I think I want to emphasize that a lot of people just don't have the mindset for early retirement. If you believe that it's impossible then you won't even try.
Working a little longer is one option. Another is arranging to continue to earn some money after you retire. And, of course, there's always the option of being a little more frugal than you'd planned—start your spending at 3.5% of your capital, for example.
You're right that being a little more conservative is the way to go just now—but there are a lot of ways to be a little more conservative.
I'm 100% against all "money saving" tips out there!
In the past I have been able to save money using all of the tips and pay off my debt, as a matter of fact I've done it twice, and here I am right where I was 4 years ago, except this time it feels almost impossible to get around it, why?
Because the entire country is in a different place today, companies all around are focused on cutting the little guy's jobs (<30K per year) instead of getting rid of costly executive positions, in addition they're also cutting benefits, hours etc. Which means that if you have not been laid off you're putting in more hours every week in the effort of keeping your job.
So I would like to propose that instead of saving money we start finding ways to MAKE MONEY, since it's mathematically impossible to save something you don't have in the first place.
I know that's SCARY especially for those of us who don't have "entrepreneur" qualities, but I'll tell you that it's FRIGHTENING going to work everyday, giving 100% for no guarantees at all, having no idea if you'll be there next month or even next week.
I'do rather give 100% for something that's mine (and be broke temporarily), than give 100% for somebody else's profit (and be broke indefinitely).
I agree that the 4% rule is still useful to help plan. But if you're nearing retirement age and are close to the 4% rule, it might be wise to work a couple extra years while you are comparably healtier and more employable than realizing when you're 80 that you're about to run out of money. A little gloomy, for sure, but wise to plan conservatively for retirement in my opinion.
Wow, Nora - thanks so much for this! I've been looking everywhere for real numbers when it comes to RTW travel, and they're extremely hard to find. Most of the articles I've found say things like, "Just do it, and everything will work out." Whimsical thinking is fun, but it doesn't work for someone as OCD as me!
I'll be taking a RTW trip with my girlfriend next year, and I'm glad to see an average of $10k per person with you and your boyfriend. That's extremely doable for us - and I'm excited to have a fiscal goal to work towards!
Even if it's not the most important, a great idea is the first step. I've been wanting to start a business for a while but keep racking my brain for what it is I would do.
My great-grandparents on my father's side came to the United States from Germany, and I must have gotten that German workplace gene. I can't stand how social American workplaces are; I specifically asked to be moved to a quieter location so that I wouldn't have to hear my coworkers jabbering about their lives for half an hour at a time. Work is work, not happy hour. I sure would love a quiet, more professional workplace.
Matt
Contamination is always a challenge. It does sound like that was your issue here. I would not drink it myself. If you had many years of experience, where you could tell my the smell or taste, what type of contamination you have, I would be wary. If you go ahead and distill it, see if the smell carries over. Be careful on doing your cuts, from methanol to ethanol. You could have a lot more methanol in that batch. There are lil beasties out there they add to wine to make vinegar, so distilling vinegar would not be any good. This could be similar to that. Always sanitize your dishes, boil the water and don't let anything touch the liquid or surfaces once you've done that.
Recent research has suggested that anything over $75,000/year doesn't make a person any happier, and can in fact add to your woes. I make way less than that, but I'm happy to believe it. :-)
Thanks for the info but the part that FSA will pay for physician prescribed massage isn't 100% accurate. Not all FSAs will. My physician filled out prescription for me to have massage to treat migraines (it works!) because I can't take the meds.
While my state gives you a tax benefit (no sales tax on massage - save 7%), our FSA will not accept the prescription to reimburse us for the treatment. The reason they give is our health plan has to decline it first. Our health plan says it can't accept a bill without medical codes - which a massage place doesn't have unless its at a chiropractor office.
One option might be to find a good massage therapist at a Chiropractor's office - but my therapist is really good with migraines. She gets them and understands better than other massage therapists. So, no FSA for me :(
My employer gives 0 vacation days for the first year, 5 the next, and then 10 per year for up to 10 years. Frankly, I have no loyalty to them whatsoever and refuse to bend over backwards on any project. Most of the time I finish what I need to do and a a lot that I don't with no more than a few hours of work per day, then spend the rest reading up on the skills I need in order to look for better work.
It's important to remember that the way of life in Europe does not revolve around the "more is better" mentality that we have in America. The reason so many Americans do not take vacations, or feel that they cannot, is because they are so incredibly reliant on their income due to being overextended on mortgages, car payments, credit cards, etc. Many people in America have spread themselves so thin by choice that if they did lose their job as a result of said vacation, many do not even have a emergency fund to fall back on.
Yeah right. measuring work output by results would mean that Blacks and Browns would actually get promotions--don't want that. The Germans have what you call a "meritocracy." We have not had that in America for quite some time.
I agree. There are millions of Americans right now living paycheck to paycheck. It's easy to advise early retirement, but how do propose to do that in this economy?
