What did you learn to do in 2015?

[Quinn]

.

[FrozenAssets]

Swim. :)

I signed up for a really popular all-female triathlon and after I got in on the lottery, I taught myself to swim using YouTube videos and a snorkel. It took a few months, but I did 500 meters in just under 13 minutes, all freestyle.

[Cookie78]

I learned how to:
Buy ETFs
Pour and finish concrete
Speak more Spanish (a work in progress)
Deal with grief
Cut rebar
Butcher a moose
Use microstation
Declutter
Make an early retirement plan
Make laundry and hand soap
Make cheese and sweet Thai chili sauce
Install a dishwasher

[Astatine]

Apart from some gradual improvements in cooking, most of my learn-tos were emotional. I learnt to:

- spend less time on regrets (you can't change the past, what's done is done etc)
- focus a bit more on enjoying the present and living in the moment. Today is the only day that matters.
- face up to my remaining fears around mortality
- I know what I want to put in an advanced care directive now and will get one made next year
- learn that when a scary diagnosis happens, it's a bit shit but not as bad as you'd imagined
- I'm better at opening up about bad stuff to my social circles instead of retreating from everyone

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I learned a bunch of stuff. I learned how to:

Calculate an amortization schedule
Change the transmission fluid on my car
Create a responsive website design
Be happy with less stuff

I learned a lot of other things, but these were the actionable ones. :)

[CientoUno]

I learned about FIRE, index investing and Mustachianism! All in the last 2 weeks! And as a result, for the first time I have a semblance of a life plan and goal. I'd rank that the most important.

Otherwise, I've also:
- Learned enough Thai to consider myself intermediate/generally conversational on a basic level
- Learned the rules to many sports (side effects of being an ESL PE teacher)
- Come to terms with the fact that, for some reason, I'm just not interested in relationships or hooking up right now, much to the utter confusion of all my other male friends
- Learned that having a video game console is a surefire way to have me never do anything interesting, ever... and thus I am selling this piece of crap ASAP

Been a damn good year all things considered! =D

[Nancy]

Astatine ,  I admire your attitude and personal growth. I wish you the best.

[DocMcStuffins]

Learned how to manage a death (quick tip, get at least 20 death certificates no matter how much each is.  this is non-negotiable and will help
                                                you more than you can appreciate at first, ie headaches)
Learned about ERE/MMM, thank GOD!!!!!

Improved my knowledge of finances (RACIAL PERSONAL FINANCE IS AN AWESOME PODCAST)

Learned that happiness is a choice (whether you are FI or not)......don't wait for FI to be happy, choose to be now

Relearned that taking care of people is still noble (had someone in from a 3rd world country who without my help would be in a wheelchair)

Learned loosing 80 lbs is hard but keeping it off is even harder.......food is like crack except it is EVERYWHERE and also learned that even if I closet eat at 11PM when everyone else is sleeping, the calories still count.  Funny how we do that isn't it.

Learned I am not a Farmer, at least not yet!!!!!

Learned to cultivate creativity in my children instead of worrying if they got an A or not (they are all straight A kids though)

Learned that although I played college basketball and football, I don't love sports like I used to and am blown away by how insane sports have become in the US at such an early age. My goodness, they are children.

Learned I love public speaking and this is my passion

Learned a lot more practical things, but thought some of these were  more life impacting 

[Rural]

Taught a 4000-level course I've never taught before, which means I learned approx. a million new things in a specialized area of my field.


Learned how to deal with chronic pain.


Learned how limiting the above is in a visceral way I hadn't before, and thus learned a kind of empathy I've been lacking.


Learned a John Deere backhoe has two fuel pumps and how to change out one of them


Learned that money just keeps building up when you aren't looking, even if you halve your household income, as long as you don't spend it on dumb stuff.


Learned I want my husband to retire more than I want to retire myself. He gets so stressed. Wonder if he'd say the same about me?


Learned about hacking credit card sign up bonuses.

[Money Badger]

To the OP, awesome topic!   To FIRE is to know thyself...   I learned:

- About MMM and the awesome sliver of society who "get it" on how to manage their lives in a frugal, not cheap manner.

