Frugaldoc's journal

[frugaldoc]

@singvestor: Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I agree with you that there needs to be a science-based approach. I had thought of trying GLP-1 receptor agonists, but it is difficult to source them given my situation. The military health insurance will not pay for them and trying to source them here in Japan would involve me trying to interface with their health system as a cash payer. I honestly haven't had the motivation to do that. Part of me has resisted going that route because I didn't see it as sustainable. I am very dependent on my environment for my level of motivation. When I am living in an area where a nice dirt running path is available, I will go out and run without much internal resistance and I and enjoy it. When I am working out regularly, I eat better, and a virtuous cycle is formed. The pounds drop off. Unfortunately, I have repeatedly chosen to work in environments that are the exact opposite of what I need. Fortunately, I will be headed back to southern California next year for my final Navy assignment and will have an easier time of things.

In the meantime, I have set a goal of getting under 230 lbs (104.5kg) by December 31st. If I fail at that I will go the pharmaceutical route. I am 6'2" (188cm) so am shooting for 185 lbs (84kgs) eventually. It is hard to believe that I was once this skinny 20-year-old that weighed 145lbs and was on my university's track and cross-country teams. I wasn't international caliber, but I could throw down a 5000m in the low 14-minute range. Now I plod along at 12 min/mile and not for very long.

Now that the money part of my life seems to be on autopilot and headed in the right direction, I need to pare the mental bandwidth devoted to that to almost 0% and make achieving my health goals the primary focus of my efforts. Health should have come before money, but this is where I am.

This journal may be my only access to an accountability group so I will try to chart my progress weekly.

Today's weight: 262.6lbs
BMI: 33.7

Onward and upward!

[DutchGirl]

Good luck, I'll check back in with you over time, too!

[DutchGirl]

Almost two weeks now

[frugaldoc]

Unfortunately, I have been traveling for the past two weeks so have been away from a scale. I am having to gauge progress by my belt holes. Luckily, I have been walking a lot more. A few days ago I went on what was meant to be a short walk but 14 miles (and 4.5 hours) later I made it back to my hotel. Luckily it was cool here in Minnesota as I was carrying no water. It felt great being out in nature again. I saw a fair amount of wildlife including a large group of bald eagles fishing in the river. I really need to get out into the wild more often.

[frugaldoc]

Net worth (11/30/2024): $1,051,514

November update:

Finances: continued making progress but most of it was from continued earnings. My heavy international allocation has weighed down my returns this year, but I have no plan to change my target allocation.

I had a weird realization the other day. Perhaps it built up over several days. I am bored with the FI/FIRE movement. I was considering enrolling in Joshua Sheats’s Radical Personal Finance Academy but before I dropped $2000, I thought I would see what you fine ERE people thought about his work. I enjoy much of his content but some of it is maddening. His antidemocracy, authoritarian tilt of late has started to alarm me but, at the same time, I discovered both ERE and the Alpha Strategy through his early podcasts. When I did a quick forum search, I discovered that Jacob had been on his show again (I think back in 2021). There were some good nuggets in there. At one point Jacob said something along the lines of: people should try to reach FI fast and then move on to other things.

The next day I was watching some homesteading videos on YouTube and saw a new MMM appearance on a podcast called “Mile High FI”. I started watching it and thought “isn’t Pete sick of talking about this shit?” I can understand the excitement of discovering FI and turning your finances around but to make it the center of your life long after you have achieved it seems like a waste. It seems like FI/FIRE has just become a cottage industry of courses, content creation, and events you can pay to attend. I get the impression that MMM doesn’t make it the center of his life, however he is a valuable guest for all those FIRE hosts hoping to monetize their content.

Now, the strange thing in all of this is that I still really enjoy the two activities that lead to FI. I enjoy learning how to live a meaningful life on less: the “conserver lifestyle” as it is called in “How to Live Without a Salary”. I also like learning about business, investing, and producing more wealth. But I see them almost as two unrelated activities now. Strange I know. I would much rather go to an industry conference for an industry I am learning about than go to a FI event to hear people discuss the life changing insights they had once they reached their $5 million “coast FI” number.

