TakeTwo's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Post Reply
TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

Hello fellow travelers. I have been on the path for many moons. Sometimes I am alone, and sometimes I find another. Sometimes I walk the straight and narrow, and sometimes I wander. I have come to a point where I realize that I am wandering and alone. This journal is my effort to be held accountable, because no one holds me to account and I am great at ignoring myself despite often beginning things with great enthusiasm. So be warned, I am not always a good traveling companion.

It was in the days of dial up that I began my journey. I took the famous ‘road less traveled by.’ At least it was the road less traveled by compared to my friends. It was the ‘working man’ path, and it was a good path. Of course, it had its ups and downs. Unfortunately, it ended on sort of a sour note, yet I am proud of the work I did up until the end. The end was my call, though, and that was what really counted.

Then, in a way I returned to that ‘yellow wood’ and took the other path, the one I had ignored so long before. So, yes, I am a salary man now, but I am a salary man with an ample supply of FU money. Yes, it does make a difference. Even in my waning working man days, maybe especially in those days, it made a difference. There’s a certain empowerment when they need you more than you need them.

In truth, I was a little uncomfortable taking the salary man job. I had in mind something a little more part time, more varied, contract/project type stuff that I could do and be done with. But what I am doing fits where I am in my life, right now. It suits me just fine.

So what am I doing here with you? Well, with no burning desire for a change, it seems I have gotten lazy. My FI/DIY/FU muscles have gotten flabby. I find my self accepting a lot of nonsense because, you know, what’s the point of fighting with the slavering global-corporate-consumerist hell-bitch? I haven’t changed the world in 49 years, how’s it going to happen now? No solutions to offer, no tricks up my sleeve.

But then I come and visit some of the crazy wonderful people on this forum, and I am inspired to get off my ass and do something. So here I am stumbling back to the path, trying once again to get my bearings, figure out where I am going and how exactly I am going to get there. Journey with me a bit.

Hristo Botev
Posts: 1734
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:42 am

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Welcome, and let me return the favor of a book recommendation, and recommend to you Dante's Inferno:
Midway along the journey of our life
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
for I had wandered off from the straight path.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

@Hristo - Excellent! Thank you. A couple of years ago I made it through most of Inferno. I'll have to get back to it, my mind wandered midway down. It is about his mid-life crisis of course, so yeah, good one.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

Rode my bike for a little errand today. Something I could have easily reasoned myself out of by thinking, 'well Store X is probably cheaper, but I don't have the time (desire?) to ride that far, so I'll drive it.' Opted to bike to the closer, (maybe) more expensive store. Thanks for keeping an eye on me, guys.

I know I should just make the ride to the cheaper store. It's well within my capabilities. Next time. It's hot out there :D

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

Some Goals and Aspirations, Big and Small

⁃ surf
⁃ homemade prosciutto
⁃ homebrew
⁃ have a serious conversation with DW about ideas and options for when the kids are out of the house - about 4 years from now
⁃ 1% of NW in cryptocurrency, about 1/3 of the way there
⁃ max out 401k, currently about 2/3 of the way there - not including catch up amount after 50 (next year!) find out rules for this
⁃ get and use a safety razor
⁃ get a road map/atlas and put in the car
⁃ rent an RV to test out the ‘van life’ for a bit
⁃ have an open invitation monthly dinner party on the schedule
⁃ turn an old cabinet smoker into a solar dehydrator
⁃ kill the subscriptions
⁃ delete all phone apps monthly and reload only with good reason
⁃ take DS on a guided rock climbing trip (I.e. in the mountains, not the gym)
⁃ take DD on a hands on sailing charter
⁃ sort out the music library
⁃ always keep 10 things for sale on eBay
⁃ use cash
⁃ ride the bike
⁃ avoid the news, if it is that important it will find me, eventually
⁃ use my notebook daily
⁃ go analog
⁃ try to keep up with DS in tennis
⁃ give DD a copy of YMOYL for Christmas
⁃ plan and execute a multi-day/week wilderness journey at least once a year, with friends or alone
⁃ invest in local businesses which provide useful products and services to the community
⁃ stop eating processed crap
⁃ install some (5) water barrels
⁃ keep expanding the garden
⁃ come up with a ‘modular’ menu for bulk / slow cooking and simplified shopping / inventory
⁃ ask the neighbor down the street if I can pick some apples off his tree
⁃ exercise in the morning, I hate exercise in the morning
⁃ plant native plants
⁃ keep my knives sharp
⁃ play guitar better
⁃ make a new friend
⁃ keep in touch with those who matter most
⁃ pay off the house
⁃ get a few house insurance quotes and make a change
⁃ volunteer more with Habitat for Humanity
⁃ volunteer consistently at the community garden

