LiquidSapphire's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
JohnnyH
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Post by JohnnyH »

Awkward, but I think you played it just right. Sad state of affairs if admitting you're not destitute without a paycheck amounts to bragging... If you hadn't said that, they might have worried about you; tried to find you a job, give you charity -all of which would be much more awkward to diffuse.


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

Thanks JohnnyH!
This message is brought to the ERE community and encouraged and approved my LS's boyfriend:
The ERE guide to Girlfriend's birthday;

Step 1) Spend 4-5 months growing a beard she hates.

Step 2) Enjoy savings of time and money through not shaving while tolerating comments of itchiness etc

Step 3) Shave the beard off for your girlfriend's birthday as a present.

Step 4) Profit!!!


jacob
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Post by jacob »

I had the same problem. I cured it by spending a month talking about my dividend payouts as they happened (several times per month). Just talk about them the same way other people talk about their paychecks, e.g. "I can't wait until Friday when I'll receive my ... check so I can blow it on a wallpaper sale."
But it's a fine line ... I use the "living off savings"-line with people I only talk to once. The dividend-strategy is for those who keep pestering/worrying :)


m741
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Post by m741 »

It doesn't seem like you were bragging... I can't believe taking some time off would be so outside the realm of possibility.


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

These people aren't very close to me so they don't know about ERE, etc. They think I'm regular Jane Doe. So maybe that's part of it. Unless I foresee really forging a genuine relationship past "acquaintance" stage with someone I really just use words like "unemployed" and "living off savings" rather than "I have 20 years of savings right now because I live really cheaply and saved hard so I'm not too freaked out about the money part at this point in time." So I think that was part of the issue.
Use of the word "unemployed" is nice right now because it helps me get out of things that I don't want to spend money on. Case in point: friend says, "Come get a pedicure with me!" I can turn that down and she can chalk it up to me being unemployed rather than having to get into a treatise about how it's not worth the $ or make up another excuse like I don't like pedicures.
Between reading Library books on my kindle, the local library, and interlibrary loan, I think I'm pretty much almost all set on books. I am not really a person that keeps books around as references or for re-reads... after all, I can just check it out again from the library if I want to see it again, and that happens once every few months, maybe. Books are heavy and take up a lot of space. The only books the library has not been able to find for me have been a repair manual for a 1996 Audi A6 and a couple of really obscure legal books (like maybe 2 of the 6 I requested couldn't be found, but the 4 they did find were plenty relevant and all I needed.) I even was able to get Mission Impossible 2 from interlibrary loan, since Netflix doesn't carry it. Oh, I guess there has been one fail. The Ketogenic Diet would have cost something like $20 through interlibrary loan. So I haven't read it. We also ended up just buying the car manual for $70 (the cheapest we could find it). Oh well. You can't win them all.
I have managed to get my entire book collection down to one bookshelf of photo albums, and two shelves of actual "books". I even tore out my favorite pages from my high school yearbook and tossed the stupid book. I'll scan them eventually and toss them too. I don't even like or remember most of these people and the book didn't even fit on my shelf and it was heavy and most of the articles/pictures in it were lame anyway.


chenda
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Post by chenda »

I envy your streamlined bookshelf :) I'm pretty minimalist except for books, which I can't part with. Though a lot of the stuff I have is art books which aren't really kin-dable. Anyway, I've loved reading your journal...


lilacorchid
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Post by lilacorchid »

LS - Thank you for posting all this. It was a facinating read. I was off for 18 months on mat leave and it was hard to adjust to being at home while everyone was at work, slaving away. It took me about six months to get over working and for the newness of being off to wear off. Then I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do. Of course, I got it all together about three months before I went back to work. ;)


