2 yr anniversary of MMM—a reflection

[MrThatsDifferent]

2 years ago I stumbled into MMM. Can’t quite remember how, think I read some article that led me here. Whew! Thank goddess that I did. But it hasn’t all been roses and I need to pause and work out what I have to keep working on, as I’m not naturally a mustachian person..

Year 1:
Wow was I fired up (so to speak). MMM was the answer to my prayers to fill the void of what was I going to do with my life since our plans for a family weren’t happening like we wanted. I instituted a couple easy, smart things (Vanguard and retirement fund), began tracking NW and made my finances, savings and investments my priority. We still also had some great holidays. Saved more money than ever, happy with it. My plan was to FIRE in 5 years and travel the world.

Year 2:
Not so good. I brought credit cards back in my life for the points and thought I’d be a killer at travel hacking. Nightmare. Credit cards are evil and I’m not good with them. I spent far more than I should because it was too easy. I did not save as much as I could have. For unrelated reasons, the marriage broke down, with FIRE playing a small role. Then this bit of a stock dip.

Going forward for Year 3:
Rededication to the savings plan. Hide the f’in credit cards and use as sparingly as possible, screw the points and cancel them and find others that don’t have annual fees. Get rid of all my excess stuff. (Moving out, I discovered that I don’t use or access 85% of what I own...seriously). Get better at maintaining budgets for holidays and focus more on healthy eating and consistent exercise.

I’m still bad at math and finances. I have no idea what to do regarding property as there is conflicting advice: one camp says don’t ever buy, rent; the other says, you must own a paid off home when you FIRE. I can’t figure this one out. But in no rush. I think I’m extending my FIRE date to 6 years from now, which would give me a nicer cushion. However, anywhere between 4-6 would set me up well if I stop using the credit cards and keep with the savings plan.

Oh I still learn so much from this community and continually amazed at how caring and smart so many of you are. Thank you!

[Cassie]

There are calculators that can help you compare the cost of owning versus renting. First you need a 20% down payment and money for repairs. Then do you want to mow the lawn or do you want a condo? Condos then require researching the association fees, how much they have in reserves, etc.

[Moustachienne]

Sorry about the marriage.  Other than that, it doesn't sound like you're doing bad at all.  Good lesson learned re the credit cards!  I'm not a CC shopper so not tempted that way but trying to credit card churn gives me the shivers - way more complicated than I'd like to track. Keep things simple, which it sounds like you're planning to do.

On rent vs own - keep that question simple as well.  If you're not planning to stay in one place, owning might not be a good idea.  If you rent, just calculate the cost of rent into your FIRE budget, just like home owners have to calculate in taxes, maintenance, etc.  Ultimately, owning/renting may be more of a philosophical or emotional question than strictly financial and there's no one right choice.  And no really wrong choice either.

[Zikoris]

It's definitely fun to look back. We got into early retirement about seven years ago, and the first year was NUTS - setting up tracking, doing all our planning, learning about investing, cutting costs, learning skills, getting our savings rate up past the hallowed 60%. But pretty much since then, things have been very quiet on that front - everything just hums along quietly in the background, we keep doing what we have for seven years, and our money just piles up.

I imagine there will be a similar period of crazy during our first year of retirement. Especially since my partner has decided we should take a "gap year" where we basically just travel around the world for a year before committing to any particular long term course of action.

[joonifloofeefloo]

What a cool post, MrThatsDifferent.

Thank you very much for sharing all of that :)

[Brother Esau]

Oh I still learn so much from this community and continually amazed at how caring and smart so many of you are. Thank you!

yep!

[Faramir]

I'm sorry to hear about the marriage breakdown.  It seems from your post that it "only" added another 2-4 years to FIRE, which is probably better than most people in that situation with that sort of life change.

Regarding the credit card churning, if it increases your spending more than the rewards, it sounds like you only need 1 credit card with no fees for your normal spending and then you can't justify overspending.

Don't rush into home ownership unless you know you'll stay there for a decent number of years.  Although we own our house without a mortgage we've still had to recently repair or replace the dishwasher, oven, and front door which people sometimes don't account for when owning. 

Wishing you all the best and 4-6 years isn't so bad.  Enjoy the journey and if you're that close, you probably have some FU money to make it more bearable.

