Author Topic: Does it ever just hit you?  (Read 27353 times)

Tyson

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Does it ever just hit you?
« on: June 09, 2017, 11:02:57 AM »
As a former spendypants that had huge debt, fancy cars a ridiculous lifestyle and no savings, sometimes it just hits me (like today):

"Holy sh!t, I have no debt and over $320,000 in savings!".

Crazy.

boarder42

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2017, 11:05:44 AM »
not really b/c i was always pretty frugal this just gave us a bit of an extra push.  i check my numbers daily and watch them grow daily.

solon

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2017, 11:09:38 AM »
Yeah. I'm reading a book right now about the troubles facing low-to-middle income families in America. They actually seem very difficult. My heart was breaking, I was thinking about ways to improve the situation, and then... it hit me. I don't deal with those problems myself! Now I go back-and-forth between guilt and pride.

BlueHouse

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2017, 11:26:45 AM »
As a former spendypants that had huge debt, fancy cars a ridiculous lifestyle and no savings, sometimes it just hits me (like today):

"Holy sh!t, I have no debt and over $320,000 in savings!".

Crazy.
Yes!  I often think "I cannot believe I get paid (so well) to do what I do".  And sometimes I'm nervous that if people find out how much money I have in the bank, they will try to take it away from me for not "deserving" it.  And sometimes I do a little dance and think "holy moly, I've been really really lucky over the past few years and I should find a way to help someone else to get a leg up". 

I've been thinking quite a bit about it lately because having money gives me so many options that other people don't have and (sorry if I'm making this political) in today's world, if something happens to my rights that I don't like, I will have options to move elsewhere.  (I'm reading The Handmaid's Tale, so I may be dramatizing this a bit.)

mozar

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2017, 01:32:12 PM »
Frequently. I paid off 130k in student loans. I think about how my brain has literally rewired itself so that I can barely imagine how stressed I used to be.
Quote
(I'm reading The Handmaid's Tale, so I may be dramatizing this a bit.)
Better to be aware that it can happen anywhere then pretend that it can't.

solon

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2017, 02:08:31 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2017, 02:26:33 PM »
Yea I had this happen the other day when a friend of mine got hit with an unexpected $140 expense and it ruined their whole month.  I've been there, I don't think about those days often anymore, but that brought it back home and I looked at where I am with fresh eyes again and really appreciated it.

Clean Shaven

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2017, 02:27:21 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2017, 02:37:31 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

There was a thread a while back about what kind of car you could be driving if you took the amount you saved every month and put that into a car payment.  Mine was some model Ferrari or an Aston Martin DB9, which i love.  Tempting, but not really :-)

solon

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2017, 02:45:35 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

Yeah, right!

Wait. What?

OMG, I could get a Ferrari!

CrashnBurn

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2017, 02:56:14 PM »
I'm a newbie mustachian (1 month), but have been working towards frugality for years.

What's been hitting me is how unique it is to be debt free (I am a debt free millennial, it's a miracle). The ideas in this blog have completely changed how i look at other people people. I used to feel distain, apathy, or anger. Now I just feel empathy, but not bad about it. With just a little work, you can save money and improve your life. My wife's ex-father in law prides himself on being frugal (cheapest toilet paper kinda guy), but he foreclosed on his house, and had to have a double knee replacement. He was completely focused on the wrong types of frugality, and spent all of his free time playing video games/Cable TV. After the divorce, he blamed all of his financial troubles on my Wife's mother.

Empathy is good, but you shouldn't feel bad for other people. Always respect and advise as you see best, but we all steer are own ships. Storms can wreck havoc, misfortune happens that is unavoidable, and THOSE people you can feel bad for.

Be happy if your're FI, i'm working my way there!

wordnerd

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2017, 03:01:31 PM »
Yeah! I recently realized we're pretty close to FI, which is kinda crazy. At first, I didn't really believe early retirement was possible, and now (5-ish years later) I'm not sure how I ever doubted it.

Dicey

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2017, 03:04:20 PM »
You think that's crazy, wait until you hit FIRE. Fucking unbelievable! Every damn day!

dividendman

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2017, 03:10:23 PM »
This is probably sad for me to mention, but I actually have a recurring meeting in my personal calendar that just says "Be Happy". It pops up every day at noon.

