Reader case study: How not to get crushed by work en route to the Mustache life?

[ladywingnut]

Hey Mustache friends.  Here's my deal, with question below.  Note that I'm in New Zealand but the currency difference doesn't matter for present purposes.

Income:

• Salary - $85,000 pre-tax, approx $61,000 post tax
• Airbnb income - Approx $100 per week, tax free (variable)

[Edit - I receive around $2,300 every fortnight after tax, superannuation and charity deductions.  Of this I keep $750 for spending and expenses, and put the rest into savings/mortgage/major expenses.  Major expenses include body corporate fees, insurance, car registration and repairs, and the dentist.  This usually means around $800 is savings, with the mortgage sum (around $560) being a gain in equity as well.]

Total post-tax income annually: $66,000 approx

Current expenses:

• Mortgage - $3,700 quarterly (increasing progressively over next 10 years)
• House expenses - $6,300 annually (Body Corporate fees - $3,000, earthquake insurance - $2,200, contents insurance - $600, contingency for electricians/plumbers etc - $500)
• Bills - $3,016 annually (electricity - $93 per month, dryer hire - $10 per week, internet - $65 per month, cellphone - $50 per month)
• Car etc - $2,700 annually (Petrol - $100 monthly, insurance - $500 annually, warrant and registration - $400 annually, contingency for repairs - $600)
• Groceries - up to $400 monthly
• Food (not at home) - $10,480 annually (wow that was a shock...) (Lunches/coffees at work - up to $90 per week, dinners/weekend lunch or brunch - up to $100 per week, contingency for special occasions - $50 per month)
• Clothes and shoes - $2,000 annually (approx)
• Health - $2,340 annually ($150 monthly for psychologist, $45 monthly for GP, $20 monthly for prescriptions)
• Cleaner - $2,400 annually ($50 weekly for two hours per week)
• Fun things - $4,040 annually (books - $30 per month, trips to Wellington for comedy/project trips - $500 every 3-4 months, iTunes - $40 per month, contingency for other - $100 per month)
• Subscriptions - $620 annually (webhosting - $35 per month, domain fees - $200 annually)
• Gifts - $3,000 annually (including charity donations)

Total expenses: $51,696 (approx)

Edit: By suggestion from a member, I can recategorise my mortgage payments almost entirely as savings, since the lack of interest means I'm directly increasing equity in my house with every payment.

Expected ER expenses:

Potential need to retile balcony if leaking deemed not to be result of earthquakes: approx $10,000

Total potential emergency expenses: $10,000

Assets:

• House - RV of $260,000
• Car - resale value of approx $1,500 (1994 Nissan Sentra)
• Savings - $3,500 (terrible I know; the savings habit only started in January)
• Superannuation scheme - $4,000 approx (not accessible until 65), contributed to at 3%, employer matched.
  
• Personal effects (not including appliances) - $8,000 approx

Also, income of $85,000 per year. 

Total assets: $277,000

Liabilities:

• Mortgage - $248,000, interest free, to be repaid within 10 years
• Visa credit card - limit of $500, repaid in full fortnightly

Note I do not have a student loan or any finance or credit card debt, and my mortgage is interest free (albeit with payments increasing steeply in order to repay fully within 10 years).

Total liabilities: $248,000

Specific Question(s):

I am 26 and in my fifth year of practice as a lawyer.  I am new to the MMM way of things but am incredibly lucky to be starting with only one major piece of debt (the mortgage) and with that debt being interest free.  I want for my income not to come from my work, since the work I most want to do (performing arts, writing, online media and advocacy work) is either difficult to earn money from or I want to do it free of commercial obligation. Reflecting on the above I see some good habits (mortgage the only debt, paying off credit card in full, never buying on finance, v little spending on clothes/makeup/car, walking to work) coupled with some shockers (daily lunch out at work, very little home cooking, pretty low mortgage repayments). 

