like that you can pay for free but still get that little rush from unpacking cards. I have three goals for playing (beyond entertainment):
1. Get accustomed to losing. I've played a lot of games, and for video/online games in particular I feel very uncomfortable losing. It's a weird mindset I've discussed before. I need to get used to losing! So, I kinda hope playing will inoculate me against this fear. It's really easy to start the game and be playing in 1-2 minutes, which is nice. No way to talk yourself out of it!
2. I wanted to get good at a complex game. This was a primary motivation for playing Poker (though unfortunately I haven't played recently). I've played a lot of simple/random games and not many where skill was heavily rewarded.
3. I wanted to get familiar with games of chance. I played a fair amount of chess when I was younger, and I've historically been more comfortable with deterministic, perfect-information games. I didn't have a good feel for odds. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. It's far more random. Card games are a perfect way to think rationally about odds. Personally I think they give you a more nuanced feel for randomness than dice do, which is good, because I hate dice!
I'd recommend Hearthstone. I'm looking to play it pretty regularly.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
Figured I'd do another small mid-month update. A few things to talk about here.
First off, and probably most important, my focus is almost entirely off ERE matters right now. There's a lot of contributing factors, most of which I've talked about at various points. The fact that I could step away takes a lot of pressure off things. There's little value in me saving a few bucks here and there, since I know I can cut back expenses when I do decide to take time off.
Another thing is that, having met someone, and knowing that I don't want to live in NYC forever, I can find ways to justify paying for some experiences. I went to an all-metal BeeGees concert last week. Sure, it cost $30 for two of us. Two years ago, I would have really thought twice about that. Now, I don't.
Is this a bad change? Honestly, it's tough for me to tell. I don't worry too much, though. I'm spending 300-400/month over my baseline on lots of fancy stuff. But my savings rate is still over 65%.
Second. I've been really getting into boardgames lately. Previously I'd play with some friends every two months. Now I try to hang out with them once a month. And I'm playing games almost every week with the girlfriend - usually 2-3 different games and for 3-4 hours a weekend. Hearthstone is a kind of boardgame. I've bought some games recently (Summoner Wars, Rivals for Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic). These can be a bit pricey but sane (usually $20-$30 - cheaper than movie tickets). However, I also caved and bought an iPad ($250 used on Amazon). There's so many board games available for iPad that aren't on Android (which is all I had previously). I like the larger form factor, and I think having an iPad could be useful for work. I still feel queasy about the expense, though.
Aside from that, I'm just super-busy. I'm working longer hours (voluntarily), and spend 2-3 days with the girlfriend each week, so I have very little free time.
First off, and probably most important, my focus is almost entirely off ERE matters right now. There's a lot of contributing factors, most of which I've talked about at various points. The fact that I could step away takes a lot of pressure off things. There's little value in me saving a few bucks here and there, since I know I can cut back expenses when I do decide to take time off.
Another thing is that, having met someone, and knowing that I don't want to live in NYC forever, I can find ways to justify paying for some experiences. I went to an all-metal BeeGees concert last week. Sure, it cost $30 for two of us. Two years ago, I would have really thought twice about that. Now, I don't.
Is this a bad change? Honestly, it's tough for me to tell. I don't worry too much, though. I'm spending 300-400/month over my baseline on lots of fancy stuff. But my savings rate is still over 65%.
Second. I've been really getting into boardgames lately. Previously I'd play with some friends every two months. Now I try to hang out with them once a month. And I'm playing games almost every week with the girlfriend - usually 2-3 different games and for 3-4 hours a weekend. Hearthstone is a kind of boardgame. I've bought some games recently (Summoner Wars, Rivals for Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic). These can be a bit pricey but sane (usually $20-$30 - cheaper than movie tickets). However, I also caved and bought an iPad ($250 used on Amazon). There's so many board games available for iPad that aren't on Android (which is all I had previously). I like the larger form factor, and I think having an iPad could be useful for work. I still feel queasy about the expense, though.
Aside from that, I'm just super-busy. I'm working longer hours (voluntarily), and spend 2-3 days with the girlfriend each week, so I have very little free time.
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Gilberto de Piento
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm
Re: m741's ERE Journal
King of Tokyo is fun: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70323/king-of-tokyo
Re: m741's ERE Journal
I don't think this is a bad change at all. Some times I think we get too caught up in how much we are saving. Just because we can quit in 5 years doesn't mean we should. For some of us that's the answer, which is fine, but for others it's a few more years.m741 wrote: First off, and probably most important, my focus is almost entirely off ERE matters right now. There's a lot of contributing factors, most of which I've talked about at various points. The fact that I could step away takes a lot of pressure off things. There's little value in me saving a few bucks here and there, since I know I can cut back expenses when I do decide to take time off.
Another thing is that, having met someone, and knowing that I don't want to live in NYC forever, I can find ways to justify paying for some experiences. I went to an all-metal BeeGees concert last week. Sure, it cost $30 for two of us. Two years ago, I would have really thought twice about that. Now, I don't.
Is this a bad change? Honestly, it's tough for me to tell. I don't worry too much, though. I'm spending 300-400/month over my baseline on lots of fancy stuff. But my savings rate is still over 65%.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
When I got my iPad I also tried using it for work for a while. Eventually I realized it was more of a distraction than an aid, and left it at home. I've never missed it at the office. It's nice to have around the house, though, so I've accepted that it's simply a nice casual entertainment device and have given up on the "it's totally a productivity tool" self-justification.
