4 ms·

Please dont ruin your present to become financially independent. I know people who cut their own hairs and do a whole lot of stuff to micro optimize their savin

Please dont ruin your present to become financially independent. I know people who cut their own hairs and do a whole lot of stuff to micro optimize their savings. That kind of lifestyle is just not worth it. As long as you're being mindful of being cash flow +ve and save some $ for rainy day, you're good. I Started with 1. Emergency fund (6months+ expenses or whatever you're comfortable with), 2. 401(k) / IRA (if you're employer provides it), 3. indexing (simple plain old vanguard low fee fund). thats about it, nothing more. I am a chase private client, own a house and could probably retire within next 3 yrs or sooner if I really wanted to... I dint think of FI all the time, it just happened.

droithomme 7y ago
> I know people who cut their own hairs I've had my partner cut my hair for many years; this was less time investment than going to a stylist. Now I just shave it. For some it's fine. If someone wants to have it styled that is great too.
neilv 7y ago
Emergency fund + max out tax-advantaged account contributions + your-age-in-bonds-percent low-expense-ratio index investing = great Bogleheads advice. What's funny is a marine biology grad student in the article wondering how much they should be saving. Until one finishes that PhD, career investment and putting the, say, $100/month discretionary stipend funds towards healthy food and bicycle safety maintenance, rather than eating instant ramen noodles to save an amount that will make negligible difference in retirement, makes sense. (Or, if trust fund grad student, especially in a difficult field like marine biology, live like a grad student on stipend, and Bogleheads the rest.)
bloaf 7y ago
>That kind of lifestyle is just not worth it. Different people have different tolerances. For some, a spartan lifestyle "costs" them nothing at all.
ianai 7y ago
I seriously hate 401k-s. I’ve got about 20 options to choose from and all of them tank if the market tanks. (This is what’s available through my employers plan) I should be able to specify that for the next 12-months I want everything going into precious metals, if I want. I think having to wait until retirement age for tax purposes is ridiculous as well. The street clearly benefits more from it than I do.
- koolba 7y ago
  When you change jobs you can roll it over to a self directed IRA and do just about anything that doesn’t require margin.
- jedberg 7y ago
  You can open a personal 401k at a brokerage and then roll over the money in your employers plan to said account. Then you can invest in whatever you want (including ETFs that track precious metals if you want). Then you get the benefit of your employer's match, if they have one, plus making your own investments.
  - ianai 7y ago
    I did not know this! Thank you. It looks like I can do that yearly as well.
  - ilikehurdles 7y ago
    I have never heard of being able to do a personal 401k despite looking for something like this a lot with my previous job. Is it a proper 401k — are there tax advantages benefits to it? Do I have to be self employed?
    - pinot 7y ago
      vanguard.com Open a 401k, rollover your existing 401ks to it, select whatever funds you want.
      - 7y ago
jay_kyburz 7y ago
>cut their own hair Actually many of us think is worth it. Take the price of that haircut, pay 10% compound interest on it for 60 years, then ask yourself if you really care what your hair looks like. I used to spend money on these things when I was younger, but with a few decades of adulthood under my belt, I care less about nice haircuts and fancy cloths. Now, time is more valuable that anything else in life, and financial independence buys me that time. The notion that we should all sell ourselves as wage slaves so that we can afford a new iPhone every year is bonkers. Reject it all. Live Free.
- pinot 7y ago
  Rejecting haircuts isn't living free, it's living without a haircut. Self image is important for most people and hygiene is the base of that.
  - jay_kyburz 7y ago
    Haha. Whats unhygienic about cutting your hair at home for free rather than paying somebody to do it for you?
- smileysteve 7y ago
  The other aspect is the time; so not only money, but time. My hair grows thick, and I need to cut it every week or 2 to make it life comfortable. a 10 minute walk or ride + a haircut is an hour, and I'm happy with how i look.
- reitzensteinm 7y ago
  For this kind of calculation to work, you have to determine if your physical appearance impacts your income. For the vast majority of professionals, the answer to this will be yes. Like it or not, that's the world we live in. It's easy to go overboard, but it's not that expensive to get regular decent haircuts, wear nice shits, etc. On a developer's salary it's basically noise, and the ROI over a lifetime will almost certainly be positive. It's important to do a cost/benefit analysis, not just a cost analysis. :)
- hindsightRegret 7y ago
coltonv 7y ago
Cutting your own hair sounds like such a minor sacrifice if it means you can work whatever job you want to after 30 and retire at 40. I've found that I'm actually happier when I am more frugal. Spending money on things, more often than not, just makes us lazier, not happier, in my experience.

