Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 8, 2020 16:07:55 GMT -5
Traveling when I was young and poor was fun. Drive for hours, pack snacks and a cooler, crash on friends' couches, take in the free museums/festivals/exhibits in various cities, eat from street vendors. Now that would kill me. Back in 1971 when I was twenty, I traveled Europe for about about five or so weeks using the guide book 'Europe On Five Dollars A Day'. That five dollars included three meals a day and a place to stay overnight. Some of the places I rested my head looked like a dollar a night joints.
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Jul 8, 2020 16:09:24 GMT -5
I want to know more about life expectancy in your family and your brother's savings habits and health issues before commenting. Context matters. Your brother could be a spendthrift idiot justifying his own grasshopper ways or he could be communicating some pretty damn sound ways of dealing with chronic conditions that tend to lead to reduced life expectancy preceded by infirmity and disability at an unusually young age. Me and my brother are diabetics and have high blood pressure. I also have chronic back pain and gastric problems. Our mother (86yrs) recently passed away in 2017 of alzheimers disease complications. I watched my mom suffer under government assistance where people didn't give a damn about her. My brother is a recovering addict but him and my sister has always been into lavous lifestyles (expensive clothes, shoes, watches, gold chains, etc..). I was the nerd in my family and the youngest of the 3. I don't care about clothes, shoes, etc.. but my big spending comes in the forms of fast cars, computers, videogames and other big hobbies like flying. I don't know what our fates will be in life, but I don't want to be too old to have fun. I already show small signs of arthritis in my hands (so does my brother) like my mom had. I'm also not ruling out the alzheimers disease since it runs so rampant on my mother's side of the family. I certainly want to do the things I want to do now in my 50s than wait in my 60s. But I don't want to be broke either in my later years. I do agree with my brother that I should spend most of my money up enjoying life and/or making it comfortable to live and when I die whatever is left over can go to my heirs.
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Jul 8, 2020 16:14:19 GMT -5
I agree it's a balance, but the OP said she was struggling financially after her divorce. I say save until you're more comfortable. I'm a he. Not struggling. I'm struggling to make the money back that I lost. I lost a good bit of money and feel behind now. It took me awhile to amass that money.
Sorry, i don't know why I assumed you were female!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2020 16:25:40 GMT -5
Back in 1971 when I was twenty, I traveled Europe for about about five or so weeks using the guide book 'Europe On Five Dollars A Day'. That five dollars included three meals a day and a place to stay overnight. Some of the places I rested my head looked like a dollar a night joints. I LOVED that series. (Subsequent editions were for larger amounts, of course.) I didn't have to travel quite that cheaply (ordering plain rice in the Chinese restaurant and seasoning it with soy sauce as a meal?) but there was so much good advice about using public transportation and things you could do for little or no money.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Jul 8, 2020 16:36:48 GMT -5
My ex BIL makes a physician's salary and after working for nearly 30 years has less than $100K in his 401k, a new mortgage on a $600K house and nearly $60K in credit card debt. He also signed for parent loans for my niece to the tune of nearly $100k. He just turned 58. I keep telling my sister that she has the ability to recover if she is careful. Her ex is a train wreck, and showing no signs of improving. One of my son's classmates is in a dual physician parent household. I spent a lot of time during fundraising activities talking to his mom and omg. I just don't get how people making that much can be so broke. It's not something I can comprehend making less than 1/10th what they do. I get that there are a crap ton of student loans, but maybe not building the 700K house overlooking the river is a good idea then? (In an area where 250K will get you a very nice place). I can answer some of it, having experienced it. 1 significant student loans 2 you do not make significant money until you are in your early 30's at the earliest, which puts you significantly behind your peers in saving, as you make almost no money for 4 years of medical school 3 tired of living like a student/delaying gratification 4 so you start to spend 5 if you are smart, you realize what you are doing, and reign it in before it gets out of control 6 but, if you don't, suddenly you are 50, with kids, 2 mortgages, private schools, expensive cars, expensive vacations, so retirement savings gets edged out 7 because of the high income, you can overcome some of the mistakes if you catch them early enough. If you don't, then you wind up with the risky investments 8 it takes time and some discipline to catch up savings to where you should be I know most of you do not make our salaries, and have difficulty understanding it. I look back and do not understand it all myself.