I am lucky to have a very good job as a senior solicitor at one of New Zealand's national law firms.  My team is excellent and the firm is good, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to face work each day, in large part because I find it difficult to get meaning from my work, and I feel I do not fit in the corporate environment.  Outside of work I do improv, standup, am in two choirs, am on the executive for one of the choirs, and am developing two online media projects.  [Edit:  Based in part on suggestions from you guys, I have decided I can do all this, but not all at once.  I am quitting one of the choirs, will take a couple of terms off improv, am slowing down on improv, and try and get off the choir exec.] Compounding this is that I have chronic depression and anxiety disorders (hence the cleaner - mood and hygiene depend on her), and the longer I persist in work that drains me, while pursuing what I feel is my real work around the edges, the harder it is to be looking down the barrel of another 10 years of full time work while I try for FI.  Also, my health ain't great (a symptom and a cause of eating out often enough to rack up an annual bill of $10,000+...).

My question relates to how I can balance my desire for early retirement and financial independence with my need for meaningful work and mental/physical health.  I very much want to quit my job and find another that plays into my real passions, but apart from there being very few jobs in my city, I am mindful of the salary drop that would mean (mostly because of a slower route to FI; am not as attached to the money itself as I once was).  One alternative may be to ask for a four day week, but it is unlikely the firm will allow that, and again I am mindful of the salary drop.  I am reluctant to change jobs to a similarly-demanding position, though i would love to change to a different approach to law (law reform, chiefly, but I do not live in the capital, where that work is done).  Likewise I am mindful of staying in law so long that the salary makes it prohibitive to leave.

If anyone can help me with this issue of balancing [FI and a high salary from which to save] on the one hand, and [present needs for mental health, meaning, satisfaction and balance throughout my life] on the other, I would be very grateful.  Creative suggestions for how to maximise my current job or my legal training while not going mad would be especially welcome.

Thanks so much
LWN[/list]

[LonerMatt]

Hey LWN,

As a teacher I occaisionally feel burned out, or worry about my 'value'. Most of the students I work with I see for a limited time and while I help them learn, how that will benefit them in the long run is something I can rarely picture.

One thing that's worked for me is volunteering once or twice a year (this is made easy by my holidays). This puts me in connection with genuinely needy people (for example, I'll be working with a colleague in a slum in India later this year) and makes me feel good about my work. Recharges me and reminds me of why I do what I do.

I'm not sure how directly applicable this is, but the important this is to find ways of being appreciated for your professional use. Legal aid, pro bono work, mentoring law students (especially ones from disadvantaged backgrounds, etc) can be a great idea. Alternatively, why not get involved with high school students (they can be great and make you feel like a hero). If you need NZ contacts I have a few.

Alternatively, request to do something within your area that is needed at work. I work on literacy a lot, which gives me a small amount of independence and a high feeling of worth at my school. It's a tiny thing that helps me be enthusiastic.

[marty998]

If anyone can help me with this issue of balancing [FI and a high salary from which to save] on the one hand, and [present needs for mental health, meaning, satisfaction and balance throughout my life] on the other, I would be very grateful.  Creative suggestions for how to maximise my current job or my legal training while not going mad would be especially welcome.

I would like to know the answer to that too :)

I would also like to know where the hell I can get my hands on an interest free mortgage.

[gooki]

Slash your expenses.

Pay the minimum on your mortgage.

Invest the rest.

In five years the value of you investments will exceed your mortgage. At which point I would start perusing your life goals.

Provided you don't increase your lifestyle as you earn more, saying no to more money when the time comes isn't hard.

[Gray Matter]

I don't have a good answer for this one, as I face the same dilemma.  It's a slightly easier decision for me because I have children at home that tilt the scale towards "quality of life/time now" rather than "nose to the grindstone now for more time later."  I don't want to miss the time with my kids by working non-stop, since they will be leaving home in the next decade.

One technique I've used in the past that works pretty well is to make a decision and live with it for awhile.  So decide that you are going to work really hard, save aggressively and retire in, say, 7 years.  Then act as if for a month or two and see how you feel.  It will either feel good/doable most of the time, or you will grow increasingly dissatisfied.  Then, make the other decision (hypothetically) and live with that for awhile.  Assume you will be slowing down soon in order to enjoy life more now and see how that sits.

[Nudelkopf]

Food (not at home) - $10,480 annually (wow that was a shock...) (Lunches/coffees at work - up to $90 per week, dinners/weekend lunch or brunch - up to $100 per week, contingency for special occasions - $50 per month)

Holy moley.

