Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
I(E)reland
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 3:07 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by I(E)reland »

Maybe you should switch the order of those goals and get a new mattress first in case the date goes very well?!

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

I(E)reland wrote:Maybe you should switch the order of those goals and get a new mattress first in case the date goes very well?!
LMFAO!!! :lol: You guys on this forum are always thinking ahead :mrgreen:

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

October Progress:

Image

I AM DEBT FREE!!!!!! Ok, now that I got that off of my chest I still have an issue this month. I chose to help my sister out by switching vehicles with her. I took her 2001 Honda Odyssey to my house so I could take care of all the deferred maintenance. She has kids and a full time job and a husband that doesn’t know a thing about cars. I spent $500 so far. It sounds like a lot of money but if she would have had the work done at the shop it would have been thousands. The catalytic convertor replacement alone would be near 1k alone and I was able to buy the part for $270 and replace it myself. Unfortunately I think the vehicle will need more than just preventative maintenance so I’m going to have to take it in to the shop and I hope I don’t get ripped off. I have trust issues with auto mechanics due to bad past experiences which is why I try to do as much work as I can do myself.

I am currently sick and I hope it isn’t the flu. I haven’t been in the gym as much as I would have liked, so this months entry will be short.

Remaining goals for 2014:
~Bring 401k balance up to 50k current balance is 43k
~Sign up for new airline miles reward card
~Be at or under 190 pounds
~Acquire one or more accounts for my business
~Open a non retirement account at Vanguard for excess money

Goals for November:
~Lose 5 pounds
~Go on a date
~Find a good deal on a new mattress. My current one should have been replaced years ago
~Increase net worth by 4k
~Get the new iPhone 6. I’ve had my 4s for 3 years and it’s not functioning well any longer.
Last edited by Star*Bucks on Fri Jul 01, 2016 2:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

November Progress:

Image

So in October I spent $500 in parts to repair my sisters Honda Odyssey and in November I've spent an
additional $150 so currently the total spending is $650 and in December I'm sure a couple
hundred more dollars will be spent to complete all fixes. Luckily I haven't had to take it to the
mechanic and have been just spending on parts and putting in sweat equity. My Christmas gift
to my sister will be her fully operational and clean van for her and her kids.

I've been hitting the gym on a very regular basis and getting very strong but I haven't been
doing much cardio or being strict on my diet so I've gained 5 pounds :(

I was planning on signing up for a rewards credit card but I lucked out, my credit union sent me
a letter stating all their cards are now converted to cash back cards. 3% cash back for fuel,
restaurants, groceries & 1% cash back on everything else. The best part is they give you those
rebates immediately the following month. Most cards I looked into gave those rewards annually
so this is a big plus.

Remaining Goals For 2014:
~Bring 401k balance up to 50k, current balance is $46,417. This is a long shot since there are
only 2 pay checks left this year and I average 1k deposited per check. Vanguard also pays it's
quarterly dividends in December.
~Be at or under 200 pounds
~Buy a iPhone 6
~Buy a new bed
~Acquire one or more accounts for my business
~Sign up for a HSA qualified healthcare plan
~Sign up for a low cost HSA plan that has Vanguard products
~Go on a date

El Duderino
Posts: 177
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:24 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by El Duderino »

Nice progress, man. That's a pretty sweet gift for your sister this year!

I'd suggest that perhaps a different metric than just weight would be a better indicator for overall health. While weight is easy to measure, it's not the best proxy for overall fitness, especially if you're focused on strength training. Perhaps the distance you can run in 10 minutes or the time it takes to run a mile. Better yet, just focus on getting quality workouts, whatever the form of exercise you prefer, and count the number of times you hit the gym each month. If you're dead set on sticking with weights, then perhaps your max bench / squat or the max weight you can reliably lift 5-10 times in a given movement like snatch/clean/jerk.

Barlotti
Posts: 172
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:58 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Barlotti »

It's nice to see your progress. Looking forward to more!

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

@ElDuderino Thanks for the advice, getting back in the gym is a struggle but I'm finding it fun and motivating especially at how far I've come in the last few months (specifically strength gains) I only want to lose weight to feel comfortable in my clothes and maybe gain a little more confidence with the ladies. I seem to carry most of my weight in my gut which is a horrible look. One step at a time I guess.

