Wwvd.
What would vagabond do. Keep it simple stupid.
-
Well I looked back to see what my goal was. I was supposed to decide if I wanted to retire on my birthday. I failed because I am still working! As Vagabond has said this forum sometimes gives out some good pearls that you can apply to your own life but try not to benchmark yourself.Leave a comment:
-
I can see how intimidating this thread and forum can be at times
Here I was thinking I’m doing an outstanding job of living below my means (unfortunately too extravagant to claim I’m living like a resident anymore) by saving 50% of gross
And now I learn there are those targeting and almost reaching a savings goal of 60% of gross. I guess i have a new target for next year
Everyone here comes from different backgrounds, lives under different circumstances with different responsibilities and unique levers to push/pull in their financial lives. What I learned from this thread (and others on this forum) is that there are some things that other docs do that I could do to further optimize my financial life.
While I am competitive by nature, like many docs, I have other outlets for competition and am not concerned that many here earn more, save more, have more, do more, etc. It is important to live a financial life that is true to one's own self and not benchmarking yourself against MMM, WCI, fellow forum members, bloggers, gurus or anyone else.Leave a comment:
-
MMM does all of his own routine home maintenance, and everything that normally requires a general contractor. He rides his bike to the grocery store–in the winter. He won’t spend $10 on a trinket: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/09/20/wealth-advice-that-should-be-obvious/.
I've read all of his writings, and I've also learned a little from him and think there is merit to many parts of his philosophy. However my goal is not to be him. I'm frugal and/or cheap. He's that plus more resourceful.
However everyone has their own skillset. I also take care of a lot of medical things for my kids that for others require a visit to a general pediatrician or a specialist or the ER. On rare occasion I've even saved a visit for myself or wife (not common though as I'm a peds ER doc as I try not to cross into adult medicine outside of requirements at work).
However I'm not sure where paying for landscaping for out of town in laws originates. Is that a thing? And if your parents live overseas, then paying for them to fly to visit you internationally may make sense. However MMM seems to fly a LOT from what I can tell -- air travel is not somewhere where he is saving the planet.
I buy Tazo chai mix from Costco so I can make my own chai lattes at home. But I drive a gas powered car to get there.
Once I eliminate my mortgage and no longer have daycare costs I would breach the 50% gross/75% net savings mark if I "save" all of that money (daycare is expensive, so is the mortgage), however once eliminated some of that will at some point go towards things kids in college (so just like daycare) and some may be going for things like helping my parents or my wife's parents whatever, as they are getting up in age. Some may go towards a nice vacation. Some will be invested/saved. I have no idea how much will go where at this point.
MMM has done a great job limiting expenses, primarily by having 1 kid and apparently no family that he wants to help in any way. That's a great choice in terms of the monetary outlay. If we had stopped at one kid we would probably be able to "retire" in a few years also. Total income would be significantly higher (wife would probably be working full time), total expenses significantly lower, without impacting QOL.
I don't have a dog and don't particularly want one, but my wife/kids are dying for one. We'll see what happens. I've made different choices. His method of shaming people works for some things, not for everything. His charitable donations (like PoF's) are phenomenal and he does a lot to help in non-traditional ways, so there are definitely things to be learned from him regardless.
Leave a comment:
-
I hope to:
1. Maximize retirement accounts (we do this regularly) - DONE
2. Better understand my expenses – we do fine, but I want a little more granular data - Tracking expenses this year
3. Work and earn less – although I still enjoy my work, having achieved FI, it is time to work a little less - Short staffed and not working less enough
4. Purchase another investment property - DONE
5. Continue to travel - It has been a good travel year.
Four out of five is not bad!!Leave a comment:
-
2017 goals:
1. buy a multifamily: fail
2. increase side hustle by 25%: success
3. pay off student loan: fail (I'm a lot older than most of you folks here, so big FAIL)
cant wait til 2018!Leave a comment:
-
Yes, some of the people on this forum would also fit in well with Mr. Money Mustache.