Cut expenses. Then you'll get there quicker! :)

One thing that's worked for me is volunteering once or twice a year (this is made easy by my holidays). This puts me in connection with genuinely needy people (for example, I'll be working with a colleague in a slum in India later this year) and makes me feel good about my work. Recharges me and reminds me of why I do what I do.

I love this idea too!

[Metta]

You don't say how many hours a week your job consumes. You are doing a lot outside of work and if that is coupled with the typical professional career (at least here) of 50-80 hours a week, it is no wonder you need help with anxiety and emotional and physical fragility. Our bodies are designed for work but also expect rest. Even people who find their work exciting and meaningful can burn out with long hours. If you are working very long hours and also doing a lot of extra-curricular activities, I'm going to recommend that you drop some of the extras and look for a more reasonable job (in terms of hours). I've found for myself that I need to buy fewer fun things and eat out less when my life is in balance and so a reasonable job has always allowed me to save more money.

Another suggestion: I'm wondering whether you could move your legal career in another direction: perhaps to a practice focused on issues creatives deal with (copyright, music and film contracts, and so forth). With your interest in these things it might be more meaningful and would give you the opportunity to be with people doing fascinating things. Who knows! It might even be one of these contacts that eases your way into the next transition to more creative work.

One more question, you say that you cannot do law reform work because you would have to live in the capital where that work is done. What keeps you from moving?

[ladywingnut]

First off - thank you kind people for your time and ideas.  Much to muse on.

LonerMatt - Volunteering is a good idea.  My legal training has been most useful when I've been helping friends or family with legal bullies.  We have Community Law Centres here that give free legal advice, but I have often seen this as just another post-work obligation that tires me out.  I've also been wanting to tutor law students, but again fear overcommitment.  I think you're right that if i am to stay in law I will need to introduce more demonstrably meaningful use of law into my life (for me this would mostly be along lines of mentoring/future-proofing through professional development for juniors etc).  I have already presented a proposal on mentoring/professional development programme for the junior lawyers in our office but the senior lawyers are too busy to back it, which is part of my frustration - a myopic focus on present busyness without any foundation laid for developing juniors for the future.

I would be really interested to know your New Zealand contacts - I have become disillusioned that legal practice can't ever make a meaningful difference in other people's lives, so I would love to speak to people who are doing that.  Thank you :)

Gooki - definitely slashing the expenses.  That's the main focus right now actually.  Am saving at least half of my paycheck, but I use those funds for the mortgage and BC fees etc too, so really only a quarter of my pay remains in savings each fortnight.  I would like to move that as close to 75% as I can, but there will be an adjustment period.  Investment I need to know more before I do, but it'll be a year or so before I have enough to invest so there's time for that.  I hadn't considered investment as an option now though (had thought I needed a gazillion dollars to make it reasonable), so thanks for flagging that.

Gray Matter - Arghhh it's hard right?  And I'm glad for you that the children make your priorities that much clearer for you; I would definitely be the same in your position.  And your idea about getting the feel of an approach is AWESOME.  I already do that, but usually only for a couple of days, which is hardly enough time to get a sense of it at all.  That is a really great idea and I will start doing it. 

Nudelkopf - Right?  Right?! That is WAY too much.  And it means I'm eating shitty restaurant food or takeaways all the time, which is why my body is so sad.  Two problems solved in one by cooking at home and bringing homemade lunch (or going home for lunch!).

Carolyn - My job actually takes up surprisingly little time - 8.30 to 5pm.  Later if there is work to do but for the past few months at least I've been able to be home by 5.30, with no work in the weekend (hence the build up of way too many activities outside of work).  I agree though that I am doing too many extra-curriculars at once.  I have already written to one choir to ask if I can hold my membership until next year, and I may slow down the stand-up a bit, as the writing time needed for that is hard every week.  And I am looking for alternative jobs that may work.

I have a 90% immoveable commitment to Christchurch (my current home), as it has taken me over 2 years to settle in here, for the depression and anxiety to settle, to develop networks of friends and creative people, and build a life.  I had to move around a lot after university because of work and the earthquakes and it led to prolonged periods of depression, in part because I did not have the support of routine and networks of friends and family.  I am reluctant to start that process all over again at the moment, though I don't write off the possibility altogether. 

