Veronica's Journal of Madness

[Veronica]

Entry 11: Fleeting Thoughts

Not going to do an exhaustive update, just needing a break from packing moving boxes!

I had a thought as I've been working through the process of packing up my belongings: you really have no idea how much junk you have until you start trying to move it somewhere else. This has been a really eye opening experience, and really has me thinking that maybe I have the wrong objective function when purchasing things. Perhaps, instead of maximizing for "number of objects acquired per dollar", I should instead be optimizing for something different such as minimizing pounds of possessions, or square inches of volume required to store everything i own.

I don't necessarily view myself as the ultra nomadic type, but I do feel as if it shouldn't be this difficult of a process to relocate.
While this is not my ideal, I see future trends indicating that the greatest benefits will be conferred unto those who don't put down too many roots and keep themselves flexible to quickly pivot and embrace new opportunities as they arise.

In this next phase of my life, I think I would like to try making some changes that are congruent with this view.
Owning a smaller number of higher quality things (buy it for life), and perhaps setting an upper bound on accumulation somehow. Unsure the best way to measure and enforce this, but there has to be some clever tricks other's have used to say "ok, that's enough. You should be throwing away or donating, not buying more. "

[frugaldoc]

Yes, modern life does seem to burden us with numerous "essential" possessions. In Walden there is a family from whom Thoreau purchases a small house/shack to use as a source of lumber and nails. I think the family takes only an hour to move out and fits all of their stuff in a wagon. While at times that seems like something to aspire to, in the end I find that I enjoy having my comfortable club chair and my books to read even if they are cumbersome to move.

I think you are right that greater benefits will be conferred upon those who are flexible and willing to move and embrace new opportunities. That was a tried and trued method of improving one's economic situation throughout much of human history. It seems that attitude has been lost by much of the American population. People cling to dying towns and cities with ever decreasing economic opportunities and lament their lot in life but when moving to a new place would open up all sorts of opportunities for them.

[chickenstick]

Great news, Veronica. Glad to hear you got a god job offer! I love my job but I'd jump up the ladder to another company if the right UI/UX offer came along. Glad to see others climbing. Also, remember what Derek Sivers says about money: "Money is a neutral indicator of value." The work you can perform is valued at whatever the company offered you. That's good. It has nothing to do with deserve.

Way back up there, you mentioned wanting to start over with zero possessions. I've thought about that too - I would get rid of so much stuff in my home if my wife and kids were extreme minimalist like I am. (That said, they're pretty minimalist, all things considered.)

[Veronica]

Also, remember what Derek Sivers says about money: "Money is a neutral indicator of value." The work you can perform is valued at whatever the company offered you. That's good. It has nothing to do with deserve.

Ooh, this is a weird one for me that brings up mixed feelings.
On one hand, for most of my career so far I've been chronically underpaid. So there's a lot of experiences that I skipped out on or never pursued purely for lack of funds.

On the other hand, I'm now conceivably on the cusp of being paid fairly (or maybe even generously in my estimation) for my skills. Perhaps it's just the natural consequence of all the time and skills I have been working deliberately to acquire. And the constraints put upon me early on might be a major reason why I've become interested in adopting a lifestyle where competence and societal harmony is more important to me than money.
Money is more a "constraint to be satisfied" so that I can free up my time to work on loftier aspirations if that makes sense.

[Veronica]

Entry 12: Digging Out

Current Goals (progress):
100k in Net Worth (-14.5k/100)
Bodyweight Target: 118 (171)
Target Savings Rate: 78% (0%) First Paycheck of new job arriving in a few weeks!
Target Resting Heart Rate: 40bpm (70bpm) +0

--Money--
My net worth progression is extremely poor. -14,500 usd all together.
My new job of course involved moving expenses, various deposits, and the costs involved with a trip to HQ. Unfortunately, the entire trip was cancelled outright due to some once in a lifetime winter storm in the midwest USA. (Not for lack of trying to reschedule!)

I'm expecting that most of my anticipated cash flow will be directed towards paying down these debts, and potentially some small strategic investments in myself. I'm not actively looking to "invest" any more in financial products; the best strategies I've been able to come up with compound at roughly 25% annually (and are NOT for the faint of heart) and in my estimation, I can achieve a higher "personal rate of return" by investing in myself. For example, kitchen ware that reduces my food spending, or a book or course that enables higher income generation, or similar. For example, my salary this year increased by 58%!
Maybe later on when my "personal compounding ability" is exhausted, I'll return to more traditional vehicles.

I would actually love to hear from other people that have done this with some success ("What is the one purchase in the last 5-10 years you've made that has paid for itself many times over?")

