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What if I were rich and paid a lab to make a clone of myself. He would have the same genetics, and be privileged in the sense he wouldn't exist without me having money. But I wouldn't tell him how to use an online bank.
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May 28, 2015 04:08
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The true goal of achieving financial independence is to free yourself of the need to work so that you can spend all goddamn day arguing online about nature vs. nuture.
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May 28, 2015 05:25
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SpelledBackwards posted:The true goal of achieving financial independence is to free yourself of the need to work so that you can spend all goddamn day arguing online about nature vs. nuture with a clone of yourself. Fixed that one.
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May 28, 2015 05:39
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Ahah ok point taken. Let's talk about how great it would be to live in an RV: http://www.quora.com/Recreational-Vehicles/What-does-it-feel-like-to-live-year-round-in-an-RV Definitely don't live somewhere warm enough for this to be practical or expensive enough for this to be necessary. But, friends who do seem to like it.
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May 28, 2015 06:09
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Droo posted:1 in 5 girls will be the victim of sexual abuse, 22% of children grow up in poverty, so I think I just compared the shittiest 4.5% of girls' childhoods to the best 4.5%. ahh, QED, IQ has no heritable component
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May 28, 2015 08:18
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semicolonsrock posted:Ahah ok point taken. I've heard of people saving a lot by leaving cheap in an RV or boat. It's possible but not necessarily that comfortable. I could see it as being a good way to not hoard things with limited storage space but the set up cost seems like a lot. I can see why they offer 7-10 year loans on RVs.
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May 28, 2015 10:49
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Devian666 posted:I've heard of people saving a lot by leaving cheap in an RV or boat. It's possible but not necessarily that comfortable. I could see it as being a good way to not hoard things with limited storage space but the set up cost seems like a lot. I can see why they offer 7-10 year loans on RVs. This is the vide which made me seriously consider it. But rents are too cheap here for it to be worthwhile for me. He lives in San Fransisco for $200/month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylz5sfCAOc
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May 28, 2015 13:45
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Anyone have any experience with REITs?
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May 28, 2015 14:20
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N.N. Ashe posted:Anyone have any experience with REITs? Buy VNQ. Hold VNQ in accordance with your asset allocation, almost certainly it should be in tax-advantaged accounts too because the tax treatment sucks.
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May 28, 2015 15:25
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:ahh, QED, IQ has no heritable component I thought you all were arguing about success, does that really correlate strongly with IQ?
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May 28, 2015 19:43
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Replace IQ with g-factor (same basic idea) and it does.
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May 28, 2015 19:46
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baquerd posted:Buy VNQ. Hold VNQ in accordance with your asset allocation, almost certainly it should be in tax-advantaged accounts too because the tax treatment sucks. Don't forget VNQI
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May 29, 2015 05:34
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Anyone see the latest post on Mr Money Mustache? It's a reader/case study of an ex-con who starts working in his 30s and goes hogwild with the ideas of FI, manages to wipe out his debt and get savings going. Pretty powerful stuff.
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Jun 15, 2015 02:59
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Olive Branch posted:Anyone see the latest post on Mr Money Mustache? It's a reader/case study of an ex-con who starts working in his 30s and goes hogwild with the ideas of FI, manages to wipe out his debt and get savings going. Pretty powerful stuff. That reads like the biggest BS post I've ever seen. Just a cursory thought about the math on his claims led to my eyes rolling out of my head
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Jun 15, 2015 23:13
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I'm pretty gun shy about getting credit cards for rewards, then sacking them or what not. Are there some good primers on this anyone would recommend?
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Jun 16, 2015 04:39
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N.N. Ashe posted:I'm pretty gun shy about getting credit cards for rewards, then sacking them or what not. Are there some good primers on this anyone would recommend? There's really nothing to it. You apply for a rewards cc with the first year fee waived, collect your rewards/use it until you get the reward like $3k later, put it in a drawer for nine months (set a calendar alert), call them and cancel, then take six months or so off and repeat. I've gotten like 40 000 aeroplan miles this way so far, which is about $1600 worth of flights home.
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Jun 16, 2015 04:51
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N.N. Ashe posted:I'm pretty gun shy about getting credit cards for rewards, then sacking them or what not. Are there some good primers on this anyone would recommend? Chase freedom is doing a $200 reward for $500 spend. Pretty much a perfect babies first bonus. Just sign up online, get card, spend money on it, get bonus.