That way, no matter what's going on, it will pop up with "Be Happy" and I'll think about how I'm in a better financial position than over 99% of the people. I'm FI. I don't have any major health issues, I love my family, etc.

It's sad that it does actually lift my mood on many days.

TL:DR - It hits me every day.

rdaneel0

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2017, 03:10:43 PM »
It always hits me when I'm doing online banking and see that I got another paycheck and didn't even realize it. I'm not desperate for each pay day so sometimes I'll accidentally let a couple pile up in my checking account before transferring them. It's crazy!!! I feel so lucky. It's such a shame that so many people live with avoidable money stress.

wordnerd

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2017, 03:15:35 PM »
This is probably sad for me to mention, but I actually have a recurring meeting in my personal calendar that just says "Be Happy". It pops up every day at noon.

That way, no matter what's going on, it will pop up with "Be Happy" and I'll think about how I'm in a better financial position than over 99% of the people. I'm FI. I don't have any major health issues, I love my family, etc.

It's sad that it does actually lift my mood on many days.

TL:DR - It hits me every day.

I kinda love this.

lizzzi

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #16 on: June 09, 2017, 04:07:28 PM »
Yeah, just quick flashes of total happiness and peace sometimes. The sun is shining, a cool breeze is wafting through the trees, I'm playing with my dog, I am financially independent and have good health and all the time in the world for friends, family, creative stuff, travel if I want, or just to "Be." Makes me feel love, joy, peace...things like that. And I am very, very thankful.

tonysemail

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #17 on: June 09, 2017, 05:07:11 PM »
This is probably sad for me to mention, but I actually have a recurring meeting in my personal calendar that just says "Be Happy". It pops up every day at noon.

That way, no matter what's going on, it will pop up with "Be Happy" and I'll think about how I'm in a better financial position than over 99% of the people. I'm FI. I don't have any major health issues, I love my family, etc.

It's sad that it does actually lift my mood on many days.

TL:DR - It hits me every day.

I kinda love this.

I agree.  a good reminder to practice gratitude every day.  thanks for posting it.

BigLou

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #18 on: June 09, 2017, 05:40:35 PM »
Yes, it hits me, because I've never had what most people would consider a high paying job, yet I'm completely debt free with a fairly high net worth and could retire anytime I choose, thanks to a lifetime of (mostly) frugal living. A little over a year ago I took a job that was paying even less, because I've reached the point where working is optional, so I don't even care what the job pays. This new (and lower paying job) is stress free and it's actually kind of fun, which is why I don't retire. It's hard to explain, but every day when I go to work, just knowing that I could leave anytime I want, actually makes it kinda fun going to work. My co-workers and supervisor would never believe it if they knew my real financial situation.... gotta luv it!

okits

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #19 on: June 09, 2017, 08:05:04 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

Whoa.  For some reason, that one really hit me.  I still fret about money and the long-term so I'm not always super-aware that yeah, technically we are doing pretty well.

Clean Shaven

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #20 on: June 09, 2017, 08:31:09 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

Whoa.  For some reason, that one really hit me.  I still fret about money and the long-term so I'm not always super-aware that yeah, technically we are doing pretty well.
It stuck with me too, which is why I mentioned it. Just seemed so weird that I could actually buy a Ferrari or three, and pay cash.

startingsmall

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #21 on: June 09, 2017, 08:42:25 PM »
It always hits me when I'm doing online banking and see that I got another paycheck and didn't even realize it. I'm not desperate for each pay day so sometimes I'll accidentally let a couple pile up in my checking account before transferring them. It's crazy!!! I feel so lucky. It's such a shame that so many people live with avoidable money stress.

YES!!!

I've been known to look at my co-workers on a Friday and say "oh wait, did we get paid this week??" I've only made that mistake a few times, though, because the look of shock that I get upon revealing that I DON'T live paycheck-to-paycheck and don't really know/care when we get paid has made me realize that I should probably keep quiet about it. I'm so grateful to be in that position.

