Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[Zoot]

My mortgage comes out of my bank account on the 10th of each month, but it doesn't show up in online banking until the 11th, so I have to wait an extra day to calculate how much lower my interest payment is than last month :-(

I built an amortization table in Excel for basically this reason.  I wanted to be able to forecast my interest/principal payments in Quicken to make a budget forecast for the year, and the rest is nerdy history.  :)

[Pooperman]

I get my yearly amortization statement with how much interest and principal I pay... two weeks in I put in extra principal payments and look at my now useless sheet of paper. Oh well...

My spreadsheet for mortgage (and other things). Hope if can help you to figure out stuff.

[Pooperman]

It's not complicated, I just have to skip to whatever paiement I'm at.

BUT, the dates no longer work!

It's really an example of very unimportant problems of saving too much!

Use a spreadsheet with extra payments (like the one I posted)?

[LeRainDrop]

Thanks for that spreadsheet, Pooperman.

[chaskavitch]

It's not complicated, I just have to skip to whatever paiement I'm at.

BUT, the dates no longer work!

It's really an example of very unimportant problems of saving too much!

Use a spreadsheet with extra payments (like the one I posted)?

Haha.  I totally made one of these too.  I love making new tabs with different scenarios.  "What happens if we put our whole bonus toward the mortgage?" "How much interest will we save if we pay an extra $200/mo forever?"  "How much extra do we need to pay monthly to get rid of this in 10 years?"

[Grid]

I could've avoided this but I'll report it here nonetheless.  My MPP for today is that I wasn't able to make the two minimum $250 direct deposits necessary to get a $200 bonus on a new checking account.  At the end of the year I was able to make the first deposit without issue, but at the beginning of the new year my max withholding kicks in for my HSA and 401k and I'm left with just a few dollars per paycheck.  :/

[Cannot Wait!]

I feel a bit guilty when the cleaning lady comes to clean - at the house where I'M PAID to house sit. 

[sw1tch]

This just reminds me of mine.

Anyhow to start it off, back to my pre-mustachian days, I purchased my wife's wedding/engagement ring from Helzberg Jewelers.  So, every once in a while they send me a postcard in the mail to come pick up free jewelry (usually it's pretty cheap/gimmicky stuff but free is free).  Of course the whole get-up is to entice me to buy something (which never happens) as well as require you to provide your e-mail address for them to market to you.  This time around they had a free necklace and so yesterday we headed to the mall to go pick it up.

Of course the Jewelry store is physically located in the middle of the mall, so in order to get to it we had to pass by multiple stores.  We decided to stop by Journeys since we had a gift card to there and my wife was thinking about eventually getting a new pair of shoes.  Well, we get in as normal and the clerk makes a comment about my shoes.  She said something along the lines of:
"Wow, those shoes are classic! Its been forever ago since we carried those!"  I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not??  But, I just nodded my head and said "Yep" in agreement.

This is a pair of Puma Speedcats that I bought probably back in 2011 or 2012 from an outlet store.  Of course I still wear them quite a bit (they're my casual pair of shoes).  Just me being me, I suppose.

Anyhow, we left the store shortly after (my wife is also pretty damn frugal and didn't like anything there).  We proceeded to go pick up our free necklace (the clerk there asked if I wanted to use the adjoining $50 off $250 coupon - I said no).  Afterwards, we stopped by a couple more stores, but left with just the free necklace and nothing else.

TLDR: Free necklace, in my classic shoes!

[mustachepungoeshere]

Well, we get in as normal and the clerk makes a comment about my shoes.  She said something along the lines of:
"Wow, those shoes are classic! Its been forever ago since we carried those!"  I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not??  But, I just nodded my head and said "Yep" in agreement.

This is a pair of Puma Speedcats that I bought probably back in 2011 or 2012 from an outlet store.  Of course I still wear them quite a bit (they're my casual pair of shoes).  Just me being me, I suppose.