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jul 8, 2020 16:41:09 GMT -5
A person can do a lot while living frugally. I took my lunches to work. We seldom ate out. I wouldn't spend even $3 on something I didn't think I needed. We did ski and fish. Later that was replaced with snowmobiling (bought used) with family which I'm glad we did since I won't do that anymore.
A lot of your hobbies are spendy.
H. wanted to do some things when he was in his 30s-40s. I told him to make a list. I quietly saved. When he said I want to do this but we don't have the money. I said yes we do. We took care of most everything on that list.
He f'd up big time and that cost a lot of money. If it wasn't for me putting money away, we would not be where we are now. For years he refused to see the financial advisor.
All I want for is to update the house interior with paint and carpet.
My suggestion would be to take some of the ideas about the plane to figure out. Make a list and cost to do the things you want to do. All of it can't be done at once because of time.
Best wishes on your list!
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 8, 2020 16:41:29 GMT -5
Back in 1971 when I was twenty, I traveled Europe for about about five or so weeks using the guide book 'Europe On Five Dollars A Day'. That five dollars included three meals a day and a place to stay overnight. Some of the places I rested my head looked like a dollar a night joints. I LOVED that series. (Subsequent editions were for larger amounts, of course.) I didn't have to travel quite that cheaply (ordering plain rice in the Chinese restaurant and seasoning it with soy sauce as a meal?) but there was so much good advice about using public transportation and things you could do for little or no money. It was fun though a shock in the beginning having come from the States. I flew into Paris from New York and found a place listed in the book. It was a to say the least. I did stay there overnight but I was willing to pay just a little bit more for a room. I fortunately had a friend attending the Sorbonne for her junior year and asked her for a recommendation. She provided one and I stayed there that night. But after that night, I got back on track with the five bucks a day. Had no idea what the toilet with no seat was in my room as the regular toilet was down the hall. I learned quickly to find restaurants well off the beaten tourist path. One may travel down the main tourist street but hang a left at a cross street, travel a bit down that street then maybe take your next right and then your next left. You end up in the areas where the locals eat at a fraction of the price paid on the main drags and the food is twice as good.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Jul 8, 2020 16:47:43 GMT -5
Another vote here for balance. I've traveled some and done some of the things I wanted to do in my life. Have I done everything? No. But I'm not going to feel bad because I couldn't cross something off of the list. As long as you're saving a decent amount for retirement, then why not enjoy life a little bit?
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Jul 8, 2020 17:10:39 GMT -5
I go with save first the lighten up. They say if you live like no one will for 5 years you can live like no one can the rest of your life. So knuckle down work harder than anyone, live cheaper than anyone, sacrifice for a few years. Then when you lighten up, quit working full time while going to school full time quit 3rd job, quit sending extra to the mortgage your life will not only seem better but be better.
I did it after my divorce, started over. Worked 415 hours overtime the first tax season. Got a house and didn't use heat the first winter except wood stove, got roommate. Went to school full time while working full time for two years, went to school, worked and studied for CPA exam. 1984-1991 were hard for me but then everything became easy. Passed CPA exam got a promotion 27.5% pay raise. Only worked about 45 hours a week felt like a vacation. Roommate paid more rent than my mortgage since it was a paid down ARM. I avoided debt and had good credit so soon was able to get a nicer boat. First boat was used row boat. This boat was pretty nice, I still have it. Since I had a Heloc I paid it off quick since not a lot of other expenses. Property appreciated since I got a bigger house it appreciated more. I was able to turn all 3 day weekends into 5 day weekends camping in a tent taking the boat fishing. ISO bought a camper so camping with boat vacations were frequent. The thing is since I worked hard the first few years I could afford to relax and things got better all by themselves. I made about 440K just on house appreciation since 1985. Many years of payments half the cost of renting an apartment and a roommate paying about what my mortgage was, so I could max out every retirement plan I was ever offered from 2K a year in 1984 to 23K or so a year in 2013. Now retired since 2014, about a million still invested and have gifted well over half a million. The rest of my life on easy street and helping several family members to get started on easy street. I do not regret hard work in the late 80s. I could have lived higher then but retired broke.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2020 17:24:50 GMT -5
