m741's ERE Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

June Summary
Overall a productive month. The beginning of June was very difficult for me personally but it got better through the month and now I feel that I'm on track.
There was one major unusual expense during June, which was a lawyer's bill of $300. Not too bad, as far as legal fees go.
Overall, my income was $6,606, including some income from freelancing. My expenses were 2,829. My net savings rate was 57%. If I exclude the legal fees that jumps to 62%. My biggest expenses were, as usual, rent, food and transport.
The big news for the month was that I got rid of my car. I live in a city and was only driving it 1-2 times per month. I'm glad I had it so far this year - I made good use of it the past 3 months, and it would have been difficult and/or expensive without it. But now I'm glad to be rid of it.
I was paying $170/month, just in insurance. And I was spending less than $20 in gas. That's how little driving I was doing for most of the year. I'll probably be traveling by bus and/or renting, as well as picking up some bike parts+supplies. So I don't think my transportation expenses will be 0. But I am expecting a drop of about $150 in my total transportation fees.
It's really liberating being without the car, actually. I don't have to worry about it breaking and I don't particularly mind walking anywhere for my normal errands.
I'm still waiting to find out what happens with my condo purchase. I'm feeling more confident that the bank will accept my offer, but also fairly sure that it will take even longer than anticipated, though hopefully I'll know what's going in 1-2 months.
That's it. I don't want to set any major goals for July. I have about $5000 in my investment account that I want to invest right now, so I need to figure out what works with my portfolio. I think utilities and blue chips are my targets right now. Besides that, I'll just keep trying to lower my expenses.


Mr. Overlord
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:17 pm

Post by Mr. Overlord »

@m741 - I live in the NYC area too and also recently got rid of my car. I was so hesitant to do it, having somehow become dependent on it in a city with one of the best public transportation systems in the world. Like you I found the experience completely liberating; no more worries about breaking it, maintaining it, alternate side parking, dealing with NYC traffic, etc. Glad to see you had the same experience and are enjoying it! And now you're also $200/month closer to ERE :).


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

Alternate side parking is a disaster. Where I live I had to alternate sides FOUR times/week.


George the original one
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Post by George the original one »

Utilities: take a look at AVA. It's been bid up 10+% since I bought a couple months ago, but might still be attractive relative to the others. Annual dividend growth rate of 8+%.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

I'll keep an eye on it... looks a little overbought to me right now, but if there's a correction it might be worth it. I'm thinking about D and already picked up a little DUK.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

Thinking about it... I believe I can set a few ERE goals for July:
* Read 'Voluntary Simplicity' (Duane Elgin)

* Get rid of 50 things I own

* Invest at least $5k I currently have in cash

* RE-read the ERE Book

* Learn to cook Pad Thai
Other goals:
* Continue to work out 4 times/week (I started in late June)


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

This past month was modestly successful. I still feel as though I'm spending too much, particularly on food (and this month, on entertainment). But expenses are coming down.
Total expenses were $2293, lowest so far this year. Income was $6377. Total savings rate: 64%. The major factor dropping expenses was that I didn't have to pay car insurance ($170 in savings).
Categorical expenses were:

Housing: 1400
Food: 332
Social Life: 101
Utilities+Internet: 126
Donations: 42
Entertainment: 98
Health: 101
Transport: 8.25
Work: 61
Cleaning: 17
Clothing: 3

Unusual expenses were entertainment (there was a huge video game sale I spent quite a bit on), social life (I ended up spending $86 to go to a soccer game with my father), and generally buying expensive food.
My biggest goal is, at least one month this year, to spend less than $2000. It's totally doable, but not in August or September, as I'm making flights in both months. So I'll be preparing for October since I don't know what will be going on for the holidays.
As for my July goals: I read 'Voluntary Simplicity' and the ERE book, and invested a large chunk (thankfully not too much, as the market has tanked pretty seriously). I got rid of 20-30 things, and did no cooking. So, I didn't do so well there.
I'll be formulating goals for August soon; I'm currently away and on vacation.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »


Chart of FI progress. Blue is expenses, red is actual investment income, orange is theoretical investment income at 4%. The discrepancy between theoretical and actual investment income is (A) I have half my money in cash, (B) fluctuation in dividends, and (C) speculative investments that don't yield income.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

August Goals:
* Read 'The Intelligent Asset Allocator'

* Carefully track my portfolio (even on down days when I don't want to look), and develop rigorous way to track investment decisions/price targets.

