Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[Lews Therin]

It's the end of the month and I have used up my free articles at the NYTimes, WaPo, New Yorker, and every other reputable news site that restricts it's articles. There's been a lot going on this week and I only have access to free garbage news til 10/1.
[/quote]
Incognito browser stops that problem...

[fuzzy math]

It's the end of the month and I have used up my free articles at the NYTimes, WaPo, New Yorker, and every other reputable news site that restricts it's articles. There's been a lot going on this week and I only have access to free garbage news til 10/1.

Incognito browser stops that problem...

Yeah I'm going to do that thanks to all who suggested.

My latest MPP:

Payday was last fri 9/28. Normally my retirement contributions hit my acct the same day. 2nd business day passed today 10/1 and they still haven't posted. This contribution will put me past the $250k mark and I NEED to graduate from the "race from 100-250k thread" very badly. Like today. Or last Friday.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

It's the end of the month and I have used up my free articles at the NYTimes, WaPo, New Yorker, and every other reputable news site that restricts it's articles. There's been a lot going on this week and I only have access to free garbage news til 10/1.

Incognito browser stops that problem...
[/quote]

I pay for my news now. Journalism costs more money than the advertising generates. $99/year for WaPo, because that's my favorite.

[Loren Ver]

MPP - DH and I have ran our Q3 numbers.  We are now looking at moving our FIRE date by 5 months or so.  We are now working diligently to get all our ducks in a row to see if we can pull the trigger sooner.  So much dry erase board and excel work. 

This is so much better than the getting out of debt discussion my friends are having :), though I am sure most of the topic headings are similar.

LV

[LennStar]

MPP - DH and I have ran our Q3 numbers.  We are now looking at moving our FIRE date by 5 months or so.  We are now working diligently to get all our ducks in a row to see if we can pull the trigger sooner.  So much dry erase board and excel work. 

This is so much better than the getting out of debt discussion my friends are having :), though I am sure most of the topic headings are similar.

LV

I would be careful with that, since stocks should be at or around their max now before the next chrash. But it is up to you how close to the border you want to cut the line ;) Congratz anyway to get that close.

[May2030]

This month I have trying to be stoic and really cut my foot budget to the bone just to see if I could. No treats or rubbish sweet stuff and made meat go much further. Even tried fasting for a day just to see what it was like.  Not only have I not been hungry (other than the fast day) I have felt more energised and upbeat. Stoicism failure.

[markbike528CBX]

MPP - DH and I have ran our Q3 numbers.  We are now looking at moving our FIRE date by 5 months or so.  We are now working diligently to get all our ducks in a row to see if we can pull the trigger sooner.  So much dry erase board and excel work. 

This is so much better than the getting out of debt discussion my friends are having :), though I am sure most of the topic headings are similar.

LV

I would be careful with that, since stocks should be at or around their max now before the next chrash. But it is up to you how close to the border you want to cut the line ;) Congratz anyway to get that close.

Lennstar,   I would be careful with that, looks like you're saying The Top is in http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/top-is-in/   The thread started last year, and the major indices are up a lot since. 

[Linea_Norway]

MPP - DH and I have ran our Q3 numbers.  We are now looking at moving our FIRE date by 5 months or so.  We are now working diligently to get all our ducks in a row to see if we can pull the trigger sooner.  So much dry erase board and excel work. 

This is so much better than the getting out of debt discussion my friends are having :), though I am sure most of the topic headings are similar.

LV

I would be careful with that, since stocks should be at or around their max now before the next chrash. But it is up to you how close to the border you want to cut the line ;) Congratz anyway to get that close.

Lennstar,   I would be careful with that, looks like you're saying The Top is in http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/top-is-in/   The thread started last year, and the major indices are up a lot since.

That is why we should now be really close to the top. ;-)

[Imma]

I was in a very interesting pension course today (for payroll / legal people, not for participants).

One theme we talked about a lot is parttime retirement. From a financial point of view, it makes much more sense for people to not claim their pension when they want to retire parttime and just live off less, but, as the trainer said "for most people of course, unless you're really rich of received an inheritance, that's not going tot be possible".

The 600.000 participants in our pension fund earn an average EUR 45.500 / year and affordability of health care is not an issue. Most people interested in parttime retirement are 60+, with a paid off home and adult kids. I was absolutely shocked that everyone thought it was obvious this person could never live off 80% of their income.

[ixtap]

I was in a very interesting pension course today (for payroll / legal people, not for participants).

One theme we talked about a lot is parttime retirement. From a financial point of view, it makes much more sense for people to not claim their pension when they want to retire parttime and just live off less, but, as the trainer said "for most people of course, unless you're really rich of received an inheritance, that's not going tot be possible".

The 600.000 participants in our pension fund earn an average EUR 45.500 / year and affordability of health care is not an issue. Most people interested in parttime retirement are 60+, with a paid off home and adult kids. I was absolutely shocked that everyone thought it was obvious this person could never live off 80% of their income.

Here, it is considered unAmerican not to spend all of your disposable income. Didn't realize we had exported that viewpoint.

On the other hand, I cannot figure out my husband's paychecks. He was only bringing home about $800, but it turns out that he was over contributing to after tax 401k, risking his deductible contributions and matching. At the same time we realized that, they announced they they were switching to unlimited vacation and going to pay out any outstanding vacation. So when he put in our vacation that we took between the announcement and the implementation, he requested vacation payout (for every day of vacation you actually take, you can get another paid out). I didn't even know that what something companies offered! Between our vacation spanning two pay periods, the upcoming payout of the remainder, expected raise and bonus, reaching HSA and 401k maxes, taxes for vesting RSUs... I don't think any two paychecks will be the same for the rest of the year.

So, when I log into our bank account, I notice a transfer to AmEx and my heart stops trying to remember what we could have possibly put on the credit card that would dwarf our normal spending: it is a transfer of our buffer to savings because our net income exceeds our monthly expenses. At least until January.

[Loren Ver]

MPP - DH and I have ran our Q3 numbers.  We are now looking at moving our FIRE date by 5 months or so.  We are now working diligently to get all our ducks in a row to see if we can pull the trigger sooner.  So much dry erase board and excel work. 

This is so much better than the getting out of debt discussion my friends are having :), though I am sure most of the topic headings are similar.

LV

I would be careful with that, since stocks should be at or around their max now before the next chrash. But it is up to you how close to the border you want to cut the line ;) Congratz anyway to get that close.

Lennstar,   I would be careful with that, looks like you're saying The Top is in http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/top-is-in/   The thread started last year, and the major indices are up a lot since.

That is why we should now be really close to the top. ;-)

Everyday we are closer to the top :). 
And closer to the crash.
And closer to the recovery.
And closer to my death....

[dragoncar]

It's the end of the month and I have used up my free articles at the NYTimes, WaPo, New Yorker, and every other reputable news site that restricts it's articles. There's been a lot going on this week and I only have access to free garbage news til 10/1.

I pay for my news now. Journalism costs more money than the advertising generates. $99/year for WaPo, because that's my favorite.

I hate paying for anything I can get free, but I'm starting to consider paying for quality journalism purely as a political play.  What really gets me is paying for something and still seeing ads.  Does WaPo show ads to paying subscribers?

[Linea_Norway]

I have a problem being totally honest with a dear colleague.

After another co-worker had been talking about his pension, she asked me about my early retire plans. I had mentioned to her that I am working towards that because she is such a frugal person. She wanted to know when it was going to happen. My plan is somewhere in 2019, but it is depending on a big thing (selling the house for a good price), so nothing is certain. I don't want to announce a date in public and then not being able to do it. Therefore I said: before I am 50, I am now 45. That is a date I can certainly retire, as far as any future can be certain.

She was really amazed by it being so soon, especially since I now started working 80%. She even started calculating whether I would still be at work to see the new future data system go live in 2023. It felt bad not being able to share my more detailed plans with her, like I can do here on the board.

I did however tell her about the clown house and having to downsize for FIRE. She didn't really understand it until I mentioned the price we had paid for our house, which is more than twice the price of her house. I said we were depending on the house market not crashing.

Now I hope that when we put the house for sale next spring, that she doesn't understand immediately that it means FIRE until we really sell it.

[Hirondelle]

Linda, can't you just describe the selling of the house in the current market as a windfall to her once it happens? E.g. your plans were to retire before 50 without taking into account any gains on the house, but now you sold it for a good price as the housing market didn't crash and you can suddenly retire already?

[Linea_Norway]

Linda, can't you just describe the selling of the house in the current market as a windfall to her once it happens? E.g. your plans were to retire before 50 without taking into account any gains on the house, but now you sold it for a good price as the housing market didn't crash and you can suddenly retire already?

Yes, that might be a good idea.

[solon]

I started a new thread about this, but then somebody reminded me this is an MPP.

When I started my new job in January of this year, I signed up for the HSA immediately, and maxed it out ($3,450.00) as quickly as possible. But today, they let me go.

Since I wasn't there an entire year, am I allowed to max it out? Or is my maximum contribution amount somehow prorated?

[Zaga]

I started a new thread about this, but then somebody reminded me this is an MPP.

When I started my new job in January of this year, I signed up for the HSA immediately, and maxed it out ($3,450.00) as quickly as possible. But today, they let me go.

Since I wasn't there an entire year, am I allowed to max it out? Or is my maximum contribution amount somehow prorated?

If you keep qualifying insurance for the full calendar year then you can max it out.  If you switch to a non-qualifying plan then you have to pro-rate by number of months covered.

[solon]

I started a new thread about this, but then somebody reminded me this is an MPP.

When I started my new job in January of this year, I signed up for the HSA immediately, and maxed it out ($3,450.00) as quickly as possible. But today, they let me go.

Since I wasn't there an entire year, am I allowed to max it out? Or is my maximum contribution amount somehow prorated?

If you keep qualifying insurance for the full calendar year then you can max it out.  If you switch to a non-qualifying plan then you have to pro-rate by number of months covered.

Yeah, that's really a bummer. One of the problems with starting a new job is you may not have access to the retirement plan right away (and I didn't) so I was excited about sheltering a little income with the HSA. Now I'm going to have to take some out.

[Paul der Krake]

If you stay on the plan through Cobra, this won't be an issue. If not, you should talk to your HSA custodian to remove the excess contributions, otherwise penalties will apply.

[Freedomin5]

My MPP of the day:

Because of frugality, FU money, (and general inherent laziness), I was able to work out a three-day workweek with my company last year.

Well, this week, I’ve had to add an extra day at work because there are so many projects going on, and I CAN’T HANDLE A FOUR DAY WORK WEEK! IT’S TOO MUCH WORK! I’m exhausted.

There. Rant over. Carry on.

Edited to add: I totally get paid for working the extra day, so it’s not like the company is taking advantage of me. I’m just not used to working so many days in a row.

[Imma]

I have a new job and my coworkers were talking about money problems over lunch. I want to go to lunch with them because want to get to know them, but I have a hard time relating to their problems. And as the most junior employee and a parttime worker, I'm sure I make a lot less than they do...

[DirtDiva]

When we bought our house, the previous owner left us a mostly-full box of trash bags. They're thin and tear easily, but I didn't want to waste them so decided to use them anyway. But we don't go through that many trash bags, so 14 months later we're still using those trash bags, and I'm still cursing them almost every time I take out the trash. I long for the day we finally run out and I can go buy the Costco trash bags I like lol.

Hah! Had the same MPP with 30 rolls of toilet paper left behind by the prior owner.  Single-ply, so fragile and thin we needed twice or three times as much to do the job.   I was SO happy when the final roll was gone!

We actually wrapped up a roll and put it under the Festivus Pole for BIL as a gift after he "complimented" us on our "nice TP".

[RetiredAt63]

Hah! Had the same MPP with 30 rolls of toilet paper left behind by the prior owner.  Single-ply, so fragile and thin we needed twice or three times as much to do the job.   I was SO happy when the final roll was gone!

We actually wrapped up a roll and put it under the Festivus Pole for BIL as a gift after he "complimented" us on our "nice TP".

But this is so good for your septic tank.  3-ply is a killer, according to the guy who pumps my septic tank.

/s

[Fomerly known as something]

I just got a new rewards CC for Starwood (Marriott) Hotels with a 75,000 bonus with $3000 spend in 3 months.  My problem I had also just gone to the grocery store the day before as I wasn's sure when the card would arrive.  MPP, having to wait a week to need something (I used the last of the pasta) so I could start my spending.