droithomme 7y ago

> I know people who cut their own hairs I've had my partner cut my hair for many years; this was less time investment than going to a stylist. Now I just shave it. For some it's fine. If someone wants to have it styled that is great too.

neilv 7y ago

Emergency fund + max out tax-advantaged account contributions + your-age-in-bonds-percent low-expense-ratio index investing = great Bogleheads advice. What's funny is a marine biology grad student in the article wondering how much they should be saving. Until one finishes that PhD, career investment and putting the, say, $100/month discretionary stipend funds towards healthy food and bicycle safety maintenance, rather than eating instant ramen noodles to save an amount that will make negligible difference in retirement, makes sense. (Or, if trust fund grad student, especially in a difficult field like marine biology, live like a grad student on stipend, and Bogleheads the rest.)

bloaf 7y ago

>That kind of lifestyle is just not worth it. Different people have different tolerances. For some, a spartan lifestyle "costs" them nothing at all.

ianai 7y ago

I seriously hate 401k-s. I’ve got about 20 options to choose from and all of them tank if the market tanks. (This is what’s available through my employers plan) I should be able to specify that for the next 12-months I want everything going into precious metals, if I want. I think having to wait until retirement age for tax purposes is ridiculous as well. The street clearly benefits more from it than I do.

koolba 7y ago
When you change jobs you can roll it over to a self directed IRA and do just about anything that doesn’t require margin.
jedberg 7y ago
You can open a personal 401k at a brokerage and then roll over the money in your employers plan to said account. Then you can invest in whatever you want (including ETFs that track precious metals if you want). Then you get the benefit of your employer's match, if they have one, plus making your own investments.
- ianai 7y ago
  I did not know this! Thank you. It looks like I can do that yearly as well.
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  I have never heard of being able to do a personal 401k despite looking for something like this a lot with my previous job. Is it a proper 401k — are there tax advantages benefits to it? Do I have to be self employed?
  - pinot 7y ago
    vanguard.com Open a 401k, rollover your existing 401ks to it, select whatever funds you want.
    - 7y ago

jay_kyburz 7y ago

>cut their own hair Actually many of us think is worth it. Take the price of that haircut, pay 10% compound interest on it for 60 years, then ask yourself if you really care what your hair looks like. I used to spend money on these things when I was younger, but with a few decades of adulthood under my belt, I care less about nice haircuts and fancy cloths. Now, time is more valuable that anything else in life, and financial independence buys me that time. The notion that we should all sell ourselves as wage slaves so that we can afford a new iPhone every year is bonkers. Reject it all. Live Free.

pinot 7y ago
Rejecting haircuts isn't living free, it's living without a haircut. Self image is important for most people and hygiene is the base of that.
- jay_kyburz 7y ago
  Haha. Whats unhygienic about cutting your hair at home for free rather than paying somebody to do it for you?
smileysteve 7y ago
The other aspect is the time; so not only money, but time. My hair grows thick, and I need to cut it every week or 2 to make it life comfortable. a 10 minute walk or ride + a haircut is an hour, and I'm happy with how i look.
reitzensteinm 7y ago
For this kind of calculation to work, you have to determine if your physical appearance impacts your income. For the vast majority of professionals, the answer to this will be yes. Like it or not, that's the world we live in. It's easy to go overboard, but it's not that expensive to get regular decent haircuts, wear nice shits, etc. On a developer's salary it's basically noise, and the ROI over a lifetime will almost certainly be positive. It's important to do a cost/benefit analysis, not just a cost analysis. :)
hindsightRegret 7y ago

coltonv 7y ago

Cutting your own hair sounds like such a minor sacrifice if it means you can work whatever job you want to after 30 and retire at 40. I've found that I'm actually happier when I am more frugal. Spending money on things, more often than not, just makes us lazier, not happier, in my experience.