* Get rid of 50 things (at least 10 of which should be books that I own)


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

August Update
A bit of a disappointing month, but it could have been worse. I flew cross country this month, and then included it in my monthly expenses, twice... which gave me a fright when I looked at my monthly total.
Anyway, here's the data:
Total expenses were 3073.58. Total income was 7494.04. Unusual expenses this month were 585 for airline tickets, 105 for an air purifier, and 107 for pre-paid cellphone (I didn't amortize this expense). Last time I filled up my phone was January. Unusual income was 900 from selling my car.
Here's the itemized expenses:

Housing: 1400
Food: 336.89
Utilities: 269.81
Donation: 32
Entertainment: 87.36
Health: 131.24
Transport: 8.25
Work: 52
Pets: 13.98
Cleaning: 42.08
Other: 689.99
Clothing: 9.98

As presented, my savings rate was 59%. Removing unusual income/expenses, my savings rate would be 65.5%, my best so far this year. But part of that is because there's extra money from my paychecks,

and I don't know where it came from. No one told me about any raises or anything, but there's an extra $250 this month. I'm not gonna complain, though!
My goals for August were:

Read 'The Intelligent Asset Allocator' (Completed)
Carefully track my portfolio (even on down days when I don't want to look), and develop rigorous way to track investment decisions/price targets. (Kinda)
Get rid of 50 things (at least 10 of which should be books that I own) (Completed)

I discovered a hidden feature on the site where I invest, which calculates 'theoretical yearly investment income'. After each stock purchase, it's fun to see that go up, whether it's by $30 or $100. I feel that I put a lot of cash into stocks this month, and yet the amount of cash in my account never seems to go down... I guess I need to make bigger purchases, but I've never been bold.
Objectively speaking, the amount of money I'm putting away seems crazy to me. After all, it's over $4k/month. My average dividend yield is currently 4.76%. If I invested all my savings, that would give me $7600/year. By the end of this year I think I'll have enough saved to take in $10k/year or 800/month from dividends, which, while not livable in my current situation, is livable in a cheap area... like if I wanted to live in Iowa or Detroit something.
I have a single goal for September:

Spend less than $2000

This is one of two potential chances to spend below $2000 this year. Right now, 4 days in, I've covered all rent, utilities, etc, and I'm at $1750. My only anticipated expenses are pet supplies, cleaning supplies, and food. So while tightening the belt a little, it's certainly well within reach.


George the original one
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Post by George the original one »

Congrats on reaching (or soon reaching) "one Jacobian income"!
$4k/mo savings is definitely crazy good.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

That's the way I was thinking of it... I have one 'Jacob' of dividend income.
The savings is good, but I definitely need to bring my spending down... that's much more of a challenge.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

I'm hesitant about writing this, but I'm at one of those low points I encounter periodically.
This weekend, Labor Day weekend, I didn't do anything. I read and watched TV, and I left my apartment once during the 3 day weekend, for 15 minutes, to pick up some food.
I think that this has some bearing on ERE.
First, and maybe this is a cop-out, but I feel like I'm in a golden handcuffs situation: I have a high-paying job, but I'm frequently miserable. Because the job pays well, I'd be foolish to leave it, at least right now. I think at least most of my misery comes from my job - not directly, but because of how it distorts everything, like a black hole.
I don't really have much life. I work 11 hours a day, and I'm constantly exhausted. When I have the opportunity to meet friends on a Friday night, I generally cancel: I want to go home and sleep. On weekends, I just want to sleep. I have no energy. I'm irritable, and I'm blunt with people I care about. I feel as though work has changed me into a person I don't like very much; a person who's frequently ashamed of his actions. I was never outgoing, but it's become so extreme: in the past two months, the only acquaintances I've seen outside of work are twice when I've traveled to see family.
I've been reading some stoic philosophy lately, and just thinking. I've amassed decent savings since I started working 3 years ago. Realistically, I have 3-4 more years before I'd be comfortable retiring. I wouldn't be 'living' during those 3-4 years. I'd grow personally at work, and at home I'd sit in front of a screen, and make plans, and do nothing. By the time I was through, I think I'd be getting close to the 'top,' in the sense that I would have a prestigious job, be making even more money than I currently am, and so on and so forth. In other words, it would be a typical 'fulfilling' position that people in movies aspire to. But I think I'd also be completely alone, completely unhealthy, completely stressed out, completely unable to do anything but my profession, and have burned through most of my personal relationships.
If I had my current savings, and was working for $30k a year, I would drop everything and travel, or go backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. But realistically, if I left my current job, I'd be unlikely to find another one that paid as well.
It feels so foolish to complain: I'm in a very enviable position. And objectively - if I work for 4 more years, and then can retire, forever, starting when I'm in my 20s... isn't that a bargain I should take? It's just that 4 years feels like an awful long time to defer life, and I don't know what I'd come out the other side looking like. Plus, there's always the chance that maybe there won't be anything to come out to, because of some societal problem, or my money would be worthless, or there was some freak accident. In which case I'd have thrown out 6-7 years of my life for no reason.
There's no real question or decision here, because that decision was made for me: I'll continue working, because it's the path of least resistance, it's the rational choice, and I'd probably regret leaving my job with all that on the table.