My husband used to live in Speedcats (and Driftcats, Structurecats, etc). They're so hard to find now.

[barbaz]

I left a company (moved) that seemed to have been doing fine, but suddenly started laying off a lot of its upper management (who were mostly "family" of the owners...)- they all go great packages. About 2 weeks after I left I got an email from a friend: they got to the office and the doors were boarded.This was the day before a payday, so most people lost a month of pay. It was never paid out; but those cushy lay-off and forced retirements for the upper levels all got paid out. 

There were a number of lawsuits, but I think the "bankruptcy" claims prevented them from going anywhere.

In Germany ...

In Germany, spending company money when you know it is going to be insolvent can also land you in prison for up to three years, plus you'll be personally liable for outstanding payments.

Damn Socialists!

[Fomerly known as something]

Having to wait for Vanguards Tax documents when you want to get your taxes to the accountant because you are going to be traveling out of the country for the entire month of March. 

[fuzzy math]

I'm already not looking forward to my lunch. Bought some weird cherry flavored pork sausages and they taste like cough syrup. But damnit I'm going to eat them...

[Alfred J Quack]

My mortgage comes out of my bank account on the 10th of each month, but it doesn't show up in online banking until the 11th, so I have to wait an extra day to calculate how much lower my interest payment is than last month :-(

That's better than mine being withdrawn on the last day of the month because the bank needs to have it on the first day of the following month. This costs me 1 day (plus weekend/holidays) of lost interest...

Also, my bank forgot to send me an offer to renew my fixed interest period (which expired last month). I called them about it, they excused themselves saying it was a glitch because I payed off a bit of the remaining principle in the month where they should have sent me the offer.
During the call she asked me if I wanted the fixed period to remain at 5 years. I laughed at her, with 20k remaining I wanted variable interest which means I drop from 4% to 2% interest. With €60/mo interest that saves me €30/mo!

Downside though is that I had a short stay in hospital (appendix). My insurance has a higher no-claim for an additional discount whichi I maxed out instantly... On the plus side, all medical costs (within that package) for the rest of the year are covered by insurance :D

[Cannot Wait!]

Here I go feeling guilty again -  but when people pay me $25 to walk their gorgeous dog along the waterfront on a perfect winter day, I feel like I'm robbing them.  Not only for that amount of money but for stealing their chance to be outside in the sunshine following a wagging tail.

[G-dog]

Here I go feeling guilty again -  but when people pay me $25 to walk their gorgeous dog along the waterfront on a perfect winter day, I feel like I'm robbing them.  Not only for that amount of money but for stealing their chance to be outside in the sunshine following a wagging tail.

How far did you go? Dogs are so happy to go walk - it can be contagious even if you weren't feeling it in the beginning.

[Cannot Wait!]

I'm always up for a doggie walk!  I was out for an hour, probably 6 kms.  $25 is for 45 mins but I didn't want to return him.  😄 

[akzidenz]

I got a bonus at work and was going to follow my typical rule of "save 75%, spend 25% as a reward". So I went and looked at my list of consumerist wants (which I've been keeping to reduce impulse purchases)…and then I realized I didn't want any thing as much as I wanted future compound interest.

So I'm saving it all! Part of me feels very boring for not having anything I really want, and not participating in "what are you buying with your bonus?" conversations. And this month I'll get to put almost 3x more into savings than I usually manage!

[Abe]

My wife got an unexpected bonus last year which MMM could live off of for a year. A lot of her colleagues asked if she's finally going to buy a real "doctor" car like a BMW or something. Considering she spends 30 minutes in it 4 days a week, that sounded like a poor investment. We just maxed out our 401ks and then invested the amount we avoided in taxes also.

[Dave1442397]

My wife got an unexpected bonus last year which MMM could live off of for a year. A lot of her colleagues asked if she's finally going to buy a real "doctor" car like a BMW or something. Considering she spends 30 minutes in it 4 days a week, that sounded like a poor investment. We just maxed out our 401ks and then invested the amount we avoided in taxes also.