One of my son's classmates is in a dual physician parent household. I spent a lot of time during fundraising activities talking to his mom and omg. I just don't get how people making that much can be so broke. It's not something I can comprehend making less than 1/10th what they do. I get that there are a crap ton of student loans, but maybe not building the 700K house overlooking the river is a good idea then? (In an area where 250K will get you a very nice place). I can answer some of it, having experienced it. 1 significant student loans 2 you do not make significant money until you are in your early 30's at the earliest, which puts you significantly behind your peers in saving, as you make almost no money for 4 years of medical school 3 tired of living like a student/delaying gratification 4 so you start to spend 5 if you are smart, you realize what you are doing, and reign it in before it gets out of control 6 but, if you don't, suddenly you are 50, with kids, 2 mortgages, private schools, expensive cars, expensive vacations, so retirement savings gets edged out 7 because of the high income, you can overcome some of the mistakes if you catch them early enough. If you don't, then you wind up with the risky investments 8 it takes time and some discipline to catch up savings to where you should be I know most of you do not make our salaries, and have difficulty understanding it. I look back and do not understand it all myself. I know there's not a lot of Dave Ramsey love on this board, but he says he works with a lot of docs and that's almost exactly how it plays out for many of them. He calls it "Docitis". They live on so little for so long, then lose their mind when all the money comes flowing in.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2020 17:30:58 GMT -5
To answer the OP, obviously either extreme is bad and you should find a happy middle ground. You could die young, but you could live to be 100. Kind of hard to go back to work when you're 90 if the money runs out.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Jul 8, 2020 18:00:53 GMT -5
I can answer some of it, having experienced it. 1 significant student loans 2 you do not make significant money until you are in your early 30's at the earliest, which puts you significantly behind your peers in saving, as you make almost no money for 4 years of medical school 3 tired of living like a student/delaying gratification 4 so you start to spend 5 if you are smart, you realize what you are doing, and reign it in before it gets out of control 6 but, if you don't, suddenly you are 50, with kids, 2 mortgages, private schools, expensive cars, expensive vacations, so retirement savings gets edged out 7 because of the high income, you can overcome some of the mistakes if you catch them early enough. If you don't, then you wind up with the risky investments 8 it takes time and some discipline to catch up savings to where you should be I know most of you do not make our salaries, and have difficulty understanding it. I look back and do not understand it all myself. I know there's not a lot of Dave Ramsey love on this board, but he says he works with a lot of docs and that's almost exactly how it plays out for many of them. He calls it "Docitis". They live on so little for so long, then lose their mind when all the money comes flowing in. Yes, it is a little hard to understand now that I am older. But it seemed ok at the time. I only had a mild case, but you see people your age who are doing so well, and you still make so little as a resident compared to how many hours you work. You try to make up for it. Hopefully you finally snap out of it before doing too much damage
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jul 8, 2020 18:36:42 GMT -5
I know there's not a lot of Dave Ramsey love on this board, but he says he works with a lot of docs and that's almost exactly how it plays out for many of them. He calls it "Docitis". They live on so little for so long, then lose their mind when all the money comes flowing in. Yes, it is a little hard to understand now that I am older. But it seemed ok at the time. I only had a mild case, but you see people your age who are doing so well, and you still make so little as a resident compared to how many hours you work. You try to make up for it. Hopefully you finally snap out of it before doing too much damage I am seeing my cousin and his wife going through it now... both MD’s. It is not just being broke so long or making little, in their case there is also the expectation of what a Dr life should be like; and in their case the expectations is two folds: - from their families and friends: you are a Dr (family medicine him) married to a Dr (anesthesiologist her) they expect to see the lavish. That expectation was alive and well for their weddings , a lot of people went not just to celebrate But to see what kind a wedding can the Drs put on display. - surrounding themselves by similar minded people/other doctors / other successful professionals: so their spending does not seem so unrealistic, so out of reach to the rest of the population... because everyone around them do it. Also I believe for them they go from zero to 100 so fast it is hard to digest. For most people the increase in income is gradual, you go from 30k to 32k, to 35k, to 40k... a nice promotion, 50k.. a few raises and a few promotions you end up at 100k-130k. The increase is gradual, you get somewhat used to your normal income and make some changes, increase savings, pay down debt, etc. My cousin and his wife met in medical school, he was an attending first because she did a MD/MBA program and also did a fellowship... but they literally went from making ~50k/each to close to ~150k-200k/each overnight (guesstimating here). It was not gradual, raise/income increase wise. I know now they live in MD and she wants to move to Atlanta, GA because they have mutual friends there (other DR’s) and they see the lifestyle difference; and she wants that because their money can go much further in Atlanta vs MD and can really display their success. Does not help he is from a Haitian family and she is from a Jamaican family: we are all about showing off!