George the original one
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Post by George the original one »

OK, I'm going to say it: get a roommate or two. Your single largest expense currently is housing for one person and it's larger than my mortgage payment. A roomate will give you a touch of social life and knock that expense down.
Second possible step is to look for work in a locale that isn't as expensive as NYC. If you value the bustle and opportunities of NYC, you're certainly not taking advantage of them, so why live there?


dragoncar
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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:17 pm

Post by dragoncar »

Wow, I'm very much in a similar situation as you. It looks like we have similar salaries, similar savings, and similar issues (except I'm no longer in my 20s).
I too find that I have very little desire to leave the house, etc. When I was in school, I was able to have a life because I had plenty of time -- with my temperament, it takes energy to be outgoing, and work currently sucks that energy away. I often envy other people who can get up at 6am, hit the gym, go to work, meet friends for drinks in the evening, etc. I don't have that kind of energy, never have, and at this point I've just accepted that I never will. Otherwise, I might even stay in the rat race.
So like you, I have about one Jacobian income, and am looking at a few more years of low-level unhappiness to save even more. I say low-level unhappiness because I don't particularly hate my job, I just don't like having a job. I've considered that at some point I could pre-ERE and try part-time consulting work, internet business, or basically anything that would let me sleep in or work only a few months per year. None of that is as guaranteed as my current fairly high-income job -- I feel like I should just milk it as long as possible until I can't take it anymore or my dissatisfaction shows through and they fire me (hello $1800/mo unemployment insurance!).
As George mentioned, I've considered getting a roommate. This probably wouldn't decrease my expenses that much, as I've got a pretty good deal on a room w/ private bath right now. But roommates would force me to be somewhat social. On the other hand, I might just end up dreading coming home and my roommate(s) might just end up disliking me for always staying in my room. Tough call.
So, I don't really have any answers -- just wanted to let you know you're not alone, and I'm trying to work out some of the same questions are you are. I've gained a decent amount of weight since I started, and I worry that if I stick around another 4 years, I'll have done serious irreversible damage to my health (physical and mental). I can work on this, but empirically it seems that I don't have the energy to do this job and exercise enough. Earlier in the summer I started biking in the few light hours I could get after work, but I got behind on projects and have regained the lost weight by busting my ass to catch up.
Keep us updated!


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

@George - the only case where I'd consider roommates would be if I could move in with one of 2-3 college friends. That's unlikely right now. I don't particularly want to live with other people. Although you're right, it would get me more social. I'll keep it in mind as an option in the future.
@dragoncar - glad to know that other people are in a similar situation. Seems like we think almost exactly the same way about this. Let me know if you discover anything.
---
To be clear, I think this is 50% job and 50% melancholy+introverted temperament. But I could work with my temperament/personality when I had more time, for instance in college I wasn't too outgoing but I was reasonably happy and had some close friends.


Dragline
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Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Post by Dragline »

You guys both talk of a lack of energy and working too much. I've been there.
You guys are likely vitamin D deficient unless you work outside. One of the symptoms is fatigue. Suggest you try supplementing with it -- at least 2000 I.U. per day, 5000 better. It's really cheap and non-toxic, so give it a two or three week trial and see if it does anything for you.
Also eat protein first thing in the morning if you can. Meat, eggs and/or beans/lentils are best.
Both of these simple things have helped me improve mood/energy levels.
You'll find as you age that diet becomes almost everything and exercise is much less significant. Getting rid of most processed foods is the key, and especially anything deep fried. I didn't learn this until my late thirties and it took a year to take off the extra 40-50 pounds I had gained in previous decade. But I felt a lot better.
Best of luck to you both. You're on a well-trodden path, but there are lots of alternative routes that can be taken.


dragoncar
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Post by dragoncar »

dragline -- interesting, I've recently begun supplementing with D3. I haven't noticed any change, yet, and I highly doubt that D3 is the root cause, but I figure it's cheap and will at least promote long-term health.
I try to have some egg whites for breakfast, but the thought of food in the morning actually makes me feel nauseous.
Food is a killer, but working long stressful hours drives up cortisol levels making it very hard to eat healthily. Add in time constraints, and you have a real problem on your hands. These aren't excuses, just real-world factors. Personally, I've found that exercise is everything -- I've stuck to a calorie-restricted diet before and it's never been as effective as regular exercise (for me).


Dragline
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Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Post by Dragline »

Oh, I wasn't talking about restricting calories, just restricting different types of food, starting with anything processed and then doing some elimination experiments (e.g., like stop eating bread for two weeks) to see how it affects you.
Also, ever tried kettlebells? Very efficient workouts you can do at home so they take very little time.
But this is getting a little OT so I'm going to stop talking about this here. Don't want to interfere with M741's journal.


m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by m741 »

No worries, this is useful. I'll see if I can find some Vitamin D pills and give it a shot. I've heard similar things about D deficiency in the past.
When dieting I have had eggs first thing. I think it had some effect, but I found it difficult to keep up with due to time constraints. Since I was tired, I wouldn't get up early enough... and then wouldn't be able to get protein.
There's a lot of things I feel I need to change, health-wise, but I'll start with the vitamin supplements and take it from there.


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