Loche and Key to Freedom

Where are you and where are you going?
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locheachles
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:00 am

Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by locheachles »

I have gained so much joy from reading everyone's journals on here that I thought I should start my own; additionally, it serves as an excellent motivation source and piece of accountability. Although I made a post in the introduction forum, I will do a brief recap here for anyone who comes along down the line and reads my journal.

About Me

I just turned 25 this past weekend. I live in the swamps of Louisiana, in Lafayette, but am originally from North Carolina. I got my undergraduate degrees in International Studies and Japanese at UNC, where I graduated early in December 2011. My interesting fact is that I have lived in Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Trinidad, and Guatemala for various points of time for work/education.

I have always been conservative with money, however this seemed to be an inherent trait and not something with any direction. I never cared about any "business" type work or any "employable" studies (look at my majors haha) but was more of an artist/people/philosophical type of person. One day, not long after graduating, I met the CFO of an oilfield services company at a wedding rehearsal and he offered me a job for my international language skills. So, I moved to Lafayette and have since worked just over two years of mind-melting boring corporatism, from which I can't wait to escape.

Goals and the Why Factor

The main reason I'm pursuing the ERE lifestyle is twofold--1) I hate my current job and really have no desire to make a career in a conventional business setting and 2) I love nature and simplicity, and thus do not value consumer culture (though like many I have my own hypocrisies here and there)

My goal is to be FI at the age of 35 (a very safe FI at that, at around 1.5x or 2x of my needed expenses per year via SWR) Currently for me that is around 20k a year, or ~500k net worth with 4% SWR for a very conservative FI.

At FI I'd like to become a teacher or do something outdoors based (ranger, land owner, etc) as I love hiking, nature, and children. So I wouldn't plan on not working... I'd just do low paying jobs I'd greatly prefer with the comfort of FI. This to me is true freedom.

Where Things Stand

Current Yearly Income 2014 (Gross): 72,000USD (Includes a 15k profit share bonus which increases yearly; I treat these as immediate savings and are saved at 100%--they do not factor into budgeting)

Current Yearly Take-Home 2014 (after all deductions including 401k, health, dental): 47,000*USD
*note that this includes profit shares which are taxed at the highest bracket... so I will get around 2k of it back next April

Bi-weekly Paycheck (profit share not included): 1,460USD

Monthly Budget (often less than these limits):

Rent - $208.33
Water/Electric - $52
Internet - $11
Groceries - $150
"Eat Out" - $50
Fuel - $100
Misc. - ~$100 (includes supplies, gifts, petty-cash expenses)

Total: </= 700USD

Savings percentage: 75-80%
Minimum savings percentage: 60% (I use this when I have outstanding expenses like a flight home to my family for holidays)

*My work pays for my cell phone bill and all insurances are taken out from my paycheck by employer for maximum coverage at about 40USD total a month

NET ASSETS

CASH:

SAVINGS $5,654.41

CHECKING $293.75


INTEREST BEARING INVESTMENTS: $80,659.42

401 K $8,889.20

Lending Club $2,500

STOCKS (SVSPX) $43,596.37

MUTUAL FUNDS $15,628.84 Vanguard
$10,045.01 Waddell & Reed

CAR (2006 Mazda3) : $5,000

DEBT: 0.00

TOTAL NET WORTH: 91,607.58

Let the journey begin!! 8-)

nacho
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:27 pm

Re: Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by nacho »

Welcome! Looks like you are off to a great start -- you already have 4.5 years of expenses saved up. I'm also 25, with very similar income & savings (but about 2x monthly spending!), looking forward to reading about your journey.

locheachles
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:00 am

Re: Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by locheachles »

nacho wrote:Welcome! Looks like you are off to a great start -- you already have 4.5 years of expenses saved up. I'm also 25, with very similar income & savings (but about 2x monthly spending!), looking forward to reading about your journey.
Thank you Nacho. Will be interesting to hear your journey as well. It takes a lot of discipline at this stage but like an investment the earlier you start the better it is down the line. Let's keep up the support!

locheachles
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:00 am

Re: Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by locheachles »

So, as Fall has seemingly turned into a nice early Summer (life in Louisiana can be like that) I figured I would do my November update. This was a very big month for me, as I reached the milestone I had set when I first took up this career a little over two years ago: to have a net worth of 100k at 25 years old. I just turned 25, so I missed the milestone by a few weeks, but I will remember November 19th for the sweet taste of victory it left in my mouth!