Okay, I think I am done with my “old man yells at clouds” journal entry. I’ll write something separately in a few days about fitness and reading. I have been read a lot of enjoyable books recently.

[singvestor]

Just my 2 cents: Definitely mad to spend any money on a financial independence course, except maybe for Jacob's book which can be had for USD 12 in paperback. For 2,000 USD you could assemble your own course for medical professionals in the Navy and sell that, haha.

I am too very bored with the FIRE "Movement" - the whole plan can be summarized on one page and all the content around it gets boring quickly. What I find enjoyable is to read more extreme stories, like people living in their office or hacking the system in other ways. Or of lives very different from my own, such as a doctor saving money while on a navy assignment.

Obsessing over FI for too long has wasted so much time I could have used to learn another language, acquire other skills, build a business etc. I feel myself more productive after zooming out a bit. I was in a job I did not like with a lifestyle that was wrong for me and I used obsessing over FI as a coping mechanism. Compared to other coping mechanisms this in the end helped me get out of corporate life. So I guess it helped after all.

I am curious about your fitness update! And book recommendations also very welcome

[jacob]

The next day I was watching some homesteading videos on YouTube and saw a new MMM appearance on a podcast called “Mile High FI”. I started watching it and thought “isn’t Pete sick of talking about this shit?” I can understand the excitement of discovering FI and turning your finances around but to make it the center of your life long after you have achieved it seems like a waste. It seems like FI/FIRE has just become a cottage industry of courses, content creation, and events you can pay to attend. I get the impression that MMM doesn’t make it the center of his life, however he is a valuable guest for all those FIRE hosts hoping to monetize their content.

Ever read this one?
https://meaningness.com/geeks-mops-sociopaths

[AnalyticalEngine]

I've also found myself getting a little worn out with the FIRE movement. The issue I'm seeing now is that all these people have been retired 10+ years and so podcasts have turned into a rotating selection of FIRE celebrities who are all friends with each other and seem increasingly detached and unrelatable. It was different when many of these people were working and had more to talk about, but it now feels like a lot of FIRE blogs and podcasts just talk about being friends with other FIRE bloggers.

[jacob]

I've also found myself getting a little worn out with the FIRE movement. The issue I'm seeing now is that all these people have been retired 10+ years and so podcasts have turned into a rotating selection of FIRE celebrities who are all friends with each other and seem increasingly detached and unrelatable. It was different when many of these people were working and had more to talk about, but it now feels like a lot of FIRE blogs and podcasts just talk about being friends with other FIRE bloggers.

Have you read the above link?

Detached and unrelatable is likely right. I've talked to different people who are still "active" to get the current lay of the land. Many newcomers now think the FIRE movement started sometime around 2015 or so. They sincerely think that FIRE is about putting 10-20% of your salary into index funds in order to retire a few years before the traditional age, that is, if they want to retire at all---many just want to "get rich". They point to Dave Ramsey, Ramit Sethi and John Boggle as the beginning and end of what one needs to know. They think frugal equals "getting good deals on sale" or "spending 10% less than their peers". They will happily pay $500 to go to a conference or retreat to listen to a presentation telling them just/only that in order to avoid having to read a book (apparently, nobody does "that" anymore). IOW, the FIRE movement has been diluted to the point of distilled water and subsumed into generic personal finance. As far as the OGs are concerned, there is in that sense not much to talk about anymore beyond hanging out together.

What was once cool about the FIRE movement has died.

[frugaldoc]

@jacob: That article is a good description of what is going on however in some cases I wonder if some of the creators have turned to being sociopaths. I guess they were sociopaths from the beginning. Or were such clever sociopaths that they recognized a trend early enough to be labeled as a "creator".