Re starting my practice - I would LOVE to do this.  I love creative dispute resolution, especially in areas where the law doesn't help all that much, such as wills, family disputes, creative disputes, etc.  In fact I have a plan of starting my own practice along these lines in a couple of years.  However, there is a hell of a lot of financial risk in starting a business, especially since the people I most want to serve (students, low-income families, artists and performers) are not likely to have money to pay for these things.  It is always at the back of my mind though.  I currently work in a pretty fixed role in a corporate firm, so there is little scope to move outside my current practice here.   

All of you - I think what I'm getting from all of your responses is a sense that I can work toward the following three goals:

• Slash expenses and up the savings (with a view to starting investing)
• Moderate out of work activities so I can take better care of myself
• Be on the lookout for (1) a job that would have greater flexibility to incorporate things like mentoring/CLC/tutoring, or that would itself be more meaningful than my current job, or (2) a way to reduce hours at my current job so I can pursue those things independently.

Thank you again.  If anyone has any more suggestions I'd be v grateful.

LWN

[happy]

Have a look at Totoro's posts, she is a lawyer  on here who started her own business and doing well without working heaps of hours. Hopefully she might come by and give her perspective.

I agree with your conclusions. you should be making a good income so try  to cut costs and save aggressively..will shorten the time to FI. I'm not a lawyer but a professional and I work part-time being prepared to take a longer but more bearable time to FI. The trade-offs are quite a personal thing. You have a lot on your plate and already with mood disorders: yes you must look after yourself…and this might involve less income.  I suggest you read lots of case studies etc to see how people on low incomes can still become FI. Then try to reduce and live happily on low expenses.  Once you can sustain this comfortably you could consider  a lower income job.

[LonerMatt]

Sorry MWN, my contacts in NZ were specifically if you wanted to get involved in spending some time at high schools. I don't know much re: lawyers there, unfortunately.

However, I have ran camps/excursions where I've taken groups of students to Melbourne and the people at Allens Law Firm were polite enough to take us for 2-3 hours and help the students understand what it takes to work at a big firm (and a variety of background of people involved, a lot of professionalism, etc made a large impact on students' lives).

I suppose what I'm getting at is that if the work isn't satisfying, abuse the profession to make it satisfying.

IME, mentoring doesn't get out of hand, if anything it's an effort to keep it up (both as a mentee recently and a mentor).

[Thegoblinchief]

Cutting/completely ending the eating out will go a long way to helping your health (financial, physical, and mental). Eating well is a critical component to controlling depression/anxiety. I'm a bit extreme, but I make time for a 90 minute bike ride every day - it's one of the only things that works for my depression. Eating foods rich in Omega-3, Vitamin D, and B vitamins will help your serotonin levels.

Personally, I dread when we go on vacation, particularly with the in-laws, since it's non-stop restaurant food. Garbage in, garbage out.

I would dial waaaay back on the outside-of-work commitments. Do pro bono law work, but be really careful about burnout. Yes, you want to find meaning now, but you need to be healthy enough to enjoy ER later.

Do you really need the cleaner? Having a clean/organized space is critical, but I've found that doing it MYSELF is a really important breather/meditative exercise during the day. That 5-10 minutes of downtime to walk away from what I'm working on is great. A short blog post I wrote about it, if it helps:

thegoblinchief.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/your-time-isnt-worth-what-you-think-it-is/

[ch12]

Hey Mustache friends.  Here's my deal, with question below.  Note that I'm in New Zealand but the currency difference doesn't matter for present purposes.

Income:

Total post-tax income annually: $66,000 approx

Current expenses:

Mortgage - $3,700 quarterly (increasing progressively over next 10 years)

One huge thing that you can do besides slashing your expenses is looking at which part of your mortgage payment is principal repayment and which part is expenses. You are saving part of your mortgage payment in the form of real estate equity. Your expenses seem astronomical to many here, but you should give yourself credit where credit is due. I'm sure that you can slice a bit off by recategorizing a bit as savings. :)

Thank you for taking the first step.

[bikebum]

I am finding it increasingly difficult to face work each day, in large part because I find it difficult to get meaning from my work,

Right now I am designing a parking lot expansion at work. I think it's silly, but other people think it is important enough to pay me to do it. Who am I to say "No, you don't need more parking lot, you should ride bikes and turn the existing lot into a garden"? And it's pretty fun to design a parking lot, even if it is a silly thing.

