Posted by Dave on January 3, 2012
This is a guest post by Dave, who is also looking to retire no later than 45, but unlike Tim has no kids and doesn’t want any. Dave is from Ontario and is working towards his CGA certification.
I Love New Year’s – well, not exactly this New Year’s because my wife and I were both terribly ill with some sort of debilitating flu, but New Year’s as a time of year is just amazing. It’s one of those times of year as an adult that you can reset and take a breath, the rest of the year (to me) is just a myriad of running around and a continuation of well, life.
I am looking forward to this year – I am 32 years old as of last month and as long as I continue to pass my courses I will have completed the education requirements of the Certified General Accountant’s program. I just started a new job late in the year that I really like, and my wife and I are getting closer to financial independence all the time.
This is the time of year that people like to make lists of things they would like to change in their life. Some people (like in Robert’s post yesterday) resolve to lose weight, other people would like to make more money, essentially there are things that people would like to change and now is the time they are going to do it. In the past, I have successfully followed through on several of these grand schemes as well as summarily crashed in burned within a few days on others.
What I’ve found is that the times I have succeeded in creating real change is that the following was true:
1.) I was able to track the goal: This year I would like to get stronger. I have a two-pronged measurement for this – I would like to be able to do Chrissy (a kettlebell workout) in under 15 minutes, as well as being able to squat 300 lbs. These are very measurable goals, and I could test both of them today and know where I stand (although I may not be able to stand tomorrow with my lack of weight lifting over the past few weeks).
A goal that is not trackable (and wouldn’t work for me) would be something like “being nice to people in the New Year” – how could I tell? If I was making people emotional with my meanness and could cut down the number of people I made cry per day from 3 to 1 or something like that I would be able to see the results, but otherwise how will I stay focused for the year?
2.) The result was worth it to me: Financial goals are generally something I focus on for the year. Paying off my mortgage is my current goal and I revisit this goal every 2 weeks (when I get paid) to track my payments. These results, an annual reduction of my debt load, are worth it to me. This reduction in debt is not something that I’m going to give up because it gets hard when I want to go on vacation in the summer that may be expensive.
Applying these two broad guidelines when I am attempting to institute change allows me to stay focused on the end goal and ensure I am on track while I’m doing it.
Posted by Dave on December 20, 2011
This is a guest post by Dave, who is also looking to retire no later than 45, but unlike Tim has no kids and doesn’t want any. Dave is from Ontario and is working towards his CGA certification.
“Don’t give up what you want most, for what you want now”
I couldn’t source this quotation, but found it really applies to my early retirement plan. What I want most is to be financially independent, to be able to leave the workforce in my early 40′s (if I choose) and do whatever I want to do after that point rather than going to work for much of the year. Things that I want “now”(or are always in the back of my head) that would get in the way of my plan might be an expensive kitchen renovation, or the latest “cool” gadgets.
The trick for me is to keep the end goal in mind all of the time while telling myself that I don’t really need any of that “stuff” that will do nothing but put me further from my ultimate goal.
I think the problem with me, and perhaps most people is that my end goal is 13 years away – that seems like forever, and constantly saying no to myself (not out loud, although that would be somewhat amusing to see in the store) gets old pretty fast.
What solidifies my plan in my mind is a reminder from time to time of what the freedom of financial independence would mean to me. My wife and I went to a (relatively) cheap resort ($500 each for 8 days in the sun) in the Dominican Republic last week and really enjoyed ourselves. Partly it was because of the sun, but also it was because we didn’t have to do anything that day – we got to choose how our day went, rather than having it chosen for us.
We both enjoy our jobs, but what we like more and look forward to is the freedom that not needing a job would present – waking up with no alarm clock, having no expectations put on us for the day. In our week of vacation, we chose to do almost nothing – we read books, got tanned, learned a new card game, and relaxed. If there was more time off, say 40 years, I’m sure we may have accomplished something constructive, but if we told the vast majority of people we knew that this is what we wanted to do all of the time, I’m not sure if many would really understand – it just seems so boring, but it’s what we like to do.
The “stuff” that is and will get in my way seems to all be a product of perceived convenience. I’m wondering what my wants would be if I limited my time on the internet and stopped exposing myself to advertising.*
Are things that you want now getting in the way of things you want most? How do you balance the two?
* Writing this paragraph about advertising reminded me of a line in the movie Fight Club “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need” – seems to reflect the message I am trying to get across to myself perfectly.
Posted by Dave on December 13, 2011
This is a guest post by Dave, who is also looking to retire no later than 45, but unlike Tim has no kids and doesn’t want any. Dave is from Ontario and is working towards his CGA certification.
One thing that has saved me a lot of money over the past few years is slowing down my addiction on the newest “thing”. I haven’t stopped wanting the new iPhone 4s, or an iPad (or a myriad of other exciting new toys) I have just stopped buying as many. My television is a 75 pound monstrosity that I bought about 8 years ago. There are significantly nicer (and better) televisions out there, but mine works fine and I don’t really watch it enough to warrant the purchase of a new one. The same thing goes for my cell phone – I would really like a new iPhone, but for what I use my cell phone for – texting, checking Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail at work, my 2-year old Palm Pre works fine.
The problem when you start buying new gadgets is when do you stop? Do you (for example) upgrade your cell phone every 6 months to a year when a newer or better model comes out? Do you continuously upgrade your computer in order to keep up with the best graphics out there to play games?
Sometimes, I’ll give in and upgrade some of my “toys” I sold my ipod touch (second generation) and bought a used 4th generation ipod from kijiji, the difference being around $100. I tend to “allow” myself to upgrade if I will get enough use from the new gadget. I listen to my iPod anywhere between 8 and 12 hours a day, so the $100 seemed to make sense at the time. Most times though, I seem to want the newest toy just to have it and will not get enough use out of it to make the cost worthwhile.
I think the bottom line for me is to be satisfied with what I have – I make sure that when I make a purchase, or in the case of a cell phone sign a contract I acknowledge at the time that this purchase is for the long-term and I need to be able to use the item for a set period of time. Where I (and most people) get in trouble is when you look at your toy and look at someone else’s and you go back to your 7-year old jealous self who wants the newest stuff. The problem with being an adult is that you can usually afford the newest toy, or sign a 3-year contract costing you a measly $55 + tax for 3 years (over $2,000 for a term) and you can have that toy.
What’s your policy for buying new toys for yourself? Do you just not buy them, or how do you fit them into your budget? Admittedly, this whole conversation is completely a “first world problem” – I’m sure there are many people in the world and North America that don’t even think about cell phones, tablets and other things that really have no use other than entertainment. These toys and the decision whether or not to buy them is a constant battle as it is an addiction to shiny gadgets, which I think I share with most people.
