There are not many high-quality blogs in this FI space, and most are in the early stages, which won't be that fruitful for someone who has been thinking about this stuff for a longer period of time.
I did want to share this blog, though, because it is thinking beyond the scope of financial capital and has a lot of great insights:
https://indeedably.com/
https://indeedably.com/metrics/ (Jacob is mentioned in this one)
https://indeedably.com/spending/
https://indeedably.com/how-i-money/
https://indeedably.com/why-dont-you-go- ... every-day/
https://indeedably.com/enough/
Some of these articles were posted years ago, so I need to read his posts and see how his thinking has evolved, but it is very ERE-centric.
Divan dan journal
Re: Divan dan journal
February Update
February Savings Rate: 16%
YTD Savings Rate: 9%
% TTM (Trailing Twelve Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 19% - I had to update these metrics to strip out our home equity from NW
% TSM (Trailing Six Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 20% - I had to update these metrics to strip out our home equity from NW
Life Updates
February continued to be an expensive month as we had to work on the attic project, and we paid a family friend to help with the electrical work as it relates to the attic. March and April will continue to be expensive, but then the rest of the year should cool down. We have also hit my wife's out-of-pocket maximum already, so the big health expenses are behind us. The low savings rate bums me out, but our NW went up a fair amount from a combination of the market going crazy, but really, the crypto in my portfolio is driving most of the gain. I have been executing sell limits and putting that back into our savings account or just paying down a little extra on our mortgage to make sure we are seeing a real-world benefit from these gains. I have been in the crypto game for a while to know when to take some money off the table.
We also owed some money on taxes, which took me down a rabbit hole of slightly changing my strategy for taxes (funding more into my 401k as well as HSA). I am pretty much at a point where I am trying to move away from individual stocks in my portfolio. I sold GLD this month and am just left with BLOK, QQQ, and then my cryptos. The rest of the money is either in 401k, Roth, Traditional IRA, or my after-tax Betterment portfolio. I am just trying to simplify this aspect of management in general.
Work has been insane, but I am starting to see the end of the tunnel. The second to last week of February had me working until 9 PM every night, and that was just with a quick break to eat something really quick. This brings into focus just how important ERE and FIRE are, and it has had me thinking about my options and how important they are. The most important thing, though, is getting our burn rate down, which should be reflected by the end of this year in the Trailing Six-month spending.
The other thing when you are working that much is that your interests and hobbies fall off a cliff. By the time I signed off from work, my brain was fried, and I was just ready for bed. It's not good, but it should get better in March.
Exercise
To manage work stress better, I have started to work out with my kettlebells again on a program, and it has been great. I am following the Swing Hard program, which has you completing a workout in 20 minutes that is comprised solely of kettlebell swings. It is a 12-week program that increases the volume and density of work during that time frame.
I am still playing tennis twice a week, and we are getting close to being able to play outside consistently. This will be nice as I can save a little bit of money by not paying for court time, and it is just nice to get sun while you play. I am looking forward to that.
Goals
Goals for next month include the low buy month with an extra rule in place. I can't buy any more books. I have a queue of about 45 unread books, so I need to put a pause on that. I am also planning on continuing the kettlebell program as well and just reeling in our food budget again.
Reading
I didn't get a chance to read too much this month, but I am working through GTD right now. GTD has been important to me as this project has ramped up. I need to be on top of my game to manage everything going on. The other important benefit of the system is just writing it down and not carrying that load mentally. After that, I may get into some of these short Thich Nhat Hanh books I bought, which are very compact and seem like quick reads (How to Love, How to Focus, How to Connect, and How to Relax). I also have Poor Charlie's Almanack in my queue which seems to align with financial and philosophical advice.
Gaming
I got back into a grindy type of co-op game this month called HellDivers 2. It is entertaining and enjoyable, and quick to hop into a game at night. I will probably continue playing this while I am having fun with it, understanding that the point of the game is to grind and level up and get better equipment and that may get old at some point.
Overall, I am just looking forward to this work project ending. This will give me more time to decompress and get back into my routine of reading, playing guitar, and just relaxing more. As mentioned, I am also really looking forward to the outdoor tennis season starting soon.
I have a camping trip planned with my friends in mid-March, and then we have two short vacations planned for May and July. I am also looking forward to the attic project being done and then hopefully having a reduced spend going forward with that project out of the way. Thanks for reading!
February Savings Rate: 16%
YTD Savings Rate: 9%
% TTM (Trailing Twelve Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 19% - I had to update these metrics to strip out our home equity from NW
% TSM (Trailing Six Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 20% - I had to update these metrics to strip out our home equity from NW
Life Updates
February continued to be an expensive month as we had to work on the attic project, and we paid a family friend to help with the electrical work as it relates to the attic. March and April will continue to be expensive, but then the rest of the year should cool down. We have also hit my wife's out-of-pocket maximum already, so the big health expenses are behind us. The low savings rate bums me out, but our NW went up a fair amount from a combination of the market going crazy, but really, the crypto in my portfolio is driving most of the gain. I have been executing sell limits and putting that back into our savings account or just paying down a little extra on our mortgage to make sure we are seeing a real-world benefit from these gains. I have been in the crypto game for a while to know when to take some money off the table.