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

Thanks lilac & chenda :) I have been considering discontinuing posting since it seems like no one reads this thing and I feel like a Debbie Downer sometimes, saying anything other than "Yeah I am ERE and it is AWESOME SAUCE!!!!!" Well the not working part is but I am having other issues I am working through. I am not blaming that on ERE though but maybe it's depressing/not fun/not worth reading for other people. But then I hear from you guys and hey, maybe it is worth reading for other people. So I guess I'll keep posting.
If I had art books (I don't, but I have lots of photos), if I actually opened them and looked through them periodically I would keep them. If they are just taking up space I'd sell them. If I liked just a few of the prints, I'd print/buy the prints, hang them, and ditch the book. So why don't I do that for my photos??? I totally need to scan them but I have so many it's overwhelming. Most of them aren't even mine but since I'm an only child somehow I ended up with all of the family photos.
lilac - it is taking a while :) I think things will be better once this law stuff ends. My mind will be "free" again. It's hard to "move on" when realistically I am suing for my job back and I may actually have to go back and need to be mentally prepared to do that. I also still have to apply for 5 jobs a week to cross the T/dot the i for unemployment purposes. Also I am irrationally afraid to do something new if it costs more than $0 since I am not happy with my WR right now. It really kills any sense of adventure or curiosity when the main thing you freak out about is the $ you just spent to do that thing. That actually excludes an awful lot of things. So yeah bottom line I am working through things and I have a feeling March is going to be a big month of change. I have my lawsuit, I have a job interview for a job I am lukewarm about, I am pretty sure I am going to get another job interview for a job I might actually want, and I am being trained re: a new friend's online business starting Thursday. It's likely two or more of these things will become relevant to my daily life very soon.


lilacorchid
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Post by lilacorchid »

LS- I used to think I was introverted and I didn't care to talk to people because everyday I would get up, put on my customer face, and go to work and har har har over the water cooler like everyone else. Turns out, I did need socialization, but was getting all I needed (and more) at work, which is why I never called my friends back to do anything when they called. At around the six month mark of being home with an infant all day, I thought, "Holy shit, I need to get out of here and talk to someone, like multiple times a week!" I also said, "Holy shit, I need some sort of hobby, new skill to learn, or project to do. I can only rearrange and organize our house so much!!!"
From everything I took in today after reading the whole thread from start to finish, I would imagine that once this job thing goes away, you will feel better. I got the distinct impression that you worked in a soul-sucking hell hole. Your writing also makes me think you are intelligent and analytical and I am guessing that there is a part of your brain that is shorting out because you are fighting to go back to that place!
(And for what it's worth, I ofter wonder if people read my journal too!)


m741
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Post by m741 »

I'll second lilac. A lot of people read the journals but just comment once every few months. Plus there are lurkers who read the journals but never comment at all.


rube
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Post by rube »

LS: I read all journals: please continue!


ThinSlicer
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Post by ThinSlicer »

LiquidSapphire, your journal is one of my favorites here. I'd be disappointed if you stopped writing.


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

Thanks everyone! Makes me feel good that although my journal is not all rainbows and unicorns that people like reading it anyway. I glance at virtually every post made at this forum. Except the one about how the economy works. That thread is so N that it makes the S in me cry.
@lilac - I have zero doubts I am introverted! But I am not 100% introverted, so I do need some social interaction. I am finding that seeing my boyfriend on weekends and after work most nights, and getting together with someone else, family or a friend, 1-2x every 1-2 weeks, is enough socialization for me. My struggle right now is finding a "project" or something to work on, yeah I definitely hear you there!!! Thanks for the compliments.
I am busy on Friday + the weekend and so I am going to do my regular monthly update tomorrow morning.
So far, though...
Century Link gave me another year at $25/month for a year ($13 my half). They even upgraded me for that price, how lovely of them. I did up paying one month of $45 internet though, because I didn’t catch them in time for this billing cycle. Oh well.
I also called up my HSA provider who says I need to wait 7-10 business days for them to mail me the paperwork to transfer my HSA and no they will not refund me the $3 maintenance fee while I wait for these papers and then once they get them back it will take another 10-20 days to transfer the account over. And no, they can’t just email or fax me them. Such efficiency in 2013. They must reaaaaally love my $3 to make it this much of a pain in the ass. I didn’t even choose these jokers. Oh, but I am “fortunate” that my account doesn’t have an account closure fee. You wanna know who else is fortunate? The CSR who took my call who didn’t have to listen to my tirade against an account closure fee.
Side income this month is $62.78 (does not count investment returns/dividends). I have some pent up CC rewards so should be higher next month as I cash them in. It'll be interesting to see what the average income is at the end of the year and the sources of that income. I have no idea what is average or repeatable right now so it's a good exercise.