@singvestor: Fortunately, I was not going to spend $2000 on a FI course. I was more interested in the increasing income/starting a business aspect of his course as well as asset protection, internationalization, and other niche topics Joshua enjoys speaking about. But I have decided to forego the course. I just need to learn these topics for myself. For example, I have an idea for a device to secure chest tubes (thoracostomy tube) that I would like to prototype, and if it works, manufacture. But I have zero idea how to do that. But I suppose it is figureoutable. And there is a whole website devoted to one's career in Navy medicine, and I find it insufferable. Everything is geared toward maneuvering in the system for maximum promotion gain. The author of the blog is now a CO of a major Navy hospital and will probably put on a star someday. However, I find his career advice mostly repugnant. I was rereading Taleb's "Skin in the Game" yesterday and gradually grew disgusted with myself that I am a salaryman waiting four years for a fat pension. I suppose I have skin in the game by virtue of the fact our ship would be the first to be taken out if there were a major conflict. Still, I feel my career makes me a little too submissive.

[frugaldoc]

Also, Jacob is right about the newer generation of FIRE movement adherents. I was watching a recent Bigger Pockets Money episode, and the young man (31yo) had a net worth of $700k. My initial thought was, "hey, he is almost there". Nope. He is hoping to retire in his 50s and his goal FI number is $9 million. Yes, $9,000,000! Even I, who is playing things on the safe side, am not that ambitious.

@AnalyticalEngine: I think you are right about the podcasts becoming self-referential. It sort of reminds me of the academic literature on rhabdomyolysis. I always point out to residents that if they dig into the literature, they find that it is really just a bunch of review articles referencing each other. But hey, many of these bloggers seem like interesting people so I don't begrudge them wanting to spend time with each other. Heck, I think I would enjoy spending time with some of the people in this forum.

[rube]

...For example, I have an idea for a device to secure chest tubes (thoracostomy tube) that I would like to prototype, and if it works, manufacture. But I have zero idea how to do that. But I suppose it is figureoutable....

It is, but for medical devices it can be pretty complex, much more than some generic simple consumer product. The regulatory part probably even more so than the manufacturing. Contact me if you ever want more information.

[DutchGirl]

I just recently read the story of this guy who developed a clamp to attach the drip chamber of an infusion set to the pole so that there are less alarms. It's here: https://smarthealth.live/2024/09/16/uit ... iekenhuis/ . (It's in Dutch but google translate does a pretty good job these days).

[AnalyticalEngine]

I think some of the problem with the FIRE movement currently is that we are at the top of the current market cycle, and I think the movement will contract with the next actual recession we have. Anyone retiring with $750k in the 2010s is now super rich due to the inflated market, and I frequently see people in the FIRE movement express the belief that the stock market will always go up and that index funds are just like CDs with a higher interest rate. There are a lot of people who don't understand what they are investing in and believe the future will contain infinite money and this just is not sustainable.

It's worth noting that the frugal parts of the FIRE movement were more popular in the early 2010s, just coming out of the housing crash, and I expect we will need another recession in order to see that come back.

[frugaldoc]

@AE: I think there is a lot in what you say. My risk parity style portfolio has chugged along at a more sedate pace than the portfolios of all the "VTSAX/VTI and chill" adherents that treat JL Collins's "Simple Path to Wealth" as if it were gospel. I try to point out that it is unlikely that the US will repeat winning two world wars while remaining largely unscathed and electrifying the rural areas of the country. Also, greatly improved transportation networks. "But AI" is the usual response. And to be fair, their portfolio results back them up. I can't deny that I am envious at times. However when the envy gets too strong I remember Warren Buffett's line about it being insane to risk what you have for something you don't have and don't need.

The FIRE movement also has a lot of people who made their money in real estate with most of them enjoying tremendous tailwinds by acquiring properties shortly after the GFC. I know I have missed out on a lot of wealth creation by not participating in that game. Of course there is still money to be made in that arena but I don't think it is the panacea that many make it out to be. Nor is it easily reproducible. Opting out of the consumer lifestyle is absolutely reproducible with low barriers to entry though.

[frugaldoc]

It has been a bit since I wrote anything here so I thought I would record a few thoughts.