- That I have a friend called "Fear of debt" that changes my behavior in weird ways if I try to deny it.   I won't make my millions risking other people's money, but I'm committed to a plan that will achieve FIRE through profits from my own money.

- In line with above, that you can indeed recast a 7 year (or longer) term ARM mortgage despite what most internet sites & articles say.

- That my kids are amazingly mature for their ages and turning into 2 amazing adults.  And I'd better start talking to them like adults.

- The basics of how a modern, mechanized Pecan orchard operates and how much work and profit potential is in such a business (if managed well).

- That I want a John Deere like Rural (don't flame me if I buy a used Kubota more in MMM fashion though ;-).

[GreenSheep]

Roll an R (Spanish)
Roll a kayak

I learned other things, but these are the ones I was most excited about. I feel like I should learn to roll one more thing because 3 is more impressive than 2... but I don't smoke, and so far no one has come up with any other suggestions. :-)

[FIRE Artist]

I learned how to budget, and quickly learned that I was right all along, I don't need a budget, but the running tabulation of expense categories is nice.

I learned how to use Photoshop, illustrator and Wordpress. 

I relearned how to draw nudes from life, still working on becoming awesome at it.   

I learned about the existence of the Urban Sketchers and joined up, am now learning the ins and outs of drawing life on the street. 

I learned how to paint in watercolour.

All in all, I am pleased with progress made towards my goal to kick the grind and become a working artist/illustrator by 2020.

[FIRE Artist]

Roll an R (Spanish)
Roll a kayak

I learned other things, but these are the ones I was most excited about. I feel like I should learn to roll one more thing because 3 is more impressive than 2... but I don't smoke, and so far no one has come up with any other suggestions. :-)

Sushi?

[FIRE_Buckeye]

Not so much things I learned to do as things I've learned in general:
-the importance of compounding and maximizing 401k contributions
-the benefits of indexing as opposed to stock picking as I previously had
-learned that hiking has become one of my true passions/primary hobbies
-moved 9 hours away from home this year (northern Ohio to Charlotte, NC) and learned that I love just about everything about living in the South
-I finally have a plan in place for ER, as opposed to just blindly saving as I did previously
-Started a new job in a new industry, and learned that industry is where I want be, as opposed to public accounting where I was previously....so having some real career direction feels great

Has been a great year, and can't wait to see what 2016 brings

[Rural]

- That I want a John Deere like Rural (don't flame me if I buy a used Kubota more in MMM fashion though ;-).

Yes, don't buy a JD unless you run up on a deal like we did. Ours is a circa 1969 model full-size backhoe bought in 2010 for $5k. Hence I have learned a great deal over the years about repairing a JD backhoe! However, it put in our quarter-mile private road, dug out the foundation for our barn and our earth-sheltered house, and dug out and transported the extra dirt for the berm round said house (dig site to be a gazebo eventually). If it never starts again, we've more than gotten our money's worth, but we're hoping to use it to knock down the old mobile home we lived in while building the house this summer and then sell it. If that doesn't work out, I'll likely learn how much weight of scrap metal is in a JD backhoe....

[2ndTimer]

Learned how to use medical marijuana for chronic pain.  I am amazed to discover it really does work.
Learned to play the piano
Learned that I really like the music of Al Stewart.
Learned how to make Waffle House hash browns.

[Kris]

Do a triathlon

(On paper, at least) retire in Belize

[G-dog]

Roll an R (Spanish)
Roll a kayak

I learned other things, but these are the ones I was most excited about. I feel like I should learn to roll one more thing because 3 is more impressive than 2... but I don't smoke, and so far no one has come up with any other suggestions. :-)

You could learn how to make a cake roll (like a giant Ho-Ho), or cinnamon rolls...
Learn to roll a bowling ball for a strike
Learn to roller skate

[HenryDavid]

How to . .
Track spending even more usefully.
Re-roof a French bathroom.
Convert car parking space into raised bed gardens.
Speak More Italian and German but not enough.
How to retire in 2017 if desired.
Canoe-camp in northern Canada.
Deal with difficult relatives more smoothly.
Make pumpkin pie--well, by later today.