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Jun 16, 2015 15:46
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N.N. Ashe posted:I'm pretty gun shy about getting credit cards for rewards, then sacking them or what not. Are there some good primers on this anyone would recommend? Don't do it just because you think you should. If you have the inclination to do it, great. If not, just get a double cash card or something. Sure, you're not 100% optimizing your rewards, but it is 10% of the effort for like 70% of the payoff. If you enjoy min/maxing your spend (and many people do), go get that last 30% of benefit. If you don't, don't stress about it.
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Jun 16, 2015 18:09
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N.N. Ashe posted:I'm pretty gun shy about getting credit cards for rewards, then sacking them or what not. Are there some good primers on this anyone would recommend? Come to the credit card thread. Also it would be helpful to know what your goals are. Resorts in the U.S.? Domestic travel? International travel in business or first class?
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Jun 16, 2015 18:47
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Thanks everyone, I'll check out the freedom and the thread, especially for a double cash. I do some domestic travel for work (just a few k a year,) and being able to use a personal card + reading an article on it has me wondering if there are better ways to pay for things. On MMM, he said there was an introductory 0% rate for a year and he just maxed that to lower his interest payments compared to his mortgage which seemed pretty clever
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Jun 17, 2015 00:14
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semicolonsrock posted:Ahah ok point taken. Hello! This is my 1978 VW camper with two two-person beds (fold-down back bench and canvas pop-top) in it:  I'm going to start living in it soon. I'm currently re-paneling the interior and replacing the foam/fabric on the back bench/sleeping area, and building the cabinets for it. With the exception of a couple seriously pain in the rear end things with the engine, I did the work myself to keep the costs down (I already know how to work with cars and with wood, it will not all fall apart or anything).Once I'm doing it, it should cost me about $20,000-$30,000 a year to live this way, and I am going to be running my beardcare business, and doing misc freelance work to fill in any cracks. I went into planning this with a defensive mindset, and made sure that I can cover my budget with freelance work if my business just completely fails and dies (which it won't because I make the best beard care products and sell them at great prices  , but poo poo happens!). I'll have a mobile hotspot and laptop. My main concern about the whole thing is that my bus does not have a shower, so I'm going to have to be creative/on the prowl for showering opportunities to stay clean. I've given a lot of thought to warmth, and eventually decided to *not* insulate for now due to rust possibilities. Instead I'm going to rely on having some heavy warm clothes and good blankets. One of the things I'm going for is that I'll be totally mobile, so if it starts getting too cold for me, I'll just drive on.
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Jun 26, 2015 18:06
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surc posted:Hello! This is one of those ideas I would never try in a million years, but good luck! I also hope you listen to the greatest band out of (R)Adelaide, Australia, The Beards.
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Jun 26, 2015 18:23
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Isn't that living cost estimation pretty drat high? I survive on less than a half of that as a student and I live in Stockholm where everything is super expensive. 
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Jun 26, 2015 18:31
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Well, I did include things like "emergency expenses" in there as a consistent budget item, and I always estimated on the high end for costs because like I said, I went into it with a defensive mindset. I have a burgeoning but not substantial amount of savings, so I need to establish a safety net somehow. Budgeting for potential problems means that I don't have to scramble for money if they happen, and if they don't then it's a bit more to stick into savings for when something does happen and/or I want to stop working. I also included a 'vices' category for intoxication/splurges because I know myself. Also though, how much does fuel cost in Stockholm? Because it's not cheap in the U.S., and driving a vehicle from the 1970s with a bunch of weight to haul around in it in the form of all my stuff is not a great way to get good gas mileage. I'm planning for the fact that I might want to drive 3500 miles to get to the other side of the country some month. And there's a lot of things that add up as monthly expenses. I'll probably be paying over $100 a month for my cell phone and wifi hotspot setup, for example. (Although I have found a way to get a better deal than what I thought was the best when I wrote the budget, so I may have budgeted $200 a month for that. Data is not cheap.) I don't remember the rest of my budget off the top of my head, but I've got it written down in a notebook somewhere, I can look at what the big expenses were on it tonight or this weekend. E: Ohhhhh yeah I think the thing was with fuel I used my local cost as the budget cost, and I live in California, so we basically have the most expensive gas in the country. Always Be Overestimating Costs. surc fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Jun 26, 2015 |
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Jun 26, 2015 19:37
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Xoidanor posted:Isn't that living cost estimation pretty drat high? I survive on less than a half of that as a student and I live in Stockholm where everything is super expensive. Yea it struck me as a bit high too and I'm not sure I can figure out where the number comes from. Surely on a budget like that you can afford the occasional night in a motel for a shower.