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jul 8, 2020 18:51:41 GMT -5
I have always travelled but kept cost in check. I too stayed in a crappt hotel in Paris, backpacked through the Pyrenees, Yugoslavia (just to give away how old I am LOL), trecked across Java with two little kids (no reservations), etc., etc., etc. over the years my travel became more luxurious but slowly. However, I have not stopped travelling until Covid made me this year. Yet I did save like nad for my retirement (late in lufe divorce which left me with little $$$) and I am not planning to stop traveling. My advice would be to decide what you are comfortable with for a retirement amount, and set your savings to that. Next list what you want to do travelwise or other and sort that by what you think you logically can do at which age, then chop away at your wish list. If you don't have the money to fly business clas now, fly coach or coach plus. Much easier on your bidy now than 10 years from now. Upgrade as needed over time. Same with hotels (wouldn't catch me in sone of the places I stayed in years ago at this age) upgrade as needed. Long story short: don't wait for perfect circumstances as you may be too late, but don't forget that even with diabetes and HBP you could live to be a hundred. I sure plan on doing just that and die with an incomplete bucket list
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Jul 8, 2020 18:55:04 GMT -5
Yes, it is a little hard to understand now that I am older. But it seemed ok at the time. I only had a mild case, but you see people your age who are doing so well, and you still make so little as a resident compared to how many hours you work. You try to make up for it. Hopefully you finally snap out of it before doing too much damage I am seeing my cousin and his wife going through it now... both MD’s. It is not just being broke so long or making little, in their case there is also the expectation of what a Dr life should be like; and in their case the expectations is two folds: - from their families and friends: you are a Dr (family medicine him) married to a Dr (anesthesiologist her) they expect to see the lavish. That expectation was alive and well for their weddings , a lot of people went not just to celebrate But to see what kind a wedding can the Drs put on display. - surrounding themselves by similar minded people/other doctors / other successful professionals: so their spending does not seem so unrealistic, so out of reach to the rest of the population... because everyone around them do it. Also I believe for them they go from zero to 100 so fast it is hard to digest. For most people the increase in income is gradual, you go from 30k to 32k, to 35k, to 40k... a nice promotion, 50k.. a few raises and a few promotions you end up at 100k-130k. The increase is gradual, you get somewhat used to your normal income and make some changes, increase savings, pay down debt, etc. My cousin and his wife met in medical school, he was an attending first because she did a MD/MBA program and also did a fellowship... but they literally went from making ~50k/each to close to ~150k-200k/each overnight (guesstimating here). It was not gradual, raise/income increase wise. I know now they live in MD and she wants to move to Atlanta, GA because they have mutual friends there (other DR’s) and they see the lifestyle difference; and she wants that because their money can go much further in Atlanta vs MD and can really display their success. Does not help he is from a Haitian family and she is from a Jamaican family: we are all about showing off! Very well put, exactly what I was trying to say. Only thing is, an anesthesiologist making 200k is severely underpaid
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jul 8, 2020 19:18:23 GMT -5
I am seeing my cousin and his wife going through it now... both MD’s. It is not just being broke so long or making little, in their case there is also the expectation of what a Dr life should be like; and in their case the expectations is two folds: - from their families and friends: you are a Dr (family medicine him) married to a Dr (anesthesiologist her) they expect to see the lavish. That expectation was alive and well for their weddings , a lot of people went not just to celebrate But to see what kind a wedding can the Drs put on display. - surrounding themselves by similar minded people/other doctors / other successful professionals: so their spending does not seem so unrealistic, so out of reach to the rest of the population... because everyone around them do it. Also I believe for them they go from zero to 100 so fast it is hard to digest. For most people the increase in income is gradual, you go from 30k to 32k, to 35k, to 40k... a nice