Part time work full time happiness

[thrifty++]

Monthly hash up for November 2015.

Total assets $89,700 approx
Less student loan $17,200 approx
Less Taxes on consulting income $350 approx

Net worth $72,144

My savings rate for the month was 60%. I'm a little disappointed it was not higher given that I have received some consulting income on top of regular salary. Mind you with my consulting income its all taxed at the highest possible rate. It is likely that if I am strategic about it I can keep a whole chunk of that tax at return time. But hard to say how much yet.

Gosh I cant believe I am disappointed at a 60% savings rate.

[cmonkey]

Hey you beat me this month. 60% isn't so bad!

[OldPro]

I just came across your postings thrifty and thought I would add a word on 'drinks' since it is an issue you are concerned about.

I used to own a bar in a tourist area and as you might imagine, it was very easy to drink too much. So I weaned myself off the alcohol in my drinks over a short period of time. You may be familiar with the fact that after the first drink or two you cannot really taste the alcohol any more anyway. I now drink a drink with about 20% of the normal measure. If someone gives me a 'full strength' drink, it tastes horrible to me now.

Here is where it might relate to your situation. When visiting other bars, I would have a quiet word with the bartender explaining that I wanted my drinks to be 'micro' (small in Greek) and would show him what I meant. After that, every time I visited that bar I would just indicate 'micro' with my thumb and index finger spaced close together and all my drinks would be made accordingly. At the same time, when it came time to pay my bill, it was much lower than it would have been if I was drinking full measures. If you frequent the same local bars repeatedly, you may be able to make a similar arrangement. So you still socialize, you still drink but just don't drink as much alcohol and don't pay as much.

Here's the other advantage that provides a chuckle. Spending the evening with friends and tourists, they would see me having multiple drinks and yet never getting drunk. Since my drink looked the same and they were not aware the content differed, they didn't understand why I was never drunk.

Also, re cost of living in Aukland vs. Montreal, I would not look for 50% differences. More like 25%. https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

[Dave]

60% is still solid - great job Thrifty!

Over time, I think you become more efficient and get closer to your target 75%. That is how it seems to go. Especially since housing costs are hard to change in the short-term, so those changes take a year or two.

[Dave]

When visiting other bars, I would have a quiet word with the bartender explaining that I wanted my drinks to be 'micro' (small in Greek) and would show him what I meant.... So you still socialize, you still drink but just don't drink as much alcohol and don't pay as much.

This is a great idea, thanks for sharing OldPro!

[thrifty++]

Thanks Dave and Cmonkey. Yes I guess its going ok. Housing will take a more long term change your right. I havent put any drastic plans in place yet (eg caravan) since I am tossing up whether to move for a while overseas next year. I am pretty happy now as I just got paid again on 1st December so got another big whack of money to jump my net worth up higher again.

@oldpro- wow that really is quite an innovative measure for dealing with drinks. Dining and drinks last month was $180 so still too high. Maybe I should try something like that.

[thrifty++]

.

[OldPro]

There is a phenomenon I have observed when you leave 'home' and live in other places. Even your best friends and close relatives may not keep in touch. I think the same kind of thing may happen when someone is pursuing a goal such as ERE. When you start focusing your time and energy on FIREing, you have in a sense left the world most people live in.

It seems to me that people see you as having 'left' their world. It isn't as if they suddenly stop caring about you but it is YOU that left them and somehow the onus is all on YOU to keep a connection going. It might seem reasonable to expect that both parties would share equally in keeping the connection alive but that just isn't what my experience has shown me happens. It is always the person who LEFT that has to make the effort.

I've had to explain this same thing to my wife who still sometimes complains that her family and friends never seem to pick up the phone and call, she always has to call them to keep in touch. As I have learned and told my wife she needs to understand and accept, psychologically, YOU left, in their subconscious. You are no longer in their 'world' and their life just goes on without you. I doubt many, if any, even realize consciously that they are making no effort to keep in touch. Why would they, you aren't in their world anymore.

I hope I have explained what I am trying to convey thrifty. People still like you but it may not seem as if they do. And yes, YOU have to make all the effort. That's just the way it is.

[thrifty++]

Thanks Oldpro. Yes I do know what you mean. Effort on my part is required.

[blackbird]

There is a phenomenon I have observed when you leave 'home' and live in other places. Even your best friends and close relatives may not keep in touch. I think the same kind of thing may happen when someone is pursuing a goal such as ERE. When you start focusing your time and energy on FIREing, you have in a sense left the world most people live in......

I wish there was an upvote button here, I'd be slamming it repeatedly. Well said.

[spoonman]

There is a phenomenon I have observed when you leave 'home' and live in other places. Even your best friends and close relatives may not keep in touch. I think the same kind of thing may happen when someone is pursuing a goal such as ERE. When you start focusing your time and energy on FIREing, you have in a sense left the world most people live in......

I wish there was an upvote button here, I'd be slamming it repeatedly. Well said.

Indeed!

The isolation that comes with the ERE territory is very real. At first it's difficult to notice it because you just get busy with reaching the ERE goal. But yes, I think eventually people feel that you have left their world, and because of that we have to work extra hard to rekindle friendships.

[cmonkey]

I completely agree, although I have always felt outside the world of others. It is more noticeable now that we have embraced ERE. We have a couple of 'couple' friends and we have nothing in common with them other than enjoying each other's company. Even then we hardly ever get together these days. Usually we have to make the effort.