FINate

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #22 on: June 09, 2017, 09:21:58 PM »
Hits me every Sunday night when I realize I'm actually looking forward to Monday morning :)

Weekends are our busy time now with lots of birthday parties and get togethers. Nothing like enjoying coffee at home in my PJs on Monday morning while everyone else is rushing off to work.

sultee

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #23 on: June 09, 2017, 10:41:01 PM »
not really b/c i was always pretty frugal this just gave us a bit of an extra push.  i check my numbers daily and watch them grow daily.

Who invited Buzz Killington?

itchyfeet

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #24 on: June 10, 2017, 12:59:48 AM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

Whoa.  For some reason, that one really hit me.  I still fret about money and the long-term so I'm not always super-aware that yeah, technically we are doing pretty well.
It stuck with me too, which is why I mentioned it. Just seemed so weird that I could actually buy a Ferrari or three, and pay cash.

..... and then one day you might find yourself in a situation where in a good market year your net worth increase in one year alone could pay for a Ferrari.

I could have bought a Ferrari this year (ok a rather used one, not brand spanking new) and been no worse off financially than I was 12 months ago. Madness.

..... but then just last month, despite still saving a fair chunk of my pay, i lost more money in one month than a new VW Golf would cost.

I expect to go backwards again this month too.... sigh. Prob after this month I'll have lost a not-so-old Porsche worth of cash in just 2 months.

BlueHouse

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #25 on: June 10, 2017, 11:00:20 AM »
not really b/c i was always pretty frugal this just gave us a bit of an extra push.  i check my numbers daily and watch them grow daily.

Who invited Buzz Killington?
That was a literal laugh out loud.

Rosy

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #26 on: June 10, 2017, 01:52:09 PM »
It hits me every time it looks like I may have to fly overseas on the spur of the moment. I freeze, thinking OMG, how am I gonna handle that?
... then it hits me, no biggie - it's all good, I have a separate fund for that. Breathe:) - This.will.not.impact.my.finances. - at.all!:)

not really b/c i was always pretty frugal this just gave us a bit of an extra push.  i check my numbers daily and watch them grow daily.

Who invited Buzz Killington?
That was a literal laugh out loud.

I always wonder about people like "Buzz Killington:)", but then I am not a natural born frugal stasher. I'm missing the frugal gene.
My secret weapon is complete focus and determination and a fire in the belly to be FI.
To me, Financial Independence is worth every bit of hard work and sacrifice necessary. FI is the ultimate goal, early retirement is just a by product that one can choose to enjoy.
It is the life of options and choices that I want which one can have, if one is FI.

chasesfish

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #27 on: June 10, 2017, 02:19:37 PM »
Yes, both with the savings and the "holy crap, I get paid this much to do this"

TartanTallulah

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #28 on: June 10, 2017, 02:26:37 PM »
Now that I've got my head round what we do have rather than what we could have had if I'd made wiser lifestyle, investment and spending decisions in the past, it blows my mind a little to think that DH and I are within a hairsbreadth, or less than two more years, of being able to consider ourselves FI, and we need only work after that if we want to.

Given that the title of my life script is "Live to Work" and I've played it out, sometimes enthusiastically and sometimes resentfully, for my entire post-childhood life, it's difficult to keep a grip on the fact that a time will come SOON when I will have the power to tear up that script and find out whether I really want to do all the things I've been saying I'd do if only I didn't have to work, or do nothing at all, and there will be no risk of starving or freezing because I can't afford food or heating.

I've been incubating the notion for a while so I've had time to get used to it, but I was reminded of how off the wall it was a few weeks ago when I mentioned it to my parents, who gave me that pesky script in the first place, and they were like, "But you won't be giving up work completely, will you? You do plan to stay in your current career, don't you? If you take some time off work, are you sure you'll be allowed to go back? Maybe you should think about just cutting back your hours a little if you can afford to. Your husband will keep working, won't he? Oh, worry, worry, worry." Bless them, they only want what they think is right for me and a few years from now they'll have forgotten what it was like when I didn't have time to make the 200-mile round trip to visit them every week.

damyst

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #29 on: June 10, 2017, 08:39:19 PM »
Another thing I think about is how bad things could really get if I ever fell off this wagon.

Do you ever think "hey, I could write a check for a couple Ferraris"?

