Anesau - Just Starting Out

Where are you and where are you going?
mathiverse
Posts: 788
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:40 pm

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by mathiverse »

Are there any outdoor locations you can climb given pads and climbing shoes? I have a friend in NYC who does some climbing in Central Park which is easily accessible and avoids the subscription to a gym. Given your location, you'd probably still be putting more miles on your vehicle than otherwise, but at least you avoid other parts of the cost and maybe you can find climbers to climb with and split the cost.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

Oh, that's a good idea! There don't seem to be any near me (at least within any reasonable distance), but I'll definitely keep an eye out whenever I move/travel, because climbing outdoors sounds very fun. If I weren't afraid of breaking an arm and/or contracting lyme disease, I could just take up climbing trees instead, I guess.

Also, Central Park is clearly way bigger than I thought it was. If I'm ever in NY, I'm definitely going to check it out.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

March savings rate: 52.4%
---

Largest pain point was spending a lot on an unnecessary & unwanted luxury today (...or possibly snake oil). My savings rate would be 57.6% if it weren't for this one payment. I need to work on being far less agreeable. Or just resign myself to paying the Stupid Tax whenever I let myself be pressured into buying something I absolutely don't need purely for social reasons.

Overall, though, my spending was a lot better than last month, mostly because of the large (but shockingly easy) cuts in groceries, entertainment, and eating out.

Next month's goal: 60% savings. This seems eminently do-able. I'm also going to see how far into the month I can make it without using my car, because car insurance is slowly killing me.
Last edited by Anesau on Wed Apr 12, 2023 7:34 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Anesau
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Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

Mentioned that I was proud of last month's savings to a family member recently, and her response was a kind version of "get a life." After thinking about it a bit, I think she has a point. I worried more about negative progress (spending less) when I should be focusing on positive progress (developing more ERE skills).

Even though my household spending / savings rate is around level 4 on the ERE Wheaton scale, I think my mindset is still ~level 3.

Main goals right now are building walking/biking range, developing enough strength to move my own bodyweight easily (ex. pullups), and getting better at cooking so I can learn to make things without needing recipes. Walking/biking will have to be on hold for a little bit though, because I of course after planning out my first hike I immediately rolled my ankle and now it doesn't want to hold my weight. :roll:

--

On a separate note, I've gotten very into science fiction recently, mostly Ted Chiang and Isaac Asimov.

I also enjoyed the short story The Machine Stops by E.M. Forester, which people on this forum may like.

Anesau
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Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

Just got sucked back into a grind game. Anyone who's played a game like RuneScape or Hypixel SkyBlock will know what I mean when I say that these games aren't "fun" — there are zero moments during playing when I'm experiencing anything resembling joy — but are nevertheless extremely difficult to stop playing.

Strategy games, for example, create the feeling of thinking and the joy of having your plans come together. Grind games require basically no skill (progression is a linear function of hours put in), and there's no reward at the end because it's impossible to ever complete it.

In some ways, I think grind games are the perfect antithesis of Buddhism. The entire point is to manufacture arbitrary desire for entirely meaningless "achievements", keep a person in the unpleasant mindset of craving for as long as possible, and minimize actual experiences of achievement so it seems like success is always just at the edge of the horizon while it never actually gets closer.

Even being aware of how they work on me and how little I enjoy the moment-to-moment experience of the game, grind games in general (and the one tugging on me now in particular) are still very difficult to beat back with willpower. I'm considering the nuclear option I took in college, which is to never to to my bedroom except to sleep, and spend basically all my free time in public places (library?) with no mouse or headphones, to build artificial barriers to playing.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

The video game problem resolved itself once my ankle did! Being able to stand/walk without pain makes other tasks a lot more fun, so as soon as my ankle healed, my interests naturally shifted back toward using it.

Today marked my first day walking to & from work. It was a bit of a learning experience (I should probably check what it'll be like outside before getting dressed if I'm going to be walking instead of sitting in a climate-controlled car), but overall it was very pleasant.

I remain torn on my infrastructure opinions, and what to do about it. The walk to work has crosswalks, but the downside is that occasionally the sidewalk goes "over" the street. A turning lane goes where the sidewalk would be, so the sidewalk feeds into the turning lane, and you're just supposed to walk on the street(?) until the lane ends and the sidewalk resumes. It seems pretty dangerous to just put foot traffic on the asphalt five lane (+ turning lanes) stroad, but I didn't die, so whatever.

There's a bike shop near me, and I was considering going to buy a bike sometime soon, since that would drastically increase my effective range. However, a) life seems a lot more dangerous on a bike, because a lot of my unpaved / unintended walking paths are impassible by bike, forcing me onto the shoulder of a ~55mph (88kph) stroad, and b) a family member who lives near me just got hit from behind while biking, so my parents would have a heart attack if I start biking soon.

