How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
TopHatFox
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How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by TopHatFox »

Lessons from the wise people already underway or done w/ accumulation? What would you tell your younger self?

"Good" meaning healthy, fast, and happy. My conclusion is that balance between work and relationships is most important for accumulation stage happiness. Living alone is also not recommended. As is only doing work and hanging with work colleagues. Being really good at your job is also key, since being incompetent at something you do for 8 hrs/day would feel awful at best. A healthy dose of not taking it too seriously, some muscle over motor, some Gervais, and things should be good.
Last edited by TopHatFox on Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:13 am, edited 5 times in total.

James_0011
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by James_0011 »

@scriptbunny

Any tips on making friends? I'm not being sarcastic.

TopHatFox
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by TopHatFox »

@scriptbunny: while it's true that I could research things more often, I often end up researching more when I post about it. I also get to journal my thoughts, and others journal there's. For instance, the anti-sugar post--a seemingly small decision--has 20 something replies. Discussing a wide variety of topics in community is very productive, in conjunction with personal research. The folks here are also more insightful IMO than many I've met in person. Not to say I don't have my 5-10 confidants as well : )

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Viktor K
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Viktor K »

A little ambiguous, right. What do you mean by "good". Are we talking, good in the sense that you have a high savings rate? Or personally enjoyable? Or something else? Or all of it? Or, or or? :D

bryan
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by bryan »

You've got 1000+ posts to forum.earlyretirementextreme.com and you are asking this??

wolf
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by wolf »

Well.
"Good" can be interpreted differently, depending where and when you are in your personal journey.

When I began my FIRE journey I focused on a high SR. So good meant high SR.

Now one year later I focus much more on my quality of life, balance btw various areas of life and not so much about finances. Now "good" has a different meaning back than.

Riggerjack
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Riggerjack »

Why would you make some special efforts for the next 5 years? It's just work.

Better to focus on living as you like, and becoming who you want to be. Your career will be likely to be over before you work those out.

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C40
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by C40 »

Front load your effort at work.

Work really really hard for the first couple years to establish yourself. If you do well, you may be able to start coasting in the later years. If you slack off at the start, you might have it hard at work for all five years.

Outside of work, have a life. Do things you enjoy. Have a life that is enjoyable enough that you could conceivably keep doing it (working) forever. Don't entirely put off fun or satisfaction (but, still, do what I say in the first sentence)

BRUTE
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by BRUTE »

brute recommends Olaz develop 2 separate personalities: serious, professional Olaz at work, and whatever else in private. the two should not mix.

Scott 2
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Scott 2 »

C40 wrote:
Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:34 am
Front load your effort at work.
This is spot on. Get people to label you as an A player, and the rest of your career at the company is way better. Mentoring, choice assignments, favors, promotions, raises, etc. You get to play on easy mode.

Scott 2
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Scott 2 »

BRUTE wrote:
Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:58 pm
brute recommends Olaz develop 2 separate personalities: serious, professional Olaz at work, and whatever else in private. the two should not mix.
I used to do this. Once I was financially secure, I got tired of it, and stopped artificially separating the two. To my surprise, I make much more money now, and work is less stressful. When I started letting people in, their walls dropped too, and it became easier to effect change.

Granted, I'm not the type to hit on the secretary or start a fist fight with a co-worker.

Scott 2
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Scott 2 »

An example of the early positive impression benefit - we had a guy in his late 20s start in one of the lower level positions. The first week there, he demonstrated a strong technical aptitude, so I got him invited to a week long training conference.

His 3rd week at the company, he was in Orlando with half the senior development team. Free training, fancy dinners, virtually instant development of rapport, etc.

Those relationships have been drawn upon over and over since. I also guided him through a couple challenging project spots, so he came at looking good despite poor circumstances.

He's in a great position for a raise or promotion, and has gotten some cool technical projects with questionable business value, to hone his skills. I'm not the only one he impressed.

The benefit to me, is I know there's someone strong in his role, who I can count on for special treatment during high pressure times. Having that network makes me more effective, giving me bigger projects, better pay, etc.

