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zaurg posted:Post-tax, post-retirement savings income: $4595
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Jul 27, 2017 19:20
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Pryor on Fire posted:I'm not familiar with the past thread and don't really want to be, just saying that treating humans as computer programs where you just say DO X, THEN Y, THEN Z doesn't work equally well on everyone even if it's technically correct. Maybe tackle one big thing this month like the refinance (or whatever else, I honestly don't know) and eliminating as much needless spending as possible instead of trying yet again to unload the shotgun at him until it goes click. Eliminating needless spending is going to be 99% of it. If I remember my zaurg threads, he'll mostly juggle around his budgets from month to month to try to match whatever he ended up spending in the past 30 days without ever thinking about how to get himself to reduce his spending in response to how much money he has left that month. At least now we don't have the added variable of his mean wife yelling at him or tricking him into buying houses and having babies between earnest budget posts.
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Jul 28, 2017 22:22
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zaurg posted:Devian666 - Yes that should be step one. I'm struggling. I already know it's not happening this month. Even if you decide to cut expenses by selling your house, it couldn't hurt to try out some strategies for tracking your spending so you can stay within whatever budget you set for yourself. It makes saving a lot easier if you don't just blindly spend and then total up the damage at the end of each month. It also makes spending a lot more fun when you know you can afford it.
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Aug 9, 2017 22:45
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zaurg posted:I've thought about it again and decided the $80/month is worth it. Mowing front & back, weed eater/edging, tree trimming, fertilizer application, weed maintenance, and maintaining all the equipment. It's worth it to me. It takes me much longer than an hour. I'll just have to focus on other areas, of which there are plenty, to cut back on discrentionary expenses. Giraffe posted:As I posted upthread, it looks like you currently have about $1000/month for all your discretionary spending. Why don't you try just monitoring that one number throughout the month so you have information in a simple enough form that it can actually affect spending decisions? Subtract everything you buy as you go so you always know exactly how much is left. If the kids need new shoes and the car needs a muffler and you find you have $300 left by the 8th, you know not to go out to eat or buy yourself things until you get closer to the end of the month. On the other hand, if it's the 25th and you still have $700, that's a good time to replace your running shoes if you know they're due. Or just stick it in savings so next month you have more breathing room when poo poo happens. Either way, you can buy or not buy stuff with the full knowledge of how much room there is in the budget for it.
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Aug 31, 2017 16:02
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That's not a strategy, that's a vague intention. You need to find a way to know, at any given point in the month, whether you can afford a given spending decision or not. A lot of people like cash, I like tracking a single discretionary tally, but it doesn't actually matter as long as you actually follow whatever strategy you use. The goal is not to feel guilty about spending money or to never spend money, it's to make informed spending decisions. You need actionable intelligence, not just a monthly postmortem. Edit: replying to zaurg's post
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Aug 31, 2017 17:04
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zaurg posted:Giraffe, this is the strategy. Must be a on a list and monthly discretionary balance checked first.
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Aug 31, 2017 19:48
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Fleta Mcgurn posted:e: I have to assume most of the lovely stuff left with Zwife. IIRC the pool table was actually sold.
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Sep 22, 2017 16:55
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zaurg posted:I'm going to do what Giraffe suggested.  I've got one more suggestion for you: don't go bananas trying to cut your spending to the absolute bone. Yes, you hosed up your October spending with that $771 vacation, but the rest of your discretionary is fine so far. To get back on track is not going to take insane financial self-denial, it's going to take learning how to manage your spending decisions. Don't financially yo-yo diet, you know it doesn't work for you. Here are the goals I'd like to see you hit before you go too crazy: 1. Pick a number for the rest of October, I don't care what it is, and keep your spending under that. $300, $500, it doesn't matter, just make it realistic. Then do not exceed it for anything less than a true emergency. 2. Spend less than $1000 in discretionary in November. No excuses, just do it. Use this as your first real dry run for how to live within your means. Every dollar you spend in one place is a dollar you don't have to spend in another. Then just get through Christmas without bankrupting yourself and see where you are heading into 2018. Maybe you find more cuts, maybe you identify a couple of areas (e.g. groceries) and just focus on getting the most bang for your buck from what you do spend. Take it slow, don't let mistakes push you into just giving up, but hold yourself accountable when you spend money, not just when you tally up the damage.