promotion, 50k.. a few raises and a few promotions you end up at 100k-130k. The increase is gradual, you get somewhat used to your normal income and make some changes, increase savings, pay down debt, etc. My cousin and his wife met in medical school, he was an attending first because she did a MD/MBA program and also did a fellowship... but they literally went from making ~50k/each to close to ~150k-200k/each overnight (guesstimating here). It was not gradual, raise/income increase wise. I know now they live in MD and she wants to move to Atlanta, GA because they have mutual friends there (other DR’s) and they see the lifestyle difference; and she wants that because their money can go much further in Atlanta vs MD and can really display their success. Does not help he is from a Haitian family and she is from a Jamaican family: we are all about showing off! Very well put, exactly what I was trying to say. Only thing is, an anesthesiologist making 200k is severely underpaid I did say I was guesstimating lol! All I know is between the two (as in combined) , they make more than $500,000/year.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 8, 2020 19:23:10 GMT -5
I am seeing my cousin and his wife going through it now... both MD’s. It is not just being broke so long or making little, in their case there is also the expectation of what a Dr life should be like; and in their case the expectations is two folds: - from their families and friends: you are a Dr (family medicine him) married to a Dr (anesthesiologist her) they expect to see the lavish. That expectation was alive and well for their weddings , a lot of people went not just to celebrate But to see what kind a wedding can the Drs put on display. - surrounding themselves by similar minded people/other doctors / other successful professionals: so their spending does not seem so unrealistic, so out of reach to the rest of the population... because everyone around them do it. Also I believe for them they go from zero to 100 so fast it is hard to digest. For most people the increase in income is gradual, you go from 30k to 32k, to 35k, to 40k... a nice promotion, 50k.. a few raises and a few promotions you end up at 100k-130k. The increase is gradual, you get somewhat used to your normal income and make some changes, increase savings, pay down debt, etc. My cousin and his wife met in medical school, he was an attending first because she did a MD/MBA program and also did a fellowship... but they literally went from making ~50k/each to close to ~150k-200k/each overnight (guesstimating here). It was not gradual, raise/income increase wise. I know now they live in MD and she wants to move to Atlanta, GA because they have mutual friends there (other DR’s) and they see the lifestyle difference; and she wants that because their money can go much further in Atlanta vs MD and can really display their success. Does not help he is from a Haitian family and she is from a Jamaican family: we are all about showing off! Very well put, exactly what I was trying to say. Only thing is, an anesthesiologist making 200k is severely underpaid Yeah, she's making waaaaay more than 200k! Good for her. A friend of mine is a pediatric anesthesiologist and is making some sweet, sweet bank. I work in medical education and see the gamut of lifestyles and spending habits. Physician friends I work with travel a lot for conferences (well, not anymore) and on the outside it might look like ol' Joe is in Portugal having fun yet again, but work is paying for airfare to and from and hotel for the working days, so why not tack on a few extra days and call it a cheaper vacation.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Jul 8, 2020 20:25:16 GMT -5
Very well put, exactly what I was trying to say. Only thing is, an anesthesiologist making 200k is severely underpaid I did say I was guesstimating lol! All I know is between the two (as in combined) , they make more than $500,000/year. That more like it. She’s making 300k minimum. He may be 150+
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Jul 8, 2020 22:37:00 GMT -5
Traveling when I was young and poor was fun. Drive for hours, pack snacks and a cooler, crash on friends' couches, take in the free museums/festivals/exhibits in various cities, eat from street vendors. Now that would kill me. Back in 1971 when I was twenty, I traveled Europe for about about five or so weeks using the guide book 'Europe On Five Dollars A Day'. That five dollars included three meals a day and a place to stay overnight. Some of the places I rested my head looked like a dollar a night joints. I did the same thing in 1977!! There was the “bed and breakfast” in London where you had to put $ in a slot for lights or heat...good times!!
