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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:As far as incremental improvements BFC, how did everyone do with the holidays? We overspent but not by more than $100, which I consider to be a resounding success. Looks like we'll be right on budget, we estimated $1200 for christmas. Before everyone freaks out, that includes pretty much everything christmas related, complete estimates: Gifts for kids ~400 Gifts for spouse / me ~150 Gifts for close family / friends ~200 Gifts for daycare teachers ~90 Other random gift exchanges ~50 Christmas card / stamps ~100 Christmas decor ~50 Christmas hosting food / drink ~150
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Dec 23, 2016 19:20
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dreesemonkey posted:Looks like we'll be right on budget, we estimated $1200 for christmas. Before everyone freaks out, that includes pretty much everything christmas related, complete estimates: Yeah, budgeting for Christmas as a year round expense is really going to enable us to enjoy it more next year. As is, we've only just switched toward actively budgeting it so we were a little more modest this year than I expect we'll be in the future.
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Dec 23, 2016 19:23
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Yeah, budgeting for Christmas as a year round expense is really going to enable us to enjoy it more next year. As is, we've only just switched toward actively budgeting it so we were a little more modest this year than I expect we'll be in the future. I got fairly annoyed last year that even post-christmas we were having christmas expenses so we tried to account for most of our expenses. Sounds like a lot of money, but it goes fast. To be fair, I don't think our kids even needed $200 each in gifts, they don't really need much of anything. But those years are probably numbered.
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Dec 23, 2016 19:27
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dreesemonkey posted:I got fairly annoyed last year that even post-christmas we were having christmas expenses so we tried to account for most of our expenses. Sounds like a lot of money, but it goes fast. To be fair, I don't think our kids even needed $200 each in gifts, they don't really need much of anything. But those years are probably numbered. If you want to model responsible financial behavior for your kids, try to keep Christmas simple: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. Easier said than done, but you don't want their friends or your family feeling like they have to keep up with the spending that you planned for over the course of the year. Lots of families don't have the means that we do, but that doesn't mean our kids should rub it in their faces with sacks full of toys.
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Dec 23, 2016 19:29
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:As far as incremental improvements BFC, how did everyone do with the holidays? We overspent but not by more than $100, which I consider to be a resounding success. We had a major overseas family vacation over thanksgiving for my parents' anniversary and it didn't cost me much at all aside from incidentals and some side trips (thanks mom and dad!), so I can't complain. Got about $100 in souvenirs for friends. Neither my mom nor brother will be home over Christmas, so I'm driving home to hang with my dad and see friends around town. The beauty of it all is that we came to a tacit agreement several years back that if all of us aren't together for Christmas, then we don't go out of our way to get each other gifts since we really just buy things for ourselves when we want them throughout the year. So no real family spending planned in that regard, and since I'm single there's not much else. For myself, since my Pebble Time 2 pre-order was cancelled and I don't have a watch replacement in mind, I spent some of that refunded money on new Xbox One controllers so I could play Broforce in my living room through the Fire TV stick, streaming from my desktop PC. Totally frivolous purchase when I could've used my 360 controllers hooked up to my PC, but you know. Every year I also cull my wardrobe and donate what's still good to a local women's and children's shelter (soccer leagues leave me with too many t-shirts especially). The working plan is to make a concerted effort and actually spend a few hundred dollars buying some nicer clothes for work and casual wear than the jeans and t-shirts or polos I usually wear to work. I can't keep looking the part of a typical developer forever since I have a management track ahead of me. I used a lot of my spare time during vacation shopping around, but at my height (5'0"), very little adult men's clothing fits me well and it's all extremely frustrating because teenage clothes have fewer selections and usually aren't as durable because everyone but me is expected to outgrow it. gently caress, I hate clothes and shoe shopping. Anyway, the little I bought will sit in the bag until I come back after Christmas and try everything on again to see if I actually like them our just wanted to leave the store with something. And I'm dreading getting a new suit for a wedding to take the place of the 9 year old one I've used since college for interviews. Alterations of the rack are hit or miss. I don't mind spending the money, but there's so little out there that'll work for me.
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Dec 23, 2016 20:50
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SpelledBackwards posted:The working plan is to make a concerted effort and actually spend a few hundred dollars buying some nicer clothes for work and casual wear than the jeans and t-shirts or polos I usually wear to work. https://zady.com/ popped into my orbit a little while ago; we haven't bought any clothing for ourselves since about August but yeah, we are refocusing our efforts to buy some things that last longer, are nicer and produce less carbon. (There is men's stuff although I do not know how it fits).