We have a doctor friend who recently finished his residency. Within a month or two: new McMansion, new BMW, new Mercedes SUV, new Harley, braces on kid's teeth, island vacation. His wife was pissed...she was quite happy in the old house and driving her old Honda.

[galliver]

Bf: Mint keeps complaining that I'm over budget...on student loans!

(I expect it was actually the little "you've spent $XXXX on The Thing last month, usually you spend $XX!" message...)

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[UKMustache]

My investment brokerage has just released a fancy new app which let's you make investments authorised by fingerprint on your smartphone (which mine is compatible with).

I'll never get to use it though because I only buy index funds via a monthly direct debit!

[Hedge_87]

Bf: Mint keeps complaining that I'm over budget...on student loans!

(I expect it was actually the little "you've spent $XXXX on The Thing last month, usually you spend $XX!" message...)

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

lol we had the same problem paying down my wife's. Now I get a weekly email from mint showing my spending categories. About twice a month it just says "something must be wrong you didn't spend any money this week". I always get a chuckle out of that one.

[Cannot Wait!]

So I'm saving it all! Part of me feels very boring for not having anything I really want, and not participating in "what are you buying with your bonus?" conversations. And this month I'll get to put almost 3x more into savings than I usually manage!

Join the conversation by telling them that you are buying your sweet freedom!

[fuzzy math]

One of my kids was complaining about a stomach ache this morning. He improved and went on to have a great day. I still had to throw away his pizza leftovers at dinner instead of finishing them off. Throwing away pizza should be a crime.

[Friar]

My investment brokerage has just released a fancy new app which let's you make investments authorised by fingerprint on your smartphone (which mine is compatible with).

I'll never get to use it though because I only buy index funds via a monthly direct debit!

Which broker? I'm looking at switching mine to an app based affair.

[dragoncar]

My investment brokerage has just released a fancy new app which let's you make investments authorised by fingerprint on your smartphone (which mine is compatible with).

I'll never get to use it though because I only buy index funds via a monthly direct debit!

Which broker? I'm looking at switching mine to an app based affair.

Almost all of them?

[moof]

Got a small atta-boy bonus at work a few months ago, $300.  It was on a gift card, which I hate hassling with.  Couldn't think of any fun toys to buy, so I sent to to my hardworking sister with perpetual misfortune and bad luck.  She was thrilled.  Her happiness was worth it to me, and I didn't have to deal with the darn gift card.

[johnny847]

Got a small atta-boy bonus at work a few months ago, $300.  It was on a gift card, which I hate hassling with.  Couldn't think of any fun toys to buy, so I sent to to my hardworking sister with perpetual misfortune and bad luck.  She was thrilled.  Her happiness was worth it to me, and I didn't have to deal with the darn gift card.

Another option would've been to sell it to a reseller such as Cardpool. https://www.giftcardwiki.com/ will show you the best rates per brand.

I do this for profit and made $5035 last year.

[HappierAtHome]

FIL has asked us to nominate something he can buy for our son (due in May) as a special present - he initially offered to buy the cot, but MIL (divorced) is already handling that.

The problem is that we've picked up so many second-hand baby things free from neighbours, friends and our local Buy Nothing group that we are struggling to come up with something useful and 'big enough' (his standards, not ours!) for him to buy us.

[lbdance]

FIL has asked us to nominate something he can buy for our son (due in May) as a special present - he initially offered to buy the cot, but MIL (divorced) is already handling that.

The problem is that we've picked up so many second-hand baby things free from neighbours, friends and our local Buy Nothing group that we are struggling to come up with something useful and 'big enough' (his standards, not ours!) for him to buy us.

My FIL was similar. I suggested I wanted some really good quality merino sleeping bags and so he gave money for that. If you don't have any already, I thoroughly recommend them, they have been great as a sleep cue and not stressing with blankets in winter. He also then wanted to contribute to the pram - but we ended up getting a small stroller so didn't mention that.