Looking at some of the infrastructure of other cities (like Oulu or Amsterdam, at least as is shown in Not Just Bikes) has made me intensely crave a city with safe, separated biking paths. There do not seem to be US cities with fully-connected traffic separated biking paths though, so maybe I'll just have to start attending city council meetings and playing the long game.
Last edited by Anesau on Wed Apr 12, 2023 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

arbrk
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by arbrk »

white belt wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:40 am
My car insurance has no bearing on how I drive; I already drive carefully and I wouldn't drive recklessly with more insurance. I'm not recommending you buy a cheaper car or get cheaper insurance, just that insurance can be a a big expense for certain vehicles. Most people on these forums minimize car expenses that by driving an older car, doing their own maintenance, and driving less, but those aren't the only solutions. The insurance math changes if your car is worth $15k vs if your car is worth <$5k.

Edit: Really what I'm saying is just do your research regarding insurance (and everything else) to determine your risk profile and other considerations. I am fine with state mininum coverage because my car is worth ~$3k and I have comprehensive health insurance. I also have the majority of my assets in accounts that are shielded from bankruptcy and don't project "wealthy" in my daily life. Everyone has their own circumstances.
How do you shield your assets from bankruptcy?

mathiverse
Posts: 788
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by mathiverse »

arbrk wrote:
Wed Apr 12, 2023 6:15 pm
How do you shield your assets from bankruptcy?
In the USA, 401ks and some other types of retirement accounts are protected via ERISA. IRAs are protected via BAPCPA.

arbrk
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:28 am

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by arbrk »

mathiverse wrote:
Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:20 pm
In the USA, 401ks and some other types of retirement accounts are protected via ERISA. IRAs are protected via BAPCPA.
Right, but if you're retiring early, not all your funds will be in the retirement accounts. I know a certain amount of equity in your primary home and vehicle is also shielded (in California, it's quite a bit of equity) but what about all the other stuff?

white belt
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by white belt »

arbrk wrote:
Wed Apr 12, 2023 6:15 pm
How do you shield your assets from bankruptcy?
white belt wrote:
Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:28 pm
Well in another review of my recurring monthly expenses (WL4 stuff), I've decided to re-examine my insurance costs. Up to this point I've been paying $55 a month to insure my beater car (KBB value ~$2500), have minimum renter's insurance, and a $1M umbrella policy. I've done some more reading and determined I was definitely over-insured. First off, some things about my risk profile:

-I have comprehensive health insurance from work (literally no deductible or anything thanks to Uncle Sam), so there is no concern for giant medical bills in the next few years
-A huge chunk of my assets are in bankruptcy-sheltered accounts (TSP and IRA), which means even in the catastrophic case of a bankruptcy I'd still have ~12 years of living expenses left to figure things out
-I don't appear wealthy, nor do I own any businesses

Therefore, at the moment I'm not too concerned about umbrella insurance that provides liability protection. Additionally, I don't need to pay extra beyond the state minimums for the under-insured motorist protection, because all of my medical expenses will be covered regardless of the reason I get injured. If my car gets damaged in an collision, I will either repair it myself or replace it out of pocket.

The above was my journal post from a few years ago when I made the original decision. My circumstances have changed a bit recently, so it might be the case that I decide to get umbrella insurance since I currently am operating a fledgling small business.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

Took a bus to downtown for the first time this past weekend. Made me feel very cool, and it was the first time I was about the average age of the people around me since I was still in school.

The only downside is that it's unclear to me what you're supposed to do downtown. The main attractions seem to be shops and bars, neither of which I have any particular use for right now. Highlights were the library, very cool park, and a pretty church.

kloquer
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2023 12:42 pm

Re: Anesau

Post by kloquer »

Since you need so little data, RedPocket has a $2.50/mo plan (paid for the year upfront - $30) with 200 Talk 1000 Text 200MB data via their eBay store.
Anesau wrote:
Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:03 am

Easy to change:
  • I could decrease my utilities by a bit under 1% by switching my cell phone provider. Currently I pay for 1GB data on a nicer plan. However, I basically never use data, and I don't care if my messages send slower, so I might as well cut 2/3 of my phone bill by switching to the cheapest plan I can find ($8 a month).

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau

Post by Anesau »

kloquer wrote:
Fri Apr 21, 2023 2:57 pm
Just looked at my usage stats. Last month I sent <100 texts and used <100MB data. Only problem is that I spent >200 mins in phone calls. The next step up in minutes on their ebay page is to the $8.25 a month one, which is more expensive than the alternative I've used before (Tello).

On one hand, the ideal is to basically not use my phone at all, so an upper limit on minutes might be nice to free that space in my brain.