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Dec 23, 2016 21:01
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:If you want to model responsible financial behavior for your kids, try to keep Christmas simple: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. I just heard of this the other day, I really like the idea. Might be something to consider in the coming years, I think it might work a little better when the kids are old enough to understand it, but maybe not. Either way, should be a fun christmas year. Kids (5 and 2) are just about perfect age for being excited about everything, no matter how dumb the gift.
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Dec 23, 2016 21:37
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:https://zady.com/ popped into my orbit a little while ago; we haven't bought any clothing for ourselves since about August but yeah, we are refocusing our efforts to buy some things that last longer, are nicer and produce less carbon. Thanks, although all I was able to see on there was under women except for one photo of a dude. My friend's wife recommended a site called Stitch Fix to me. The blogs I saw seem useful enough that maybe the stylists will be too. I think monthly subscription boxes are wasteful and mediocre in general (and I also think that so called stylish clothing is way too expensive), but the terms on their site seem reasonable as far as only keeping what you like and not requiring that you get automating mailings every few weeks. Although, of course their pant inseams don't go shorter than 30 inches into my territory.  Well I'll email customer service and see if they have some way of working with me.
SpelledBackwards fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Dec 23, 2016 |
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Dec 23, 2016 22:20
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Bye student loan (red is debt, blue is assets)!
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Jan 1, 2017 19:29
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Hell yes - way to go!
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Jan 1, 2017 19:30
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Grumpwagon posted:Bye student loan (red is debt, blue is assets)! That's impressive. Congrats!
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Jan 1, 2017 20:02
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Grumpwagon posted:Bye student loan (red is debt, blue is assets)! Awesome job! Way to start off the year right!
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Jan 1, 2017 20:39
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I like to gripe about past me being stupid w/ securing a mortgage. I didn't do anything too dumb but I wish I had done better. In January 2015 my mortgage was at $185.3k In January 2016 my mortgage was at $169.2k In January 2017 my mortgage is at an even $150k (tweaked the principle payment to get to it exactly) 
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Jan 4, 2017 17:42
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Dwight Eisenhower posted:even $150k (tweaked the principle payment to get to it exactly) Nice job you nerd.
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Jan 5, 2017 01:39
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This is not one-upsmanship because I'm not really paying much extra on my mortgage, but for the first time the balance is under $100k  Pretty awful considering we've been paying on it 7.5 years and only dropped ~$35k in principal 
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Jan 5, 2017 15:59
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dreesemonkey posted:This is not one-upsmanship because I'm not really paying much extra on my mortgage, but for the first time the balance is under $100k Right on! Adding extra principal payments is hard, getting the balance under 6 figures is a huge accomplishment imo and worth celebrating 
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Jan 5, 2017 22:58
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My improvement was getting the last of a $32k construction debt paid off in early December. I also billed around $50k of invoicing in December so my forward cash flow is looking good. I also bought $20k of shares to give my retirement savings a boost.  The only thing I can celebrate about my mortgage is that will give slip under $268k with the payments that go out tonight. Definitely not a party milestone. 
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Jan 13, 2017 00:37
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Paid off a £600 overdraft a couple of months back. On target to save £350 each month until my contract ends in August, giving me a reasonable emergency fund and/or the ability to pay off my 0% interest overdraft from my MA (which converts to 18.9% at same time as contract ends). Should hit £0 net worth before August. 
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Jan 13, 2017 09:48
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Personal Capital claims our net worth just passed the quarter mil mark! And it slightly underestimates things since it can't see the cash in my deutsche bank account. The second half of last year our net worth basically stalled/only slowly inched up due to moving continents, but this still feels pretty good.