We also owed some money on taxes, which took me down a rabbit hole of slightly changing my strategy for taxes (funding more into my 401k as well as HSA). I am pretty much at a point where I am trying to move away from individual stocks in my portfolio. I sold GLD this month and am just left with BLOK, QQQ, and then my cryptos. The rest of the money is either in 401k, Roth, Traditional IRA, or my after-tax Betterment portfolio. I am just trying to simplify this aspect of management in general.
Work has been insane, but I am starting to see the end of the tunnel. The second to last week of February had me working until 9 PM every night, and that was just with a quick break to eat something really quick. This brings into focus just how important ERE and FIRE are, and it has had me thinking about my options and how important they are. The most important thing, though, is getting our burn rate down, which should be reflected by the end of this year in the Trailing Six-month spending.
The other thing when you are working that much is that your interests and hobbies fall off a cliff. By the time I signed off from work, my brain was fried, and I was just ready for bed. It's not good, but it should get better in March.
Exercise
To manage work stress better, I have started to work out with my kettlebells again on a program, and it has been great. I am following the Swing Hard program, which has you completing a workout in 20 minutes that is comprised solely of kettlebell swings. It is a 12-week program that increases the volume and density of work during that time frame.
I am still playing tennis twice a week, and we are getting close to being able to play outside consistently. This will be nice as I can save a little bit of money by not paying for court time, and it is just nice to get sun while you play. I am looking forward to that.
Goals
Goals for next month include the low buy month with an extra rule in place. I can't buy any more books. I have a queue of about 45 unread books, so I need to put a pause on that. I am also planning on continuing the kettlebell program as well and just reeling in our food budget again.
Reading
I didn't get a chance to read too much this month, but I am working through GTD right now. GTD has been important to me as this project has ramped up. I need to be on top of my game to manage everything going on. The other important benefit of the system is just writing it down and not carrying that load mentally. After that, I may get into some of these short Thich Nhat Hanh books I bought, which are very compact and seem like quick reads (How to Love, How to Focus, How to Connect, and How to Relax). I also have Poor Charlie's Almanack in my queue which seems to align with financial and philosophical advice.
Gaming
I got back into a grindy type of co-op game this month called HellDivers 2. It is entertaining and enjoyable, and quick to hop into a game at night. I will probably continue playing this while I am having fun with it, understanding that the point of the game is to grind and level up and get better equipment and that may get old at some point.
Overall, I am just looking forward to this work project ending. This will give me more time to decompress and get back into my routine of reading, playing guitar, and just relaxing more. As mentioned, I am also really looking forward to the outdoor tennis season starting soon.
I have a camping trip planned with my friends in mid-March, and then we have two short vacations planned for May and July. I am also looking forward to the attic project being done and then hopefully having a reduced spend going forward with that project out of the way. Thanks for reading!
Re: Divan dan journal
Apologies for the late post
YTD Update
March Savings Rate: -90%
YTD Savings Rate: -23%
% TTM (Trailing Twelve Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 18%
% TSM (Trailing Six Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 16%
Life Updates
March continued to be an expensive month from a spending standpoint. We paid for the HVAC mini splits to be installed in our attic, paid half of the deposit for the general contractor, and also had to pay the electrician to expand our amperage to support the new HVACs. Our piece of the attic project also finished which was finishing the framing and subfloor. I'd estimate that we saved about 12-15K doing that part ourselves. The project was a huge undertaking, and the general contractors are working on finishing the attic this month. April will be expensive as this wraps up, and then it should be smooth sailing from a spending standpoint after that. I don't think I have it in me to do another large-scale project like this, which includes finishing a whole floor minus plumbing. Thankfully, I can handle the rest of the little projects that we have to do around the house, and it will not be expensive. One of those projects will be leveling the driveway behind to expand our parking area, which will be solved mostly by sweat equity.
The big work project I have been working on this whole year also closed in March. There was a lot of pressure for it to close in March as that is the end of our fiscal year. It was probably the most challenging project I have ever worked on (divestiture of two separate business units), so I am very glad it is done. Now that it is over, I feel extremely proud of this project and have been taking some time to relax and use up the vacation days I didn't get a chance to while this project was still active. Unfortunately, in this line of work, you now need to build up the pipeline again and find the next thing, but it should be a more normal work-life balance until then.