Supposedly some take pride in helping someone further their career as well. I'm skeptical of that as a motivator though.

mathewsmith12
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by mathewsmith12 »

C40 wrote:
Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:34 am
Front load your effort at work.

Work really really hard for the first couple years to establish yourself. If you do well, you may be able to start coasting in the later years. If you slack off at the start, you might have it hard at work for all five years.

Outside of work, have a life. Do things you enjoy. Have a life that is enjoyable enough that you could conceivably keep doing it (working) forever. Don't entirely put off fun or satisfaction (but, still, do what I say in the first sentence)
Image

I think this is so important 'Have a life that is enjoyable enough that you could conceivably keep doing it (working) forever.' So many people forget about this!

Stahlmann
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by Stahlmann »

mathewsmith12 wrote:
Thu Jun 29, 2017 3:54 am
...
I think this is so important 'Have a life that is enjoyable enough that you could conceivably keep doing it (working) forever.' So many people forget about this!
Well... One more time I will derail the topic.
How have you lived by your words?
Some people find it extremely difficult to find something enjoyable AND what pay more than minimum wage...

(hence ERE framework)

7Wannabe5
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Well, one thing to bear in mind is that if you are living happily on $7500/year, then you only need to work about 20 hours/week at minimum wage to cover your expenses, and 40 hrs./week will get you to 50% savings rate (give/take a bit for payroll taxes/subsidies etc.) I am 52 years old and my resume looks like a mish-mash of displaced homemaker/ self-employed slacker/mid-rank corporate dilettante/random skill bucket dump, and it is pretty darn easy for me to just open up a job search app and find umpteen opportunities for which I am at least vaguely qualified that pay something that is at least in the range of $15/hr = > 4 Jacobs= approximate 75% savings rate given 40 hour work week.

TopHatFox
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by TopHatFox »

True enough. I've thought about that idea in creating a "coasting" FI plan. I don't know if it's the small ivy culture or what, but I actually seem to like working a lot of the time. In fact, It's felt a little weird not having school or work for this past month. Maybe I'm well trained?

After thinking about it, I'd rather work for much more than minimum wage and have a 80%+ savings rate. I may even consider a side-gig on the weekends, though I'm not sure yet. It'd be a decision for once I'm at least a few weeks in. At the moment, it looks like annual expenses will be at ~10-12K, before taking into account taxes taken from my pay.

I like the idea of front-loading performance. It reminds me of starting out with a 4.0 GPA rather than starting off with C's and getting A's thereafter.

7Wannabe5
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@Olaz: I am in no way holding my functioning or choices up as a sterling example for the more youthful to follow. Just doing the math. Especially given the long-term possibility of compound interest, I agree that front-loading is preferred. In fact, I still think one of my best choices, given that I absolutely wanted to have kids, was having and stopping having kids relatively early. After the years I spent (not nearly as many as most people) with 2 kids, a very large old house, a full-time job, not-incredibly-helpful-spouse and a long commute through deer country, any possible variation on the theme of just taking care of myself feels like coasting to me.

classical_Liberal
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by classical_Liberal »

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slowtraveler
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by slowtraveler »

To be honest, I think you're already going to make these 5 years damn good.

Spend as little as you absolutely can (being sure to keep a broad focus to see some things cost less in the short run but more in long run-ie-making own bread). Once you have some assets, the extra income and financial base creates a huge freedom/relief.

What you do spend- judge against how much time it cost you now and how much it costs future you when accounting for compounding. (I believe this is from YMOYL)

I've grown apart from many friends as I've changed over the years. Some people will judge lower spending, they won't be as happy or free as you in 10 years. But they'll be damn sure that what you're doing is wrong for some reason. Cool new people exist and while some loneliness may be there, you'll both adapt and find cooler people. You're already winning.

classical_Liberal
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Re: How to make the next 5 years of hardcore accumulation really good ones?

Post by classical_Liberal »

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Last edited by classical_Liberal on Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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