[secondcor521]

FIL has asked us to nominate something he can buy for our son (due in May) as a special present - he initially offered to buy the cot, but MIL (divorced) is already handling that.

The problem is that we've picked up so many second-hand baby things free from neighbours, friends and our local Buy Nothing group that we are struggling to come up with something useful and 'big enough' (his standards, not ours!) for him to buy us.

Start of a college savings account?

[meerkat]

FIL has asked us to nominate something he can buy for our son (due in May) as a special present - he initially offered to buy the cot, but MIL (divorced) is already handling that.

The problem is that we've picked up so many second-hand baby things free from neighbours, friends and our local Buy Nothing group that we are struggling to come up with something useful and 'big enough' (his standards, not ours!) for him to buy us.

Grandparents bought the crib/cot, a very comfortable leather armchair, and the video monitor. Other "big" items could be a car seat, pack n play, a swing that plugs into the wall rather than eating through batteries. If everything like that is already taken care of, sleep sacks are a good idea. I don't think a lot of people realize how much a few sleep sacks can add up, plus they look cute so FIL can feel like he got something cute and baby-ish.

[merula]

Another option would've been to sell it to a reseller such as Cardpool. https://www.giftcardwiki.com/ will show you the best rates per brand.

I do this for profit and made $5035 last year.

Can you elaborate?

[johnny847]

Another option would've been to sell it to a reseller such as Cardpool. https://www.giftcardwiki.com/ will show you the best rates per brand.

I do this for profit and made $5035 last year.

Can you elaborate?

Let's say you've been given a gift card to Lowe's you don't want. https://www.giftcardwiki.com/gift-cards/Lowe's tells us that the best sell rate is either 82.5% from Cardpool or 87% from the GCW Trading club. The trading club is a private group. If you're starting out I probably wouldn't start there.

So you can create an account at Cardpool and mail the card in (many cards do have to be mailed in. Some do not. It depends on the reseller you're selling to. Some resellers accept electronic cards at lower rates.) You'll receive payment after some delay. I forget what payment options Cardpool has, but in general all resellers offer checks as payment. Some resellers will pay via Paypal and/or ACH as well.

As for how to make $5035 in a year, obviously you need to find gift cards to buy at lower than what you can sell them for. Deals can be found from http://deals.ebay.com/other-deals/gift-cards (don't buy the pre-owned ones - you can't sell those), Costco, Sam's Club, Staples, etc.

To give you an idea of the margins, I pulled in $43k in revenues and had $38k in costs to get that $5k in profit from gift card reselling.

[MM_MG]

I don't know if this was covered before but...

Vanguard retirement calculator:   https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/pubeducation/calculators/RetirementIncomeCalc.jsf

One cannot save more than $60,000 annually and you "need" 60% of your annual income in retirement.   Neither of which apply to us. 

[barbaz]

The notion that you need a certain percentage of your last income in retirement is horrible. Although it is probably true for most people. Which is horrible too.

[dragoncar]

The notion that you need a certain percentage of your last income in retirement is horrible. Although it is probably true for most people. Which is horrible too.

It's true for everybody.  Even zero is a percentage.

[Taran Wanderer]

As the stock market continues its upward march, we reached a significant new net worth milestone, but all I can think about is the inevitable crash with the current captain at the helm of our ship of state.

[Linea_Norway]

As the stock market continues its upward march, we reached a significant new net worth milestone, but all I can think about is the inevitable crash with the current captain at the helm of our ship of state.

Traditionally stock markets also climb up again after a crash. Especially when you have spread your stock, like in a index fund and you have the time to sit it out. Otherwise you could consider selling some now when things are good and buy stock on a foreign market.

[FiguringItOut]

As the stock market continues its upward march, we reached a significant new net worth milestone, but all I can think about is the inevitable crash with the current captain at the helm of our ship of state.