Whoa.  For some reason, that one really hit me.  I still fret about money and the long-term so I'm not always super-aware that yeah, technically we are doing pretty well.
It stuck with me too, which is why I mentioned it. Just seemed so weird that I could actually buy a Ferrari or three, and pay cash.

I play this game a lot, not necessarily with Ferraris. Our area is positively infested with luxury cars, and as I'm passing one in traffic on my bike I would think, "I could go out next week and buy one of those, in cash, and drive it to work like they do; then I could go again the week after that and buy another one, of a different colour, and drive it around on weekends; and I could keep this up for quite some time."

Alim Nassor

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #30 on: June 10, 2017, 09:30:27 PM »
Yea I had this happen the other day when a friend of mine got hit with an unexpected $140 expense and it ruined their whole month.  I've been there, I don't think about those days often anymore, but that brought it back home and I looked at where I am with fresh eyes again and really appreciated it.

I have tenants for whom a flat tire is an economic crisis.  It's sad.  And I was there once.   I used to buy used tires because I couldn't afford new.  I bought tires from salvage yards.  Rolled pennies to buy formula.  I finally got a good job that paid well, but it took me a long time to decide I wanted to be financially secure.  When I think of the money I pissed away stupidly I cringe.  I could have been FIREd years ago, but for stupid shit I did.   Finally now, at 50 freaking 6, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, next year.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #31 on: June 10, 2017, 09:39:00 PM »
I did this in 1998, walking out to my POS in Tennessee.  I was pocketing $700 extra a week by commuting and claiming the mileage from my home office in Ohio.  That $700 went into tech stocks (like Yahoo right after IPO) and then Amazon...  Broadcast communications, RFID, Netscape...  I dunno, I have the list that made my meager earnings worth $300k pre-2000.  It hit me, just then, that I should either buy a better education or a better car with maybe a little bit of that money :)

FIREby35

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #32 on: June 10, 2017, 11:13:39 PM »
I heard a story on the radio about an Uber driver who worked a 14 hour shift detail his exhaustion and the hustle he was putting in to make...drum-roll...: $200. I realized I could literally not imagine working that hard for so little. I thought, "My dividends are many multiples of that every quarter."

Then I realized how far I had come because I actually delivered pizza and washed dishes for about that much money for FIVE YEARS ending in 2007.

Now I own and operate a small law firm that stealthily makes a lot of money. I save a lot of said money.  I have no debts. It's been crazy to say the least.

Unrelated thought from the driving - I always look at the people with fancy cars and whatnot and remind myself there is a 95%+ chance they are debt ridden and have a significantly lower income and net worth than me - in my $7,000 used car and Wal-Mart clothes.  Again, crazy.

Dicey

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #33 on: June 10, 2017, 11:27:26 PM »
Fb35, I call that living under the radar. I loved not looking like I was saving my ass off. I've told this story elsewhere, but early in my career, when I was visiting the home office, I overheard someone say "I'd hate to pay her Nordstrom bill." I was thrilled to pieces to later discover they were talking about me! I always thought half the fun was not looking any different than a regular consumer sukka, except when it came to net worth.

Now, I'm FIRE and I don't give a shit. Except that those habits served me well. If you saw my current surroundings, you'd never guess I'm smarter than the average bear. Possibly richer, too.

kunate12

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #34 on: June 10, 2017, 11:52:28 PM »
It hits me every night when my wife and I go for a walk through our neighborhood.  Seeing all the brand new cars on the street and big screen TVs shining through the windows make us grateful for the FIRE frame of mind.  Hopefully they're all just living under the radar, but I'm thinking the exact same thoughts as Fb35.

TheBuddha

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2017, 12:18:38 AM »
It hits me (although I don't have nearly $300k). I think the reason is that I'm always focused on the future, setting new goals, and don't take time to appreciate how far I've come. Then in an unguarded moment it hits me and I dissolve into a giggle fit. 

Linea_Norway

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #36 on: June 11, 2017, 01:49:32 AM »
Since this year it hits me every month when I get my paycheck. Then I see how much is left there from last month and then I buy some index fund stock for the leftover money. This is always 50-65% of the nett income.

