Cool story. Makes me think about scouting some diving locations for those late nights when I'm out delivering pizza.
akratic's ERE journal
@dragoncar: thanks for the article about the 12 months back limit! That will definitely come in handy if they ever decide to charge me.
@Raplhy: haha, I laughed.
March 2012
== unusual expenses ==
- $100 Costco food stock up
- $77 to fix/tune up bike (this seems like a lot to me but pays for itself in one month of bike riding)
- $170 for wine to prepare for throwing a blind wine tasting party (I want to prove to my friends that in a blind test they can't tell a $100 wine from $40 wine from $15 wine from a $5 box)
== net worth ==
My net worth in years went down as expected from last month. Last month really was just a fluke in terms of not having any expenses come up.
My net worth in dollars went up slightly. My investments did poorly this month, but I got a big tax refund -- in the form of an I-Bond!
== next ==
My diet has been going okay. I didn't lose much weight, but I did stay about the same, and I got stronger, so that's progress. (fat -> muscle)
I've been working nights at work, which leaves my mornings free to do absolutely anything, and recently I've been choosing to play video games. In particular, I'm starting to play this free game called League of Legends, which I think is pretty well done. Competitive online video games really appeal to the flow/mastery/introversion aspects of my personality. My girlfriend doesn't like them though.
The best 40 or so players at this game are able to make so much money from playing it that they could easily cover an ERE existence. I find that pretty fascinating. Back when I was in high school there was no real way to make money from playing games. Now in addition to five and six figure tournaments and direct corporate sponsorships, top players stream their games, and the most interesting players (best at the game, most colorful personalities, most helpful, etc) can make $20-50/hr from streaming.
Oh yeah, and my girlfriend and I cancelled Netflix, saving us both $4/mo. We watch more $1 redbox movies than Netflix ones, and the Blockbuster one block from us is also $1/night and has the same selection as Netflix. I probably would have just kept Netflix out of laziness, but the $4/mo was bothering her. It's good to have her keeping me on my toes over my expenses; otherwise, I might start to get lazy now that I'm rich.
@Raplhy: haha, I laughed.
March 2012
== unusual expenses ==
- $100 Costco food stock up
- $77 to fix/tune up bike (this seems like a lot to me but pays for itself in one month of bike riding)
- $170 for wine to prepare for throwing a blind wine tasting party (I want to prove to my friends that in a blind test they can't tell a $100 wine from $40 wine from $15 wine from a $5 box)
== net worth ==
My net worth in years went down as expected from last month. Last month really was just a fluke in terms of not having any expenses come up.
My net worth in dollars went up slightly. My investments did poorly this month, but I got a big tax refund -- in the form of an I-Bond!
== next ==
My diet has been going okay. I didn't lose much weight, but I did stay about the same, and I got stronger, so that's progress. (fat -> muscle)
I've been working nights at work, which leaves my mornings free to do absolutely anything, and recently I've been choosing to play video games. In particular, I'm starting to play this free game called League of Legends, which I think is pretty well done. Competitive online video games really appeal to the flow/mastery/introversion aspects of my personality. My girlfriend doesn't like them though.
The best 40 or so players at this game are able to make so much money from playing it that they could easily cover an ERE existence. I find that pretty fascinating. Back when I was in high school there was no real way to make money from playing games. Now in addition to five and six figure tournaments and direct corporate sponsorships, top players stream their games, and the most interesting players (best at the game, most colorful personalities, most helpful, etc) can make $20-50/hr from streaming.
Oh yeah, and my girlfriend and I cancelled Netflix, saving us both $4/mo. We watch more $1 redbox movies than Netflix ones, and the Blockbuster one block from us is also $1/night and has the same selection as Netflix. I probably would have just kept Netflix out of laziness, but the $4/mo was bothering her. It's good to have her keeping me on my toes over my expenses; otherwise, I might start to get lazy now that I'm rich.
@C40: Almost! In 26 months I've gained 24.5 net worth years, which makes my savings rate about 92% (91.88%) since 1 February 2011.
Hooray for everything going right. I don't really have any secrets, just a high income, low expenses, a frugal girlfriend, no health problems, no dependents, and naturally minimalist/frugal tendencencies.
That reminds me, I really need to kill the side business that I have. The website netted $2,883 in 2011, at the cost of much grief. Killing this business should be my #1 priority for April!