My friend used to work for a defense contractor designing parts of tanks. He found it very rewarding because he thought he was helping to save lives. Other people would say he was enabling more people to be killed. I don't have an opinion on this because I don't know very much about it, but the strong differing opinions are interesting.

Sounds like you have a lot of hobbies outside work that you enjoy. That's what fulfills me; my job is just an honest way to make money, mostly enjoyable and always tolerable.

[ShortInSeattle]

I can think of a few ideas for you, but they fall into the category of easy to understand but hard to do.

1) Slow the heck down. You've got a demanding job and a big bunch of hobbies. Even fun stuff can become too much. Prioritize your health and stress level by getting enough sleep, exercising daily, and having enough down time to recharge. I'd start dropping a few of your existing commitments.

2) Practice Daily Gratitude.  We can view our jobs as a gift, or as a burden. If you can find a way to enjoy your job for a while you will be happier. That motivational cornball Tony Robbins was right when he said that our focus determines our reality. If you go to work and focus on how much you'd rather be elsewhere of course you'll be miserable. Why not pay attention to the parts of your job and day that you appreciate? It might not be the work itself. Can you appreciate the people, the skills you use, your ability to help others, the opportunity to earn a great income? I keep a gratitude list and try to add to it each day. It helps.

Happiness is a habit, and it's not dependent upon FI or external factors. I believe you can be happier right now, with a shift in mindset.

:)

SIS (ex-workaholic, learning to be happy NOW on the journey to FIRE)





3)

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

I can think of a few ideas for you, but they fall into the category of easy to understand but hard to do.

1) Slow the heck down. You've got a demanding job and a big bunch of hobbies. Even fun stuff can become too much. Prioritize your health and stress level by getting enough sleep, exercising daily, and having enough down time to recharge. I'd start dropping a few of your existing commitments.

2) Practice Daily Gratitude.  We can view our jobs as a gift, or as a burden. If you can find a way to enjoy your job for a while you will be happier. That motivational cornball Tony Robbins was right when he said that our focus determines our reality. If you go to work and focus on how much you'd rather be elsewhere of course you'll be miserable. Why not pay attention to the parts of your job and day that you appreciate? It might not be the work itself. Can you appreciate the people, the skills you use, your ability to help others, the opportunity to earn a great income? I keep a gratitude list and try to add to it each day. It helps.

Happiness is a habit, and it's not dependent upon FI or external factors. I believe you can be happier right now, with a shift in mindset.

:)

SIS (ex-workaholic, learning to be happy NOW on the journey to FIRE)





3)

SIS, you complete me.  <3

[bikebum]

Happiness is a habit, and it's not dependent upon FI or external factors. I believe you can be happier right now, with a shift in mindset.

I think that is the secret to life!

[phred]

If you need to lunch out you could probably find a vegetarian restaurant once or twice a week.

To work on your other life you might consider taking a creative writing workshop just to be around some writers while improving your writing.  Also consider volunteering as the 'solicitor of record' for some very low budget acting groups -- what we would call off-off-Broadway.  Because they lack money they really need you.

Get on your bicycle more often - being out in the air does wonders.

[ShortInSeattle]

SIS, you complete me.  <3
[/quote]

Aww! Thanks.

[Daleth]

That is WAY too much.  And it means I'm eating shitty restaurant food or takeaways all the time, which is why my body is so sad.  Two problems solved in one by cooking at home and bringing homemade lunch (or going home for lunch!).

One thing that works for me when I bother to do it--and I often don't, but that's because I'm spending orders of magnitude less on take-out food than you are--is to set aside a Friday night or half a weekend day for a massive cook-fest, making big batches of a few different things (2-3 main courses and some sides), and then putting one meal each into a bunch of freezer-safe glass containers and freezing it all. I use glass because microwaving plastic isn't good for the health. Do this two or three times in a row and you have a wide variety of meals available.

Then you just grab one and pop it in your bag on the way to work, and microwave it at lunchtime. Obviously that means you eat at your desk, but that doesn't mean you're stuck in your office all day--if you can free yourself from the notion that you have to go buy something somewhere in order to justify leaving your office, you can simply go for walks once a day. Much like smokers go outside to have a smoke...

This is the sort of glass storage thing I use. They come in various sizes. The key detail, apart from their being glass, is that they have a plastic lid that seals tightly so you can carry it to work with no risk of mess.