palmera
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Post by palmera »

I also agree with Lilac :)
And LS I still read your journal religiously...it's just that I haven't been commenting much in the past few months b/c My work was taking up all my time...not in a bad way...for a few months, while I worked at this contract job, I got sucked right into their company culture: working there wasn't a job, it was a lifestyle (an expense paid, extravagant lifestyle). Working there was intense but saved me a lot of time and money...it really accelerated my expenses.
And now...I'M UNEMPLOYED TOO!


palmera
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Post by palmera »

I also agree with Lilac :)
And LS I still read your journal religiously...it's just that I haven't been commenting much in the past few months b/c My work was taking up all my time...not in a bad way...for a few months, while I worked at this contract job, I got sucked right into their company culture: working there wasn't a job, it was a lifestyle (an expense paid, extravagant lifestyle). Working there was intense but saved me a lot of time and money...it really accelerated my expenses.
And now...I'M UNEMPLOYED TOO! My contract ended and even though I'm supposedly interviewing for internal positions full-time, they're notoriously slow/inconsistent/insane. I've been contacted by other recruiters too. But seriously, I'm taking the next 6 months off to finish up my bar job, and start an online business that I can work anywhere in the world, since I plan on leaving the country in the fall.
Thank GOODNESS for frugal living/ERE and savings! I don't have nearly as much savings as you (a couple years' worth) but I'm okay as I have my part-time job and a freelance side hustle to cover my expenses AND save.
How many ppl have this luxury? Not many, I'm finding out. I tell ppl I'm unemployed and they look sooooo panic-stricken on my behalf, it's sad/funny. :P


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

@palmera - glad to hear from you. Glad you are doing so well. :) Smiles all around. I had no idea people liked my journal so much.

NW: 260438.31

Total Assets: 280436.3
If every month were like this month I would have a 4.62% withdrawal rate.
Not much else to add that I haven't already said about February. I have a nasty cold so I canceled my Thursday training, will reschedule later. That's one thing about being unemployed... it has been a full year since I had a cold... no more being stuck around sick people in the office since they are too cheap to take a sick day. This one I got from that wife and kids of the couple I talked about above... sigh... wish they would have told me they were sick before I got there.


LiquidSapphire
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:40 pm

Post by LiquidSapphire »

I find setting small monthly goals keeps me on track so I am going to try that.
March Goals:
1) Close the loop on transferring my HSA and make sure CenturyLink really did lower my bill.
2) Redeem the rest of my CC rewards and close the loop on my credit card splurge from August so I don't get hit with annual fees, etc. Either downgrade the cards to a type without an annual fee, combine the CL with an existing CC or just flat out close it out. It was worth it though. I cleared $1750 in cash or gift cards and 40,000 USAirways miles for hardly any effort. I'd do it again but I don't have an income to report on the applications :\
3) I have two big tupperware bins full of "stuff" that I need to go through. Combination of stuff to sell, paperwork, tax paperwork, photos, etc. I need to get these emptied out and "processed" somehow. They are an eyesore.
4) Do my taxes :( :( :( I am not sure what to expect other than I think it will be a pain in my ass and I will owe some money probably.


LiquidSapphire
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Post by LiquidSapphire »

I settled. :)
I might be around a 4% WR now. I think that makes me FI now? I don't want to plan too much for a success rate greater than 80%.

http://www.efficientfrontier.com/ef/901/hell3.htm
I'd like to eventually get to 3% for more safety in case the returns sequence is not so hot over the next few years but the $$ it would take to get there would be a lot. So I am blissfully pondering that nowadays.
Feels good :)


chenda
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Post by chenda »

Congratulations :) must feel fantastic, I think your definitely there. You can always do a bit of work down the line to boost your savings, or live cheaper somewhere for a few years to increase your returns, to get down your withdrawal rate.
I'm the same age as you with a very similar budget (and hopefully soon a similar net worth) so its great to see what you've achieved and how its worked out.