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Jan 13, 2017 13:03
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Cicero posted:Personal Capital claims our net worth just passed the quarter mil mark! And it slightly underestimates things since it can't see the cash in my deutsche bank account. The second half of last year our net worth basically stalled/only slowly inched up due to moving continents, but this still feels pretty good. Congratulations! This is one worth celebrating. Purple Prince posted:Paid off a £600 overdraft a couple of months back. On target to save £350 each month until my contract ends in August, giving me a reasonable emergency fund and/or the ability to pay off my 0% interest overdraft from my MA (which converts to 18.9% at same time as contract ends). Keep to that savings, nice work. We're playing much the same game with the last of our CC debt. Devian666 posted:My improvement was getting the last of a $32k construction debt paid off in early December. I also billed around $50k of invoicing in December so my forward cash flow is looking good. I also bought $20k of shares to give my retirement savings a boost. The debt is cleared, your cash flow is positive, you're in the black. Your mortgage will get paid eventually, don't let it keep you up at night, nice work. Edit for content: my work has decided they're going to pay for "substantially more" of my MBA than initially agreed. Who knows what that means, but I earn more on having the money in my checking account than I would pay in late fees even if it takes them a while to get it sorted. If they really come through, we're going to use that money to pay off all my wife's private student loans, leaving our only remaining debt mortgages and PSLF-elligible student loans. EAT FASTER!!!!!! fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Jan 13, 2017 |
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Jan 13, 2017 17:08
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Cicero posted:Personal Capital claims our net worth just passed the quarter mil mark! And it slightly underestimates things since it can't see the cash in my deutsche bank account. The second half of last year our net worth basically stalled/only slowly inched up due to moving continents, but this still feels pretty good. Awesome, nice work! The 250k mark is a big milestone.
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Jan 13, 2017 20:14
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Purple Prince posted:Paid off a £600 overdraft a couple of months back. On target to save £350 each month until my contract ends in August, giving me a reasonable emergency fund and/or the ability to pay off my 0% interest overdraft from my MA (which converts to 18.9% at same time as contract ends). I was more excited to hit $0 NW than any milestone since then. Congrats! Congrats to everyone else too, lots of great progress here
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Jan 14, 2017 01:24
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Anyone have any estimates of what a decent spending amount would be in retirement? I ran the personal capital retirement tool and I'm curious what I should reasonably set my spend rate at. I know it's a dumb question that varies a lot, I put in 40k as our home will be paid for and we live in a fairly low cost of living area. 50k? e: The tool was giving us a "good job bro" rating for both 40k and 50k withdrawl rate with our details (130k saved, taking social security at 62, retiring at 60, assuming our contributions are constant - when the should be increasing). I just don't know what a reasonable spend rate is and how optimistic I should be. dreesemonkey fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Jan 14, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 14:01
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Today, I paid every god drat credit card off. I'm one student loan away from being debt-free.
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Jan 19, 2017 02:21
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MAO TSE-TUNGACUNT posted:Today, I paid every god drat credit card off. I'm one student loan away from being debt-free. Hell yeah, dude. That's awesome.
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Jan 19, 2017 02:57
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Great update! CC debt is poison, get that poo poo OOH!
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Jan 19, 2017 17:51
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Paid off my second of 4 credit cards. Third will be paid off today. Fourth will be paid off by May 1!
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Jan 30, 2017 17:51
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Paid off my second of 4 credit cards. Third will be paid off today. Fourth will be paid off by May 1! Exciting times to be this close.
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Jan 30, 2017 22:51
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Paid off my second of 4 credit cards. Third will be paid off today. Fourth will be paid off by May 1! Honest question: given your ridiculously high household income compared to most of us (if I remember correctly from another BFC thread), how or why did you end up accumulating balances on your credit cards that require months-long payoffs? Or are these 0% introductory offers where you're not paying interest anyway?
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Jan 31, 2017 02:41
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Paid off my second of 4 credit cards. Third will be paid off today. Fourth will be paid off by May 1! Way to go!
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Jan 31, 2017 06:07
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SpelledBackwards posted:Honest question: given your ridiculously high household income compared to most of us (if I remember correctly from another BFC thread), how or why did you end up accumulating balances on your credit cards that require months-long payoffs? Or are these 0% introductory offers where you're not paying interest anyway? No offense taken - it's a useful and interesting exercise to evaluate what brought us to this point. 5 years ago we were still both in school, hemorrhaging money. For the 4 years until last July we were in training programs where we made decent (but not outrageous) money, paid for a wedding and some trips, bought a car, bought a house, had a baby and generally lived beyond our means. We entered July with almost 30k in CC debt. In July, I received a 500% raise and my wife was off work until September when she received a 400% raise. Our first month on BFC was, like, October, when you saw our first month of earning these new salaries. The decision to pay down the CC debt over months was made so that we could top up our emergency fund first (it had dwindled to zero because we spent beyond our means for so long) while we still had some 0% room to maneuver. Our financial goal from last July forward was to make no additional new credit card spending (we did open one additional card to move 10k onto a 0% introduction offer with a $0 transfer fee but did no additional new spending) and to live on significantly less than half of what we took home every month so we could service our mortgage, required student loan debt and save aggressively for retirement.