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Oct 17, 2017 01:52
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Keep it under $350 for the rest of the month and it’s a victory.
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Oct 17, 2017 04:02
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bengy81 posted:So I feel like having $1000.00 discretionary might be a really bad idea. Break down what you are spending that money on, find areas where you can save and set some goals. Baby steps.
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Oct 19, 2017 05:25
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Dustoph posted:I really don't see the point of telling him to fire the Gardner or anything without a proper budget. He's just gonna blow the money somewhere else.
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Oct 20, 2017 19:14
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Dustoph posted:I didn't realize he tried a budget in the past. I haven't really read his old threads, just some knowledge from other thread legends that get whispered around here. Based on how he is listing his income and expenses, I'm going to guess he never did have an actual budget before. It's not like you have to have a ton of categories to have a budget and I never once said he needs a fine grain budget as you put it. Just that he needs an actual budget. You are advocating a budget yourself. We're doing the limbo here. For zaurg, the first stage is to hold the bar six feet off the ground and not have it hit him in the forehead. To people who understand how the limbo is supposed to work, this probably seems pointless, but if you've read these threads you'll see it's actually a pretty big first step. zaurg posted:poo poo! I'm cheating! You guys gotta catch this stuff. I kept Lawn and Gym separate and still gave myself 1000 discretionary Stay out of the cycle where you get all amped up and promise to never spend another dollar unnecessarily and you'll be out of debt in two weeks and sitting on a huge pile of cash in two years and owning three houses in ten. Don't crash diet. Every time you do, you eventually get sick of the deprivation and book a vacation or buy a house or indulge yourself in some way that blows the whole thing. Live within your means for a few months, then we can try living a bit below your means and see how that works for you. Edit: Please ignore the post above me. Like, don't even read it. It's bad for you. (Sorry InfrastructureWeek, it's a perfectly good post, just not for zaurg.) Giraffe fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Oct 21, 2017 |
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Oct 21, 2017 15:56
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InfrastructureWeek posted:
Six foot limbo stick. If you read his old threads, you'll see what an accomplishment for zaurg that is.
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Oct 21, 2017 16:08
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he's just aiming too big, and sweeping all the relevant details under the rug.
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zaurg posted:It's killing me that I can't afford to go to next Saturday's Miami vs Virginia Tech 8pm game. Could get a ticket and parking for ~70. But I can't afford that, damnit! Motivation to fix this mess. For the rest of November, just focus on learning to keep your cumulative spending number in mind so you know where you're at all month. Yes, you need to trim your overall spending long term, but that's only going to happen if you know how to keep track of your spending as part of your daily life, which takes practice. Trying to not spend anything all will not help develop those habits. It's the dieting equivalent of switching from junk food to celery and tap water. Just live your life, make sensible decisions and don't let yourself spend more than that $1000 limit. If that feels too easy, good. It should be easy. It hasn't been until now, though, so don't get ahead of yourself.
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Oct 30, 2017 05:10
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zaurg posted:Not going to be under the October target due to not setting and working towards the target until 10/15. After 10/15 I think I've been doing well. You say you spent $377 since 10/15, which looks like you failed your test. On closer inspection, if I subtract the credit card interest, you are in fact under $350, although now I'm worried that it was purely accidental. Why was credit card interest listed with everything else? Did you actually track your cumulative discretionary spending during the past two weeks? Or did you just try to keep your overall spending low? The latter won't fix this. That's what I meant by manic deprivation. The enthusiasm/fear that motivates you not to spend money is a short-term drive. It won't set you up to stay within budget long term unless you can learn some tricks or habits to help yourself control your spending in a natural way. Remember this post? zaurg posted:So short-term goals are still: Your "plan" was to aim for $250. Did you actually do anything to achieve that specific value? By which I mean, did you keep a running tally of your spending and change anything once you got close to it? If you did, where and why did you fail? If not, why not? That was the whole point of the exercise, not the amount you ultimately spent. I want you to know where you're at, in this specific spending category, at all times. I then want you to base your decisions off of it. Kid has an extracurricular that costs $60 + $12.75 + $8.50? You have that much less to spend at the grocery. So you either eat out of your cupboards and/or meal plan your way around it or you tell your kid they can't do the extracurricular. You have to actually change your behavior in response to this information or else it is ultimately pointless. Edit: Oh, and to answer this question: zaurg posted:I think at this rate it *should* be easy but I'm worried about how to tackle unexpected larger expenses like car repairs and home repairs. One of those could easily crush my attempt at staying under $1k for "spending" for the month.