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 8, 2020 22:54:25 GMT -5
Back in 1971 when I was twenty, I traveled Europe for about about five or so weeks using the guide book 'Europe On Five Dollars A Day'. That five dollars included three meals a day and a place to stay overnight. Some of the places I rested my head looked like a dollar a night joints. I did the same thing in 1977!! There was the “bed and breakfast” in London where you had to put $ in a slot for lights or heat...good times!! On that same trip in 1971, I too put $ in a slot for heat in London so I could dry my hair. (It was long back then being the hippie years.)
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jul 9, 2020 10:23:20 GMT -5
I go with save first the lighten up. They say if you live like no one will for 5 years you can live like no one can the rest of your life. So knuckle down work harder than anyone, live cheaper than anyone, sacrifice for a few years. Then when you lighten up, quit working full time while going to school full time quit 3rd job, quit sending extra to the mortgage your life will not only seem better but be better. I did it after my divorce, started over. Worked 415 hours overtime the first tax season. Got a house and didn't use heat the first winter except wood stove, got roommate. Went to school full time while working full time for two years, went to school, worked and studied for CPA exam. 1984-1991 were hard for me but then everything became easy. Passed CPA exam got a promotion 27.5% pay raise. Only worked about 45 hours a week felt like a vacation. Roommate paid more rent than my mortgage since it was a paid down ARM. I avoided debt and had good credit so soon was able to get a nicer boat. First boat was used row boat. This boat was pretty nice, I still have it. Since I had a Heloc I paid it off quick since not a lot of other expenses. Property appreciated since I got a bigger house it appreciated more. I was able to turn all 3 day weekends into 5 day weekends camping in a tent taking the boat fishing. ISO bought a camper so camping with boat vacations were frequent. The thing is since I worked hard the first few years I could afford to relax and things got better all by themselves. I made about 440K just on house appreciation since 1985. Many years of payments half the cost of renting an apartment and a roommate paying about what my mortgage was, so I could max out every retirement plan I was ever offered from 2K a year in 1984 to 23K or so a year in 2013. Now retired since 2014, about a million still invested and have gifted well over half a million. The rest of my life on easy street and helping several family members to get started on easy street. I do not regret hard work in the late 80s. I could have lived higher then but retired broke. Such a great success story!
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Jul 9, 2020 10:48:35 GMT -5
Living frivolously is a good choice...until it's not.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jul 9, 2020 11:51:25 GMT -5
Traveling when I was young and poor was fun. Drive for hours, pack snacks and a cooler, crash on friends' couches, take in the free museums/festivals/exhibits in various cities, eat from street vendors. Now that would kill me. Yeah, not sleeping on a couch or the floor. If it doesn't have a bed, I ain't staying there. Road trips with no plans/places to stay were an adventure at one point. No longer Lol, I'm a wacko, um outlier. I took up long distance backpacking four years ago by hiking the John Muir Trail as a 55 birthday present. I've done four more long distance through hikes since then. These are solo hikes because most of my friends can not hike with a 45lb pack. I am so grateful I can. My husband doesn't understand it. His philosophy is "Why would I do that? I had to backpack when I was young and poor." I didn't get to do those kinds of things when I was younger. I was working full time and going to school full time. I also love the spirit on the trail vs dealing with the snobbiness at a 5 star hotel.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2020 12:30:10 GMT -5
Yeah, not sleeping on a couch or the floor. If it doesn't have a bed, I ain't staying there. Road trips with no plans/places to stay were an adventure at one point. No longer Lol, I'm a wacko, um outlier. I took up long distance backpacking four years ago by hiking the John Muir Trail as a 55 birthday present. I've done four more long distance through hikes since then. These are solo hikes because most of my friends can not hike with a 45lb pack. I am so grateful I can. My husband doesn't understand it. His philosophy is "Why would I do that? I had to backpack when I was young and poor." I didn't get to do those kinds of things when I was younger. I was working full time and going to school full time. I also love the spirit on the trail vs dealing with the snobbiness at a 5 star hotel. I've always dreamed of hiking the Appalachian trail when I retire. I have to do something about my health though, I am not in the shape I was even 5 years ago.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jul 9, 2020 12:44:29 GMT -5
Lol, I'm a wacko, um outlier. I took up long distance backpacking four years ago by hiking the John Muir Trail as a 55 birthday present. I've done four more long distance through hikes since then. These are solo hikes because most of my friends can not hike with a 45lb pack. I am so grateful I can. My husband doesn't understand it. His philosophy is "Why would I do that? I had to backpack when I was young and poor." I didn't get to do those kinds of things when I was younger. I was working full time and going to school full time. I also love the spirit on the trail vs dealing with the snobbiness at a 5 star hotel. I've always dreamed of hiking the Appalachian trail when I retire. I have to do something about my health though, I am not in the shape I was even 5 years ago. You don't have to do it all in one go. While I would have loved to hiked the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail (2700 miles) it would have taken 6 months and I probably wouldn't have been married by the end of. So I chose of the most scenic sections, the John Muir Trail which is about 220 miles. And I only planned on hiking 10 miles a day. That's about 4 hours of hiking giving yourself plenty of time to set up camp in the evening, break up camp in the morning and enjoy the scenery. Lot's of (young!) people on the trail doing close to 20 miles a day. That's a grueling schedule and I had to wonder if they saw anything. You can do it!