I am in the midst of my last patrol of this assignment. It is a short patrol, which is good, as I am growing tired of this grind. Still, I know I will miss it at some point. Tonight I was casually ducking my head so as to not hit the wingtip pylon of an F-35 as I was traversing the hanger bay and thought there will soon be a time I cannot do this. In 6 months I'll be lucky if I can get within 50 feet of one of these at an airshow.

Financially, not much has changed. My 2024 experiment of proving I could live on 4% of my assets was a success. My spending came in at $32,756 which was well under the $40k goal. However it was also artificially low because: 1. Japan is dirt cheap currently 2. I didn't have a car. Not having a car saved all the car expenses but it also limited my leisure activity options. My fellow officers are usually traveling all over Japan on the weekends. I have had to forgo that in order to meet my goals. I have a feeling my spending will increase significantly in California.

I do feel like I shortchanged myself on skills acquisition in the quest to save money in 2024. There a few ultrasound course aimed at hospitalists and critical care providers that cost about $3000 each (not including travel) that would be very useful for me. As I have lamented on here before, increased skill in medicine seldom has a return on investment. I think I will just bite the bullet in 2025 and spend $10k on high value continuing medical education. I am also thinking of starting to shift my investment dollars toward real goods that can someday be used on the Vermont homestead. The valuation of today's US market make me feel like it might be time to shift towards more tangible forms of wealth.

[Scordatura]

Do you think those ultrasound courses or the supplemental courses in general would be effective for your learning process? Or are they credentials you want for signalling purposes? If you're just looking for just learning opportunities, self study might be your best option. Personally, I don't find mass style, or class/seminar based education as effective as self study. Tutoring, 1 on 1 lessons, and apprenticeships get more of my vote of confidence, if you're looking for collaboration. Don't know what that looks like as a doctor. If it's for credential signalling you may just need to bite the bullet. Necessary evil, and all that

Sometimes, it's really not about the money. I spend money much less frugally when it comes to my education. I don't lose sleep over that, and I don't think you should either. It may not have high ROI, but living what you value has its own rewards. You may simply want to provide better care. Learning things on the bleeding edge is almost always going to cost more. Economies of scale make general knowledge cheaper in time and resources.

"Still, I feel my career makes me a little too submissive."
I thought about this line for a bit. I almost decided to not comment on it, so if you find that my words haunt you, just ignore them. That isn't my intention. If you feel you are too submissive, by your own standards, NOW is the time make moves to not be submissive. Don't wait. I know you have a more strict environment than I do. I understand you have responsibilities I don't. But if you won't act on your conscience now, you likely never will. There's always this talk of FU money, but if you refuse to tell someone to fuck themselves, what is the point? The spine you need comes before the actions you take. YMMV, and feel free to disregard.

I'm not in the medical manufacturing sector, but I know Warsaw, Indiana is the orthopedic medical manufacturing capital. There's probably a geographic locus where the talent gathers, you only need to find it for your specific device. Perhaps you have connections/ can make connections through your Navy service? Surely if you have a medical device idea you can find someone to run it by. Perhaps patent it first, though? Wouldn't want whoever you run it by to make it their own. It happened to Newton by Leibniz, or so I've been told.

I'd like to just outright agree with AnalyticalEngine. Stocks always going up seems to depend heavily on geopolitical victories. I wouldn't bet against the ole Estados Unidos, but it certainly isn't guaranteed. I wonder if stocks haven't become the new bonds, and either options or cryptocurrencies stand in where stocks used to be as the risky, speculative financial device. Perhaps bonds only use case is sequence of returns risk? I'm uncertain. The more I learn, the less I seem to know.

As an aside, I really enjoy reading "old man/woman yelling at clouds" style entries, don't be afraid to post those.

Stay safe out there.

[frugaldoc]

I finally received hard copy orders (that makes things official) and will be detaching in June and reporting to my next assignment in California by the end of June. During June, I hope to spend at least a week on my land in Vermont to get a better feel for it. I'll probably sleep in a tent so I can get the full experience. Perhaps I will open up a small patch of land and plant a pollinator garden of some sort, or maybe some fruit trees.