[soccerluvof4]

Simplistic as it sounds , peaks and valleys! you were on the rise and had a set back you sound like you learned from and now can reach new heights! we all make mistakes so as long as you learn from them your doing fine!

[MrThatsDifferent]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and support.

[MrThatsDifferent]

I should add something, as a response to someone’s observation: the marriage ending isn’t what has caused me to increase my FIRE date (we’ve agreed to exit with everything we came in with and we kept things separate for the marriage except joint expenses split 50/50), no, it was the Suze Orman discussion that occurred here. I think she’s a hater too, but, I’ll be honest, that thread scared the crap out of me and made me think. Currently I have the perfect job that pays me an incredible sum and I know the company, the politics, I’m master of my domain and I’m making an impact. I feel I’m too old to leave and start at a new company as the new guy and do this shit all over, especially as I’m looking to get out. So, save for something tragic, this is my last job with an employer who isn’t me. And if that’s the case and I’m making great money, shouldn’t I eke out a couple more years to give myself that “just in case” padding?  Keep in mind, I’m coming to this late and when I’m done, I wanna be done. Maybe some fun side hustle stuff I can do for 5 hours a week from anywhere in the world, but nothing major. And I don’t dread work enough to rush out the door tomorrow and I live in near perfect city. If I stay 6 years I’ll get a nice little bonus from work and it will be a good time to say that’s it. That’ll still have me properly retired a good 10-15 years before 90% of my peers and set me up for the rest of my life. And, as I said, if anything changes, I should be ok with just 3-4 more years working. So it’s all good except when I think: oh since, I’m working for 6 more years I can afford to be indulgent more now. No! Stop that thinking!!!

[2Birds1Stone]

6 more years of working is never guaranteed. It sounds like you'll be in a great spot, simply padding the stache' for wants vs. needs.

Just remember that these are the youngest/healthiest years of your remaining life, sometimes that extra 10% spending isn't worth trading 1-2 years away for.

[Cassie]

Since you are still fairly young working 6 more years is no big deal.  It’s a much bigger deal in your 50’s.

[MrThatsDifferent]

Since you are still fairly young working 6 more years is no big deal.  It’s a much bigger deal in your 50’s.

I’m in my late 40s but I should be able to retire in my early 50s

[dude]

I hear you on the credit cards. I don't budget, but I do use credit cards for the rewards, and some months when I'm paying the balance (which I ALWAYS do monthly), I'm like "WTF???!, how the fuck did I rack up $1,500?!!" And then I look back and I'm like, well fuck, yeah there it is -- I "nickeled and dimed" my way there, so to speak (only at $20-$50 increments). I'm planning to forego the credit cards and use solely the debit card for a month and see how that works out. Mind you, none of this "unseen" spending has altered my savings goals or FIRE plans, it's just that when I see it, it makes me realize that I'm still spending wastefully sometimes and it makes me think about how I can be way more efficient if I just buckle down a little and make it happen.

[MrThatsDifferent]

I hear you on the credit cards. I don't budget, but I do use credit cards for the rewards, and some months when I'm paying the balance (which I ALWAYS do monthly), I'm like "WTF???!, how the fuck did I rack up $1,500?!!" And then I look back and I'm like, well fuck, yeah there it is -- I "nickeled and dimed" my way there, so to speak (only at $20-$50 increments). I'm planning to forego the credit cards and use solely the debit card for a month and see how that works out. Mind you, none of this "unseen" spending has altered my savings goals or FIRE plans, it's just that when I see it, it makes me realize that I'm still spending wastefully sometimes and it makes me think about how I can be way more efficient if I just buckle down a little and make it happen.

Exactly. One of the differences between now and then is before, I never paid of balances, I just let them grow and was excited to pay the minimum.  So stupid!!!  Now I pay them off monthly but I’m noticing I’m overspending and contributing less to my savings and investments. It’s worrisome and it happens so quickly. What I hate about CC’s is the false sense of wealth and entitlement—I can do whatever my limit is, put it on the card! And I went 7 years without one and stayed within my means. Tap and go is convenient but it makes spending mindless, when spending needs to be mindful, even if you can afford it.