.Leave a comment:
-
I never wrote my goals on this forum, but here they are along with my progress:
1. Refinance the rest of my 6+% MyFedLoans - Done. Highest rate is now 4.75% (Debt-to-Income ratio still too high to get better rate that we can afford payment on)
2. Get student loan principle below $400K (Dec '16 at $450K) - Close. Currently at $416K and closing fast
3. As part of #2, pay at least $4K per month towards student loans - Success. After many "discussions" with the spouse, we are now paying $4,800 minimum, but frequently a little more.
4. Get net worth to north of -$300K (Dec '16 at -$407K) - Decent progress. But, and not sure if we'll get there. Currently at -$347K
5. Replace wife's vehicle - Success. Paid cash for 2007 Suburban
Overall, I'm happy with the progress we've made.Leave a comment:
-
I didn't post when this topic first started, but in the beginning of 2017 my main goals were:
1. Move across the country and start my first attending job
2. Debt free by December 2017
Number one is accomplished; and I am settling into a new routine. Life is good.
Goal number 2, not gonna happen.. =/
We did pay all of our student loans as of 5 minutes ago (yay!!!) but will not be able to liquidate the car loan.
So, as a new goal, we decided to prioritize and fully fund HSA and backdoor Roth instead for 2017 - probably won't be done in 2017 but I am giving us until April 2018.Leave a comment:
-
I am the old guy here (51), but here goes:
1. Reduce my W-2 salary by 25% (as I cut back my work schedule, hopefully in summer/fall)
2. Earn less than my wife (for the second year in a row–woo hoo!)
3. Start to empty my son’s 529 plans (but still max out contribution $8000, for the state tax benefit) as he starts college in the fall
4. Double my 1099 income (from consulting and side gigs)
5. Spend at least $10k on a trip to Europe with my wife in the fall (I am having trouble talking her into leaving the teen daughter home for the trip, not the spend part)
6. Purchase no new shirts/pants/shorts – I have too many clothes, much unused or barely/rarely used
7. Buy no bottle of wine for more than $30 (retail)
8. Figure out how to use my Chase Sapphire Rewards points
1. Never made it to part time. We were understaffed for a period, too, so my W-2 will be higher for 2017. (FAIL)
2. Because of #1, my earnings will outpace those of my wife. (FAIL)
3. Contributions maxed early in 2017 and even made a modest withdrawal from the 529, but are paying for son's first year mostly with cash flow. (WIN)
4. On track to double last year's 1099 income due to medical director side gig and a few smaller projects. (WIN)
5. Yes, going to Spain in December. (HUGE WIN)
6. I bought very few clothes this year (one pair of pants and one shorts come to mind), I am going to take credit for this one. (MODEST WIN)
7. Bad idea, and I will revisit this goal for 2018. Multiple bottles north of $30, perhaps a dozen. (FAIL)
8. I have successfully transferred some Chase Rewards points (SMALL WIN), but still hope to use them later in 2017 to buy spring break plane tickets (which would be a BIG WIN).
Leave a comment:
-
I can see how intimidating this thread and forum can be at times Here I was thinking I’m doing an outstanding job of living below my means (unfortunately too extravagant to claim I’m living like a resident anymore) by saving 50% of gross And now I learn there are those targeting and almost reaching a savings goal of 60% of gross. I guess i have a new target for next year
Yes, some of the people on this forum would also fit in well with Mr. Money Mustache.
I'm somewhere in the 28-29% range for gross savings (if you don't count mortgage principal, which I think some people do), and I won't have $250k per kid in a 529 when they reach college like Kamban. Once my younger two exit daycare my savings rate will increase, but I don't think I'm going to be reaching 50-60%.Leave a comment:
-
I can see how intimidating this thread and forum can be at times
Here I was thinking I'm doing an outstanding job of living below my means (unfortunately too extravagant to claim I'm living like a resident anymore) by saving 50% of gross
And now I learn there are those targeting and almost reaching a savings goal of 60% of gross. I guess i have a new target for next year ☺️Leave a comment:
-
My goal is always to save > 50% of gross income. We’re way ahead of schedule, but 401K and 457b contributions are front-loaded. We may end up saving > 60% of gross this year, unless we buy a nicer house and pay selling and moving costs.