[dragoncar]

Got some led string lights for Halloween.  Considered putting them on a timer, but I only have a motorized timer that will probably use more power than it saves - string lights will use 5 cents of electricity if left on all month.  Now I gotta decide if it’s worth the lentil calories to manually unplug

[Trifle]

This weekend I went to a work conference at a fancy hotel multiple time zones away.  Because of the time shift and the long travel day, I was in bed super early local time.   I had just fallen asleep when I heard the door furtively opening and someone coming into the room -- startled the shit out of me.  I bolted out of bed and came face to face with a flustered hotel maid who had come to do the turndown service.  English wasn't her first language, and I was half delirious, but when she showed me the chocolates I finally understood.  I felt bad for having startled her, and like a total doofus.

MPP because I have stayed at a hotel that does turndown service maybe once in my life before -- ages ago.  I forgot this was even still a thing.  My usual work conferences don't happen at hotels that fancy.  In my non-work life we always camp, or stay at cheapo hotels/AirBnBs. 

[Linea_Norway]

This weekend I went to a work conference at a fancy hotel multiple time zones away.  Because of the time shift and the long travel day, I was in bed super early local time.   I had just fallen asleep when I heard the door furtively opening and someone coming into the room -- startled the shit out of me.  I bolted out of bed and came face to face with a flustered hotel maid who had come to do the turndown service.  English wasn't her first language, and I was half delirious, but when she showed me the chocolates I finally understood.  I felt bad for having startled her, and like a total doofus.

MPP because I have stayed at a hotel that does turndown service maybe once in my life before -- ages ago.  I forgot this was even still a thing.  My usual work conferences don't happen at hotels that fancy.  In my non-work life we always camp, or stay at cheapo hotels/AirBnBs.

That would have scared the s**t out of me too.
I think I have only twice stayed at a hotel with a turndown service. I find it very disturbing that someone knocks on my door, while I am dressed in a morning coat after just having taken a shower and expect to be in my private bubble the rest of the time. The first time (our wedding night), the hotel gave us a warning that they would knock on the door soon.

[Trifle]

This weekend I went to a work conference at a fancy hotel multiple time zones away.  Because of the time shift and the long travel day, I was in bed super early local time.   I had just fallen asleep when I heard the door furtively opening and someone coming into the room -- startled the shit out of me.  I bolted out of bed and came face to face with a flustered hotel maid who had come to do the turndown service.  English wasn't her first language, and I was half delirious, but when she showed me the chocolates I finally understood.  I felt bad for having startled her, and like a total doofus.

MPP because I have stayed at a hotel that does turndown service maybe once in my life before -- ages ago.  I forgot this was even still a thing.  My usual work conferences don't happen at hotels that fancy.  In my non-work life we always camp, or stay at cheapo hotels/AirBnBs.

That would have scared the s**t out of me too.
I think I have only twice stayed at a hotel with a turndown service. I find it very disturbing that someone knocks on my door, while I am dressed in a morning coat after just having taken a shower and expect to be in my private bubble the rest of the time. The first time (our wedding night), the hotel gave us a warning that they would knock on the door soon.

I agree -- a little heads up would be nice.  They could mention it when you first check in.

[RWD]

This weekend I went to a work conference at a fancy hotel multiple time zones away.  Because of the time shift and the long travel day, I was in bed super early local time.   I had just fallen asleep when I heard the door furtively opening and someone coming into the room -- startled the shit out of me.  I bolted out of bed and came face to face with a flustered hotel maid who had come to do the turndown service.  English wasn't her first language, and I was half delirious, but when she showed me the chocolates I finally understood.  I felt bad for having startled her, and like a total doofus.

MPP because I have stayed at a hotel that does turndown service maybe once in my life before -- ages ago.  I forgot this was even still a thing.  My usual work conferences don't happen at hotels that fancy.  In my non-work life we always camp, or stay at cheapo hotels/AirBnBs.

That would have scared the s**t out of me too.
I think I have only twice stayed at a hotel with a turndown service. I find it very disturbing that someone knocks on my door, while I am dressed in a morning coat after just having taken a shower and expect to be in my private bubble the rest of the time. The first time (our wedding night), the hotel gave us a warning that they would knock on the door soon.