FIREby35

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #37 on: June 11, 2017, 07:05:47 AM »
Fb35, I call that living under the radar. I loved not looking like I was saving my ass off. I've told this story elsewhere, but early in my career, when I was visiting the home office, I overheard someone say "I'd hate to pay her Nordstrom bill." I was thrilled to pieces to later discover they were talking about me! I always thought half the fun was not looking any different than a regular consumer sukka, except when it came to net worth.

Now, I'm FIRE and I don't give a shit. Except that those habits served me well. If you saw my current surroundings, you'd never guess I'm smarter than the average bear. Possibly richer, too.

Don't want to derail this thread, because it's a good one. But I agree wholeheartedly with the "look good but don't pay for it" idea. I was driving a $2,400 car until about 6 months ago when I had a net worth of about 700k. I decided to sell it because it didn't pass your test! It doesn't have to be super nice, but I can't actively look like I'm struggling. Anyway, I replaced it with a 1991 Mercedes SL300 which looks like a million bucks and actually cost $90K+ to take off the lot 26 years ago. But, consumma suckas being what they are, this perfectly awesome car had been discarded many times over and was now only 7k in perfect condition.

In case you are curious:

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-1991-Mercedes-Benz-SL-Class-300SL-t59479#listing=157676824


YttriumNitrate

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #38 on: June 11, 2017, 07:36:23 AM »
My last Holy Crap! moment was a few months ago when I realized that on average my net worth is now increasing more in 2 days than it did in an entire month when I was starting out on this path 12 years ago.

Adventine

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #39 on: June 11, 2017, 07:45:32 AM »
This is probably sad for me to mention, but I actually have a recurring meeting in my personal calendar that just says "Be Happy". It pops up every day at noon.

That way, no matter what's going on, it will pop up with "Be Happy" and I'll think about how I'm in a better financial position than over 99% of the people. I'm FI. I don't have any major health issues, I love my family, etc.

It's sad that it does actually lift my mood on many days.

TL:DR - It hits me every day.

I kinda love this.

I agree.  a good reminder to practice gratitude every day.  thanks for posting it.

Thank you for the idea - I'm going to start doing this myself :)

ambimammular

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #40 on: June 11, 2017, 08:06:13 AM »
Just in this last year, when I add the latest month's net worth to our graph, I am starting to see the ramp up for that exponential growth. It's such a tease.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #41 on: June 11, 2017, 08:07:38 AM »
And this carries through into retirement.  I had the cracked car windshield replaced for cash, without pain.  I am not actively saving, I just don't spend all my retirement income so I keep investing the extra.  Down the road I want to be in a really nice senior's residence.

Sailor Sam

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #42 on: June 11, 2017, 08:42:51 AM »
I had one of these moments last week. I was talking with a co-worker who I only see every couple years. She ended up telling me she was 1 paycheck away from killing credit card debt she'd spent 10 years slowly racking up.

The differences in our situation suddenly seemed astonishing and ludricrious. Same age, same career, same salary. She's been working here 12 years, and I've been working 10 years. We each made billions of small decisions about money. Now here we sit; me with a network of 425k, and her with essentially zero.

I congratulated her on getting out of debt. But I also felt a moment of awe for how small decisions, repeated consistently can create such a gap between seemingly similar people.

dividendman

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #43 on: June 11, 2017, 09:33:12 AM »
I had one of these moments last week. I was talking with a co-worker who I only see every couple years. She ended up telling me she was 1 paycheck away from killing credit card debt she'd spent 10 years slowly racking up.

The differences in our situation suddenly seemed astonishing and ludricrious. Same age, same career, same salary. She's been working here 12 years, and I've been working 10 years. We each made billions of small decisions about money. Now here we sit; me with a network of 425k, and her with essentially zero.

I congratulated her on getting out of debt. But I also felt a moment of awe for how small decisions, repeated consistently can create such a gap between seemingly similar people.

Did that huge network help you get good jobs/sales to get a large net worth or something?

.... I don't know why I do it :(

Sailor Sam

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #44 on: June 11, 2017, 09:40:47 AM »
I had one of these moments last week. I was talking with a co-worker who I only see every couple years. She ended up telling me she was 1 paycheck away from killing credit card debt she'd spent 10 years slowly racking up.