So far we've saved 57.23% of gross and 85.56% of net.
We didn't buy a house, but our basement flooded and the fix has increased our year-to-date expenditures by almost 30%, so we won't save 60% of gross this year. Stuff happens.Leave a comment:
-
1. Lower my effective tax rate as much as possible. Doing the best I can, but the tax code is the tax code.
2. Work as little as I can get away with (I’ll still be full time, making >250k, and working more than I prefer). I’ve cut back slightly. May cut back dramatically next year.
3. Max out retirement accounts (a given). Getting there. I have to DCA throughout the year.
4. Pay off remaining mortgage as much as possible (~$130k left, so probably can’t get there). Likely getting this done. If not I’ll get within 10k. Bigger challenge is getting the house ready to sell.
5. Continue racking up credit card, banking, and brokerage/IRA bonuses. I’ve frozen my credit and decided these aren’t worth the hassle any more, except maybe the brokerage bonuses. Though I may change my mind when I have to start paying for flights again.
6. Start tracking total return through XIRR (better late than never?). Done.
7. Compile and scan all the HSA receipts into my computer. Done.
8. Transfer my HSA account to Saturna or another lower-fee custodian. Done.
9. Get off my lazy rear and bike to work more, even in the cold and snow. Try to make my 2008 Civic with 100k miles last at least another decade. I’ve gotten lazy recently, but the Civic is still only at 106k.
10. Cancel SiriusXM and find better podcasts. Cancelled. I only really listen to podcasts on the bike.
Newest goals:
sell the house and get a nice, but not exorbitantly priced rental
reach 500k in retirement accounts (currently at 478k)
learn more about independent contracting – finding the best gigs, negotiating, and dealing with taxes (especially out of state)
Lithium wrote:
1. Lower my effective tax rate as much as possible. Doing the best I can, but the tax code is the tax code.
2. Work as little as I can get away with (I’ll still be full time, making >250k, and working more than I prefer). I’ve cut back slightly. May cut back dramatically next year.
3. Max out retirement accounts (a given). Getting there. I have to DCA throughout the year.
4. Pay off remaining mortgage as much as possible (~$130k left, so probably can’t get there). Likely getting this done. If not I’ll get within 10k. Bigger challenge is getting the house ready to sell.
5. Continue racking up credit card, banking, and brokerage/IRA bonuses. I’ve frozen my credit and decided these aren’t worth the hassle any more, except maybe the brokerage bonuses. Though I may change my mind when I have to start paying for flights again.
6. Start tracking total return through XIRR (better late than never?). Done.
7. Compile and scan all the HSA receipts into my computer. Done.
8. Transfer my HSA account to Saturna or another lower-fee custodian. Done.
9. Get off my lazy rear and bike to work more, even in the cold and snow. Try to make my 2008 Civic with 100k miles last at least another decade. I’ve gotten lazy recently, but the Civic is still only at 106k.
10. Cancel SiriusXM and find better podcasts. Cancelled. I only really listen to podcasts on the bike.
Newest goals:
sell the house and get a nice, but not exorbitantly priced rental
reach 500k in retirement accounts (currently at 478k)
learn more about independent contracting – finding the best gigs, negotiating, and dealing with taxes (especially out of state)
Congrats. Also, this is interesting. Save some notes for a guest post.
You have a great plan, a house, don't have to move, a great job, yet ---- you want to make some big changes. (for legit reasons). Perfectly fair. I think being in a position to do so, and acknowledging that it is okay to change your plan and financial goals significantly. Not everyone would think like this. It's pretty easy to just keep the same house, cash the checks, get yet another take out dinner, and call it a day. I kind of like it.Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: