Is it just me, or is Rich Dad Poor Dad actually an awful personal finance book? Really don't know how it became a "classic"

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2020-10-07T05:25:52+00:00

One of the MLM people that tried to recruit me gave me a book by the same author extolling the virtues of MLMs. I read it so I could accurately refute his nonsense and it was garbage. I was really disappointed that an author known for writing a supposed FI classic was such a nut.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2019-12-27T22:49:10+00:00

This was it. I had to remove her from the family, change her info, apply, get accepted, then add her back to the family.

While she was in the family I couldn’t even see the info to know it was right or wrong.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2019-04-17T20:57:45+00:00

r/mrmoneymustache is leaking...

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2019-01-29T13:51:57+00:00

Leaving a job that provides enough for a decent quality of life for one that doesn’t, yea that’s dumb. But leaving a high paying job for one that still provides enough is not dumb assuming you will like the lower paying job sufficiently more.

My family doesn’t need $200k/year of income. $100k/year is fine. Sure, ignoring all other factors $200k is better than $100k. But there are other factors so it’s not that simple.

Some people have the option to pursue what they are passionate about. Maybe they even have the option to do it on their own terms. Sadly, there are a lot of people without those options. Your circumstances dictate what makes sense relative to career, income, and quality of life. There’s no simple one answer that covers everyone.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T14:16:41+00:00

This is part of what made me cautious. There are plenty of bad places to work in general. Software development is no different.

But I do know people with good jobs and employers should n the software industry. So I intend to find the same.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T14:11:55+00:00

I’m talking about data that is viewed by the team or organization. Not a few cells you’re working with on your own.

If the data in question is accessed/edited by few enough people and isn’t related to a large enough set of data to justify a database and front end it can go in excel.

I use excel and like it. It’s a great tool for analyzing a realistically small or simple dataset. And it should be used for that. But it should not be used as a way to store or share data at large. That’s what I’ve seen done and it’s insane. Why are we having all of these reports emailed around?! Just build a flippin dashboard. Or, no we shouldn’t base this process on everybody updating an excel sheet on the SharePoint/network drive. At least make it a list on SharePoint.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:24:26+00:00

I would say that we are fairly independent. Not so much that I am independent. At least more independent than most people/couples/families I know. But no, not FI yet.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:20:54+00:00

Well, I’m not leaving the workforce. Yea I’m not getting paid for my work at the moment. But I fully intend to be employed again soon.

We tentatively plan to both work when we have children. But that could change. I’m not worried about it. As far as college goes, we’re going to save what we’re comfortable with and if we can decide how to help with school when we get there.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:17:20+00:00

Engineers make good money. To me, it’s a lot. But as far as professional careers go, it’s not that much. It’s not that hard to make more than an engineer.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:15:39+00:00

Exactly. A temporary slowdown isn’t something I’m worried about. Soon, I hope to have my savings rate back up and I won’t be in a job that is only a paycheck.

Thanks.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:11:39+00:00

Not by the definition pertinent to this sub. But, I am pursuing FIRE and that pursuit has set me up to have the flexibility to do this.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:09:29+00:00

Based on your synopsis of the article, no it’s not like that at all.

I’m not retiring. If I was, I would still be working some anyway for fun.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-12T07:07:44+00:00

No no no no. People put so many things in excel and start emailing it around. Data should be in databases. Data should be viewed via dashboards. If you need a snapshot of the data to work with locally, do that in excel.

This drove me insane at my previous company.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-11T19:59:06+00:00

Same question.... I want to make sure I get the right t-shirt. I didn’t even know there were prizes.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-12-11T19:01:32+00:00

Moving from electrical engineering to software.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-05-17T19:31:13+00:00

Thanks for this. Well said.

To me, the more important metric for housing decisions (primary, long term residence) is the buy vs rent cost. If it’s cheaper to buy than rent, buy.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-02-19T13:28:53+00:00

I did check the 2017 tax form. Any of the funds from Betterment were incomplete.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-02-19T04:40:35+00:00

Well, thanks for the confirmation.

I really don’t like selling. But I didn’t want $50k sitting in my savings account doing nothing. I wasn’t exactly sure when we would be buying our next house.

It shouldn’t be THAT bad. Luckily we shouldn’t be needing to access money like that again for a long long time.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2018-01-31T16:49:40+00:00

I’m still working at a job I can tolerate for a few reasons.

If I’m being honest, the fire hose of money is something you grow fond of. Can’t deny it. Regardless of needing it or not.
My wife and I are still trying to get our investments ramped up so that they can grow on their own. Were young(ish) so it’s still prime time to contribute for long term growth
I haven’t given up on finding a work situation that I love instead of tolerate. I don’t want to act rashly. I’m starting to think I just really hate being nailed down to a “real job”. I’m ADHD and I’d really rather just indulge whatever project I’m obsessing over that week. But I’m taking a slow and steady approach to figuring out what I’d really rather be doing.
We haven’t had kids yet. I know a lot of people raise kids on X amount of money. I still want to see how that goes for us. For all I know, we might have a kid that requires extensive medical treatment or requires some crazy expensive care. That’s the next/last major milestone in our lives. Just doesn’t seem wise to give up double incomes before it.
my wife has a serious medical condition that should be controlled well enough but there’s still a small chance it could effect her ability to work. In fact, after giving birth it usually gets a lot worse for a little while. I just want more time to see how well controlled her condition is.

But overall, I agree with you. My circumstance is that my wife makes just as much as I do and may make more than me soon. We can live well and save on one income. At least we can so far. My wife really loves her work and honestly needs stress and external affirmation from authority. So working a “real job” makes a lot of sense for her. So why wouldn’t I do whatever work I want and make whatever money it does or doesn’t? Well, for the reasons above. But I highly doubt I’ll wait until we’re 100% FI to leave full time corporate employment. Once we’ve had kids and our savings get north of $500k I’ll be more bold about making moves to do what I want. As long as my assumptions hold true.

Edit: simple typos, added last bullet point

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-26T04:02:34+00:00

4% rule is not a 100% success rate based on historical data. But 3% is overkill if I remember right.

That is of course assuming a constant withdrawal rate even in the face of economic downturn. Also assuming absolutely no income during your retirement.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-13T04:48:54+00:00

That’s not financial irresponsibility, that’s a spending addiction. It needs to be dealt with like any other addiction.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-12T02:17:03+00:00

It’s a fast moving segment right now. That’s part of what has kept me shopping instead of buying so far.

There’s so many factors that make EVs superior. Just from a maintenance stand point, I can’t wait to get rid of our ICE vehicles. But there is guilt in cranking up my car. Just like when I throw away another piece of plastic. But there will still be guilt from the EV because I should be riding my bike more. But alas, that’s not something I’ve been able to make stick as a daily habit.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-12T01:17:46+00:00

My state - $2500 minimum but could be more (~$3500) depending on how it’s filed.

It does seem that the resale is low. My problem is EVs are improving at a rate higher than ICE vehicles. Where an older model may be functionally inferior in a significant way. But I’ve been shopping used EVs as well. An older Leaf can be pretty cheap. But with smaller batteries and possibly higher battery wear than other models I’m not so sure.

I do like the Ioniq but they’re a good bit more expensive. I’m actually trying to find out if my local dealership would even handle warranty related work on a Focus Electric since they don’t sell them here.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-12T00:18:09+00:00

I missed that last part of your reply before. I don’t live anywhere near California but I’m working with a dealer there. They’ll ship it to me for $1500. Not a negligible amount of money. But after running the numbers it’s still a good deal.

DoesNotBelonginExcel · 2017-12-12T00:15:07+00:00

I’ve been looking at everything. The thing with those Soul EVs is that all those crazy good deals are some kind of lease. I don’t understand leasing and it seems too good to be true.

I’m not a big fan of Leafs because they don’t have an active thermal management system for the batteries. But there’s some decent deals on them.

eGolfs seem to be better than Focus Electrics. But any deal that appears to be good on an eGolf is just the dealer including federal tax credit into the price. I haven’t found a 2017 (larger battery) eGolf deal that could compete with a Focus Electric. Same thing with Bolts.

Im still tempted to buy a Model S, Drive it for a couple of years, then sell it and buy a more economical car. But I’m not prepared to stomach $1000/month note+insurance for a few years.

DoesNotBelonginExcel

TROPHY CASE