I pretty much agree with every point. I'm so glad I've gone from the corporal world to the Internet Marketing world. So potential without the depressing, non-rewarding daily jobs.
When we hit disneyland we stop at our local disney store, dollar tree, or walmart. We buy a few small items ($10 or less) for the kids such as a stuffed animal, disney candy or a book. When we arive to check in at our hotel I stay in the car with the kids while my husband runs in. He sneeks the gifts in the room and sets them up on the beds for the kids to discover when we enter the room. We tell them Mickey Mouse left them. They are delighted! It has an almost Christmas morning effect on them. They have a disneyland keepsake, a magical first moment, and I save some money. Everyones happy!
Well after 6 days I have read all the comments and I feel much better for doing so due to the fact i am about to try to distil for the first time very soon (I have 5.5 Imp Gallons of must bubbling away like mad).
However, I am thinking of trying something to distil my wash that hasn't been mentioned anywhere that I can find but I think it will work well.
I was however wondering why I had not heard of these being used and if there is a reason why I shouldn't try it that I haven't thought of.
My mush is made up of 21L Water, 17.5 pounds sugar and turbo yeast (up to 20% in 5 days), on the packet it says not to use an airlock but I am using one anyway cos I am a home winemaker and know all to well about the problems that can arise from not using one.
Thank you for all your advice on this subject and even right to the end of the comments there is always something that has helped me to become better informed about this beautiful dying art.
I will keep you informed as to the progress of my shenanigans.
I believe IBM has moved towards measuring output versus hours where it has resulted in higher morale and productivity. Hopefully other businesses will realize this too.
I just started living without a car this summer in Baltimore. It's been a challenge, and sometimes you need a car to go to the beach or somewhere out of state, but the benefits more than outweigh the small inconveniences. I calculated a savings of $500 a month between car payments, gas, insurance, and parking fees. I also lost some weight and feel really healthy biking/walking places.
A lot of these websites and companies will probably be going through changes soon with the explosion of private sales and group sales online at places such as Groupon, LivingSocial, etc. I could see QVC doing daily deals that appear online as well as promoted on their channel.
It is a wonderful goal but not realistically reachable by most people. I suppose if you stay single, no kids, no one to be responsible for and are able to get a college education with no debt there is a chance . . . .
I think I want to emphasize that a lot of people just don't have the mindset for early retirement. If you believe that it's impossible then you won't even try.
Working a little longer is one option. Another is arranging to continue to earn some money after you retire. And, of course, there's always the option of being a little more frugal than you'd planned—start your spending at 3.5% of your capital, for example.
You're right that being a little more conservative is the way to go just now—but there are a lot of ways to be a little more conservative.
2013 is correct
I'm 100% against all "money saving" tips out there!
In the past I have been able to save money using all of the tips and pay off my debt, as a matter of fact I've done it twice, and here I am right where I was 4 years ago, except this time it feels almost impossible to get around it, why?
Because the entire country is in a different place today, companies all around are focused on cutting the little guy's jobs (<30K per year) instead of getting rid of costly executive positions, in addition they're also cutting benefits, hours etc. Which means that if you have not been laid off you're putting in more hours every week in the effort of keeping your job.
So I would like to propose that instead of saving money we start finding ways to MAKE MONEY, since it's mathematically impossible to save something you don't have in the first place.
I know that's SCARY especially for those of us who don't have "entrepreneur" qualities, but I'll tell you that it's FRIGHTENING going to work everyday, giving 100% for no guarantees at all, having no idea if you'll be there next month or even next week.
I'do rather give 100% for something that's mine (and be broke temporarily), than give 100% for somebody else's profit (and be broke indefinitely).
I'do rather bet on myself than on others period!
I agree that the 4% rule is still useful to help plan. But if you're nearing retirement age and are close to the 4% rule, it might be wise to work a couple extra years while you are comparably healtier and more employable than realizing when you're 80 that you're about to run out of money. A little gloomy, for sure, but wise to plan conservatively for retirement in my opinion.
Wow, Nora - thanks so much for this! I've been looking everywhere for real numbers when it comes to RTW travel, and they're extremely hard to find. Most of the articles I've found say things like, "Just do it, and everything will work out." Whimsical thinking is fun, but it doesn't work for someone as OCD as me!
I'll be taking a RTW trip with my girlfriend next year, and I'm glad to see an average of $10k per person with you and your boyfriend. That's extremely doable for us - and I'm excited to have a fiscal goal to work towards!
Even if it's not the most important, a great idea is the first step. I've been wanting to start a business for a while but keep racking my brain for what it is I would do.
My great-grandparents on my father's side came to the United States from Germany, and I must have gotten that German workplace gene. I can't stand how social American workplaces are; I specifically asked to be moved to a quieter location so that I wouldn't have to hear my coworkers jabbering about their lives for half an hour at a time. Work is work, not happy hour. I sure would love a quiet, more professional workplace.