[NV Teacher]

I learned the basics of watercolor painting and how to make a really good bundt cake.

[NorCal]

I learned the following:

Make amazingly good pizza's.
Make bread (I could figure it out before, but I practiced more this year)
Restore a bandsaw
Deal with a 2 year old
Bike through traffic without getting crushed (more confidence than anything else)

Gained enough woodworking / woodturning skills to make the following:
-Fancy clock with high-quality wood
-Fancy wood coffee mugs
-Fancy pizza cutter & ice cream scoop
-Rocking horse for my daughter (in-progress)
-Router table
-Fancy key bowl

[Goatee Joe]

Speak Russian.  Sort of.

[Bracken_Joy]

-How to make curry
-How to do fertility charting
-How to do a backsquat
-That my neck/shoulder/back mobility is far more restricted than I realized- I thought my PT had been enough, but I've just been compensating well for many years
-What it "feels like" to be married and get a new name (hint: not nearly as different as people told me it would be)
-How to do my new job

[Piwakawaka]

So far...

- Invest money properly
- Operate a head filling machine (big, finicky and expensive piece of agricultural machinery)
- Operate rollers and diggers (well, more like be legally licensed to do so heh)
- The proper protocols when one is at a Mexican bull ring
- The skill/ability to say no when offered a drink

Not many things really... but there is time yet for learning to bake tasty meat pies and grow vegetables

[big_slacker]

Work stuff:

ASR9000 routers
F5 BigIP load balancers

Learned a little bit of Python coding.

Quite a bit about some very specific certificate based network authentication.

Personal stuff:

Got consistent with my meditation practice which helps me break out of bad moods and negative thought patterns a lot more

Continuing to learn and get better at manipulating 3-5 year olds. :)

[seattlecyclone]

* Drywall installation
* Theory of child raising (practical course begins in a few months)

Probably other things too.

[the_gastropod]

* Haskell (programming)
* How to repack a bicycle hub with new bearings.
* How to adjust bicycle derailleurs.

[BlueMR2]

I learned how to:

- True a bicycle wheel (repairs after getting hit by a car)
- Build doors for a shed (after mine rotted out and were falling apart)

I guess that's it.  Slow year...

[mancityfan]

How to use a band saw
How to use a Scroll Saw
Became a certified soccer ref - reffed 175 games for $8000 side gig income and got in shape btw!
Learned how to make shortbread cookies (easy I know, but I never cook!)
Psychological progress - started to turn the corner on living more for "today" rather than obsessing about the future/goals

[Miss Prim]

I learned not to worry about retiring in April because I knew from reading here that I had enough money to quit working!  Best thing I ever did.

                                                               Miss Prim

[PMG]

Painting.

Roll a cigarette.

Up thread conversation reminded me.  I was hanging out on a lift several stories up with a visiting international artist working on a mural. Took a break sitting on paint buckets just watching the city.  I don't smoke, but that setting was perfect.  He told me to hold the paper backwards. Something about where the adhesive strip is and how it works better. Of course I haven't rolled one since...  The friendship that grew out of that day has been one of the best things about 2015. Might be life changing?  Definitely helped me figure some things out in my own head.

[Conjou]

I learned to make kombucha and do yoga. What's happening to me?! Ha!

[G-dog]

Replace an oven burner element
Say goodbye to my job (and hello to FIRE)
Improve homemade pizza and get more consistent results
Make homemade salsa verde

[Lanthiriel]

I learned how to cook and meal plan. It's been eye-opening.
I learned the dos and don'ts of buying house (the hard way).
And I learned how to calculate and optimize personal taxes.

It feels like it's been a good year for personal growth.

[scottish]

I learned to write a good research paper for IEEE conferences.   It was quite a bit harder than I expected.

[aspiringnomad]

Ride a motorcycle. Stand on my hands. Remove a problem tenant without involving lawyers.

[msilenus]

Cool idea for a thread.  All you soap-makers are hardcore.  I'm perfectly happy to buy my soap, but who knows... maybe one day I'll be that badass.

