RunnerGirl's journal

[runnergirl]

Hi all! I decided to start my journal here because 1) I'd like to get encouragement/ideas/feedback/face punches(?) on my FI progress 2) my journal might benefit someone who is in a similar situation and 3) I want to be part of this awesome community. It’s nice to be surrounded by people who have the same goal or already accomplished the goal.

About me
Single, 42 yrs old, female, live alone, INTP, committed to reach FI by age 52 (not too early but I have been stupid with money in my younger years)

Why FIRE?
FIRE would allow me to have the freedom to pursue things every day that are meaningful to me. Namely - adventure, personal growth, and community.

Adventure
I love running, especially running ultra-distances. I like the feeling of pushing myself to try something that's super scary and almost impossible. Pushing myself beyond my comfort zone brings meaning into my life. I won’t be able to run as much or as hard when I reach my normal retirement age (say, 65). While I’m relatively young, I'd love to have the freedom of running as long as I want without worrying about work. I also love traveling. Traveling for ultra races bring me joy but also visiting my friends and family in East Asia is important.

Personal growth
There are a lot of things I’d love to learn more about when I have more free time. I like to learn how to cook, fix things, play piano, and take all that courses in Coursera! In addition, when I no longer have to work, I will have more time to run and improve my athletic performance. Did I mention I love running?

Community
I want to give back to my community. I believe Life is about giving back and adding value. Helping out people who are in need gives me purpose. I'm interested in supporting projects that help homeless people. I'm also passionate about improving the health/fitness of people in my community and saving animals.

Thanks for reading. I’ll post financials next time.

[chenda]

Hi runnergirl! Welcome

[jacob]

This reminds me of an ancient post: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/progr ... icity.html

[runnergirl]

@chenda Thank you!

@jacob, interesting post & comments! This is funny..I used to be a programer too. I actually enjoyed programming and didn't mind sitting all day at my desk - for me it was like playing some type of games. I loved problem solving aspect of my job. But I eventually moved over to business/management side so I can earn more and have a bigger impact.

Here is my financial summary.

Income
Salary after taxes: $7,993
Income from rental house (minus mortgage/expenses): $488
Total income $8,481

Expenses (8-month rolling average)
Charity: $550
Mortgage: $1,017
Food: $355 (high. includes take out. I didn't learn how to cook until age 40)
Electric $77
Water $38
Internet $78 (need speedy connection for work)
Phone $31 (pay as you go plan)
Car insurance $45
Gas $27 (not much driving. I work from home.)
Dog $144 (food, medical and dog daycare when I'm away)
Pest control $32
Amazon Prime $10
Other items & services $1,076 (**need to reduce**includes sports massage, race fees, running coach fees, gym, running shoes, clothing, hair cut, random amazon purchases and cosmetics)
Long-term expenses $341 (home maintenance, car maintenance, etc.)
Just for fun $703 (**need to reduce**traveling to see family, traveling for races, eating out with friends, coffee, etc. mostly traveling spend here)
Total expenses $4,731

Savings rate: 44%

FI number @3%SWR = 4,731*12*33 = $1.8 million ( )
Current net worth (not including home equity): $279,508
FI progress: 15%
Countdown to FI: 15 years and 4 months

Current goals

• Pay off mortgage ($79k left to go)

• Increase my savings rate to 50%

• Train for my first 100-mile race in March

[runnergirl]

Happy new year, everyone. I had a little taste of early retirement when I took two weeks off during the holiday. I woke up without my alarm, walked my dog for miles, went running in daylight, hanged out with friends, read books, etc. This is why I’m going for FIRE!

In December, I saved more than usual despite the fact that I had to buy extra things I don't normally buy for holiday parties. However, there are dark clouds ahead which I'll talk about later.

Here is the update for December.