@Barlotti Thanks for taking the time out to read my journal. I never knew just how much more focused I could be by writing these things out.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

December Results:

Image

December has been an expensive month $1500 spent on Property Tax Payment, $225 spent on
DMV registration (for my brothers car), $125 DMV registration for my car, $400 New iPhone 6,
$600 spent on fixing my sisters van, & the costs involved with going to visit family for Christmas.
Add to that some investments going down in value and my net worth dropped slightly from the previous month for the first time since starting this journal.

The following is a list of things done to my sisters van over the last 3 months at a total cost of $1300:

New Battery with 3 year Free Replacement Warranty
New California Catalytic Convertor
New EGR Valve with Lifetime Warranty
New Tires put on at America's Tire Company, Free Lifetime Rotation & Balance. Also purchased warranty so if anything happens to these tires they will replace for free! 
Cabin Air Filter Changed
Spark Plugs Changed (Tune Up)
PCV Valve Replaced
Power Steering Fluid Flushed 
Throttle Body & Intake Manifold Cleaned
Front Rotors & Front Brake Pads Replaced
Idle Air Control Valve Replaced
Engine Bay Degreased & Detailed
Defogged Headlights
Shampooed and Detailed Interior

I also chose to pay the registration for my brother since he just purchased the vehicle from me 2 months ago & I didn’t feel right having him pay for registration so soon.

I began taking a pre workout before going to the gym. Previously I was cutting caffeine out of
my life besides one cup of coffee before my workouts. Initially it worked well but after a while
that one cup worth of caffeine didn't do enough so I went back to taking a pre workout drink &
man o man... I've made huge strength improvements and my energy levels are a lot higher than
before. I hope I can keep this momentum/motivation going. In the past I would get in shape and
for whatever reason just stop working out and have to start all over again.

Vanguard Investments:
VWENX Wellington Fund-Currently 100% of my 401k is invested here
VTSAX Total Stock Market Fund-I plan on using to max out my HSA for 2015
VFIAX S&P 500-Plan on using excess after tax money to invest in 2015
VTIAX-International Total Stock Market-Plan on using excess after tax money to invest in 2015

I read about the new IRS Notice 2014-54 about being able to deposit after tax money to an employers retirement account but unfortunately my companies plan administrator does not allow this and doesn’t allow in service rollovers either.

2014 Year In Review:
I began my journal here on ERE in March 2014 and at that time my net worth was $102,611 so I
feel safe saying that at the beginning of the year Jan 2014 my net worth was under 100k and
now at the end of the year I'm at $124,786. During this year I paid off the loan my brother gave me (making me debt free), I was also able to help my sister out by fixing and cleaning her "Soccer Mom Van" which really made me feel good. She doesn't have the greatest paying job and she relies on that van for everything. I was able to financially help my mother take a few trips for family weddings, funerals, & just to visit relatives. My mother was laid off and wasn't old enough to collect social security & for some reason EDD refused to give her unemployment. Good thing is that late this year she turned 62 and is now making enough from her social security benefits to cover all her expenses. What all this means is that 2015 I can just focus on myself. I'll be able to save even more than I did in 2014 and I'll be able to enjoy taking one or two vacations. I love the idea of retiring early and just backpacking the world, but I'm years away from that dream so I'll take annual trips until that momentous occasion that I can actually say I'm Financially Ready To Leave The Rat Race. I haven't decided where exactly to visit first but it will be a country where the US Dollar is very strong. SE Asia, Central or S. America are my options at this point. I also signed up for a HSA qualified health care plan that costs $275 per month. This is the first time I've had health coverage in 6 years!

