Elegant's journal

[elegant]

August 2014 update:

* After much consideration I started seeing a psychologist. I wanted an unbiased professional to take a look at things and give me an analysis of my ERE related decisions. Speaking my mind was nice, for a change. Felt like Tony Soprano.

* After 3 meetings I told her about ERE and my motivation for being financially independent at such a young age. She seemed worried because according to her I am so disappointed with career life (true) that I'm slowly "shrinking / shying away" from life (she used a hebrew term that literally means "to minimize oneself" , not sure about proper translation). She meant it not only career wise but also socially and mentally, which, unfortunately, is true again.

* She left me with quite a lot to think about. Did I convince myself I was an introvert? Did I convince myself I have low need for acceptance? Did I convince myself I hate careerism? Did I convince myself I don't want a girlfriend, a wife, a family? How much of it is REALLY true, and how much is ERE inspired rationalization? I wish I knew how to find out the answer.

* Been considering the possibility of taking a year long unpaid vacation, so I have more time to think. I'm really worried about making hasty decisions with massive implications. I really feel like I despise my job, but quitting now might be a little bit too early / too extreme and may inject even more confusion to my mentally fragile ISTJ mind.

* Financially this has been the best month this year thanks to Mr Market and the decline of the Israeli Shekel vs the USD. For the first time ever, my unrealized monthly capital gains were higher than my paycheck! I know it won't continue like this in the future, but this feels really good. My 50-50 boglehead portfolio is almost fully implemented but I'm still too heavy on cash in my non-stock part of my portfolio.

August Income:
Paycheck: 10,045 ILS

Total Income: 10,045 ILS

August Expenses:
Food: 360.21 ILS
Trading fees: 225.55 ILS
Barber: 60 ILS
Parking: 10.34 ILS
Phone: 84.98 ILS
Cables: 80.53
Internet: 99.78
VPN service: 270.66 ILS

Total Expenses: 1192.05 ILS

Savings Rate
This month: 88.2%
This year: 83.19% (target: 90%)
Total money spent this year: 13,857 ILS
Total money earned this year (after tax): 82,418 ILS
Money left to spend in 2014 (20,000 ILS challenge): 6542.76 ILS (32.7% left)

A couple of charts to track my progress so far:





As always thanks for your invaluable input.

Elegant

[Chad]

* After 3 meetings I told her about ERE and my motivation for being financially independent at such a young age. She seemed worried because according to her I am so disappointed with career life (true) that I'm slowly "shrinking / shying away" from life (she used a hebrew term that literally means "to minimize oneself" , not sure about proper translation). She meant it not only career wise but also socially and mentally, which, unfortunately, is true again.

* She left me with quite a lot to think about. Did I convince myself I was an introvert? Did I convince myself I have low need for acceptance? Did I convince myself I hate careerism? Did I convince myself I don't want a girlfriend, a wife, a family? How much of it is REALLY true, and how much is ERE inspired rationalization? I wish I knew how to find out the answer.

* Been considering the possibility of taking a year long unpaid vacation, so I have more time to think. I'm really worried about making hasty decisions with massive implications. I really feel like I despise my job, but quitting now might be a little bit too early / too extreme and may inject even more confusion to my mentally fragile ISTJ mind.

Don't worry. There are others who don't have this figured out either. I'm in much the same position concerning career and life. I do think she raises a good question about ERE. We shouldn't use it to shrink away from life, just to shrink the parts of our lives that we really don't want. Unfortunately, some times identifying what we really don't want is rather difficult. Always has been for me with my career.

[Tyler9000]

@Elegant -- I think it is very wise to talk to someone about your plans. For very introspective people, it's sometimes easy to get lost in our thoughts and it's good to get an outside perspective. My wife is particularly skilled at calling me out on strange rationalizations.

Now I'm definitely not a psychologist so take everything I say with a grain of salt. But speaking of "shrinking away" from life, I just re-read your journal and two quotes immediately stuck out to me (edited by me for brevity, but maintaining the meaning as best I can):

At the ripe age of 29 years old, I see ambition as a vice worse than pride. Ambition makes people do horrible things. .... It causes one to experience so much stress and grief. In a purposeless world, ambition is meaningless.

I'd challenge you to think about what ambition means to you and why you have such a negative reaction to it. From my perspective, a person retiring at the age of 29 and taking control over their life is extremely ambitious, and in a very positive way! So give yourself some credit. I personally appreciate and respect healthy ambition in others. One can use it in selective constructive ways to improve themselves rather than "shrinking away" from negative feelings and fading into addictions.

I wouldn't pressure yourself to figure it all out right now, though, as this kinda thing takes time. Perhaps a year off would be a nice way to decompress and reevaluate things. That's sorta where I am as well.

[DutchGirl]

It's good to think about this, but really, perhaps you really need to quit this job and do something else with your life. Perhaps it's just as simple as that. Bad jobs exist, and also bad matches between certain people and certain jobs exist.

(Again, not to say that sometimes things are indeed more complicated and require some thought).

[elegant]

September 2014 update:

September is over, and thus begins my last month as a wage-slave.

By the end of October, just as I turn 30 years old, I'm going to be a free man.

I stopped seeing the shrink. I got the confirmation I wanted and felt there was no use in further couch ramblings.

I am willing to "sacrifice" the car, the regular salary and all the other benefits associated with this comfortable-yet-ultra-fragile lifestyle. My reward is freedom.

In other news, I received a small yet unexpected windfall this month.

Really trying to slowly supplement my work income with non-investment-based side hustles / muses. This will be my main focus in the coming months.