TYIL:
* How to fix a toilet.
* Basic bike maintenance.
* Night bike riding.
* Several new safe bike routes in my area.
* Some new tax avoidance tricks.
* How to work our benefits system a little better.

[anotherAlias]

I just taught myself to know it last week.  I'm sure I've learned other things this year but this is the only thing I'm excited about.  I have wanted to lean for years so ultimately I can knit my own sweaters and save myself the frustration of trying something g that fits at stores.

[Lindy]

I learned how to make a pie from scratch.
I learned how to roast a pumpkin.
I learned how to start a blog.
I learned how to make my homemade pizzas even better. (Pizza stone and really high heat)
I learned that I can't have a vegetable garden where I currently live unless I cut down a lot of trees.  There is just not enough sunlight hitting the ground.

[steviesterno]

lets see, this year I learned to:

enjoy the good parts of my job and ignore the rest
treat a number of medical conditions I've never seen before
change my own brakes, oil, filters
landscape, some gardening but getting better
got way better at home repair stuff
learned about MMM and FIRE
learned to invest more, understanding major financial stuff
Learned I don't need as much stuff. still working on that, as I have hobbies that just aren't cheap (competitive shooting)
learned I don't need constant distraction
learned its the people in life that matter, not stuff
learned it will be OK (6 month pregnant wife got Tboned and taken to the hospital, all ok now thankfully).

[GuitarStv]

I learned how to not kill a one year old.  No matter how much screaming they do.

(Hopefully) up for next year:
- How to not kill a two year old.

[HappyMargo]

I have a List of "Things to do When Retired" that I periodically tack new ideas onto....
Then it hit me, "Why am I waiting until retired?  Why not get started on a few items NOW?"

So in 2015, I learned to:
-not wait till RE to start my Fun To Do List.  Begin now!

-care better for my bikes.  Took a 6 week intense Bicycle Mechanics Class.  It was awesome.

-drew up detailed plans for backyard garden to implement Spring 2016.

-begin Spanish lessons.  I've been carving out 30 mins to one hour for daily language study.

-also learned that FI & RE is closer than first thought!! 
Developed a presentation (using some calculators referenced often on this site) to get my spendy-pants DH on-board.  He's very excited about the idea now too & we're finally rowing our boat together in the same direction. 

So I guess I also learned: team work makes FIRE happen quicker, more easily & with a lot more enjoyment!

[pbkmaine]

How to make sushi rice, pizza from scratch, salad nicoise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ReadyToStash]

I learned:

- How to sew and make plushies (still working on making my own patterns!)

- How to use a pressure cooker effectively

- Different types of exercises to keep me healthy whether I'm close to a gym or not at all

- More about myself than ever before

[lukebuz]

I learned how to not kill a one year old.  No matter how much screaming they do.

(Hopefully) up for next year:
- How to not kill a two year old.

Are you me?

[Meggslynn]

I learned:

- Never really believe your boss has your best interests at heart, particularly if they are HR.
- That my self worth isn't related to the awesome amount of money I was making (still need to be reminded of this once in awhile).
- My husband and I can really survive on one income and this pricey province.
- How to make thee most amazing cinnamon buns eva!!
- How to let go of old friends who haven't done their share of putting effort in for the last couple years
- To make kick ass soup(s)

[Zikoris]

I learned how to dance ballet pirouettes without falling. Super useful, I know!

[moneyandmillennials]

great thread!!!

published a financial advice book

maximixe my 401k contributions

moved my higher expense ratio target retirement funds to lower costing non-target ones

started index investing instead of one stock picking

to pay for long term disability with after tax vs pre tax

appreciate and love my parents and siblings more

[patrickza]

Quite a few things, but the one standout, that's saved me a ton of money is that I learnt to fix phones. I've replaced the battery on my girlfriends iphone, and I've replaced the screen on my dad's motorola G. Thanks youtube, you saved me a few hundred dollars!

[Carolina on My Mind]

I learned two fun new kitchen skills this year:  canning (jam, pickles, etc.) and fermenting (sauerkraut, pickles, salsa, etc.).