Goals for 2015:
~Increase my 401k Balance by 25k (employee+employer contributions)
~Have my 6 pack back (would be first time in over 15 years)
~Take a International Vacation
~Build more meaningful relationships
~Focus on my business and in acquiring accounts
~Max Out 2014 & 2015 Traditional IRA Contributions
~Max Out HSA Contribution

Goals for January 2015:
~Buy a new bed
~Acquire one or more accounts for my business
~Go on a date
~Collect all tax paperwork so I can do my taxes in early February

henrik
Posts: 757
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: EE

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by henrik »

Star*Bucks wrote:I haven't decided where exactly to visit first but it will be a country where the US Dollar is very strong.
Russia should qualify nicely:)

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

henrik wrote:
Russia should qualify nicely:)[/quote]

I can imagine exchanging $200 U.S. for a backpack full of their singles and Make It Rain!! lol I'd love to visit Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe but I'm going to wait until I have friends to go with me or until I feel confident that the places I go to will be safe. I've heard there are still some racist groups around (neo-nazi in particular) so I will go down the bucket list of countries to visit starting in SE Asia and Central/South America, but I want to see the world as a whole and will see All of Eastern Europe after FI.
Last edited by Star*Bucks on Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

Past, Present, and (Projected) Future:

2008 - Negative W/R I was laid off from work and in debt
2009 - Negative W/R I filed bankruptcy to get rid of CC debt but still owed my brother 22k
2010 & 2011 - Negative W/R I was treading water on unemployment and eventually got a full
time job making $10 per hour.
2012 - Negative W/R I was hired on with my current company making roughly 60K per year
2013 - Negative W/R Paid off my car loan and reduced debt owed to my brother by 8K & began
contributing to my companies 401k
2014 - 27.5% W/R I became debt free and have 55k saved in retirement accounts

My ideal situation would have been to retire at the age of 40 (in 2018) but looking at the math
below I may have to stay at work a few additional years. I can live a happy lifestyle on 15k per
year and would like a SWR of 3%-3.5% Below is rough math done & does not include any
projected dividend/compounding/capital gains payments or inflation. It just includes what I plan on investing.

Expected Contributions in 2015
$16,000 25% 401K Contributions
$ 8,000 Employer Match
$ 5,500 2014 Traditional IRA Contribution
$ 5,500 2015 Traditional IRA Contribution
$ 3,350 2015 HSA Contribution
$ 4,500 After Tax Investment
$42,850 Total Investment for 2015

Subsequent Annual Contributions (Estimate)
$16,000 25% 401K Contributions
$ 8,000 Employer Match
$ 5,500 Traditional IRA Contribution
$ 3,350 HSA Contribution
$10,000 After Tax Investment
$42,850 Total Annual Investments

2015 - $55,000 + $42,850 = $97,850 15.5% W/R
2016 - $97,850 + $42,850 = $140,700 10.7% W/R
2017 - $140,700 + $42,850 = $183,550 8.2% W/R
*2018 - $183,550 + $42,850 = $226,400 6.6% W/R The year I turn 40
2019 - $226,400 + $42,850 = $269,250 5.55% W/R
2020 - $269,250 + $42,850 = $312,100 4.8% W/R
2021 - $312,100 + $42,850 = $354,950 4.2% W/R

Ways I can reduce the time to FI
Situation 1:
Get a 2nd job. This will allow me to put more money away from after tax investments but it will
also allow me to get more money put into a 401K with another employers contributions.

Situation 2:
Get outside of my comfort zone and find accounts for my business. I am a big time introvert and
have yet to market my business directly to prospective clients. I am overweight and my plan was
to lose weight by Jan 1 and get a nice shirt and tie and go network but I am still overweight. I'm
going to still move forward and meet prospective clients in January and try to find business. If I
do get my business moving forward it will give me huge leverage to reach FI. The distinct
advantages are the amounts allowed to put away into a retirement account for self employed
individuals, tax write offs, higher earnings potential, etc. I am great at what I do and have always
been a top performer at all my past jobs, but I have to find the confidence to express my
background & skills face to face.

Situation 3:
Retire at age 40 regardless of W/R and move to a low cost of living country. There are many
places around the world to live on less than 1K per month. From there start a travel blog full of
pictures, videos, reviews, advice, and monetize it in a non obtrusive way. Meaning I will not be
selling e-books which is what most travel bloggers do, and no ads.