--Job--
I have been working for 2 weeks at my new position. So far, it's a baptism by fire, but I love it.
There's been a number of issues, (trip to HQ cancelled due to act of god weather, no PC or equipment provided so I had to get my own, etc)
but I'm doing the best I can to learn the ropes and try to onboard remotely. Everyone is super friendly, but I get a sense that people are somewhat impatient that I haven't been doing more right out of the gate.
I can understand this, but I think they're asking a lot for someone to come in totally revolutionize their delicate array of systems that they have carefully built and curated over nearly 15 years. I'm just trying to take really good notes, ask questions, and learn as much as I can by emulating some of their processes on my own machine.
Currently this is a lot of python/pip/conda, with a little bit of exposure to makefiles and CI/CD pipelines.
I'm hoping that within the next week or so I can begin to be an individual contributor in my own right. I think that hitting that benchmark is an aggressive
but reasonable goal to strive for.

--Education--
On the note of education, I've also signed up for the AWS Cloud Institute.
I haven't started yet, but my understanding is that it's going to be structured program to earn AWS certifications, learn and build real projects that use AWS services, and then make introductions to employers that are actively looking to use graduates of this program as a pipeline to fill cloud related roles they are having trouble attracting.
Even if I don't take them up on the offer, I think having certs to show for it and a guiding hand on how to make sense of and utilize their sprawling list of services will be a great use of time while I buckle down and try to otherwise reduce outside spending.

-- Typical Routine --
Rowing Machine Daily. 5mg melatonin in the evenings, maybe ~1-2hr before I plan to go to bed. This has already proven to be highly beneficial for a small cost ( $5 for 120 tablets!!!)
I'm still tracking bodyweight, resting heart rate, etc, but starting to feel less excited about progressing them. I have adjusted my diet somewhat, and will give it some time to work to see if that jumpstarts things again.

[basuragomi]

What is your time-vs-value tradeoff looking like? Some things save time but not money, and others save money but not time. There are very few consumer goods you can buy that are actual productive assets.

For me, from most to least rewarding, by multiples of savings over cost:
- An engagement ring... it's the most expensive thing I've ever bought, but among other things, it helped cut my housing costs in half. A cheaper alternative is probably a workplace bulletin board ad for a roommate!
- Living near the places you need to go to.
- Bicycle.
- If you don't have one, a refrigerator with freezer section.
- Hair clipping kit.
- LLC to help structure your taxes.
- Rechargeable AA & AAA batteries, and devices which use only those.

The best things are free though, like library cards, instilling productive habits, and the tendency of living things to grow.

[loutfard]

I would actually love to hear from other people that have done this with some success ("What is the one purchase in the last 5-10 years you've made that has paid for itself many times over?")

My Brompton folding bicycle. I bought it as a student. Combined with public transport, it gets me almost everywhere I want. Less time, money, CO2.

[Smashter]

Sounds like things are progressing really nicely for you, that's great. I hope your coworkers cut you a little more slack, onboarding is hard!

5mg melatonin in the evenings, maybe ~1-2hr before I plan to go to bed. This has already proven to be highly beneficial for a small cost ( $5 for 120 tablets!!!)

This article makes a compelling case case that 5mg of melatonin is overkill and the ideal dose is just .3mg.

It seems worth exploring to make sure you're not taking 10-30x more of an exogenous hormone than you really need.

[Veronica]

What is your time-vs-value tradeoff looking like? Some things save time but not money, and others save money but not time. There are very few consumer goods you can buy that are actual productive assets.

For me, from most to least rewarding, by multiples of savings over cost:
- An engagement ring... it's the most expensive thing I've ever bought, but among other things, it helped cut my housing costs in half. A cheaper alternative is probably a workplace bulletin board ad for a roommate!
- Living near the places you need to go to.
- Bicycle.
- If you don't have one, a refrigerator with freezer section.
- Hair clipping kit.
- LLC to help structure your taxes.
- Rechargeable AA & AAA batteries, and devices which use only those.

The best things are free though, like library cards, instilling productive habits, and the tendency of living things to grow.

The time-value tradeoff is something that I have thought about a lot, but never sat down and tried to quantify in my own life until recently.
I disagree about the notion that "there are few consumer goods you can buy that are productive assets".
I just think it requires you to be a more thoughtful consumer. The "buy to last" philosophy comes to mind, or simply deciding that educational materials are more important to you than fast food, and aligning your spending with that decision.
Currently, I would say that I place my "home economics" hourly value at about 12/hour. Anything I can purchase for less than that, I just do it.
I could make much more in my domains of expertise, but my skills are much more modest when it comes to home-making. I just spent way too long focusing on career and let many of these skills atrophy, if i ever had them at all.