September Income:
Paycheck: 9,962 ILS
Windfall: 11,170 ILS

Total Income: 21132 ILS

September Expenses:
Food: 284.3 ILS
Accountant fees: 472 ILS
Side Hustle related: 300.88 ILS
Cell Phone: 61.36 ILS
Internet: 84.42 ILS
Cables: 80.68 ILS
Power: 175.86 ILS
Water & Sewage: 34.8 ILS
Parking: 19.99 ILS
Museum: 45 ILS
Pharmacy: 76 ILS

Total Expenses: 1635.31 ILS

Savings Rate
This month: 92.27%
This year: 85.04% (target: 90%)
Total money spent this year: 15,492 ILS
Total money earned this year: 103,550 ILS
Money left to spend in 2014 (20,000 ILS challenge): 4508 ILS (22.5% left)

SWR
Total Net Worth: 1,825,000 ILS
ERE net worth: 871,000 ILS
Projected annual expenses in retirement: 30,000 ILS p/a
Years saved: 29.04
Current SWR: 3.44%

[Pronoid]

Hey elegant. I just read your journal and it sounds quite similar to my situation. My job that was once interesting and fulfilling is now dull and boring. Not being able to utilize your skills really brings down the spirits to say the least. I am also looking to retire around age 30, which is the only reason I stick around for the paycheck since its only 17-22 months away. I'll be interested to see what you end up doing after you pull the plug.

[elegant]

@Iwantless

Thanks for reading. Yeah, I'm not really sure what to expect.

Saw a great thread the other day where I think it was tyler9000 who said that sometimes you just need to close a chapter even if you have no idea what the next one is going to look like.

There is some significance wrt retiring at 30. I feel like I "sacrificed" my 20's for the sake of my 30's. Fate will tell if I was right.

[jennypenny]

I feel like I "sacrificed" my 20's for the sake of my 30's.

How so?

[DutchGirl]

I wish you awesome 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.... ! (Maybe wishing for 100s etc is taking it a bit too far, but hey, who knows what science has produced by then...).

[elegant]

I quit my job today, a day after I turned 30.
For the first time in 30 years I no longer have an "institution" to tell me what to do, where to be, or how to act.
My time is *MINE*.
I am now officially FIRE (that is, unless I find a new job that I LIKE for a change )
I would have never made this huge decision without the support this community has given me. Thank you all, and thanks Jacob for showing me the light.

[Spartan_Warrior]

Congrats! As someone who would absolutely love to quit his job today, I'm a little jealous.

[George the original one]

Perfect!

[Tyler9000]

Congrats! It's inspiring to see the FIRE crowd grow. You have a great time ahead of you.

[Scrubby]

Congratulations, you are certainly ahead of the curve!

[llorona]

Congratulations. What a wonderful birthday gift!

[DutchGirl]

Congratulations from me, too. Who knows what the next exciting adventure will be?

[mxlr650]

I quit my job today, a day after I turned 30.

very elegant!!

[elegant]

I've shamefully neglected this thread since I've retired!

Some quick updates:

- My liquid ERE net worth has grown substantially to the point where I am now officially a part of the two comma club, albeit in Israeli Shekels, LOL Still feels like something of an achievement. Hopefully my stash will allow me to sustain a 3% SWR.

- I received some huge severance checks and I feel a bit overwhelmed by this windfall. Trying to figure out if I should reassess my asset allocation (50%-50% stocks / bonds), DCA or put it all in when EVERYTHING (bonds, stocks, property) seems so expensive. Perhaps now is the time to buy some gold bars? Or spend it on what normal people consider fun stuff?

- I've decided to study law, so now I spend my time mostly studying for preliminary university exams (which are mandatory by law faculties, even though I already hold two graduate degrees on other topics...). I'm not going to do this to become a lawyer, heavens forbid, but out of sheer interest. I think it could be an interesting experience and a social outlet, especially as unlike other students I won't have the pressure to excel.

On the down side, there has been some mildly serious regression in my life: I find myself spending more and more time in my parent's house, neglecting my own apartment (haven't been there for about a week), completely avoiding real-life social contact with people other than family, hardly spending time outside, my sleep schedule is completely fucked (I sleep til 2PM) etc.

This sounds bad of course though I should say I don't feel particularly lonely or depressed. I guess I'm still adapting to the new reality...

[DutchGirl]

I was wondering how you have been doing. Not sure I like the "regression" part, but then again that might be part of the message society ingrained into me: "go out, work at least 8 hours per day, be productive"-etc.

I guess moving around a bit (exercising) would keep your body healthy for longer, so that could be a reason to become a bit more active again. But of course: it's also only been a month so far, something like a longer vacation...

Anyway, good luck and I see you have some nice plans for the future, enjoy!

[elegant]

May 2015 Update.

It's now more than 7 months since I ere'd. Time is not slowing down . Surprise surprise.

Although I don't miss my old job in the slightest, I cannot recall doing anything truly significant since retiring.

The biggest news is that I practically moved in to live with my mother. She is 65 and feels lonely having retired herself this year. She strongly encourages me to live here on her expense. We get along just fine -- not to mention the dramatic reduction in my own expenses. Additionally, her house is close to the law school I'm about to start in 5 months.

My own apartment now stands empty. I only visit to water the plants and vacuum the dust. I suppose the logical (and socially responsible) thing to do would be to rent it out as the demand is great. The rent payments alone would cover my expenses by a wide margin, regardless of my FI status.

However ... Something is holding me back I cannot stop feeling that this step would solidify the fact of me moving back in. I'm worried that this is a regression, a step backwards in terms of independence as preached by ERE.

Any advice?