Situation 4:
Retire at 40 and simply do consulting for my current company or others in the same field. I can
do this as long as I have a laptop, internet connection, and telephone. My pay would greatly be
reduced but I'm sure my salary would cover most or all of my costs living in a low COL country

In my final year of work I plan on selling and giving away all of my possessions and selling my
home. I should get about 65K upon the sale of my home of which all except 15K will be
invested. The 15K will be what I live on as I backpack around the world for a year
(hopefully longer)

jacob
Site Admin
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Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by jacob »

Situation 5: Up your skills/strategy and learn how to live a happy life on less than 15k.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

jacob wrote:Situation 5: Up your skills/strategy and learn how to live a happy life on less than 15k.
@Jacob Thanks for the reply, I think a Hy-Brid of Situation 2 & Situation 5 would be optimal. You see I actually only need 7-8k annually the rest of the 15k budget goes to expenses associated with home ownership ie Property Taxes, Home Owners Insurance, Utilities, and in my case H.O.A. Fees ($80 per month) If I could get some clientele for my business then I could sell my home and move back in with my parents. This would allow me to invest the proceeds from the sale earlier than expected and get more from compounding. Unfortunately I can’t proceed with this until I get an account for my business because my parents live 2 hours away from me and that’s too long of a commute for work. I have played with the idea of van dwelling but the summers in the Sacramento area are Way too hot. Another reason for the 15k budget is because after FI I will be traveling so the added cost of air fare and hostels food etc will push up the amount budget.

Here’s hoping 2015 brings one or more accounts my way and the FI timeframe gets shortened.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

January 2015 Update:

Image

Current Debts:
None $0

Current Assets/Investments:
Home $70,000
Car $2,500
401k $49424
IRA $4882
HSA $0

Total Assets $126806

January was pretty low key. I made a trip to visit family in the Bay Area and while I was there I
actually went and introduced myself on behalf of my company to some of the Tech Companies.
The first company I walked into felt awkward especially since the receptionist was stone faced
and pretty rude but I felt better once I got it out of the way and I felt much more confident in the
proceeding 6 companies I visited. I will try to keep this up and let these companies know I exist
and they have an option to fulfilling projects through my company (fingers crossed).

I made decent strength gains in the gym, although I was sick for 1 week out of the month I still
tried to stay as active as possible. I lost 2 pounds this month and that's thanks to the 45+
minutes of cardio per day. I will continue the cardio to compliment the weight training but in
February I plan to watch my diet closely as well.

I have completed my taxes online but I am holding off on e-filing them until a week passes just to be sure I have all my tax forms. I haven’t received anything from my bank yet so I’m just being safe.

I went to visit a mattress store after telling myself to buy a new bed for about a year now. I found a comfortable “Beautyrest Recharge 800 Plush Mattress” on sale and the rep gave me an additional discount to get the mattress down to $850+tax. This is the cheapest bed that I felt comfortable in and it comes with a 10 year warranty. The rep also stated these are the mattresses the Hyatt puts in their rooms. I plan on buying this mattress next weekend since it’s Superbowl Sunday today and the company gives free delivery and free removal of old mattress.

Goals for January were:

~Buy a new bed ((Failed))
~Acquire one or more accounts for my business ((Failed))
~Go on a date ((Failed))
~Collect all tax paperwork so I can do my taxes in early February ((Complete!)) I received my
W-2 and I will submit my taxes in the first week of February

Goals for February are:
~Increase Net Worth by $3k
~Buy a New Bed
~Solicit business for my company
~Continue to workout but incorporate a stricter diet

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

February 2015 Update:

Image

Current Debts:
None. $0

Current Assets:
Home. $70,000
Car. $2,500
401k $52,974
IRA $5,784
HSA $0

Total Assets. $131,258

February was a very stress filled month for me, but let's start with the good news. I did my
income taxes early in the month and received my Federal and State refunds in one week. The
main reason I got refunds was because I stated I would max $5,500 in a Traditional IRA before
April 2015 for tax year 2014. I was confident I'd be able to do this because I already had 3k
allocated for it and it was the same thing I did last year and had no problems. I also finally
purchased a new bed. All in I spent 1k and the bed doesn't feel anywhere as good as it did on
the showroom floor. The sales rep told me it may take 1-2 months to break it in. I hope he's right
because it's not feeling too good.