Part of me really doesn't want to do it, because I hate to disappoint the paying customers who like the service, but it's insane for me to work for essentially minimum wage on a failed startup when I make money so much easier from 9-5ing or freelancing... and I don't even really need the income anyway.
I had thought I would be pretty good at the Tim Ferriss style muse stuff, given that I have tech skills and am comfortable with taking risks. I think the problem is I lack the marketing/creativity/selling/PR/luck/follow through/networking side of it all. The ERE approach has turned out much better for me.
I should have severed ties with the side businesses at least a year ago. I think it was a good experiment for me to try way back in 2008-2009, but I can't believe it still haunts me now in 2012.
Hooray for everything going right. I don't really have any secrets, just a high income, low expenses, a frugal girlfriend, no health problems, no dependents, and naturally minimalist/frugal tendencencies.
That reminds me, I really need to kill the side business that I have. The website netted $2,883 in 2011, at the cost of much grief. Killing this business should be my #1 priority for April!
Part of me really doesn't want to do it, because I hate to disappoint the paying customers who like the service, but it's insane for me to work for essentially minimum wage on a failed startup when I make money so much easier from 9-5ing or freelancing... and I don't even really need the income anyway.
I had thought I would be pretty good at the Tim Ferriss style muse stuff, given that I have tech skills and am comfortable with taking risks. I think the problem is I lack the marketing/creativity/selling/PR/luck/follow through/networking side of it all. The ERE approach has turned out much better for me.
I should have severed ties with the side businesses at least a year ago. I think it was a good experiment for me to try way back in 2008-2009, but I can't believe it still haunts me now in 2012.
just my suggestion - don't feel bad about stopping the side job. Your customers were surviving ok before they started using your business. Also if you're making only minimum wage and would feel bad for your customers when you quit, it must be true that either:
1 - They will figure out how to get by without you with fairly minimal difficulty, OR;
2 - You are not charging nearly enough.
(unless you're doing some kind of partial charity work)
It appears you value your time highly (if for no other obvious reason that than you are pursuing ERE) and your savings rate is already over 90% AND your side job is paying ≤10% as much per hour as your main job, it's probably a good idea to drop it. ( not exactly sure why I'm writing this as it appears you already know)
1 - They will figure out how to get by without you with fairly minimal difficulty, OR;
2 - You are not charging nearly enough.
(unless you're doing some kind of partial charity work)
It appears you value your time highly (if for no other obvious reason that than you are pursuing ERE) and your savings rate is already over 90% AND your side job is paying ≤10% as much per hour as your main job, it's probably a good idea to drop it. ( not exactly sure why I'm writing this as it appears you already know)
@jmed, the business takes about four hours a week. I tried to sell it once, but couldn't find any buyers. I think the problem is anyone with the technical skills to run the business can make much more money doing something else. Another problem is it would take a lot of effort for me to teach someone everything they need to know to run it.
@C40, yeah I should kill the business!
April 2012
== unusual expenses ==
- $148 to Turbo Tax (grrr)
- $100 at Costco
- $78 for four months of cell phone
- $98 for plane tickets to Boston for a funeral (why were these flights so cheap?!)
== thoughts ==
My investments did well this month. Now that I have a bunch of money invested, the investment income from good months is pretty substantial.
This was a pretty normal month from an expenses point of view, but a pretty bad month from a "getting things done in my life" point of view. I didn't kill the side business, and my diet went poorly. I am working out, but my eating is terrible.
I guess it's a good sign that even during a low motivation month that my expenses stay under control. Things are basically set up such that not spending much money is the default/easy option, which is good because I'm lazy sometimes.
My dad told me this month that I was "too frugal". This is somewhat of a touchy subject for me, because I am paranoid that my lack of spending money might negatively affect other people and go from being frugal to being cheap. However, when I asked him to clarify, he said "you know, like the possessions you don't use, you just give away". That was his explanation! And he was unable to come up with anything else! Thus I'm basically going to ignore him.
Goals for next month: kill the side business, eat better
@C40, yeah I should kill the business!
April 2012
== unusual expenses ==
- $148 to Turbo Tax (grrr)
- $100 at Costco
- $78 for four months of cell phone
- $98 for plane tickets to Boston for a funeral (why were these flights so cheap?!)