I do want to say +1 to doing your own hair. I'm now saving a ton of money, much easier to schedule, etc. Thanks!
I'm still kind of investigating the whole LLC for structuring your taxes idea.
I do actually have a couple of ideas that I would love to explore and develop to a level that might be commercially viable... could I create an LLC just to pursue these? If its more tax friendly to do it this way, I'm all ears! I'd love to be able to write off some of the R/D expenses associated with that venture.

[Veronica]

My Brompton folding bicycle. I bought it as a student. Combined with public transport, it gets me almost everywhere I want. Less time, money, CO2.

Oh, this sounds great! I'll definitely be putting a folding bicycle on the list. In the past I've had many of my bicycles stolen, but maybe I would have better luck with a folding one that I could take inside with me.

[Veronica]

Sounds like things are progressing really nicely for you, that's great. I hope your coworkers cut you a little more slack, onboarding is hard!



This article makes a compelling case case that 5mg of melatonin is overkill and the ideal dose is just .3mg.

It seems worth exploring to make sure you're not taking 10-30x more of an exogenous hormone than you really need.

I do think you've brought up a good point, and after reading many of the articles I do think that a more measured dose is appropriate.
Ive instead jsut been biting off bits off the pills that I have. If a pill gives me 3 or 5 good gnaws off it, and it costs so little I won't need to buy more melatonin for years!

All kidding aside, I do still take a whole pill occasionally. And my sleep tracker shows those nights as some of the best sleep I have by a wide margin.
But I end up sleeping 10+ hours on those nights, which might be excessive. I've instead settled on a smaller dose, taken at 7-9pm, to gently encourage my body to accept that night has arrived.

[Smashter]

Each 5mg pill can now be gnawed 16.6 times! What a deal, haha.

It's great that you're finding a balance that works for you. Tinkering around to figure out how to get the best possible sleep is a very high value use of time. I don't react well to melatonin, it always seemed to make me wake up too early. For me it's all about getting enough physical activity during the day, wearing my foam earplugs, and using my eye mask. If I meditate before bed that helps me fall asleep fast, too.

How's the new job going?

[Scott 2]

So my daily goal is to meet or exceed my fitness trackers suggested strain target. For longevity sake, I will focus the bulk of this at 60-69% max heart rate, but I won't get too upset if I drift a bit.
I plan to do this for about 100 days and assess if this is getting me where I want to be. If not, I may adjust my targets a bit.

Did you end up doing this? What was the outcome? Do you endorse using the tracker in this way?

I've been wondering about giving my Garmin's body battery and stress level more consideration.

[Veronica]

Each 5mg pill can now be gnawed 16.6 times! What a deal, haha.

It's great that you're finding a balance that works for you. Tinkering around to figure out how to get the best possible sleep is a very high value use of time. I don't react well to melatonin, it always seemed to make me wake up too early. For me it's all about getting enough physical activity during the day, wearing my foam earplugs, and using my eye mask. If I meditate before bed that helps me fall asleep fast, too.

How's the new job going?

The waking up too early was definitely something I noticed when i was taking full 5mg dosages; I would wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4am!
But I guess I didn't view this as a "bad" thing since I had so much I wanted to do. I should maybe try earplugs, because my neighbors are kind of... let's say "passionate" at 2am.

So far, I'm really liking the new gig. Everyone is super friendly, and I think I'm doing a decent job of working on my own.
There's lots of opportunities to grow and learn too, which is essential for me to maintain motivation. If I "solve" the job too quickly, I become so bored
and it definitely rubs off on others.

[Veronica]

Did you end up doing this? What was the outcome? Do you endorse using the tracker in this way?

I've been wondering about giving my Garmin's body battery and stress level more consideration.

Yes! I did, and still aim to meet or exceed my "target strain" every single day. Interestingly, these targets have become much higher with my addition of melatonin to the routine. I think this might be specific to the WHOOP, which is what i'm using. It's all based on HRV, which I think is commonly used.

What I can say is that I was definitely not "athletic" by any means before starting this. So weight stayed static, but I can definitely see a better composition (gained muscle and shaved fat at the same time, slowly but surely). It definitely worked for me, but I do have two main "gotchas" to be aware of.

1. I did almost everything using zone 2 training, a light to moderate cardio. I am almost NEVER sore when working in this range, but it is NOT time efficient. AT ALL. On days that I'm well rested, this can sometimes take well over 2+ hours to hit my targets... and while this is fine for me and my life circumstances, this is probably not workable for most people. I think if you dip a little bit into higher heart rate zones, you'll greatly diminish the time needed to hit your targets. I'm not professional enough to speak to what ratios of zone 2/3/4 are best, or how much they even matter.