Ok, so now the bad news. I was forced to take some time off from work. I don't want to get too
specific as to why but it was not disciplinary or anything even in my control. It was due to my
company having a licensing issue. When I was told this I had no clue if I'd ever be back to work
at all. Keep in mind I just told the IRS I would place $5,500 into a Traditional IRA of which I only
had slightly more than 3k and I had just spent 1k on a new bed. Luckily I was only out of work
for 4 days but that's 4 days of earnings I have lost and I'm more energized to make some sort of
change; either find another company/organization to work for or to gain some clients for my
business. The level of stress I felt was too much, I don't want to feel like that again. I even
thought maybe I don't need as much as I've been thinking. I've read that there are many places
in this world to live a comfortable life for 1k per month. If I sold everything I had and invested it
all, as well as moving my 401k to a IRA start the annual conversion ladder to a Roth. I think it's
promising to say it may work. I know of people who have made that move on a much much
tighter budget and are now doing well. During those 4 days I did a lot of number crunching but I think most of my feelings and emotions were panic driven. Now I’ll gear back up to do as many hours as possible and try to find opportunities to increase income.

On a side note I tried the “Bullet Proof Coffee” thing yesterday. I always thought it was profoundly stupid to put butter in your coffee but then I saw so many people jumping on the bandwagon so I decided not to pre judge it and at least give it a shot. So I tried it yesterday and the taste was good and it kept me satisfied for several hours no food cravings, but coffee on it’s own usually does that for me anyways. The recipe I used was 15 grams of organic whole bean roasted coffee from Whole Foods freshly ground then brewed in a french press for 4 minutes. Then placed in a blender with a teaspoon of organic unsalted grass fed butter and a tea spoon of organic extra virgin coconut oil and stevia. I’ll give this a go daily for 2 weeks and report back.

Goals for February were:
~Buy a new bed ((Accomplished))
~Acquire one or more accounts for my business ((Failed))
~Go on a date ((Failed))
~Do my taxes ((Accomplished ))
~Continue to workout but incorporate a stricter diet ((Accomplished))

Goals for March are:
~Find cheaper auto insurance
~Solicit business for my company

Linnie
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:58 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Linnie »

Star*Bucks where did you go?
Perhaps you are too busy dating to keep up with your journal? :P
Have you tried LCHF for weight loss? Interesting stuff.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

Linnie wrote:Star*Bucks where did you go?
Perhaps you are too busy dating to keep up with your journal? :P
Have you tried LCHF for weight loss? Interesting stuff.
"Too Busy Dating", lmfao! I just looked up LCHF and it definitely does look interesting. The high fat part of the equation is very scary. We are all taught that fats are not the healthiest thing growing up. I'll read up more about it, but I usually can get good weight loss with going low carb and lots of cardio, but I've been eating lots of carbs and mainly sticking to weights vs cardio. My issue is I haven't been very good with my diet especially since I'm busy and on the run, carbs are the easiest thing to grab. I tend to eat the healthiest options though such as granola/granola bars, brown rice, baked sweet potatoes, etc. Have you seen results from the LCHF diet?

Linnie
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:58 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Linnie »

Have been LCHF since June and can't imagine going back. Lost weight, huge increase in energy and - most surprising of all - NO cravings. It did take me a long time to get my head around (good) fats being good for you but after a short while, you will feel so much better.
When I complained to the company that sold me my last $1200 bed that I was rolling into the middle and wanted it exchanged, they wouldn't do it. I said, " Why wouldn’t I just buy a $300 bed every few years instead?" They said, " Maybe you should"!

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Star*Bucks wrote:
jacob wrote:Situation 5: Up your skills/strategy and learn how to live a happy life on less than 15k.
I think a Hy-Brid of Situation 2 & Situation 5 would be optimal. You see I actually only need 7-8k annually the rest of the 15k budget goes to expenses associated with home ownership ie Property Taxes, Home Owners Insurance, Utilities, and in my case H.O.A. Fees ($80 per month)
You don't even need to move out of America, just get out of California.

RealPerson
Posts: 875
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:33 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by RealPerson »

Linnie wrote:Have you tried LCHF for weight loss?
Isn't this just another name for the Atkins diet? Weight loss at a price!

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