== thoughts ==
My investments did well this month. Now that I have a bunch of money invested, the investment income from good months is pretty substantial.
This was a pretty normal month from an expenses point of view, but a pretty bad month from a "getting things done in my life" point of view. I didn't kill the side business, and my diet went poorly. I am working out, but my eating is terrible.
I guess it's a good sign that even during a low motivation month that my expenses stay under control. Things are basically set up such that not spending much money is the default/easy option, which is good because I'm lazy sometimes.
My dad told me this month that I was "too frugal". This is somewhat of a touchy subject for me, because I am paranoid that my lack of spending money might negatively affect other people and go from being frugal to being cheap. However, when I asked him to clarify, he said "you know, like the possessions you don't use, you just give away". That was his explanation! And he was unable to come up with anything else! Thus I'm basically going to ignore him.
Goals for next month: kill the side business, eat better
This journal is somewhat awe-inspiring. Being from the UK (and a philosophy major who is a programmer in finance!) and thus completely ignorant about US tax law, I am curious as to whether the very high savings you are achieving are from gross earnings and how the 401k fits into things. Here I pay > 40% on most of my income and the only optimisation available is to pay into a pension from gross income, but which is not accessible until at least 55 years of age with various annoying restrictions even then.
Thanks.
Yeah, I just calculate everything from net (after tax) income. So if my salary is $15, and I put $3 in the 401k, and the government takes $5, and I spend $1, and I save the remaining $6, then I would say my savings rate is: (3 + 6) / (1 + 3 + 6) => 90%
By the way I only calculate my savings rate once a year when I do my taxes, it's the only time I really know what my post-tax income is.
And yeah, there aren't too many tax optimizations available in the US either. Pre-tax 401k contributions are the only tax optimization that I really benefit from. I guess one difference between our countries is that here in the US you can get at your 401k/IRA money without penalty at any age if you're clever.
Yeah, I just calculate everything from net (after tax) income. So if my salary is $15, and I put $3 in the 401k, and the government takes $5, and I spend $1, and I save the remaining $6, then I would say my savings rate is: (3 + 6) / (1 + 3 + 6) => 90%
By the way I only calculate my savings rate once a year when I do my taxes, it's the only time I really know what my post-tax income is.
And yeah, there aren't too many tax optimizations available in the US either. Pre-tax 401k contributions are the only tax optimization that I really benefit from. I guess one difference between our countries is that here in the US you can get at your 401k/IRA money without penalty at any age if you're clever.
A pretty critical difference if it is a vehicle for retiring genuinely early while enjoying the tax uplift. Thanks for the explanation and kudos for doing this in an environment which tends to violently encourage the opposite (I don't imagine traders in Chicago behave much differently than they do in London...)
Yeah, I probably won't have to tap the 401k/IRAs early though. I have only about 25% of my savings in 401k/IRA, and the rest in taxable accounts. The taxable accounts should be able to cover me at least until I'm old enough to take normal distributions from the 401k/IRA. However, it *is* nice to know that I can tap the 401k/IRAs if I need to. This makes the decision of whether to do max 401k/IRA contributions much easier than it would otherwise be.
However, when I asked him to clarify, he said "you know, like the possessions you don't use, you just give away".
I get this one a lot. I even offer them first refusal and then watch as they squirm over something they don't want, have no use for or room for, but can't let go--and it's not even theirs! Like Golum to Precious every time
I get this one a lot. I even offer them first refusal and then watch as they squirm over something they don't want, have no use for or room for, but can't let go--and it's not even theirs! Like Golum to Precious every time
May 2012
Unusual Expenses:
- $25 late fee on my credit card. This is the first time I've ever forgotten to pay my credit card! I set up an automatic payment so this won't happen again.
- $160 for flights to visit my girlfriend's family
- $165 on parts for a little project I'm hacking together. The project is this: my laptop will only be able to get online if my heart rate is above 100. This should give me an incentive to exercise, and help me avoid wasting too much time browsing the internet aimlessly.
I had to buy more gold this month to rebalance, but it wasn't enough. Buying gold is my least favorite part of the PP. I'll have to buy more equities too, at this rate.
I didn't kill the side business this month! AHHH.
I'm moving in the right direction on fitness stuff this month, but very slowly. I can do better.
I'm not very good with getting reliable readings on the calipers, so I'm not sure I trust the "Supra" column.