ETA
- get back into fly fishing
- practice drawing/sketching
(thanks @mountainFrugal)
- do an EV conversion
(thanks @el duderino)
Last edited by TakeTwo on Wed Sep 01, 2021 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

Great news! Went to check where I was at with the maxing of the 401k and realized I had forgotten about the company match. Adding that in puts me over the top by a couple hundred bucks for the year. Cool. Anyone know how the catch up amount works for the actual year you turn 50? Maybe it is pro-rated for the number of months your are 50+? I think I'm the old guy around here, so maybe nobody knows. I probably should have put learn about taxes as one of my goals. I've been trying, but it is so painful.

User avatar
mountainFrugal
Posts: 1125
Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by mountainFrugal »

"Individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions."
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/pl ... tributions

Should be able to bank an additional $6500 depending on your situation and employer plan.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Some Numbers

Post by TakeTwo »

I have never been very good at budgeting and I really haven't been keeping track lately, so none of that (ever), but I do review various assets and accounts monthly to get an idea of how things are going. I suppose this is 'net worth' but I am not too fond of that term. Let's call it the financial freedom fund.

FFF - August 31, 2021

Total:
$1,114,738.06
(2.4% increase from July)

Breakdown:
Taxable brokerage accounts:
$342,512.35 (31% of total)

Tax deferred (401k, IRA, etc) accounts:
$757,709.02 (68% of total)

Cash:
$14,516.69 (1% of total)

I also have significant cash levels in active trading accounts since I am not always fully invested. As I look over my spreadsheet, I realize I should add that so I get a better picture of available cash.

Another takeaway (which is not new) is that I have a lot (all?) of the FFF in financial markets that I have been getting more and more concerned about. Diversification into real estate or local business has been on my mind a lot lately.

A few years ago, I skipped the monthly review for several months. When I got back to it, one of the brokerage accounts was a lot lower than I expected. I reviewed the holdings. While their performance was not great overall, it didn't reflect the amount of money I was down. Eventually I discovered the account had been hacked and there were several withdrawals over 3 months of $1-2k apiece. I think the total was $6k. I did get the money back, but it was a nightmare, a pretty frightening one at that. Lesson learned. I haven't missed the monthly review since.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

@mtnFrugal - Thanks for the link. After reading your journal I realized I need to add fly fishing and drawing to the goal and aspirations list above.

Looks like I can up my 401k contribution by $6500 next year. I'm turning 50 in almost exactly a year :o

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I like your goals and aspirations list. It is a good reminder that I have a list like that too somewhere. I should dig it up and take a look. Good luck on it and please update on your progress.

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

Thanks GDP. I like having it posted here where I feel accountable, rather than just floating around in my head where I can ignore it!

TakeTwo
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: TakeTwo's Journal

Post by TakeTwo »

DW and I spent some time talking with DD this weekend. She just started 11th grade and does great in all aspects of her life. But there is some serious angst when it comes to the future. Part, if not most, of it is the pressure of thinking about college, a career, an adult life. I know I didn’t really obsess over these things when I was kid, probably not even until I was in my final year of college. Even then not so much. When I read some of the journals of the younger people here, I see the the same thing that I see in DD. Kids seem to be under so much pressure these days. DW and I want DD to live up to her potential, but we have never pushed her in any particular direction or given her expectations on who or what to be. We just support her and try to give her advice based on our own experiences. It feels like we are just tiny voices, though, always being drowned out by the non stop screams of consumerism, conformity, scarcity and fear.

She is a hard worker with a job and decent paycheck for a couple of years now but she also likes to spend money. I’ve talked to her about saving, working hard for several years and then just quitting and doing what she wants. She doesn’t believe that it’s possible, won’t even listen long enough to consider it. The message she seems to be hearing instead is that the world is crap, your only future is to be a debt/wage slave for the next 60 years while the society and culture crumbles around you, leaving you alone with only a climatic/environmental disaster to look forward to.

I feel like a bad parent when my words and advice do so little to relieve all that angst. I guess part of it is just this time in her life when she is needing to explore her independence and figure out things on her own. I made plenty of mistakes and I guess everybody has to, but it really sucks to fell helpless as a parent. I guess we just need to have more conversations about money and all the good and bad things about it, how to use it and manage it, and how life can be a lot more than just an endless cycle of paychecks and bills.

Post Reply