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Oct 31, 2017 01:06
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zaurg posted:I am changing my behavior, in response to keeping track of the $, but perhaps not to the level of what you're talking about. I don't know how else to do it. Maybe those of you who have suggested cash might be the best way. If I start with an envelope of cash and can literally physically see and count what I have left before completing any transaction, that will help? To me that sounds more like the "manic deprivation" Giraffe keeps referring to. I think if I was using 100% cash I would've spent the exact same amount since 10/15 because I consciously thought with each purchase whether I really needed it or not and thought about how it would affect the budget. To me 10/15-10/30 has been a success but it's only two drat weeks. November is the real test. Again, I'm just sharing the method that works best for me. If a cash envelope is easier for you, try that. Or figure out something else. It really really doesn't matter what system you use, as long as you have a system that is capable of actually changing your behavior.
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Oct 31, 2017 04:05
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Giraffe posted:For November, don't worry about unexpected larger stuff. That's ultimately what your emergency fund and savings will be for. This month, just focus on living within that $1000 for the specific categories we identified and if one of those bigger things comes up, it goes on the credit card. Not ideal, obviously, but that's what was going to happen anyway so let's not try to sprint when we've yet to master crawling.
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Nov 4, 2017 19:06
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Great job, zaurg! Seriously. Were you able to keep track of how much headroom you had throughout the month? Because keeping your spending as low as possible is great, but you also need to start exercising the muscles that let you spend a reasonable amount on luxuries and extras without going bananas. Just keep practicing that throughout the next couple of months. And since it's now December, don't be afraid to cut yourself a bit of slack. Considering how badly you've killed your finances in past years over the holidays, just getting out with only minor injuries is a win. Keep up the good work. I'm cautiously optimistic.
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Dec 2, 2017 05:41
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Ultimate Mango posted:I don’t remember is any of the threads discussed SMART goal setting with you, but you need to make SMART goals. As for the Bermuda trip, I don't have any problem with you spending your money on that, I think it's a worthy goal to give your kids a cool experience and visit family in a place you've never been. But I don't think it's a realistic goal in that timeframe. Like others, I think your goals should be more modest for the next few months. Continue to keep your monthly spending under a set limit, then start building up an emergency fund. You need to be ready for the next car repair or roof collapse or water heater meltdown. My worry is that you're going to get bored by this unexciting incremental progress, so you might need to think of a strategy to make it feel more rewarding. For example, if you set a goal to increase your emergency fund balance by $3000 by the end of 2018, you could reward yourself by saying any savings above that at the end of the year can go toward a trip with your kids. How good a trip that is depends on how well you save and how good/lucky you are at avoiding unforeseen expenses. Yes, it would be even better to not spend that money and stick it in savings, but there's more to life than just optimizing your savings balance. Finding a way to have rewarding experiences along the way while still hitting your goals is how you're ultimately going to succeed.
