Am I Stuck?

[Curbside Prophet]

I find the MMM concept interesting.  I've always been more on the frugal side (my wife not so much although she isn't out of control).  Here's the problem, I live in Hawaii.  Now most people would say that's a pretty awesome problem to have, and I agree to some degree, but for a saver this place is literally one of the worst places you can be.  Housing prices are outrageous, traffic is horrible, and salaries are not commensurate with cost of living.

I don't have a problem with moving but it would be difficult to be at minimum 2,500 miles away from family and friends.  The even bigger issue, however, is my wife's mom has schizophrenia.  As such, she does not want to leave her.  So I feel like we're stuck here.  Stuck in paradise.  Stuck in the rat race. 

I wouldn't be starting from a net worth of zero, so there's that.  But I'm also turning 37 this year so I'm not exactly young although we have no kids.  I just don't know if saving 50% is possible for me.  Okay I know anything is possible but I don't want to be living on a tent on the beach for the next 15 years.  Quite simply, I don't know where to start. 

I'm willing to supply whatever add'l info needed to help me out, feel free to ask. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Frankies Girl]

Nords is a FIRE legend, and he lives happily in Hawaii. He wrote a book and runs a website on military guide to financial independence, but he was living the life before MMM if I remember the timeline correctly. It is absolutely possible to FIRE even in a HCOL location.

It's not about how much you make; it's how much you save, but also divorcing the idea of needing massive amounts of money/material things to supply happiness. And sometimes, it is about finding that you are really happy at the job you currently have, or making money off of hobbies once you're FI and able to take that step away from the typical 9-5 to pursue more satisfying work.

If you want real help to see if this might work out for you, review the case study guidelines and post your spending and debts and savings. At the very least, we'll provide some perspectives that you may not have thought of.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-write-a-'case-study'-topic/

[Curbside Prophet]

Thank you.  I'll fill out the case study, since it's about tax time I should have most of that information but will need to gather some from my wife.  I'm not in the military (born and raised here).  Anyway, thanks for the link and the advice.

[Larabeth]

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/12/15/high-cost-of-living-its-a-state-of-mind/

This might give you some ideas, I dunno your exact situation. I definitely encourage you to consider the case study option too!!


Also, the bottom of this article has a list of all his Hawaii-visit-related articles. =)
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/10/the-hawaii-project-final-numbers-and-a-few-pictures/

[Nords]

I find the MMM concept interesting.  I've always been more on the frugal side (my wife not so much although she isn't out of control).  Here's the problem, I live in Hawaii.  Now most people would say that's a pretty awesome problem to have, and I agree to some degree, but for a saver this place is literally one of the worst places you can be.  Housing prices are outrageous, traffic is horrible, and salaries are not commensurate with cost of living.

I don't have a problem with moving but it would be difficult to be at minimum 2,500 miles away from family and friends.  The even bigger issue, however, is my wife's mom has schizophrenia.  As such, she does not want to leave her.  So I feel like we're stuck here.  Stuck in paradise.  Stuck in the rat race. 

I wouldn't be starting from a net worth of zero, so there's that.  But I'm also turning 37 this year so I'm not exactly young although we have no kids.  I just don't know if saving 50% is possible for me.  Okay I know anything is possible but I don't want to be living on a tent on the beach for the next 15 years.  Quite simply, I don't know where to start. 

I'm willing to supply whatever add'l info needed to help me out, feel free to ask. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.  I'll fill out the case study, since it's about tax time I should have most of that information but will need to gather some from my wife.  I'm not in the military (born and raised here).  Anyway, thanks for the link and the advice.

You're getting good advice, and the process of analyzing your income/expenses will help you find places to optimize your spending.

Be open to recommendations.  We frequently get comments like "I can't earn more" or "I can't move to make my commute shorter" or "I can't get a different job closer to home" or "I can't..."  Those types of responses can frequently be rephrased as "That's a huge change and I'm not sure how I'd go about it."  The process involves making small changes into habits and then repeating with more small changes.  If you're spending on something then it has to be important enough that you're willing to work for it.

Although I've written the book for military, the math works for everybody (civilians included).  I didn't grow up here but I've lived here for nearly half my life, my daughter was born & raised here, and I think I can help with the unique island perspectives.

As I'm writing this, we have a houseguest who's visiting here from Illinois.  (Because winter.)  He's a drilling Air National Guard member, but more importantly he's an entrepreneur who's turned his side hustle into his career.  He's highly motivated to move here and make it work, and we've spent the entire week talking about it.