That is how I feel exactly.  I see my small portfolio go up every month by $1,500-2,000 and it makes me more worried than happy.  I can't fully understand this feeling either.  We live in strange times, for sure.

[dougules]

As the stock market continues its upward march, we reached a significant new net worth milestone, but all I can think about is the inevitable crash with the current captain at the helm of our ship of state.

That is how I feel exactly.  I see my small portfolio go up every month by $1,500-2,000 and it makes me more worried than happy.  I can't fully understand this feeling either.  We live in strange times, for sure.

I feel a bit let down too every time I see it keep moving up.  Whether or not it's a fair value, up is not good for anybody not close to FI.  I think I'll feel a little better once interest rates get back somewhere in the realm of normal. 

[Just Joe]

Back around thanksgiving I found an Otterbox phone case at goodwill for $2.  It wasn't new but it was in decent shape. I think I had my hands full and was going to go back to it after trying clothing on, but I forgot. I desperately need a new phone case but now I can't make myself buy the decent $11 case from Amazon because $2 has been set as my new acceptable cost for one.

Advantages of having an older phone or an "off-brand" phone: cheaper cases. Really cheap as the phone "ages out" for most people. Meanwhile my cheapo phone carries on, good battery and all.

[LennStar]

I feel a bit let down too every time I see it keep moving up.  Whether or not it's a fair value, up is not good for anybody not close to FI.  I think I'll feel a little better once interest rates get back somewhere in the realm of normal.

They are normal. In an economy where you can make factors more money by shuffling money from A to B to C and back to A, then by investing it (aka increase some sort of production), negative interest rates are the only thing that prevents the whole system from collaps. Such, negative interest is normal in this system.

[force majeure]

I emailed Dave Ramsey with a plea for help, am waiting for his reply;

Dear Dave,

Can you help me with advice for this financial problem I am having?
I am 45 years old - My passive income from low cost index funds and rental income is now greater than my salary - what should I do?

[Lews Therin]

Dave Ramsey would answer: Stop wasting your money and time on emailing people for help. You are now capable enough to stand on your own.


-And then you'll have to !

[RWD]

Dave Ramsey would answer: Stop wasting your money and time on emailing people for help. You are now capable enough to stand on your own.


-And then you'll have to !

Pretty sure Dave Ramsey would tell you to switch from low cost index funds to the high load funds he recommends (with commission)...

[nouveauRiche]

My MPP: 

We recently received a nice windfall.  I was excited.  I deposited it in the bank and felt a little deflated when it was added to the pile. 

Psychologically I know it gets us closer to FIRE but today it changes nothing.  It was a bit of a letdown.

[LennStar]

My MPP: 

We recently received a nice windfall.  I was excited.  I deposited it in the bank and felt a little deflated when it was added to the pile. 

Psychologically I know it gets us closer to FIRE but today it changes nothing.  It was a bit of a letdown.

Thats why you (psychologically) should do something nice with a part of it. Go out eating, if you like that. Make a bungee jump if you are into that. Make a donation to something you deem worthy.
It costs you under 100$ but the stuffed away 5000$ dont feel wasted then, quite contrary.

[G-dog]

My MPP: 

We recently received a nice windfall.  I was excited.  I deposited it in the bank and felt a little deflated when it was added to the pile. 

Psychologically I know it gets us closer to FIRE but today it changes nothing.  It was a bit of a letdown.

Thats why you (psychologically) should do something nice with a part of it. Go out eating, if you like that. Make a bungee jump if you are into that. Make a donation to something you deem worthy.
It costs you under 100$ but the stuffed away 5000$ dont feel wasted then, quite contrary.

Invest some of it! Then it is working harder for you!
And, it's OK to do what LennStar recommends too.

[Fomerly known as something]

MPP,

Having to wait until tomorrow morning to see how much the market gains added to my TSP.