IMHO, the fact that you're conscious of your decisions means you'll be fine. When what you're spending no longer feels worth it, just stop. While it's adding to your life, continue doing it and don't over-think it. One thing I've had to adjust to in my ERE journey is not to define myself by my spending level. In my excitement to cut back, I think I over-corrected for a while. I still have to catch myself sometimes when I over-analyze "frivolous" spending like a single dinner out with friends we haven't seen in a year.Is this a bad change? Honestly, it's tough for me to tell.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
Sounds like a change for the good. A while I go I wrote something that was basically like "anti-materialism here gets so strong people remember that exchanging money for things/experiences isn't evil in of itself".
I find myself a lot like you - I spend more on food/experiences than I need to, and there's definitely some waste. I'm not celebrating it, but I know I can go without if I want to (have done before), I just don't want to go without currently, I'd be a less happy person.
I think that needs to be a bottom line: happiness - if you're finding yourself happy why change things?
I find myself a lot like you - I spend more on food/experiences than I need to, and there's definitely some waste. I'm not celebrating it, but I know I can go without if I want to (have done before), I just don't want to go without currently, I'd be a less happy person.
I think that needs to be a bottom line: happiness - if you're finding yourself happy why change things?
Re: m741's ERE Journal
I just took a look at the chart you posted in January, and it seems your theoretical income exceeds your expenses. maybe the feeling that you've lost focus is because you are already there.
With a 65% savings rate and already being FI, I wouldn't beat myself up. If your peak spending level has increased by a few hundred bucks a month, it doesn't seem like it will take long for your savings to catch up.
Either way, I've really enjoyed reading your story. I can really relate to you and the other programmers who post here.
With a 65% savings rate and already being FI, I wouldn't beat myself up. If your peak spending level has increased by a few hundred bucks a month, it doesn't seem like it will take long for your savings to catch up.
Either way, I've really enjoyed reading your story. I can really relate to you and the other programmers who post here.
Re: m741's ERE Journal
^This.CLE wrote:maybe the feeling that you've lost focus is because you are already there.
Dude, do whatever you want*. Build a railroad from Seattle to Montreal! Find the vaccine for the blue virus!
*Oh, but be wary of hedonic adaptation
Re: m741's ERE Journal
April 2014 Update
First off, thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm definitely a bit looser with money - most of it is going to board games and iOS apps (and dinners out). It doesn't bother me, just a change to note. As people hypothesized, there's a connection between lack of focus at work, and crossing the FI line. Anyway. To April!
I'll start with the finances. My expenses were just over $2400 this month, and part of a general upward trend (which I expect to continue next month with a small trip - more on that later). Dividends, too, were down after the monster month I had in March. That's to be expected.
The market feels increasingly overvalued to me, and as a result I've been buying more bonds/utilities/indices/gold than before. This is reflected in the relatively modest increase in expected monthly dividend info ($40.50/month). Big purchases included AFL, VPU, VGLT.
I did see a sizeable bump in net worth, as my tax returns totaling $6400 came in. I expect this is due to only working part of last year. As a result of that and market moves, I saw my net worth jump about 15k.
Outside that... I've been very busy with work, and kinda lazy outside work. In my free time after work, I've mostly been playing Go and Hearthstone. The girlfriend and I will be taking a trip to DC this upcoming weekend. I'm hoping we'll be able to travel in the summer (Italy is one place I've been considering), but I wanted to do a short trip first in case anything went awry.
Work goes back and forth, as usual. I'm certain now that the programmers my current team, at least, is far stronger than any other teams I've worked with. The bottom 50-60% of programmers I worked with in finance simply don't exist at this tech company. Of course, that makes me a middle-of-the-pack developer, something that's uncomfortable for me.
That's about it. I really haven't done much outside being lazy, and spending each weekend with the girlfriend. So there's not a whole lot I can complain about!
First off, thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm definitely a bit looser with money - most of it is going to board games and iOS apps (and dinners out). It doesn't bother me, just a change to note. As people hypothesized, there's a connection between lack of focus at work, and crossing the FI line. Anyway. To April!
I'll start with the finances. My expenses were just over $2400 this month, and part of a general upward trend (which I expect to continue next month with a small trip - more on that later). Dividends, too, were down after the monster month I had in March. That's to be expected.
The market feels increasingly overvalued to me, and as a result I've been buying more bonds/utilities/indices/gold than before. This is reflected in the relatively modest increase in expected monthly dividend info ($40.50/month). Big purchases included AFL, VPU, VGLT.
I did see a sizeable bump in net worth, as my tax returns totaling $6400 came in. I expect this is due to only working part of last year. As a result of that and market moves, I saw my net worth jump about 15k.
Outside that... I've been very busy with work, and kinda lazy outside work. In my free time after work, I've mostly been playing Go and Hearthstone. The girlfriend and I will be taking a trip to DC this upcoming weekend. I'm hoping we'll be able to travel in the summer (Italy is one place I've been considering), but I wanted to do a short trip first in case anything went awry
.Work goes back and forth, as usual. I'm certain now that the programmers my current team, at least, is far stronger than any other teams I've worked with. The bottom 50-60% of programmers I worked with in finance simply don't exist at this tech company. Of course, that makes me a middle-of-the-pack developer, something that's uncomfortable for me.
That's about it. I really haven't done much outside being lazy, and spending each weekend with the girlfriend. So there's not a whole lot I can complain about!