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Jan 31, 2017 17:22
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Congrats to everyone paying off their debt 
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Feb 3, 2017 04:53
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Bought a CPO 2016 Sedona equipped exactly how we wanted straight cash on Tuesday. Biggest check we've ever written. Put in notice today at my current job, moving to a new place with better benefits, PTO, career opportunities, 10% salary bump, and 4 minute closer commute. Wife is having twins in may, and we're completely financially prepared for the medical expenses as well as her being able to take a year off to care for them. Is this what adulting is like? devmd01 fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Feb 9, 2017 |
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Feb 9, 2017 15:53
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Awesome, huge congratulations all around. Just a quick question: is buying cars straight cash worth it? I know it feels baller, but with car interest loans under 1%, does it really meaningfully move things either way?
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Feb 9, 2017 18:31
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devmd01 posted:Bought a CPO 2016 Sedona equipped exactly how we wanted straight cash on Tuesday. Biggest check we've ever written. You'll really feel it from May to about next May. No sleep. Ever. EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Awesome, huge congratulations all around. Just a quick question: is buying cars straight cash worth it? I know it feels baller, but with car interest loans under 1%, does it really meaningfully move things either way? You may be able to pay less by not needing financing. Being able to write a cash check makes some dealers drop prices. The other thing is that you're not utilizing credit or having a new account opened with a high balance compared to initial balance.
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Feb 9, 2017 18:35
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Awesome, huge congratulations all around. Just a quick question: is buying cars straight cash worth it? I know it feels baller, but with car interest loans under 1%, does it really meaningfully move things either way? The last three vehicles I've bought, I paid cash for two and financed the middle one. Cash is easier on a bunch of fronts: - You will throw the sales staff off their game because the four square game doesn't work if you can't tweak interest rate. - It's best to negotiate for the out the door price. When price + fees + tax, tags & license are the only variables, it's harder to hide things. - Immediately clear title means you never have to worry about re-titling once the lien has expired. - What 0-risk investment are you getting >1% interest on? If you cannot identify this, then avoiding 1% interest debt dominates trying to rig up some arbitrage scenario. - If you're baller enough to pay cash, you can start making elective decisions about comprehensive and collision coverage that the loan might force your hand on. Likewise on deductibles. Also, even buying brand new from a dealer in cash greatly simplifies the entire transaction. Part of why auto dealers can get away with bullshit is all of the forms you have to fill out for financing and insurance verification. Pay cash and you basically sign the bill of sale and the title application. The only time I would finance would be: If the dealer would cut the OTD price in exchange for me financing. The financing terms had no early repayment penalty. In which case, I'd buy the drat thing financed, then immediately turn around and pay off the loan and pocket the savings.
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Feb 9, 2017 18:57
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It was pretty much yeah, we want this one, here's the tradein, we got $500 off internet price with a special govt. employee deal, wrote them a check, and done. I checked USAA and their used rates were more than 2%, KIA dealer couldn't do better than 2.5%.
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Feb 9, 2017 19:44
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Dwight Eisenhower posted:The last three vehicles I've bought, I paid cash for two and financed the middle one. Cash is easier on a bunch of fronts: devmd01 posted:It was pretty much yeah, we want this one, here's the tradein, we got $500 off internet price with a special govt. employee deal, wrote them a check, and done. I checked USAA and their used rates were more than 2%, KIA dealer couldn't do better than 2.5%. Awesome insight, it wasn't an option for me with the last car, but it will be around the time I have to replace mine, just wanted to know if it was worth doing in cash. Thanks!
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Feb 9, 2017 21:30
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No Butt Stuff posted:You may be able to pay less by not needing financing. Being able to write a cash check makes some dealers drop prices. The opposite is true. Dealers get kick backs if you use their financing, and you can potentially get a better deal that way. Using your own financing is effectively the same as cash to a dealer. They get one big check either way, they don't care.
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Feb 9, 2017 21:34
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I doubled the (meager) amount in my retirement savings last year. I earned a 12.7% rate of return on the money I had in. I contributed enough to get the full match all year. I started and ended last year with zero in cc debt, with none in the meantime. Our student loans are down to 58,500 according to the chain on the wall. I got a substantial raise in December, a very small performance bonus, and my wife started working part time from home. 2017 is looking like a good year
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Feb 22, 2017 01:32
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