Where Things Stand

November snapshot (as of December 1st, 2014)

CASH: $6561.54

CREDIT CARD: -$85.20

INVESTMENTS: $92,151.53

CAR VALUE (PAID OFF; VALUE PER KBB): $5,000

TOTAL ASSETS: $103,713.07
minus
TOTAL DEBTS: -$85.20
=
NET WORTH: $103,627.87

Savings Rate

My savings rate for November was 75.47% of take home, up from 61% in October (lower than normal due to a flight home for Christmas)

December savings rate (with presents included) is budgeted to be 72.20%. That is in my "gravy zone" of 70-80 percentile so I am okay with that.

Looking Forward

I am carrying a 4.0 GPA in my MBA program right now, so that is good and on schedule (no debt for it either, paying for it from company bonuses) and when I complete it I will get an automatic 10k raise.

Additionally, for Christmas my parents are buying me a bunch of gift cards for gardening supplies. My 2015 goal is to grow 50% of all the food I eat myself. So I will be able to do that investment largely with no start-up cost.

Best,
Loche

viking
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:35 am

Re: Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by viking »

Additionally, for Christmas my parents are buying me a bunch of gift cards for gardening supplies. My 2015 goal is to grow 50% of all the food I eat myself
Wow that is impressive! I wish the climate in Norway would allow for this.

I read your journal a month ago but forgot to leave a comment. Its funny how we are in such similar positions right now.

What are your thoughts on working for another 10 years? Its pretty far away and you seem to have as little love for your job as I do! Are you expecting increases in salary as years go by? And are you planning to settle somewhere in US or will you move to a cheaper country, perhaps one you lived in before?

locheachles
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:00 am

Re: Loche and Key to Freedom

Post by locheachles »

viking wrote:
Additionally, for Christmas my parents are buying me a bunch of gift cards for gardening supplies. My 2015 goal is to grow 50% of all the food I eat myself
Wow that is impressive! I wish the climate in Norway would allow for this.

I read your journal a month ago but forgot to leave a comment. Its funny how we are in such similar positions right now.

What are your thoughts on working for another 10 years? Its pretty far away and you seem to have as little love for your job as I do! Are you expecting increases in salary as years go by? And are you planning to settle somewhere in US or will you move to a cheaper country, perhaps one you lived in before?
Well as best as I can tell I won't be working (here, anyways) another 10 years because the "road map" looks like this:

My GF and I are soon to be engaged, and once we are married she only has a year before her university work is up. She then wants to go onto some medical professional school (probably doctor, maybe PT). Louisiana education is awful and the prices are way too high, plus we both don't like living here (too small/too conservative) so we will be moving elsewhere. That is 2 and a half years from now.

In the meantime I will get raises (pretty much predictable 5-10% a year) and I will get a big raise when I get my MBA in 1 1/2 years (10k raise guaranteed). When all is said and done and we are ready to move I should only have to work until 31-34 to retire, so it will be more like a 6-9 year window of working, only 2.5 at this current job.

So what I'm really hoping for is that once we move, with a large nest already loaded up, I can do something that pays less but I enjoy a lot more. So if I have to keep working longer but enjoy it more I won't mind.

As to moving abroad, we most certainly will but it will depend on her schooling and all of that. If she goes the medschool route we have discussed her being an embassy doctor for the state department... So that would make big bucks plus no expenses living in great embassies.

More or less I'm in wait or see mode since it won't really be just "my decisions" anymore! But if she and I didn't get married (this is pretty much a guaranteed thing already) then I would retire at 31.

Loche

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