[OldPro]

Almost everything in life comes at a cost of one kind or another and this is just one of those things. On the other hand you can adopt a 'glass half full' attitude (it is all about attitude) to the whole issue.

For example, you know that obnoxious relative you wish wasn't part of your family? Well, you don't have to keep in touch out of 'obligation' anymore. If they don't make the effort, no reason for you to do so either.

[thrifty++]

Happy New Year everyone!

My monthly tally up for December is:

- Assets $94,000

- Less tiny credit card balance and student loan of $16500 approx

Net Worth = $77,200

My savings rate was 66%.

Am doing pretty well this month as my net worth has increased $5k in one month. Although my savings rate and increase in net worth were large this month, it was actually quite a spendy month (I got paid three times this month so income was high). I spent $320 on Christmas gifts and $400 on dining and drinks outings. Well it was December after all, only one month a year, and by next year I will be more ERE trained to cut those sections down (especially gifts).

I am very much looking forward to my assets hitting $100k. This will be a big milestone for me. And I consider my student loan to barely qualify as a liability or a debt in real terms so despite my net worth being lower than that, I will consider $100k assets significant for me.

[thrifty++]

I wanted to do a bit of a review of 2015 and set a way forward for 2016.

I have just done the figures and for the first 7 months of ERE (starting in June 2015) I have saved 61% of my after tax income and increased net worth by $27.5k! I am very pleased with this result as I initially set a target of 50%. I then revised my target to 55%. However in the months I earn more money I seem to have saved well in excess of those targets due to a systemic change in habits resulting in the overall savings rate to be high.

For 2016 I am setting my savings target at 60%. However I have noticed that on a couple of occasions I have foregone opportunities to be engaged in activities or experiences due to not wanting to spend any money. I think this is affecting the level of my happiness at times and I think may be compromising my relationships with other people (which is more important than saving). Going forward I am wanting to focus more on mundane expenditure rather than avoiding one off costs for experiences and opportunities to enrich relationships with others.

I have compiled a list of goals that I have for 2016. These may be subject to review or ongoing assessment. But I wanted to post them for a reminder and accountability. Overall I think overall many of the goals are synergistic and interact with each other.

Relationships:
- Focus first on kindness and generousness to others.
- Provide a specific complement to someone at least once a week.
- Be open and honest and trusting to others at all times rather than suspicious unless evidence suggests I should behave otherwise with such person.
- Allocate time once a week to spend time enriching a relationship.
- Answer my phone when people ring.
- Refrain from gossiping negatively about other people.
- When having negative thoughts about others think about one positive feature they possess.
- Call all family members once a month.

Spiritual development:
- Read 1 book per month.
- Meditate 5 times a week.
- Schedule one thing for myself each week that lifts my spirits.
- Go hiking/swimming/surfing/exploring somewhere beautiful once a month.
- When an opportunity to do something highly fulfilling arises and/or which builds relationships I will do it regardless of it costing me money or being outside of my budget.
- Engage in agnostic spiritual activities once a month.
- Constantly remind myself what others may or may not think is irrelevant most of the time.

Health
- Eat no processed food except 1 bag of rice crackers a week.
- Learn how to use callipers properly and reach 9% bodyfat levels by end of May 2016
- Attend yoga once a week.
- Do at least one hour of reasonably rigorous exercise 6 days a week.
- Stretch 6 days a week.
- Become flexible enough that I can sit down with legs in front of me and flat and lean forward and comfortably pull both feet towards me with my hands.
- Regularly read and research material and safe and effective exercise strategies.
- Drink herbal tea in most evenings and afternoons when not socialising rather than any other kind of drink.

Financial
- Save 60% of after tax income.
- By end of May 2016 reach $108k in assets and net worth of $95k.
- Limit food spending to $450 a month.
- Make my own cost effective protein bars.
- Make my own moisturising cream.
- Make my own SPF moisturising cream.
- Buy a bicycle and ride it.
- Dry-clean my own work clothing.
- Build a fourth income stream.
- Buy an airlock and make my own country wine.
- Pro-actively arrange low cost and fulfilling activities and events and invite others.
- Focus on reducing mundane uninteresting expenses such as food and accommodation.

[Carlos]

- Answer my phone when people ring.

I smiled when I read this. I am awful about answering the phone and keeping in touch with people. Chatting on the phone is awkward for me. It should be used to set up times to meet and/or to transmit important information.

[thrifty++]

Yep its such an introvert thing. I just really dislike the interruption of it when I am in the middle of other things. But I know this habit frustrates and upsets other people.

[henrik]

Me too! At the same time, it's also frustrating when people assume I've read their e-mail or FB invite or whatever just because they sent it. So there's really no good answer when someone thoughtfully asks what the best way to contact me would be...

[cmonkey]

Great job on the 61% savings rate and the 27.5K saved! That is no small sum.

I do the same thing with phones. In fact I have my phone set to go to voicemail if the number is not in my contacts. If they leave a voicemail I know it was important enough to call them back. Otherwise its ignored. DW is the only one that might call from my contacts and that is maybe twice per year. Phone is rarely used!

[thrifty++]

Thanks Cmonkey1
Oh if its a number I don't recognise I definitely don't answer it. I'm more focussing on the ones I actually do know who at the moment I still dont bother answering1 lol