On the other, pretty much all of my minutes are spent talking to close family, which I find enjoyable and am reluctant to mess with. Actually, the only reason I switched from my $8 a month plan to the $30 a month one in the first place was because my mom was upset about the audio quality and wanted me to get a $70 a month plan like my brother so that my voice sounded better. (IIRC, she didn't actually notice any change when I switched, but then it was an inconvenience to switch back.)

In any case, I need to think about how much I value my minutes versus how much my phone use inconveniences me. $2.50 a month is an amazing deal I wasn't aware even existed, so thank you for the link, kloquer.

kloquer
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by kloquer »

I’ve found using FaceTime, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal (video or audio) calls with family when I’m on Wi-Fi to be best and allows me to use the redpocket plan with plenty of minutes left over per month.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

I'll have to see if I can get my parents to switch over to another app, because I'd love to not have to worry about my phone. Thanks for the info :)

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

April savings rate: 47.17%

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I thought I had done way worse than 47%, because my parents visited, and I went back to my old hospitality norms when they visit (buying their favorite foods & special soaps beforehand, driving them around, picking up restaurant food for all of us without charging anyone, etc.). Typing this out, I'm not sure why I try so hard — I live with my siblings, and I'm the only one that does most of the above, and certainly the only one that does it without asking my parents to repay me.

I think its a mix of hospitality norms and independence. On the independence part, asking my parents to send me money (even just for their restaurant meals or their fancy skin stuff they wanted) grates at me. I haven't asked them for money in a long time, and I don't think my pride would let me. In any case, they're busy paying off my older siblings' college debt, so it's nice to be the one child they don't ever (financially) worry about.

ertyu
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by ertyu »

Sometimes the payoff is greater than just money spent - e.g. self-confidence, pride in having done the right thing, etc. You'll get back on track next month. An occasional take-out with parents won't break the bank.

Anesau
Posts: 54
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Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

ertyu wrote:
Wed May 03, 2023 8:48 pm
Sometimes the payoff is greater than just money spent...
Thank you for your comment, erytu. I do feel good about myself when I'm able to be visibly independent, and keep up family hospitality norms without making a big deal of the money.

I do worry that my current setup is incompatible with some of my long-term goals. We have an extra bedroom in the apartment for visiting family members (empty ~80% of the time), and I'm often left with a lot of leftover food (& etc) that I have trouble using up fast enough after family leaves. Long-term, if I do something less standard with my choices, I may have to sacrifice some hospitality norms (my dad already jokes about how he'll be unable to visit soon because I'll "make him walk all the way to and from the airport"; to be fair to his complaint, the airport is close enough that I'd never drive myself there). But for now, hospitality is a compromise that seems like good value for the cost.

Anesau
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:27 pm
Location: Hurricane Alley, USA

Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by Anesau »

Well, good news and bad(?) news.

Good news: walked to the library and got the ERE book! The total walk was a bit over 6 miles and with a backpack full of books, so it was a pretty good exercise given that I don't walk as much as I should. My muscles were fine to keep walking at the end, but I was pretty overheated & sunburned. Made me realize that most A/Cs in this area are set way too cold.

Bad(?) news: lease is nearly up, and we only have a couple weeks to decide what to do about that. My options:
  1. Renew the lease. Prices will go up pretty drastically. A short-term lease will eat over half my monthly take-home pay. A long-term lease will "only" continue to eat a bit over 1/4 of my take-home pay.
  2. Do month-to-month temporarily while looking for a new job/apartment.
  3. Respond to roommate ads asap and hope I can get something set up in time.
  4. Quit my job. WWOOF / stay in hostels / move halfway across the country to live with family while looking for a new job.
I know options c & d are the obvious answers, but please at least allow me to make myself look silly by adding more details:

I've done the ERE day 1 exercise of trying to find somewhere less expensive to live. I can't find any (on Craigslist, roommate websites, or housing websites) that are both walkable/bikeable to work like my current one is, and less than ~$1000 a month. The only other place that meets those criteria is a mobile home retirement community limited to people 55+. My area is stupidly expensive for how mediocre it is, and I can find way cheaper rooms for rent in places like NYC (~$500 for somewhat-shady Craigslist ads looking for roommates?) or near family (~$600 for legit personal apartments).

I am not emotionally attached to my job or my city. But I'm working the same job I got right out of college (that I got from an internship during college), so I've never had to worry about applying to new jobs, and even though I know it's stupid, the thought of trying to jump to a new job terrifies me. Probably doesn't help that I am the prototypical "specialized ant" with a lack of generalist skills.

Also, having a hamster makes the vagabond lifestyle way less appealing, because his current house is way too big to easily transport. :|

I have maybe ~1yr of expenses in an easily accessible location, and ~2.5 including my investment account.

loutfard
Posts: 326
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Re: Anesau - Just Starting Out

Post by loutfard »

45 km/h electric bicycles or scooters are fairly affordable. Could you get one of those? Does that enlarge the search circle to more affordable areas?

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