Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
zbigi
Posts: 978
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:04 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by zbigi »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:31 am
September 2021

The leaves compost well but the woody material stays around forever and makes it impossible to stir the compost. I'm going to put the sticks out for the county to haul away when the truck comes around.
I don't know much about this subject, but isn't it basically mandatory to send twigs etc. through a wood chipper first, if you want them to decompose in any reasonable timeframe?

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I dont know much about it either. It certainly would help.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I'm still struggling with not helping other people with their problems / projects. I haven't helped any friends or acquaintances in a while that I can remember but I'm still overfunctioning to make up for dysfunctional family members. I need to work harder at letting go and not enabling their needs / wants / whims. It always turns into a disorganized time and energy suck even when the problem looks simple or like I can help with one key process and then disengage.

Salathor
Posts: 394
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:49 am
Location: California, USA

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Salathor »

This is late and you may have already looked into it, but you may want to look into a hugelkultur mound for composting woody twigs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCgelkultur. I think they're very slow to break down in a regular pile.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Salathor wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:23 pm
This is late and you may have already looked into it...
Thanks! Good idea! I will consider this next time around.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

The other day I started removing things from my facebook account. I had some old photo albums I had posted back in the 2000s, likes of pages, etc. I just want to clean it out so there is less info about me online (even though the info is restricted to "friends" only anyway). So far I am leaving the photos where other people tagged me. There are few of these anyway. There were a few things I just can't seem to get rid of, like a like of a page that has been shut down. There's just no way to delete it. I don't think I'll get rid of the account entirely since it is the only way I have to contact certain relatives if I needed to.

It's funny, I started deleting things and next thing you know fb wanted me to take a long survey about my thoughts on it. For example, do I think it is good or bad for the world, that kind of thing. I suspect my behavior triggered an algorithm that detects people who are unsatisfied with fb and they want to figure out why.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

October 2021

I'm short on time these days and I'm not getting as much value out of these journal posts as I used to. Starting this month I'm moving to an abridged format even though I'm still doing all my usual tracking. The journal format may change over time including returning to the detailed format if I have more time.

Not a terrible month for spending. Outside of the usual expenses I had a few hundred in kid and gift costs. Still need to switch internet providers and cancel gym membership to reduce recurring costs.

Very close to $0.5 million in FIRE assets.

Total -FI 1949.95
Total +FI 4165.76

Savings 2215.82
Savings wo 457b 715.82

% Spent 47%
% Saved 53%

SWR 5%

Image

Image

User avatar
mountainFrugal
Posts: 1125
Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by mountainFrugal »

Reading through your journal it is really inspiring to see your dedication and growth. Up and to the right is so satisfying. Keep it up @GDP!

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

mountainFrugal wrote:
Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:18 pm
Reading through your journal it is really inspiring to see your dedication and growth. Up and to the right is so satisfying. Keep it up @GDP!
Keeping the savings rate up is definitely working! Thanks for the comment and thanks for reading! :)

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

November 2021

Very similar numbers to last month. Haven't quite made it to $0.5m FIRE assets yet.

Grocery expenses were high, partially due to Thanksgiving.

Still need to switch internet providers and cancel gym membership to reduce recurring costs.

Total -FI 1868.81
Total +FI 4181.24

Savings 2312.43
Savings wo 457b 812.43

% Spent 45%
% Saved 55%

SWR 5%

To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Image

Image

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

December 2021

I hit a half million dollars in FIRE assets! :ugeek:

A three paycheck month helped offset high spending due to property taxes and Christmas.

I finally got buy-in to cancel a gym membership that wasn’t being used. Getting rid of that expense saves about $28 monthly, reducing the amount I need to invest by $8400 ($28 x 12 months / 0.04 = $8400).

I deleted the instagram and nextdoor apps from my phone. I wasn’t spending a huge amount of time on them but they are habitual minor time sucks and cause me to have more screen time resulting in eye strain. They are harder to use in a browser and I haven’t looked at either since I deleted the apps. I still have reddit, news sites, and the ERE forum getting attention when I am eating, etc.