Exercise
Despite the hectic work schedule in March, I was still able to play tennis 8 times. Now the weather is warming up, and we are getting outside, which makes it more fun and free! I have a network built up at this point where I can easily get games going 2 to 3 times a week, and I love it. I have also been reading the Everyday Systems site and podcast. I have started to implement some of his techniques to get the kettlebell lifting going again. He said his magic number is 14 minutes of exercise because no meeting is less than 15 minutes, and the time requirement is almost comical. What is my excuse for not making this happen regularly? His site is great, by the way. It's a combination of systems thinking and tiny habits and other things he has picked up over 20+ years of his writing career. Check him out; he is not only practical but funny with some of the names he has given his habits.
No Buy
No-buy continues to be a success. This past month, I didn't purchase any books, games, or clothing. I will continue to keep this going and try to get these services by other means, and I hope that changes my mindset over time to not solve all problems with money.
Hobbies
I started FF7 Rebirth in March and have been consumed by this game. I had a rule where I try and play games on the shorter side for that reason. This game is incredible and is massive. There is also a strong sense of nostalgia, as the original is one of my favorite games of all time. The attention to detail and world building is truly amazing. Needless to say, most of my free time at night has been spent playing this game. I read that it can be anywhere from 80-150 hours, depending on how much you want to do in the game. As a result, I have been staying up late at night playing this game and haven't been reading much at all. I will get back to reading as soon as I finish this. This is definitely one of the downsides to working, as you really have to pick and choose where you spend your limited time, but I also am having such a blast with the game that I don't regret it.
Focus areas going forward
YTD Update
March Savings Rate: -90%
YTD Savings Rate: -23%
% TTM (Trailing Twelve Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 18%
% TSM (Trailing Six Months) covered by NW @ 4%: 16%
Life Updates
March continued to be an expensive month from a spending standpoint. We paid for the HVAC mini splits to be installed in our attic, paid half of the deposit for the general contractor, and also had to pay the electrician to expand our amperage to support the new HVACs. Our piece of the attic project also finished which was finishing the framing and subfloor. I'd estimate that we saved about 12-15K doing that part ourselves. The project was a huge undertaking, and the general contractors are working on finishing the attic this month. April will be expensive as this wraps up, and then it should be smooth sailing from a spending standpoint after that. I don't think I have it in me to do another large-scale project like this, which includes finishing a whole floor minus plumbing. Thankfully, I can handle the rest of the little projects that we have to do around the house, and it will not be expensive. One of those projects will be leveling the driveway behind to expand our parking area, which will be solved mostly by sweat equity.
The big work project I have been working on this whole year also closed in March. There was a lot of pressure for it to close in March as that is the end of our fiscal year. It was probably the most challenging project I have ever worked on (divestiture of two separate business units), so I am very glad it is done. Now that it is over, I feel extremely proud of this project and have been taking some time to relax and use up the vacation days I didn't get a chance to while this project was still active. Unfortunately, in this line of work, you now need to build up the pipeline again and find the next thing, but it should be a more normal work-life balance until then.
Exercise
Despite the hectic work schedule in March, I was still able to play tennis 8 times. Now the weather is warming up, and we are getting outside, which makes it more fun and free! I have a network built up at this point where I can easily get games going 2 to 3 times a week, and I love it. I have also been reading the Everyday Systems site and podcast. I have started to implement some of his techniques to get the kettlebell lifting going again. He said his magic number is 14 minutes of exercise because no meeting is less than 15 minutes, and the time requirement is almost comical. What is my excuse for not making this happen regularly? His site is great, by the way. It's a combination of systems thinking and tiny habits and other things he has picked up over 20+ years of his writing career. Check him out; he is not only practical but funny with some of the names he has given his habits.
No Buy
No-buy continues to be a success. This past month, I didn't purchase any books, games, or clothing. I will continue to keep this going and try to get these services by other means, and I hope that changes my mindset over time to not solve all problems with money.
Hobbies
I started FF7 Rebirth in March and have been consumed by this game. I had a rule where I try and play games on the shorter side for that reason. This game is incredible and is massive. There is also a strong sense of nostalgia, as the original is one of my favorite games of all time. The attention to detail and world building is truly amazing. Needless to say, most of my free time at night has been spent playing this game. I read that it can be anywhere from 80-150 hours, depending on how much you want to do in the game. As a result, I have been staying up late at night playing this game and haven't been reading much at all. I will get back to reading as soon as I finish this. This is definitely one of the downsides to working, as you really have to pick and choose where you spend your limited time, but I also am having such a blast with the game that I don't regret it.
Focus areas going forward
- Finish the attic so that I can start to build up our savings rate again. As mentioned, this is the last big project we are doing this year unless there is an emergency that needs fixing
- Continue no buy
- Start up some of the ideas in Everday Systems, such as the 14 minutes of exercise (kettlebells in my case)
- Replace unhealthy food options with lower calorie-dense foods
- Continue tennis and the community associated with it