The differences in our situation suddenly seemed astonishing and ludicrous. Same age, same career, same salary. She's been working here 12 years, and I've been working 10 years. We each made billions of small decisions about money. Now here we sit; me with a networTH of 425k, and her with essentially zero.

I congratulated her on getting out of debt. But I also felt a moment of awe for how small decisions, repeated consistently can create such a gap between seemingly similar people.

Did that huge network help you get good jobs/sales to get a large net worth or something?

.... I don't know why I do it :(

Argh! stupid phone typing. Too bad thumbs are so useful, because they are also pretty dumb.

pachnik

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #45 on: June 11, 2017, 01:26:35 PM »
I had one of these moments last week. I was talking with a co-worker who I only see every couple years. She ended up telling me she was 1 paycheck away from killing credit card debt she'd spent 10 years slowly racking up.

The differences in our situation suddenly seemed astonishing and ludricrious. Same age, same career, same salary. She's been working here 12 years, and I've been working 10 years. We each made billions of small decisions about money. Now here we sit; me with a network of 425k, and her with essentially zero.

I congratulated her on getting out of debt. But I also felt a moment of awe for how small decisions, repeated consistently can create such a gap between seemingly similar people.

It is pretty amazing.  The end results of two different sets of choices.   

FIREby35

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #46 on: June 11, 2017, 05:40:54 PM »
I had one of these moments last week. I was talking with a co-worker who I only see every couple years. She ended up telling me she was 1 paycheck away from killing credit card debt she'd spent 10 years slowly racking up.

The differences in our situation suddenly seemed astonishing and ludricrious. Same age, same career, same salary. She's been working here 12 years, and I've been working 10 years. We each made billions of small decisions about money. Now here we sit; me with a network of 425k, and her with essentially zero.

I congratulated her on getting out of debt. But I also felt a moment of awe for how small decisions, repeated consistently can create such a gap between seemingly similar people.

It is pretty amazing.  The end results of two different sets of choices.   

I had a similar experience about a month ago. An attorney with the same years of experience and with same bi-lingual talent as me casually said she 1) owed money to IRS for failing to save enough for her self-employment taxes, 2) was surprised at the interest rate on her credit cards being 21% and 3) still owed over $150,000 in student loan debt. As I mentioned above, I have no debt and have significant savings (thank you MMM).

For some context, we met at a summer clerkship at the "big firm" that is the most competetive legal job to obtain in a multi-state region (which I promptly left because I thought it was non-sense, but that is another story).

She is not dumb and I really like her personally, but man those little choices make a big difference.

Zikoris

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #47 on: June 11, 2017, 07:32:09 PM »
It really hits me once a year in January when I do my financial report. There were a few different "Holy shit" categories this time around:

"Holy shit, our non-travel spending is 9K/each, and we live in downtown Vancouver and have tons of expensive hobbies."
"Holy shit, our net worth went up by 75K last year, which is only slightly less than we earned."
"Holy shit, we're 30 and 28 and have 40% of the money we need to retire."

It's glorious.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #48 on: June 11, 2017, 07:53:31 PM »
I've got the mortgage down to the level of minor random fluctuations in the stock market.
  Great when stocks go up, irritating ( nothing more) when they go down.

Hits me most days.  I check my net worth far too often.

itchyfeet

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Re: Does it ever just hit you?
« Reply #49 on: June 12, 2017, 04:45:30 AM »
I've got the mortgage down to the level of minor random fluctuations in the stock market.
  Great when stocks go up, irritating ( nothing more) when they go down.

Hits me most days.  I check my net worth far too often.

Haha. I can so relate to this. Guilty as charged. Can't help watching when it moves up and down so dramatically. Its not like i am emotinally affected by it. Just curious.

My 2019 FIRE is highly unlikely to be dictated by markets..... possibly but unlikely. I think it is number 3 on the determinants of my FIRE date now:

1. What does DW want to do.
2. Can I control my desire a fancy house post FIRE
3. What is our net worth doing.

I guess it's not number 1 because if it is between 90% - 110% of my FIRE number, that is within the margin of error as far as I am concerned. If need be I am sure I can spend 10% less.