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Jun 26, 2015 19:43
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quote:Also though, how much does fuel cost in Stockholm? Because it's not cheap in the U.S. edit: $5.80/gallon in Stockholm - http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/
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Jun 26, 2015 19:52
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surc posted:I don't remember the rest of my budget off the top of my head, but I've got it written down in a notebook somewhere, I can look at what the big expenses were on it tonight or this weekend. I'd be curious to see your budget if you're willing to share it. Seems like fascinating prospect to plan around so many unpredictable factors. surc posted:Also though, how much does fuel cost in Stockholm? Because it's not cheap in the U.S., and driving a vehicle from the 1970s with a bunch of weight to haul around in it in the form of all my stuff is not a great way to get good gas mileage. I'm planning for the fact that I might want to drive 3500 miles to get to the other side of the country some month. And there's a lot of things that add up as monthly expenses. I'll probably be paying over $100 a month for my cell phone and wifi hotspot setup, for example. (Although I have found a way to get a better deal than what I thought was the best when I wrote the budget, so I may have budgeted $200 a month for that. Data is not cheap.) About 1.6$ a litre, though I was thinking more in terms of things like booze, insurance and vegetables. Guess I forgot about your insane data plan market.  Going by your cost savings plan wouldn't it make more sense to plan around the seasons instead of just leaving it up to chance? Especially considering that seem to want to travel across country. From a cost perspective you could probably save a lot by driving towards New York/Washington (depending on which side of the continent you find yourself) for summer and then going back South going cross country by the southern states in the winter. This would also make it much easier to budget around, though I'd guess that would also restrain the whole freedom of movement thing you seem to be searching for.
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Jun 26, 2015 19:58
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khysanth posted:Yea it struck me as a bit high too and I'm not sure I can figure out where the number comes from. Surely on a budget like that you can afford the occasional night in a motel for a shower. a cheap gym membership would also get him a place to poop and shower
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Jun 26, 2015 19:59
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:a cheap gym membership would also get him a place to poop and shower Are free first week gym memberships a thing in the US? Because if then that could easily be planned around if you keep moving from city to city.
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Jun 26, 2015 20:00
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:a cheap gym membership would also get him a place to poop and shower The U.S. also has that awesome network of trucker rest stops. I think when we were driving through showers were six bucks or something. The 8 or 9 we used were also spotless and modern and obviously constantly cleaned and maintained.
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Jun 26, 2015 20:03
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surc posted:I've given a lot of thought to warmth, and eventually decided to *not* insulate for now due to rust possibilities. Instead I'm going to rely on having some heavy warm clothes and good blankets. One of the things I'm going for is that I'll be totally mobile, so if it starts getting too cold for me, I'll just drive on. You're right insulation significantly increases the risk of moisture getting trapped and then possibly rusting out your home. A shame you can't get a cheap mobile data like is possible in New Zealand a phone with a monthly gig of data but wifi hotspots provided by the company allowing 1 gig per day. I think having a decent budget is worthwhile as it gives you a lot more flexibility. Boozing and partying is always a possibility but if it's really cold and driving on won't help you could always get a hotel room. Any money you spend on warm clothes and blankets will be well spent, and it's no different from when I was a kid. The houses I was living in as a kid were cold and difficult to heat so it's doable. You might want to invest in a high quality sleeping bag as well. I have an army surplus one that I could sleep outside in when there is a frost.
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Jun 26, 2015 21:24
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I don't see how driving around a huge, inefficient, and loaded down vehicle everyday is a way to save money. Also is your plan to eat only fast food? Without good refrigeration and cooking, you'll be paying at least 3 times as much per meal everyday. Like others have said, I live on about 1/2 that, how about you put 'move to a low cost of living city' on the things you're comparing your van living budget to find the best path. Right now it seems more a fantasy lifestyle rather than a path of frugality and FI.