Matt
Contamination is always a challenge. It does sound like that was your issue here. I would not drink it myself. If you had many years of experience, where you could tell my the smell or taste, what type of contamination you have, I would be wary. If you go ahead and distill it, see if the smell carries over. Be careful on doing your cuts, from methanol to ethanol. You could have a lot more methanol in that batch. There are lil beasties out there they add to wine to make vinegar, so distilling vinegar would not be any good. This could be similar to that. Always sanitize your dishes, boil the water and don't let anything touch the liquid or surfaces once you've done that.
Recent research has suggested that anything over $75,000/year doesn't make a person any happier, and can in fact add to your woes. I make way less than that, but I'm happy to believe it. :-)
Thanks for the info but the part that FSA will pay for physician prescribed massage isn't 100% accurate. Not all FSAs will. My physician filled out prescription for me to have massage to treat migraines (it works!) because I can't take the meds.
While my state gives you a tax benefit (no sales tax on massage - save 7%), our FSA will not accept the prescription to reimburse us for the treatment. The reason they give is our health plan has to decline it first. Our health plan says it can't accept a bill without medical codes - which a massage place doesn't have unless its at a chiropractor office.
One option might be to find a good massage therapist at a Chiropractor's office - but my therapist is really good with migraines. She gets them and understands better than other massage therapists. So, no FSA for me :(
My employer gives 0 vacation days for the first year, 5 the next, and then 10 per year for up to 10 years. Frankly, I have no loyalty to them whatsoever and refuse to bend over backwards on any project. Most of the time I finish what I need to do and a a lot that I don't with no more than a few hours of work per day, then spend the rest reading up on the skills I need in order to look for better work.
It's important to remember that the way of life in Europe does not revolve around the "more is better" mentality that we have in America. The reason so many Americans do not take vacations, or feel that they cannot, is because they are so incredibly reliant on their income due to being overextended on mortgages, car payments, credit cards, etc. Many people in America have spread themselves so thin by choice that if they did lose their job as a result of said vacation, many do not even have a emergency fund to fall back on.
Yeah right. measuring work output by results would mean that Blacks and Browns would actually get promotions--don't want that. The Germans have what you call a "meritocracy." We have not had that in America for quite some time.
I agree. There are millions of Americans right now living paycheck to paycheck. It's easy to advise early retirement, but how do propose to do that in this economy?
That situation is happening in my life right now.
There's my Sunday night movie to watch. I've seen it before--but I need some help.
Thanks
I pretty much agree with every point. I'm so glad I've gone from the corporal world to the Internet Marketing world. So potential without the depressing, non-rewarding daily jobs.
When we hit disneyland we stop at our local disney store, dollar tree, or walmart. We buy a few small items ($10 or less) for the kids such as a stuffed animal, disney candy or a book. When we arive to check in at our hotel I stay in the car with the kids while my husband runs in. He sneeks the gifts in the room and sets them up on the beds for the kids to discover when we enter the room. We tell them Mickey Mouse left them. They are delighted! It has an almost Christmas morning effect on them. They have a disneyland keepsake, a magical first moment, and I save some money. Everyones happy!
Hi all,
Well after 6 days I have read all the comments and I feel much better for doing so due to the fact i am about to try to distil for the first time very soon (I have 5.5 Imp Gallons of must bubbling away like mad).
However, I am thinking of trying something to distil my wash that hasn't been mentioned anywhere that I can find but I think it will work well.
Being British, I am thinking of buying a second hand Tea Urn like this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180568694708&ssPage...
I think it has all the attributes of a great still without the danger of alcohol vapours and gas flames.
I was however wondering why I had not heard of these being used and if there is a reason why I shouldn't try it that I haven't thought of.
My mush is made up of 21L Water, 17.5 pounds sugar and turbo yeast (up to 20% in 5 days), on the packet it says not to use an airlock but I am using one anyway cos I am a home winemaker and know all to well about the problems that can arise from not using one.
Thank you for all your advice on this subject and even right to the end of the comments there is always something that has helped me to become better informed about this beautiful dying art.
I will keep you informed as to the progress of my shenanigans.
I don't think it's possible to be too wealthy... Those who climbed the social ladder deserve to hold on to their money.
I believe IBM has moved towards measuring output versus hours where it has resulted in higher morale and productivity. Hopefully other businesses will realize this too.
I just started living without a car this summer in Baltimore. It's been a challenge, and sometimes you need a car to go to the beach or somewhere out of state, but the benefits more than outweigh the small inconveniences. I calculated a savings of $500 a month between car payments, gas, insurance, and parking fees. I also lost some weight and feel really healthy biking/walking places.
I'm 21 now, shooting for retirement by 35. I can't understand why the retirement at 65 thing is so popular.
A lot of these websites and companies will probably be going through changes soon with the explosion of private sales and group sales online at places such as Groupon, LivingSocial, etc. I could see QVC doing daily deals that appear online as well as promoted on their channel.
It is a wonderful goal but not realistically reachable by most people. I suppose if you stay single, no kids, no one to be responsible for and are able to get a college education with no debt there is a chance . . . .