2. I initially saw great progress in areas such as resting heart rate, waist circumference, etc, but these have reversed back to baseline or even exceeded baseline at times. This might be a sign of overtraining, but since "aesthetic gains" continue and I feel great, I'm ignoring it for now. Just be aware you will likely hit a plateau as I did where it seems like you're investing a lot of effort, but your measuring stick of choice is just bouncing around like nothing is happening.

[Smashter]

Glad the job is going well!

I should maybe try earplugs, because my neighbors are kind of... let's say "passionate" at 2am.

Ha, I once had a neighbor like this in an apartment with very thin walls. I feel for you.

But hey, the guy also let me share his wifi for free for a while, so it wasn't all bad.

[Scott 2]

That's a strong endorsement of externalizing to the tracker. Thanks.

I've recently learned the word Interoception, and that mine might be impaired:

Interoception is the collection of senses providing information to the organism about the internal state of the body

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoception

It got me to strap the Garmin back on, only this time with an eye towards the daily data. It's good to see you've found value.

[Veronica]

That's a strong endorsement of externalizing to the tracker. Thanks.

I've recently learned the word Interoception, and that mine might be impaired:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoception

It got me to strap the Garmin back on, only this time with an eye towards the daily data. It's good to see you've found value.

Sure thing! Let me know how your experience goes. It's definitely been interesting to "outsource" my fitness to a device and the almighty algorithm. Reading this, I think I might be severely impaired myself!

[Veronica]

Entry 13: Peering over the ridge

Current Goals (progress):
100k in Net Worth (-3.5k/100) +11k
Bodyweight Target: 118 (170) -1 Lb
Target Savings Rate: 78% (currently 32%-ish.)
Target Resting Heart Rate: 40bpm (71bpm) +1

--Money--
An excellent month! Full-sized paychecks starting to come in, and a sizable (and surprisingly swift?) tax refund are contributing
to my progress in a significant way. Had to open some new bank accounts, because for whatever reason one of my regular bills can't figure out how to
accept payments from the one I've been using. Strange, but looks like its mostly resolved now.

Overall, it's just nice so see some progress and finally relax a bit. I know that everyone is running their own race, but I feel so far behind
at 31, especially considering that I'm actually behind myself at 16 years old. This is the price I paid to chase a wild dream, and so far I'm glad I did.

--Job--
We tend to have monthly "progress meetings" where everyone gets a few minutes to share what they have been working on to the wider group.
Mine was much shorter than others, which I judged myself on pretty harshly afterwards.
I didn't hear any complaints from others, and I am still very new in comparison to my colleagues... but I tend to hold myself to a very high standard.
However, I am producing independently without having to bug others too much, which I'm sure is both appreciated and a sign of progress.
I'm also beginning to tackle more involved and significant projects.
I think if I can find an effective method to shut off some of my internal self-criticism, it would be beneficial for all involved.


--Education--

AWS cloud institute, at least the first quarter has proven to be... lackluster.
It was meant to be a full time course load of 40 hours per week for 10 weeks, but I was able to complete all 10 weeks of all three courses
in roughly 15 hours over a week or two of evenings. It's still good content, but perhaps I am not the target audience.
Additionally, they extended the first quarter by a month to give everyone time to finish.

I am still hopeful however, since the materials are generally high quality. I just hope that the next series of courses will be a bit more challenging
and motivate me to engage with it a bit more.


-- Typical Routine --

I have been shifting dramatically towards being an early bird. It's not uncommon for me to start feeling drowsy at 8pm
and to wake up without an alarm clock 4-6am. I actually feel the best and most relaxed at this hour, but it makes for a LONG DAY when you
have to be available during business hours.

One new habit I'm proud of is the "donation hamper". I have a hamper in my office that is designated to my local salvation army. Once a week, I try to find something in my home that I think I can do without, and put it into the hamper. If it turns out that I do need it, I can always take it out.
When the hamper gets full and I don't need to retrive things from it, I donate it and start the process over again.

This has been a nice way to force myself to reflect on past purchases and really bring to light how much time and money I have spent on these
things which I no longer even use. If i'm forced to buy any of these items again it won't really be a "frugal" strategy, but will hopefully make
me pause before my next purchase and choose more thoughtfully about it.

[frugaldoc]

A very productive month on the net worth front. It is always satisfying to see the number go up. And while you still may be behind where you were at 16 from a monetary perspective, you are far ahead with your career capital. Now, you just need to turn that into financial net worth and let it compound.