In May I'll be stateside for a critical care conference and to go to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting. I do love my annual trip to Omaha with my sister. I am curious what sort of hit the hotel/restaurant economy will take when Buffett dies and meeting attendance plummets.

@Scordatura: Thank you for your thoughts. Lots to unpack there. The ultrasound courses would be for skills acquisition rather than signaling. When you don't have CT available, there is a lot a skilled clinician can do with an ultrasound. I would like to be one of those people, especially if I hope to do some future work in the developing world. The US courses are small with a 3:1 or 2:1 student to faculty ratio. So you get a lot of individualized attention. Despite a 2 day course costing $3k+ it is probably worth it. It is something that would be hard to learn on one’s own; sometimes you need a person there to help you with the subtle hand position changes that you would have a hard time figuring out yourself.

As far as the submissive comment goes, I have been thinking about that a lot. There was a recent recycled post on here about being a “natural slave” and I became worried that I may be a natural slave. Not to be political but I find it very nerve-racking to be an instrument of our government currently. One day I feel like I should get out at the earliest possible point (Sep 2026) and then the next I feel like I should just renegotiate a four year contract in April and take the retention bonus and ride it out to 20 years. The first option would be a radical and costly move to claim my freedom. Separating at 17.5 years yields me nothing; waiting until 20 years yields a pension and insurance worth approximately $2 million. Everyone tells me to stay in and I probably should be listening. I will be faculty teaching residents for my last assignment so likely won’t be asked to do anything nefarious but the worry is still there. And I do love teaching residents. Plus, with the leave I have built up, I can take off approximately 45 days per year until I am done.

Unrelated to all of this, someone bought me a permaculture book and had it sent to the ship. I don’t know who but I am enjoying it. I am warming up to the idea of trying to bootstrap a residence in Vermont instead of spending loads of money on a professionally designed passive house. Building a water catchment system, composting toilet and power system would be fun. If I utterly fail at it, I can just spend money and have a house built the traditional way.

[DutchGirl]

Yeah, I was wondering too about how it would feel to be in the US army right now. You're supposed to follow orders from the higher-ups, but you're still a human being who can form their own opinion and thoughts - also on how to value the orders from those higher up.

I think having some money does give you more freedom to choose. If you would choose to walk away, that money will allow you an easier new start than if you "only" (ahem) had your skills, diplomas and experience.

[white belt]

As far as the submissive comment goes, I have been thinking about that a lot. There was a recent recycled post on here about being a “natural slave” and I became worried that I may be a natural slave. Not to be political but I find it very nerve-racking to be an instrument of our government currently. One day I feel like I should get out at the earliest possible point (Sep 2026) and then the next I feel like I should just renegotiate a four year contract in April and take the retention bonus and ride it out to 20 years. The first option would be a radical and costly move to claim my freedom. Separating at 17.5 years yields me nothing; waiting until 20 years yields a pension and insurance worth approximately $2 million. Everyone tells me to stay in and I probably should be listening. I will be faculty teaching residents for my last assignment so likely won’t be asked to do anything nefarious but the worry is still there. And I do love teaching residents. Plus, with the leave I have built up, I can take off approximately 45 days per year until I am done.

Another option is to join the Reserves at 17.5 years and finish out your 2.5 remaining years there. You can do pretty minimal time/effort investment as long as you accumulate enough days for a “good year” (not that straightforward, but Google can help explain what that means). There are plenty of units in New England so you’ll have no issue finding one close to Vermont. You’ll still get a pension but it will kick in when you reach age 60 instead of immediately after retiring. It’s probably worth at least running the numbers on that.

Having said that, at 17.5 years I would just stay on active duty until 20. As you said, usually faculty gigs are pretty cushy. Your last 12-18 months will be spent preparing for retirement which means lots of appointments and also minimal job responsibilities. For your last 6 months you can do the DOD Skillbridge program to get an internship, training, future job, or just tailor it to something custom.