Total -FI 2648.63
Total +FI 6329.94

Savings 3681.32
Savings wo 457b 1431.32

% Spent 42%
% Saved 58%

SWR 6%

Your current habits are perfectly designed to produce your current results.
James Clear

Image

Image
Last edited by Gilberto de Piento on Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Married2aSwabian
Posts: 265
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:45 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Married2aSwabian »

Great progress, GdP! Looks like you are starting to get close to FI.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Married2aSwabian wrote:
Sat Jan 08, 2022 5:23 pm
Great progress, GdP! Looks like you are starting to get close to FI.
Thanks!

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

January 2022

I finally switched internet providers. Much faster internet for half the price.

I've started investing about $250 per month in a 529 plan. That's going to be a significant increase to my expenses for a long time. I don't see any alternative that works for me. I want the kid to be able to go to a good college if they choose without the debt I had to take on. Bachelor's often isn't enough these days so depending on the university they might still have debt if they get a masters or PhD. Between the cost of the degree, the required classes that extend a 2 year education into a four year waste of time, and the years without earnings the higher education system sucks.

Total -FI 2326.52
Total +FI 4247.28

Savings 1920.76

% Spent 55%
% Saved 45%

SWR 6%

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
Salvador Dali

Image

Image

User avatar
fiby41
Posts: 1611
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:09 am
Location: India
Contact:

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by fiby41 »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:15 am
The other day I started removing things from my facebook account.
There are scripts that could automate this for you.I used a firefox extension that you go to your timeline and run which changes the visibility to Only Me or deletes posts one by one based on what you specified. It does that in front of you while the tab is open so you can always intervene if you wish to keep something.

The ~$39k annual projected expenses are for a family of 4, is that correct?

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

fiby41 wrote:
Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:17 am
The ~$39k annual projected expenses are for a family of 4, is that correct?
Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than that. The chart represents expenses that are unique to me (example: insurance for my car) as well as half of expenses that are shared across the family (example: mortgage). Another twist is that the actual expenses in the chart are extra high right now because I bought a car less than a year ago resulting in the jump from around $25,000 per year expenses to around $35,000 per year expenses. Historically my annual spending has been between $25,000 and $30,000 per year.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Salary stuck

I did a comparison of my salary from when I started at my current employer to present day. Inflation-adjusted the amount I get paid is almost exactly the same as it was 10 years ago because raises are very limited. I can almost guarantee that it will be the same or worse in the future. I wish I didn't get stuck in these very long term ruts. Just something I'm thinking about.
Last edited by Gilberto de Piento on Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Reminding myself of time passing

I need some way to remind myself that time is passing. It sounds weird, but sometimes I look up from the day to day and, for example, realize I've been at a job I don't like for five years. Sometimes there isn't a better job available, but it would be good to at least have a reminder that I should be trying to make things better. I think not noticing time is a weakness that I have. The best idea I have so far is to create anniversary reminders in my calendar with reminders. For example, a reminder that says "you have been in your job for one year", another that says "you have been in your job two years", that kind of thing.

A break from alcohol

Unrelated, I've been taking a break from drinking. I've been dry for about two weeks. I'd like to make it a month and then maybe keep it to one or two nights per week. I typically have a drink every night, sometimes two on Fridays or Saturdays, so it's not that I have a drinking problem. I'm giving it a try for a few reasons 1. I'm grasping at straws trying to fix some chronic pain issues that seem to be from inflammation (medical system hasn't been helpful) and 2. sometimes when I have a drink it briefly exacerbates some down moods that I sometimes have. 3. I ran out of beer and found I just didn't much care about getting more. I'm getting old I suppose.

AxelHeyst
Posts: 2118
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 4:55 pm
Contact:

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by AxelHeyst »

Depending on how in your face you want your memento mori system to be, there's a bunch of options. The background and lock screen of my phone says "You're gonna die soon" for example. I sometimes wear an old anolog watch that has a dead battery that I keep set to two minutes to midnight. All my financial spreadsheets assume I'm going to die at 75. Etc.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Gilberto de Piento's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

February 2022

Lots of spending this month. The internet services had to overlap so I had to pay a month of both. I got a price break on the cost of my online backup service by paying ahead two years. I paid for a hotel for upcoming travel, the first time since covid started.

I haven't had a drink for about a month. I plan to have some drinks soon when travelling and then I'm going to try to either not drink at all again or keep it to a drink per night on the weekend.

Total -FI 3072.33
Total +FI 4222.18

Savings 1149.85

% Spent 73%
% Saved 27%

SWR 8%

Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.
Swami Sivananda

Image

Image

Post Reply