--Total Spending--
2014: $18,484
2015: $15,974
2016: $16,877
2017: $19,997
--After-tax/after-401k Income--
2014: $22,858
2015: $28,246
2016: $37,400
2017: $34,987 (unemployed for 4 months)
2018 YTD: $43,000
--Net Worth--
Dec 2014: $11,808
Dec 2015: somewhere between $16-28k
Dec 2016: $56,544
Dec 2017: $77,779
Current: $124,000
- Investments: $117k (50k retirement, 67k after-tax)
- Savings for travel: $2k
- Cash: $4.3k
Rent: $835
Transportation: $25
Utilities: $40
Food: $250
Travel: $200
Misc: $650
Total Spend: $2,000
Charity: $545
+ maxing out 401k
+ 2,100 after-tax index funds
situation looks great now, on paper. on track to save around 50k total this year for total EOY NW around 130-135k. general summary is: moved to NYC in 2014. discovered ERE/FIRE sometime around 2015 and got really into it in 2016. changed careers last year and now make much better money in a much better job with much better future prospects. career change cost me ~23k in 4 months living expenses + education costs (entirely paid off last year). easily worth it.
you all will probably think my spend is too high. in April I basically doubled my "misc" spending money budget, which was already raised from ~150 less than a year earlier, each time trying purposefully to introduce some lifestyle inflation to my stingy world. My "misc" category covers everything from paper towels to doctors to entertainment. I have a very hard time spending the total amount budgeted tho and actually never have come close to it, seems my actual average has been 400/month this year (biggest expenses: clothes, bike repairs, doctors, nintendo switch).
figured this was an interesting time to start a journal because in the next month I plan to break the biggest ERE commandment and move into a new apartment by myself. so i anticipate my rent cost going up $1-1.4k/month, plus higher utilities, plus ~2-6k of initial moving expenses. NYC is hell but I still like it here for some reason. new monthly spending budget will probably go over 3k and after-tax investments down closer to 1k. so really won't qualify to post in this forum haha. justifying it to myself because I really want to live alone; it will definitely improve my quality of life; should still be able to save much higher than "average"; am anticipating a big increase in salary by early next year that should fully offset the additional rent expense; and am ideally moving in with my SO in a year or two so the higher expense is temporary and thus not "real" lifestyle inflation. still freaking out about the number though, especially after updating my obsessive spreadsheet with NW projections and SWR requirements but now that i have a job i like that will likely offer a lot of flexible options for the future (remote work, part time, etc) plus a decent amount saved now that can compound, I feel less need to save for ERExtreme and think I could be ok with hitting full FI at 35-45 instead of 30 if that's how it ends up (I just turned 25). I think it's just habit/guilt causing me anxiety about spending so much. Worst case scenario, I spend more for a year, decide it's not worth it, and move back into a place with roommates, right? see, I'm still arguing with myself even though I know my only thought will be "I wish I'd done this sooner" once I get over the sticker shock.
anyone else have trouble spending even on things that make you happy/make your life better? I think it's because I was so extreme when I made a lot less money and wanted out of my old "career path" ASAP that spending any money at all gives me anxiety. and I'm still not totally used to my big salary. Upping my misc budget has helped with this some, since I know rationally I'm still on track to meet my financial goals even if I do spend that much; but the thought that I'm not going to be FI as soon as I _could_ be if I deprived myself a bit more now is always in the back of my mind, even though I have no clear picture of what I'd do differently if I were FI other than live alone. i am interested to hear if/how other people have dealt with this at all.
my goals for the next ~month:
1. in the interview process currently for what is essentially my Dream Job, so really hoping to get that, which would also probably come with a big raise + 401k match (which i don't get now). studying a lot for this and waiting to hear if I get a 2nd interview.
2. find & move into new apartment!
I am hoping moving will be a catalyst for a few other habits I've been trying to form, but all my other goals are sort of on hold with these two major things on the horizon, so I'll save talking about those until after the move.