Expenses
Charity: $1,498 (Went little crazy, lol)
Mortgage: $1,017
Food: $282 (down $73 from the previous month)
Electric $133 (Winter is always high)
Water $25
Internet $78
Phone $25
Car insurance $59
Gas $18
Dog $64
Pest control $85
Amazon Prime $10
Other items & services $330 (quit eye lash extension service that I had almost a year. Now I have no eye lashes )
Long-term expenses $304
Just for fun $164 (this is lower than usual because I didn’t travel)

Total expenses $4,092

Savings rate: 51%
Current net worth (not including home equity): $287,408

Goals update
• Pay off mortgage (still $79k left to go)
• Increase my savings rate to 50% (achieved!)
• Train for my first 100-mile race in March (Continue to train as planned. Ran 220 miles in December.)

I made a small progress in December. However, there are huge expenses coming ahead. First, a pest company found mice, sanding water and mold under the crawlspace of my house. I had five different companies come out to look at the mold issue and they all had very high estimates. So it looks like I'm looking at spending about $10k to fix the problem I thought about DYI but didn't want to mess with mold and moisture issues. Also, I'm visiting my family in Asia in March and this is going to increase travel spend again. My 100 mile race in March will increase spending too although this is the category I'd happily spend because the spend here has high ROI on happiness. I feel like I took one step forward and thousands steps back.

[enigmaT120]

At least trail runs/ultras don't seem to generally be as expensive as road races. But I've only done 50K races.

[Mae]

Sorry to hear about the mold problem. As you build your net worth, unforeseen costs like these will cause dents in your wallet BUT they are also one of the reasons why I find it important to save ... To be able to pay these costs up front and move on with my life.

I'm in awe of ultrarunning (and basically anybody who pushes their body and mind to extremes). Good luck with your 100 mile race!

[runnergirl]

At least trail runs/ultras don't seem to generally be as expensive as road races.

Trail runs should not be expensive if I just run but...I love participating in races and I found registration fees for ultra races are much more expensive than say, marathon races. This is understandable because ultra races require more planning, support, food, medical, and other supplies. Also, if I'm running a marathon, I can just drive there in the morning and drive back after the race. But ultra races are still big deal for me and I'd need to book a hotel to stay and recover after my races before I (and my legs) have the energy to drive back. Finally, I think most everyone gets injured in the world of ultra. I get sports massages for maintenance but they are not cheap. Going to the doctor for stress fracture wasn't cheap either. lol. Eventually, this is the area I need to look closely for cost cutting but not at this moment. There are other places I can trim expenses still.

[runnergirl]

@Mae, thanks! I'm very scared of the 100-mile race but I take it as an adventure. The longest race I've participated so far is 50k

[Frita]

Welcome, runnergirl! Have you seen “Lorena, Light-Footed Woman” on Netflix? Amazing, kickass runner! And check out her shoe choice!!! (I hiked Copper Canyon in 1984 while in high school and developed a deep appreciate for the Tarahumara. I am also known for inappropriate footwear. Lorena speaks to me.) It is so cool that you could go run the CC.

[runnergirl]

@Frita, the documentary looks so cool! This is the time when I wish I had Netflix subscription. Haha. I was fascinated by Tarahumara when I read Born to Run book. Did you hike Copper Canyon in sandals?

[enigmaT120]

Big jump from 50K to 100 miles!

[runnergirl]

Big jump from 50K to 100 miles!

I'm adventurous (stupid??) and little extreme @enigmaT120 any ultra-races you are planning or recommend?

[enigmaT120]

I've only done two... in Oregon the Mackenzie River 50 is gorgeous and not too hard! And cheap lodging the night before and after in bunks in an old monastery. I'm more interested in finding an Olympic Distance trail triathlon before worrying about more ultras. My knee issue keeps me from wanting to focus as much on pure running as I think ultras require.

[UrbanHermit]

That $1.8 million target number looks pretty intimidating, but I noticed you're including the $1017 of your mortgage payment in it... that's $400k of additional savings to cover $79k of debt, that you already have a goal to pay off.

So taking the mortgage out of your number:

FI number @3%SWR = 3,714*12*33 = $1.47 million

That's still a big chunk, but it strikes me that your plan is to retire in your 50s and not your 30s, so a 3% SWR might be overly conservative, especially if you will be receiving some amount of social security in your 60s? A small difference in SWR makes a huge difference in your target number... This article by MadFientist makes a convincing argument that 3.5% is as low as you realistically ever need to go: https://www.madfientist.com/safe-withdrawal-rate/

FI number @3.5%SWR = 3,714*12/0.035 = $1.27 million

So from my point of view, you are planning to oversave by roughly 530k, which could add potentially years to your timeframe. That's half a millions dollars saved just by changing a few assumptions, without even needing to modify your lifestyle!