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Dec 17, 2017 20:25
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zaurg posted:I'm good just not much to share. Feeling like a hermit. Not going out or dating or anything. Who can afford such a thing. This is great to see zaurg, I'm really impressed. Keep up the good work! As for the pool vacuum, I'm personally fine with you spending your money on whatever you want. You don't need to pass the BFC thriftiness test on every one of your purchases (although it's a great resource when you are looking for ways to trim things), right now we're just learning how to end the month with a surplus rather than deficit. Once you're at the end of the month, look at how much extra you have and decide what you want to do with it. Don't be afraid to do fun stuff with it, either. Going to a football game with friends guilt-free can be very motivational in keeping you on track in coming months. Or buying a nicer pool vacuum than the bare minimum cheapest model. On the flip side, you can buy yourself peace of mind by stashing it for upcoming financial surprises. Ultimately, I'd like to see you have a proper emergency fund as well as a small slush fund to supplement your monthly $1k when you need to. Even with the best of intentions, you're going to have months where you spend more than that $1k, so why not be realistic and prepare? Knowing you have e.g. $400 extra just in case can make each month's budgeting less of a strict pass/fail exercise. And of course, you'll need a proper emergency fund for the big stuff that happens without warning. For now, though, just focus on getting to month's end with extra money. That's the hard part and you're on track to kill it this month, so just get there.
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Jan 16, 2018 22:07
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zaurg posted:If Giraffe comes back to this thread I'll follow his advice, since moana can't come hit me on the head. And I don't care if you sell your idiotic altcoins or not. It doesn't matter whether you make money on them or lose it all. Not because I wish you ill or would be bitter about good fortune obtained through dumb luck, but because the mere fact that you bought them shows how broken your brain is. $3k is nothing in the grand scheme of things. If you had that exact same $3k on your credit card because you fell asleep at the wheel and crashed your car into a telephone pole, I'd be telling you right now how it was just a small setback that you could get over in no time. It's not the money, it's the impulsiveness and the lying and the rationalizing. Strangers on the Internet can't fix that. No big deal, you'll get through life. I know people who are stupider with money than you who live a perfectly fine life. Not nearly as nice or as comfortable as it could have been, but they're not homeless. You won't be homeless either. Just always a little behind, a little more vulnerable to bad luck and random circumstance. Good luck, zaurg.
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Feb 3, 2018 19:20
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zaurg posted:3k isn't much in the grand scheme of things 
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Feb 3, 2018 20:57
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zaurg, in late October posted:It pains me to think if my ex would've bought-in to my "go debt free" plan back in 2010 or whenever it was (it's in an old thread), I'd have had my old condo mortgage paid off completely and her student loan paid off completely and be completely debt free as of something like 2013/2014. Then ~3 years since then with no mortgage/no debt just banking cash every month with dual incomes.
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Feb 4, 2018 01:42
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the talent deficit posted:those who actually believed this zaurg thread would be any different than the last three are the only ones who should be banned
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Feb 4, 2018 07:13
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CharlestonJew posted:We already have a Bad With Money thread for things like this. It's time to put this old dog down
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Feb 8, 2018 20:19
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zaurg posted:she can't get preggo.
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Feb 9, 2018 18:03
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GF: "How could they even get to the egg if they have to fight gravity? Sperm can't fly, right?" Z: "Logic checks out!" 
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Feb 9, 2018 18:07
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zaurg posted:So the thing is, for better or worse, I put more value into the opinions of those around me IRL. BFC is just a bunch of usernames. When good friends who I have a lot of respect for and are much more successful than me are doing it, yeah that's what swayed me over. zaurg posted:4chan's /biz is a source of amazing hilarity as well and I will admit I bought 2 shitcoins from comments there. 
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Feb 9, 2018 18:13
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Piell posted:SELL YOUR COINS YOU DUMBFUCK Don't listen to him, zaurg. You should be buying, not selling. What is your credit card limit?
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Feb 9, 2018 19:44
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zaurg posted:visa1) $0 available You can triple that in no time! That's like $40k!
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Feb 9, 2018 20:01
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ryde posted:We’re talking about zaurg here. He'll then sort of save for a couple of months before deciding he should take it a second mortgage to invest in his friend's cereal restaurant. Should be pretty fun.
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Feb 10, 2018 21:13
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zaurg posted:Ah yes. Yes I am considering it. Why is it a terrible suggestion? Stop trying to find magic bullets or big exciting actions to take. The only actual solution to your financial problems is teaching yourself to spend less than you make. Which is entirely doable with your current income and mortgage if you could just get the squirrels in your head to stop getting bored and looking for get-rich-quick schemes after a month or two of normalcy. Or, whatever, buy more altcoins. I'm sure future people will look back and wish they'd had the opportunity to buy as many weedcoins as they could back when they were only $10 each.