I agree -- a little heads up would be nice.  They could mention it when you first check in.

Whenever I am in a hotel room I leave out the do not disturb sign.

[I'm a red panda]

Use all the locks on hotel doors!  (Not just the bolt but also the chain lock/door latch.

It is not unheard of for a hotel to accidentally give your room to someone else- if you are in there, you want the latch closed, not just the regular locks.

[Trifle]

Use all the locks on hotel doors!  (Not just the bolt but also the chain lock/door latch.

It is not unheard of for a hotel to accidentally give your room to someone else- if you are in there, you want the latch closed, not just the regular locks.

Yes you are absolutely right.  And I usually do always use the chain/latch in a hotel room -- I just didn't this one time because I had fallen into bed exhausted . . . Will not happen again.

[rantk81]

Use all the locks on hotel doors!  (Not just the bolt but also the chain lock/door latch.

It is not unheard of for a hotel to accidentally give your room to someone else- if you are in there, you want the latch closed, not just the regular locks.

Yeah.  This.
I was once given a door-card at a hotel -- and when I entered the room shortly before midnight, I startled the guests who were already occupying the room.

[ditheca]

1. I have so much income (82k, LCOL) that I never learned how to budget.

2. Currently taking a Personal Finance course through my church to fix the first problem.  It is uncomfortable to discuss my budget with friends who live paycheck to paycheck while I invest $3000/month.  I probably shouldn't have mentioned the donor advised fund I set up last year to optimize tax benefits for my charitable giving.

3. I contacted payroll this week to ask why they weren't withholding any federal income tax.  Turns out I won't owe any this year.  Again.  It's hard to feel rich when I'm too poor to pay taxes.

[solon]

1. I have so much income (82k, LCOL) that I never learned how to budget.

2. Currently taking a Personal Finance course through my church to fix the first problem.  It is uncomfortable to discuss my budget with friends who live paycheck to paycheck while I invest $3000/month.  I probably shouldn't have mentioned the donor advised fund I set up last year to optimize tax benefits for my charitable giving.

3. I contacted payroll this week to ask why they weren't withholding any federal income tax.  Turns out I won't owe any this year.  Again.  It's hard to feel rich when I'm too poor to pay taxes.

These are great!

[radram]

It's hard to feel rich when I'm too poor to pay taxes.

Best comment I have read in a LONG time.

I'm not just a fan, I am also a client :)

[gaja]

Got some led string lights for Halloween.  Considered putting them on a timer, but I only have a motorized timer that will probably use more power than it saves - string lights will use 5 cents of electricity if left on all month.  Now I gotta decide if it’s worth the lentil calories to manually unplug

I know the feeling. We could have gotten public funding for energy measures for our house, but the funding required installing balanced ventilation. Installing that kind of equipment would cause our electricity consumption to increase, not decrease.

[GreenSheep]

I used to enjoy finding a forgotten $10 or $20 (or even less) in a coat pocket or something every 2-3 years... and a couple of times I "hid" money from myself in, say, a seasonal article of clothing so I'd forget about it before finding it again the following year. Now that I keep track of every single penny that comes or goes, there's no unaccounted-for money to accidentally or intentionally "find." Probably for the best in the long run, though.

[zolotiyeruki]

Got some led string lights for Halloween.  Considered putting them on a timer, but I only have a motorized timer that will probably use more power than it saves - string lights will use 5 cents of electricity if left on all month.  Now I gotta decide if it’s worth the lentil calories to manually unplug

I know the feeling. We could have gotten public funding for energy measures for our house, but the funding required installing balanced ventilation. Installing that kind of equipment would cause our electricity consumption to increase, not decrease.

Along the same lines, our state offers rebates for energy efficiency improvements, including insulation.  The hitch is that you have to hire a contractor to do it.  For a DIYer like me, that pretty much negates the benefit of the rebate.

[Alfred J Quack]

Got some led string lights for Halloween.  Considered putting them on a timer, but I only have a motorized timer that will probably use more power than it saves - string lights will use 5 cents of electricity if left on all month.  Now I gotta decide if it’s worth the lentil calories to manually unplug

I know the feeling. We could have gotten public funding for energy measures for our house, but the funding required installing balanced ventilation. Installing that kind of equipment would cause our electricity consumption to increase, not decrease.