[runnergirl]

Hey @UrbanHermit, thanks for your feedback. I'm an overachiever but tend to set my goal too high. lol. You are right though. I was feeling overwhelmed by $1.8M figure and maybe I was too conservative. I'm still in process of cutting my costs and will have better idea on FI number once I get an optimized spending level.

[runnergirl]

How I'm cutting costs during last few months (since December):

Stopped getting eyelash extensions - $86/month saving
I liked the convenience of not wearing makeup and looking already decent in the morning but this service was very expensive. None of my friends mentioned anything about my look after I stopped having long, perfect, fake eyelashes. Also, I don't ever recall this service being on a line item for anyone who is trying ERE or FIRE.

Canceled pest control service - $25/month saving
I have irrational fear toward cockroaches and I've never thought I would be canceling it. But I don't want cockroaches to have control over my life. lol. Pest control guy had already said they are kind of cockroaches that I don't have to worry about (they normally live outside). I see dead cockroaches here and there in my house. Maybe few times per year

Switched car insurance - $35/month saving
I knew I was paying too much for car insurance but my old car insurance company told me that they wouldn't give me a landlord insurance (for my rental house) unless I get car insurance with them. Or something like that. I was scared to switch but I just did it to see what happens. So far nothing. Maybe they will give me hell at my renewal time for home insurance.

Downgraded internet service - $17/month saving
I downgraded from 1 Gbps to 200 Mbps. I really have not noticed any changes in speed. I should have done this earlier.

Switched mobile phone service - $5-10/month saving??
I switched from Ting to Google Fi. I was paying average of ~$29/month with Ting. It's not a lot compared with a typical consumer but this seems bit too high given that my plan at Ting had a very low data usage limit. Google Fi's service starts at $20 but I get data and cell service overseas. This will come handy when I visit my family in Asia.

This that I'm working on:

Food!!
I normally shop at Trader Joe's but I decided to try Aldi. This seems like a go-to grocery store for FI community. I was hoping to spend around $40-50 for a week worth of grocery. Well, it was $83 at the register. Who pays over $80 at Aldi? For a family of 1. Only me... I need to learn how to shop and cook efficiently. This will be my project for next few months.

[RoamingFrancis]

Welcome, best of luck to you

[runnergirl]

Thanks Francis. I'm very impressed with your journal. You are starting this at such young age.

[runnergirl]

I have been back and forth thinking if I should pay off the mortgage or invest the money in the market instead. My mortgage rate is 3%. I understand logically that it would be financially better to use the capital to invest in the long-run. But with my personality type, it makes sense to attack the mortgage debt with intensity even though it's not mathematically optimal solution. Life is imperfect. And I'm utterly imperfect.

The main reason I'm focusing on paying off the mortgage is that I'm impatient. It would take about 7-10 years to reach minimum required 25x FI number. It would probably take 1-2 yr to pay off the mortgage.That's much better than 7-10 years. By lowering cost of living dramatically in few years, I'll have more control over my life sooner.

Second, I am very stubborn. I don't like to do what someone tells me to do even if that someone is myself. I'm at serious risk of overspending just because I'm told (by me) that I should save. I'm not frugal by nature and I'm feeling really deprived right now. I have no urge to spend on stuff but I love donating to charities and traveling for races. I save over 50%, then I go nuts with spending. I'm not unlike a yo-yo dieter. But I can focus on smaller goals for a shorter duration by gamification and bringing fun into this process of reaching FI. Counting down the mortgage debt is fun and it involves many shorter steps/levels to keep me focused.

Despite my personality making my road to FI/ERE inefficient, good thing is that I know myself and I know how to set up systems to increase my chance of success. Efficient or inefficient, I think we are all winning in my eyes as long as we are trying to design our lives and living the life intentionally.