I have yet to find anything that doesn't freeze reasonably well, btw. Rice, mashed potatoes and even pasta freeze well if you combine them with their sauce before freezing. (For that matter, rice freezes fine by itself.)

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

That is WAY too much.  And it means I'm eating shitty restaurant food or takeaways all the time, which is why my body is so sad.  Two problems solved in one by cooking at home and bringing homemade lunch (or going home for lunch!).

One thing that works for me when I bother to do it--and I often don't, but that's because I'm spending orders of magnitude less on take-out food than you are--is to set aside a Friday night or half a weekend day for a massive cook-fest, making big batches of a few different things (2-3 main courses and some sides), and then putting one meal each into a bunch of freezer-safe glass containers and freezing it all. I use glass because microwaving plastic isn't good for the health. Do this two or three times in a row and you have a wide variety of meals available.

Then you just grab one and pop it in your bag on the way to work, and microwave it at lunchtime.

Yep, we did this for the first time this past weekend.  Turns out much of the work is chopping vegetables, and a lot of our recipes take similar vegetables (onion, peppers, carrots, celery), so by chopping 3 onions instead of one, etc., we get greater bang for our buck. 

Because I have a bad disc in my back I can't stand in the kitchen for hours at a time, so I made "recipe baggies" for each recipe and wrote the amount of each vegetable needed for the recipe on the bag in sharpie and filled the baggie up with the chopped vegetables and threw them in the frig.  So, even if I couldn't cook all three meals at once, I had the hard part done and could split the cooking up into two days.

We made chili, chicken noodle soup, lentil soup, and bean burritos.  Feels great having all that food "banked" in the freezer!

[ladywingnut]

Hey friends - in my bid to reply to each of your lovely replies individually I am having to leave longer and longer for the task, which inevitably leads to me NOT replying like a terribly rude newbie.  So in lieu of that for now, I'll say - yes to pre-making the food.  I went and bought a whole bunch of fresh vegetables that I will prep and freeze for yummy dinners.  Also had first day of not eating lunch out and it was great; I feel all nourished.

As to the cleaner - it's something that will probably come in time, but for now the benefit I get in mood boost from having clean and tidy house far outweighs the cost of the cleaner.

A friend of mine had a great idea as well - trial a 4 day week by using annual leave for a few weeks, and see if I really am better off at the end of it or if I just waste the time. 

Thank you again and I do intend to come back with individual replies. :)

LWN

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

Hey friends - in my bid to reply to each of your lovely replies individually I am having to leave longer and longer for the task, which inevitably leads to me NOT replying like a terribly rude newbie.  So in lieu of that for now, I'll say - yes to pre-making the food.  I went and bought a whole bunch of fresh vegetables that I will prep and freeze for yummy dinners.  Also had first day of not eating lunch out and it was great; I feel all nourished.

As to the cleaner - it's something that will probably come in time, but for now the benefit I get in mood boost from having clean and tidy house far outweighs the cost of the cleaner.

A friend of mine had a great idea as well - trial a 4 day week by using annual leave for a few weeks, and see if I really am better off at the end of it or if I just waste the time. 

Thank you again and I do intend to come back with individual replies. :)

LWN

LOL -- not only was I not expecting a reply, I had forgotten that I had posted this!  :-)
Thanks for your kind response, though. 

I do have to admit that having those frozen soups in the freezer and just being able to pull them out for lunches has made a big difference over the past week.  Since I've had such good, nourishing luches (as opposed to the frozen lunches I was paying $5 a piece for), I've felt much less need for fancy takeout for dinner, too.  Plus, having put all of the work into the prep of the lunches so that I could save money has also made me less likely to blow my money on dinner out.  It's been a very positive influence on my life.  :-)

[totoro]

Hey, just came across your posts.  The chronic anxiety and depression disorders - what helps?  Also, what do you really want out of life?

I would figure these bits out first.  Sometimes doing a strat plan is a good exercise.  Yes, you search for an online strat plan template for a business and then treat it as personal - fill it in including a SWOT.  You could use this one: http://www.planware.org/strategicplan.htm

FWIW I'm a lawyer working 20 hours a week or less, making lots of money, and I love my job.  Feel free to PM me if you want info.