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Jun 26, 2015 23:26
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Xoidanor posted:
I'm not really "leaving it up to chance", but my work doesn't tie me to a location, so I don't really need to have a hard plan on being someplace at a certain time. I definitely will be adjusting where I'm going based on the season though. Devian666 posted:You're right insulation significantly increases the risk of moisture getting trapped and then possibly rusting out your home. A shame you can't get a cheap mobile data like is possible in New Zealand a phone with a monthly gig of data but wifi hotspots provided by the company allowing 1 gig per day. Yes. I've got a selection of warmth purchases in the pipe over the next month or two. I've also looked into sleeping bags as well, and if I really need it I'll get this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-XL-Extra-Long-US-Military-Modular-Sleep-System-MSS-Complete-4-Piece-Set-/141671143802 But I'd really prefer to just have a super warm nest with blankets for sleeping, and then I can wrap them around me if I'm sitting in the bus too. N.N. Ashe posted:I don't see how driving around a huge, inefficient, and loaded down vehicle everyday is a way to save money. lol, thanks bud. It will save me money when compared to travelling in a bus and also renting some place that I live besides the bus, yes. Also I probably won't be driving it around every day, there are plenty of places I can go and camp, or even just park it in a city. For food I am kind of appalled that you think only Fast Food can be cheap. I don't know why you think I won't be cooking my own food, maybe you should do any kind of rudimentary google search on campers or RVs. My diet will largely consist of lentils, chicken, and eggs, but it already does so no biggy, I'll just have to eat less cheese. I'll also be investing around $800 in a solid camper refrigeration system. I'm not looking forward to paying for it, but it is pretty much the big expense besides the new foam for my mattress still remaining between me and achieving the level of freedom I would like to in my bus, so I can deal with it. It's also not essential immediately, because there are these things called "cans" in which you can preserve food. They're pretty new though so I guess you might not have heard of them. I am super confused at why you felt the need to get all snippy about my budget not being FI enough for you or whatever, despite this being exactly what I'd do if money was no object, and that I still expect to be putting decent money into savings while doing this, but ok! E: Seriously, what is with the whiplash between crazy people who think you have to have all the money for FI, and crazy people who think you can't spend any money for FI in this thread over the last 5-10 pages? surc fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Jun 27, 2015 |
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Jun 27, 2015 00:10
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Thats some rad poo poo and I'd appreciate updates down the line on how it's going. It does seem like a high budget at a glance but all that means is its all the more sweeter when you're significantly under budget each month. 
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Jun 27, 2015 01:04
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That's awesome! It also sounds exactly like the goal of FI -- getting a job and lifestyle where you can be independent and spend your time doing what you want, so good on you! Looking forward to updates.
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Jun 27, 2015 03:36
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E: ^^ Thanks! Ok, here's my planned budgetwork including ongoing expenses and upfront 'equipment' expenses. Looking at it there's definitely some things I'll be revising now that I'm closer to actually getting on the road, and if anybody thinks the numbers look wrong, please let me know which and why! For the equipment, there are a few things I already bought so I didn't include (I got a wonderbag slow cooker to reduce time needed for food to be on the propane stove for example, which was $50, I've had a cast iron pan for ages so I didn't bother including that although I will be taking it, and I already have a socket set I can use for working on the bus), because it would be way too much effort for me to go back and figure out costs for things I already own. Also, any price that has a cent value is because I looked it up on amazon, so there might be variations if I get it somewhere else, or if there's a sale or whatever. I'm not including the cost of the foam replacement for the back bench/bed, because I have to go talk to the dude about that tomorrow, but I assume it will be unfortunately expensive. I also just got a desktop replacement laptop to use on the road, which I will not be including in the budget because the price-tag compared to a desktop of similar power makes me judge myself harshly enough without you guys' help. Upfront equipment costs: Cars have problems: 10w-30 5 quart jug - $15.16 clutch cable - $6.99 oil filter - $8 Spark Plugs - $16 Chains - $60 Jack + Stands - $100 2x bulbs for rear lights/brake lights - $6 Fuses - $10 subtotal: approximately $222. Kitchen stuff: Fridge - $600-800 Pot - $40 Coleman 12-piece enamel dining set - $30 Utensils - $5 Measuring cups/spoons - $7 Rubbermaid plastic bin (bisque dish) --for washing dishes etc.