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Feb 13, 2018 18:12
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AndrewP posted:What $ did he buy BTC at, just outta curiosity? He didn't buy BTC, he bought a bunch of knock-off copies. It's like you heard about dot-com stocks in December of 1999, so you ran out and bought stock in qets.com, a website that makes all its money selling ads to people who made typos while looking for pets.com. It's one more level removed from something that's already stupid, useless and overvalued.
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Feb 13, 2018 20:21
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Andy Dufresne posted:Can I post that we were able to buy my wife a brand new Cr-v or is that a trigger? It fits in with the rest of the self-congratulatory financial autofellatio on this page, so go ahead I guess. It is Valentine’s Day, after all.
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Feb 15, 2018 05:24
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zaurg posted:BFC advice taken:
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Feb 19, 2018 22:06
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Devian666 posted:Diversification is supposed to be across asset classes. It's also a position not typically leveraged with high interest credit card debt as that results in a negative return. It's like when you spend your whole paycheck on scratch-off lottery tickets, you want to buy several different kinds in case one of them isn't lucky.
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Feb 20, 2018 02:53
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zaurg posted:Another fact that is crazy is that I'm 40 and have contributed to a 401k with my employers matching a % for 11 years total, and the entirety of my retirement savings is at $20k right now in the 401k. I literally am my dad, using my retirement savings for other poo poo besides retirement. Seriously, shove your "woe is me" act up your rear end. If you're going to be willfully stupid, at least own it.
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Feb 20, 2018 06:11
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No Butt Stuff posted:At what threshold does he sell? Like, he hasn't set a limit. They could reach 100k, he still wouldn't sell, then it could crash to a dollar and he'd still think he was doing the right thing. He is clearly far more driven by the fear of missing out on quick riches than by the actual outcome. If he sold his altcoins now and they doubled in value, it would haunt him forever. Making $3k on altcoins would be infinitely more gratifying to him than ending up with a $3k savings account by basic budget discipline. The former is being brave and right and succeeding against the odds and the nattering voices of those who would tear down your dreams. The latter is just deprivation and being a loser who can't indulge his impulses whenever he wants. $3k is nothing compared with that. BFC should stop wasting their time yelling at zaurg to sell his coins or think of his kids. Freeing up that money won't quiet the voice in his brain that tells him to jerk the steering wheel as soon as the bus has been driving straight on the highway long enough to be boring. He's destined for the ditch.
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Feb 20, 2018 19:50
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Weatherman posted:Moneyball, can you up his toxx to a perma or something? Please don't. Permabanning zaurg would deprive the rest of us of the comedy of seeing how lovely things end up turning out and how he fucks himself over next. The overall story arc is one of the best part of these threads.
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Feb 20, 2018 22:53
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 18:23 |
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Yeah, the tax fraud talk is pretty pointless. It's far from the stupidest part of wasting $3k on fake bitcoins. And speaking of: zaurg posted:I can't figure out if goons are trolling when equating cryptocurrency to Beanie Babies. In your case, you're not investing in cryptocurrency as a concept. Even if cryptocurrency becomes widely used (it won't), you aren't going to be rich. Because you're invested in specific instantiations that are trivially easy to produce. The whole notion of Bitcoin as a store of value is driven by scarcity. Bitcoin copies are "scarce" in the sense that there's a fixed number of coins within each one, but not scarce at all in the sense that you can just stamp out a new one and slap a different name on it. You're in the middle of a hype cycle where people who don't understand what they're buying are driving up the price of otherwise worthless commodities. That won't last forever. Don't sell them, though. People can be a lot dumber than you think so you could still make money. And if you don't, good. I'd rather you lost money on this than broke even. Not because I wish you ill (I don't), but because it'll be marginally better for you in the long run if you don't make money on this.
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Feb 22, 2018 19:28
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