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jul 9, 2020 13:13:11 GMT -5
Yeah, not sleeping on a couch or the floor. If it doesn't have a bed, I ain't staying there. Road trips with no plans/places to stay were an adventure at one point. No longer Lol, I'm a wacko, um outlier. I took up long distance backpacking four years ago by hiking the John Muir Trail as a 55 birthday present. I've done four more long distance through hikes since then. These are solo hikes because most of my friends can not hike with a 45lb pack. I am so grateful I can. My husband doesn't understand it. His philosophy is "Why would I do that? I had to backpack when I was young and poor." I didn't get to do those kinds of things when I was younger. I was working full time and going to school full time. I also love the spirit on the trail vs dealing with the snobbiness at a 5 star hotel. I'll hike with you any day! I want to section hike the PCT and do other long trails when I'm retired... Hopefully young enough to still enjoy and carry a heavy pack!
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jul 9, 2020 13:19:56 GMT -5
Regarding the answer (which is balance)- you can make it a moving target.
I have a similar (but not exactly) MD like story. Made 0 for so long being in school for years and years for advanced degrees. My first job was 6 figures. My first paycheck I hummed and hawed and finally bought a $250 digital camera (dating myself here). Partition out goals for yourself with 'wins' along the way. For example, if you first goal is to save money for an EF, (say at $100 a month) then when you reach your EF goal, the next month, blow that $100 on something you want or on a nice meal or whatever. When you save your first 100k in your 401, take a vacation. If your saving percentage is 20%, once you get to XX amount, drop it to 18% or blow it on something you value.
Right now, our "dual MDesque household" we are basically at our FIRE number.... and we have all the money we probably need- but no where to go and nothing to spend it on! We are re-evaluating stuff... bought my DD a trampoline she doesn't need. I bought some really expensive carbon fiber trekking poles (haha Bonny!). I don't really want to quit my job but I did drop down to 0.8FTE because... why not?
It's ok to change and modify with success and failure and climate change (e.g. covid, bull markets, etc).
It IS ok to have a shifting dynamic in your spending patterns. It IS ok to reward yourself along the way. Life IS short and you never know when you will get sick and die. That is more apparent now to many of us than ever.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jul 9, 2020 13:54:22 GMT -5
Lol, I'm a wacko, um outlier. I took up long distance backpacking four years ago by hiking the John Muir Trail as a 55 birthday present. I've done four more long distance through hikes since then. These are solo hikes because most of my friends can not hike with a 45lb pack. I am so grateful I can. My husband doesn't understand it. His philosophy is "Why would I do that? I had to backpack when I was young and poor." I didn't get to do those kinds of things when I was younger. I was working full time and going to school full time. I also love the spirit on the trail vs dealing with the snobbiness at a 5 star hotel. I'll hike with you any day! I want to section hike the PCT and do other long trails when I'm retired... Hopefully young enough to still enjoy and carry a heavy pack! I’m down for a group hike too! Women of YM retreat
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jul 9, 2020 13:55:10 GMT -5
You know...when the pandemic is over.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Jul 9, 2020 21:24:59 GMT -5
Count me in on that hike, too!!
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