On the bright side, I'm the strongest I've ever been this month on both bench press and deadlift. I did three sets of ten at 185lbs this month on bench, and also a couple of reps at 225lbs, which are both personal records for me.
If I can get lose fat without losing much muscle, it'll be the best shape I've ever been in. I've been skinny before, but never skinny and strong.
My diet is a compromise between health, cost, taste, and convenience. A typical day:
- breakfast: 1.5 cup oats (a lot) plus a little honey or a some berries for flavor
- lunch: big handful of almonds, a balance bar or equivalent (convenience...)
- dinner: chicken, beans, brown rice or quinoa, olive oil, garlic, onions, hot sauce
Per day this ends up being $3.91 and 2,076 calories at 47% carbs, 31% fat, 22% protein. I don't think this is the greatest diet in the world or anything, but it's easy at least, and should work fine for at least the first ten lbs that I have to lose. The main challenges right now are:
1) not snacking late night
2) not getting derailed by social obligations with bad food choices
Unusual Expenses:
- $25 late fee on my credit card. This is the first time I've ever forgotten to pay my credit card! I set up an automatic payment so this won't happen again.
- $160 for flights to visit my girlfriend's family
- $165 on parts for a little project I'm hacking together. The project is this: my laptop will only be able to get online if my heart rate is above 100. This should give me an incentive to exercise, and help me avoid wasting too much time browsing the internet aimlessly.
I had to buy more gold this month to rebalance, but it wasn't enough. Buying gold is my least favorite part of the PP. I'll have to buy more equities too, at this rate.
I didn't kill the side business this month! AHHH.
I'm moving in the right direction on fitness stuff this month, but very slowly. I can do better.
I'm not very good with getting reliable readings on the calipers, so I'm not sure I trust the "Supra" column.
On the bright side, I'm the strongest I've ever been this month on both bench press and deadlift. I did three sets of ten at 185lbs this month on bench, and also a couple of reps at 225lbs, which are both personal records for me.
If I can get lose fat without losing much muscle, it'll be the best shape I've ever been in. I've been skinny before, but never skinny and strong.
My diet is a compromise between health, cost, taste, and convenience. A typical day:
- breakfast: 1.5 cup oats (a lot) plus a little honey or a some berries for flavor
- lunch: big handful of almonds, a balance bar or equivalent (convenience...)
- dinner: chicken, beans, brown rice or quinoa, olive oil, garlic, onions, hot sauce
Per day this ends up being $3.91 and 2,076 calories at 47% carbs, 31% fat, 22% protein. I don't think this is the greatest diet in the world or anything, but it's easy at least, and should work fine for at least the first ten lbs that I have to lose. The main challenges right now are:
1) not snacking late night
2) not getting derailed by social obligations with bad food choices
-
George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Your savings rate is just squashing any poor market returns! Since you're probably going to overshoot most people's savings targets, I'm beginning to agree that PP or similar wealth preservation plan is more important for you than an income source. It's good to see you invested these days, even if the market is going the wrong direction.
I'd be interested in hearing how much yield your PP is generating. I'm guessing 0.75%-1% max?
Your diet made me cringe as I think more vegetables would help cover all the vitamins and cut carbs & calories. Something like a sizeable salad of arugula, baby kale, spinach, and crunchy root veggies or fruit to top it with would go a long ways. Possibly as a tradeoff for some of the oats?
[I realize you may have dietary goals than I do, but I couldn't think of a better way to describe my reaction.]
I'd be interested in hearing how much yield your PP is generating. I'm guessing 0.75%-1% max?
Your diet made me cringe as I think more vegetables would help cover all the vitamins and cut carbs & calories. Something like a sizeable salad of arugula, baby kale, spinach, and crunchy root veggies or fruit to top it with would go a long ways. Possibly as a tradeoff for some of the oats?
[I realize you may have dietary goals than I do, but I couldn't think of a better way to describe my reaction.]
Progress on all fronts! Especially nice to see your net worth go up even when the PP took a big drop this month.
+1 on the vegetables. You can get big 4 lb bags of veggies and then the per lb cost is pretty low. Very easy to prepare them - just warm them up. It does take some getting used to if you don't already like them. You'll lose weight faster if you replace some of the grains with any kind of vegetable that can be eaten raw.
Plenty of people seem to survive just find on only beans and rice, so I don't know, I wouldn't freak about about missing vitamins and minerals. But I wouldn't recommend eating that way forever. I would bet that if you change most or all of your grains to veggies, you'll lose weight faster AND you will feel better.
+1 on the vegetables. You can get big 4 lb bags of veggies and then the per lb cost is pretty low. Very easy to prepare them - just warm them up. It does take some getting used to if you don't already like them. You'll lose weight faster if you replace some of the grains with any kind of vegetable that can be eaten raw.
Plenty of people seem to survive just find on only beans and rice, so I don't know, I wouldn't freak about about missing vitamins and minerals. But I wouldn't recommend eating that way forever. I would bet that if you change most or all of your grains to veggies, you'll lose weight faster AND you will feel better.
It looks like my portfolio yield is 1.83%, broken down like this:
I prefer to look at things in terms of total (real) return though.
===
I really don't like the taste of vegetables. Perhaps I should get a Vitamix, because about the only time I can easily get vegetables down is when they're blended.
I find it hard to believe that both of the following statements are simultaneously true:
1) my body desperately needs some vitamin or mineral inside vegetables
2) my body makes vegetables taste absolutely disgusting
I know 2) is true, so it makes me a bit skeptical about 1). My body does make some bad decisions, about cookies and ice cream for example, but when it rejects something, I tend not to eat it.
In terms of fitness goals, what I'm shooting for is a lean, cut, defined 170 lbs. I've been "count my ribs", < 10% body fat skinny before, on a diet similar to the above, but I had little muscle then. I was about 155 lbs, 5'11", medium frame, 30 inch waist.
I have some muscle now, but it's covered in fat. It took me a long time to get the muscle, so I don't want to lose any. Instead I want to lose fat at about one pound per week, which is about the fastest that I think I can lose fat while keeping as much muscle as possible.
It would be fun to try a non-grain, vegetable heavy diet for 30 days or something though, to see if it does change the way I feel.
I prefer to look at things in terms of total (real) return though.
===
I really don't like the taste of vegetables. Perhaps I should get a Vitamix, because about the only time I can easily get vegetables down is when they're blended.
I find it hard to believe that both of the following statements are simultaneously true:
1) my body desperately needs some vitamin or mineral inside vegetables
2) my body makes vegetables taste absolutely disgusting
I know 2) is true, so it makes me a bit skeptical about 1). My body does make some bad decisions, about cookies and ice cream for example, but when it rejects something, I tend not to eat it.
In terms of fitness goals, what I'm shooting for is a lean, cut, defined 170 lbs. I've been "count my ribs", < 10% body fat skinny before, on a diet similar to the above, but I had little muscle then. I was about 155 lbs, 5'11", medium frame, 30 inch waist.
I have some muscle now, but it's covered in fat. It took me a long time to get the muscle, so I don't want to lose any. Instead I want to lose fat at about one pound per week, which is about the fastest that I think I can lose fat while keeping as much muscle as possible.
It would be fun to try a non-grain, vegetable heavy diet for 30 days or something though, to see if it does change the way I feel.
-
George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Our bodies are pretty similar, I suspect. I had 29" to 30" waist up until about age 30 and was 150-165 lbs. These days, I'm trying to get down to 170-175 lbs., but will consider 180 lbs a success... currently under 200 lbs after losing 25 lbs (!) since late September.
I sympathize with the repellent taste problem as I literally gag when eggs are served. The sulfur in eggs seems to be terribly offensive to my body. Had the hope that I was allergic to them, but that isn't the case. It's really terrible trying to find restaurant breakfast in America if you don't like eggs.
I sympathize with the repellent taste problem as I literally gag when eggs are served. The sulfur in eggs seems to be terribly offensive to my body. Had the hope that I was allergic to them, but that isn't the case. It's really terrible trying to find restaurant breakfast in America if you don't like eggs.
I picked up a vitamix a few months back and I've found it to be a good deal. It's very high quality, easy to use, and veggies 'disappear' in it. Recently I tried a shake with bananas, raspberries, blueberries, cucumber, spinach, carrots, and tea. Can't even taste the vegetables, except that they cut down the sweetness a bit.
Given your income and goals I'd say its a worthwhile purchase.
Given your income and goals I'd say its a worthwhile purchase.