-- $7.50 Stainless Steel mixing bowl - $6.75 Grater - $17 Cooking knife + paring knife - $50 Propane stove - $50 ------------THIS IS ONE ONGOING EXPENSE I HAVE NOT YET ACCOUNTED FOR, I WILL NEED TO BUY PROPANE ON THE REGULAR------------------ Spatulas/ladle - $10 2x safe 5 gallon water container - $60 subtotal: approximately $983 ($283 without the fridge. drat, keeping stuff cold, drat!) Total up-front equipment costs: approximately $1205 ($505 without the fridge) Ongoing Expenses Insurance -Car: 55/month -Health: 250/month Food/Water - 350/month Hotspot+Phone - 150/month Gym Membership (non-branch specific) - 33/month Gas - 800/month (3000 miles @ 15 MPG @ $4/gallon) Entertainment/Misc Subscriptions -Servers: 40.75/month (This has been cut to $12/month currently, I dropped one of the servers I had) -Google All Access - 8/month -Baduk Online - 17/month -Vices - 280/month Campsites/Parks - 80/month Culture (Movies, museums, concerts, etc.) - 50/month poo poo-happens fund - 100/month Total Ongoing costs - $2213.75/month - $26,565/year Like I said, almost all my numbers I tried to aim for 'worst case' (I know they are not really the worst case) scenarios when I could, where I get the worst gas mileage I get in my bus all the time, and I want to drive across most of the county every month. On the flipside of that though, I tended to just kind of approximate things like campsites, culture, and 'poo poo happens', because I don't expect those to be stable month to month, and I'm picking what I think will end up being the average per-month cost for a year. The main goal of this budget for me was not to be 100% accurate forever, but to give me a number to aim for, that if I hit it every month, will put me into 'doing just fine' range. Minty Swagger posted:It does seem like a high budget at a glance but all that means is its all the more sweeter when you're significantly under budget each month. If I budget low and my spending goes over-budget a couple months in a row, I'm not liking that position nearly so much. surc fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Jun 27, 2015 |
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Jun 27, 2015 04:27
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surc posted:Campsites/Parks - 80/month I live in the middle of the desert, and this number is way out of line if you are camping anywhere with facilities. Zero would be a more rational number, because off grid camping is free, also staying in rest-stops, but you are talking less than 3-8 nights a month in an halfway established campground before you'd pass this figure. Where do you live?
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Jun 27, 2015 05:32
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My guess is that you are not going to actually drive 3000 miles every single month, at least after month.... lets say 5. You are welcome to prove me wrong, no worries about planning for it either way.
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Jun 27, 2015 05:49
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No budget for repairs on an old vw........
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Jun 27, 2015 07:03
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BossRighteous posted:I live in the middle of the desert, and this number is way out of line if you are camping anywhere with facilities. Zero would be a more rational number, because off grid camping is free, also staying in rest-stops, but you are talking less than 3-8 nights a month in an halfway established campground before you'd pass this figure. You are totally right. I was using Yosemite in an attempt to over-estimate, but I was basing this off park entrance fees, not the actual cost of booking camping. I was surprised it was that low, but who am I to argue with math? Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:My guess is that you are not going to actually drive 3000 miles every single month, at least after month.... lets say 5. You are welcome to prove me wrong, no worries about planning for it either way. Yeah, I doubt I'll be driving 3000 miles in a month on any sort of consistent basis, but it's conceivable I'll want to get across the country some months, so it's in there. I did 3500 miles in two weeks with some friends for a road trip years back, and ever since I have been all about the pleasure of leisurely journeys. n8r posted:No budget for repairs on an old vw........ In answer to your implied whatever: I know how to work on the bus myself (I've had it for years, I'd better know how), I have up-front costs for replacement parts on the bus in areas that are most critical/most likely to go out---gently caress you, clutch cable---, and I have a 'poo poo happens' monthly budget item which will be $100 that gets put away for poo poo happening if it's not used immediately to handle poo poo happening. poo poo happening is basically likely to be unexpected "stay alive" costs, or unexepected "fix the bus because it broke in this elaborate way" costs. All of these things are mentioned in previous posts, along with me already having a socket set, which is about 90% of the tools I will need to work on my bus. If you'd care to actually contribute a full sentence, I would appreciate you telling me what you'd budget in there for repairs that I have not, because I have not taken into account everything that will happen to me and if you have some experience or advice, I would like to hear it!
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Jun 27, 2015 15:01
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