This can be subject to various factors. If you live in a climate where you heat the house in the winter this may actually save power because a well adjusted ventilation keeps the humidity at the right levels which decreases heating cost.
At our house we had a mechanical ventilation unit using AC power which was replaced with a DC motor version, saves up to 60 percent in power and has a sensor which ups the RPM if relative moisture is above X percent.

Funny thing was that we also had an electric watertank which we replaced by a tankless electric heater for the hot tapwater which actually saved us money (despite it being relatively inefficient). This is because the tank kept the water at 60 degrees C regardless of demand. The tankless only uses what we require and energy consumption has dropped 4kwh on a daily average.
We are looking into adding a solar tank for the tapwater but the investment just isn't justifiable. We do have a Heatpump for indoor heating though as well as Electric solar panels so on the grand scale of things we are relatively environmentally friendly.

Oh, and if a string of LEDs has 100 LEDs at .5watts each you are still using 50watts.

[Hirondelle]

So when I was young my parents got this savings/stock account for me. The policy finishes next month and money will be transferred to my regular bank account. With the recent dip I thought YAY, hope stocks will still be cheap by then so I can stock up.

Until I realized that the money is currently also in stocks and will have probably dropped as much as my regular stock accounts :(

[Linea_Norway]

So when I was young my parents got this savings/stock account for me. The policy finishes next month and money will be transferred to my regular bank account. With the recent dip I thought YAY, hope stocks will still be cheap by then so I can stock up.

Until I realized that the money is currently also in stocks and will have probably dropped as much as my regular stock accounts :(

Can't you contact the company that has the policy and ask for it to be paid out in stocks, instead of cash?

[Turkey Leg]

MPP: In spite of the doom-and-gloom headlines, you are secretly just fine with a hefty stock market drop, because you know it will jump-start the excellent Top is in thread. :)

[dragoncar]

I used to enjoy finding a forgotten $10 or $20 (or even less) in a coat pocket or something every 2-3 years... and a couple of times I "hid" money from myself in, say, a seasonal article of clothing so I'd forget about it before finding it again the following year. Now that I keep track of every single penny that comes or goes, there's no unaccounted-for money to accidentally or intentionally "find." Probably for the best in the long run, though.

Gotta update that “coatmoney” account in Mint

[SwissMiss]

I FIREd last week and had my goodbye party yesterday. I received a gift voucher of over CHF 500.- (USD 500.-) from my very kind work colleagues. I don't know what to spend it on... (fortunately it's valid for 2 years).

[LennStar]

I FIREd last week and had my goodbye party yesterday. I received a gift voucher of over CHF 500.- (USD 500.-) from my very kind work colleagues. I don't know what to spend it on... (fortunately it's valid for 2 years).

Ui! Congratulations!

[heybro]

My yearly spending is so low, I can only track it with a 3X4 index card.

[shelivesthedream]

My yearly spending is so low, I can only track it with a 3X4 index card.

Pics or it didn't happen.

[heybro]

You break in to applause when someone yells Fire in a crowded room.

[heybro]

Your balance after a 50% drop in the stock market brings you back fond memories.

[rantk81]

It's looking like I'm going to be missing out on contributing the ~$7000 to an HSA next year.  My employer offers a few different medical plans, including an HDHP/HSA plan and some non-HDHP/HSA plans. However, the different plans also have different doctor networks.  In order to retain my current care providers, I have to choose the non-HSA plan.  The non-HSA plan also has higher payroll contributions from me. Overall, due to the loss of tax-deductiblity and the increased payroll contributions, it's a difference of a several thousand dollars to me.

What particularly stings is, this is the second year in a row that my employer has "played games" with their plans and networks of doctors. My family specifically changed all of our doctors in 2018 in order to stay on the HSA plan that they offered.  Now, in order to keep the same network of doctors, I have to chose their non-HSA plan for 2019.  How ridiculous is that?

MPP? Certainly. I can easily take the hit of $3-5K (of additional expense + lost HSA opportunity) in 2019.  It's just very disappointing to me.  I'm essentially "paying up" just to keep some doctors that I think are really great.

Non-MPP Portion: We really need to de-couple health insurance/care from employment/employers in this country.