LiquidSapphire
Posts: 510
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:40 pm

Post by LiquidSapphire »

Thanks chenda :) appreciate you stopping by.
March 26, 2013
I ran some #s and I decided that I will consider myself FI at a 3.5% WR. I think this is the right dose of safety without oversaving and I can sleep at night with this number. Monte Carlo simulations seem to indicate the PP is 80% successful at around a 3.5% WR and I feel good about that. If my investment assumptions are so far off on the “bad” side that my simulations are wrong, well, a 3% WR would probably not help me either. I’m also not counting social security, my pension, possible inheritances, or any future side income in my calculations, so I think I’m good with that number.
I am around 4.1 or 4.2% right now if I withdraw all expenses. 3.5% gives me just about $1000 a month in spending. The gap is closing.
So here’s the plan.
Long story short, lots of drama in my life happening (it never ends, apparently), blah blah blah, events in my personal life are leading me to believe that it is very likely that in the next 6-18 months I will buy property. How that transaction will fit into my ERE plans, I don’t know yet, as the details are very much is still up in the air as to how I will structure my life at this point. However, all the different ways I could attack it decrease my monthly expenses significantly, and therefore my nest egg requirements. Some scenarios bring me down to 3.5% today with no additional money required. The “worst case” scenario puts me at about 20-40K short of the 3.5%, but it’s an improvement over the 80K I am calculating with today’s numbers. This should become slightly more clear by this summer, and I should know by end of year exactly where I am going with this.
My side business income is also picking up much faster than I anticipated. It appears it may be a viable way to make a little money long term without much hardship. I have no idea if this income is stable, but perhaps it is. This business has potential. It also allows me to be able to write off the home office of a house, internet, and phone bills, amongst other expenses. It will also allow me to contribute to a Roth IRA, and maybe a Solo 401K. All good things.
To date I have cleared $465 in Revenue in the last 20 days. I decided to invest in some “business deductions” with a big chunk of it. Namely 2 years of VOIP service and a FreedomPop device. I don’t think it’s really going to decrease my personal expenses, but the VOIP service makes sense for the business ($185 all inclusive for 2 years of service) and the FreedomPop ($96) allows me to do work whenever I am not home. 500 megs of data/month is free and that is plenty. After some one-time reinvestments into the business, taxes, and advertising costs, I am still maintaining a profit of $111 today. I don’t feel comfortable discussing the nature of the business here but I will answer PMs.
I really only need to make about $175-$200/month to “break even”. I’d like to make a little more than that to hopefully achieve a “snowball” effect, where I withdraw less than 3.5% or 3% and allow my investments to grow passively for a while. I might also try to save a bit of my income sometimes if I exceed $200/month to assist in this effect.
I need to do research on taxes. I also need to DO my taxes. Sigh. I am also a complete fail so far on the “organization” challenge I issued myself, but I do have 6 days to go to complete it. CenturyLink lowered my bill as asked. Chase STILL hasn’t transferred my HSA. Bastards.
On a side note I recently encountered a person in my life (OK, mother of the mother of boyfriend’s kid) who really, really, really got under my skin. She bragged about her THREE luxury vehicles; a Jaguar, a Mercedes, and a BMW. She goes out to eat all the time, 1-2 meals a day, goes shopping what appears to be near constantly, buying for herself, her family, clothes, toys, blah blah blah blah. She does not work, but her husband earns a good income, which she just turns around and spends. She really gets under my skin. These behavior has been REALLY bothering me over the past few days and I am not quite sure why. It’s not jealousy, I could have $5 million and I still wouldn’t buy 1 luxury vehicle, let alone 3 of them. It just... ERKS me so much to see someone so WASTEFUL and such a TERRIBLE steward of their resources. The worst part is that she is influencing her daughter and granddaughter to do the same thing and follow in the same footsteps; that is the part I hate the most. I don’t want these people knocking on my door for more child support later so they can fund another Fashion Show from Macy’s. I really dislike this person for this alone and it overshadows everything else about them. I just can’t get past this for some reason. I just can’t even like this person. I have never had such a visceral reaction to consumerism before. Then again, I really do try hard to not hang out with people like that regularly. Maybe it’s a shock to the system to have it so blatantly thrown in my face. Was she trying to impress me? Because really it made me almost hate her and I don’t choose that word lightly.


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