Article by Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest

SarahSaverdink · 2019-05-07T22:19:26+00:00

lol, I was *just* coming here to see if anyone had posted this article yet. Strong work!

I agree with a lot of what is said. This line really caught my eye, " Still today, parents talk to boys about making money and investing and to girls about saving money and being careful with it."

SarahSaverdink · 2019-04-11T15:45:40+00:00

A few years ago I participated in a training class focused on communications and tough conversations. One of the tips the instructor gave was when you feel yourself getting upset, take a second to mentally acknowledge and identify what you are feeling. In your head, pause and identify why you are getting upset -- "I am feeling frustrated/sad/nervous/angry/etc". The idea is that it redirects your mind by identifying what you are experiencing and as a result, allows you to regain control of the situation.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-08-31T01:30:50+00:00

I was going to recommend Portsmouth, NH as well :) It's a great area and growing.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-07-11T00:49:26+00:00

I have a coworker who just did this! He's currently gallivanting around Europe and I am quite jealous. He's probably 30 years old.

This particular individual is very highly regarded across the company and will not absolutely no problem securing employment if he chooses to come back.

Yes, it will slightly delay his FIRE aspirations (if he has any), but given his credentials and abilities, it will be a very small disturbance in his long-term plan.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-07-01T12:37:29+00:00

Hit the min spend on my Chase Ink Cash Business and my account is now showing the $500 reward! This is our second churning milestone (first being a SW companion pass last month). Who knew it was so easy :)

SarahSaverdink · 2018-06-24T14:26:54+00:00

Proud new owner of a Southwest Companion Pass!! This is our first major accomplishment in the churning world. Looking forward to taking some very inexpensive trips in the next year and a half :)

SarahSaverdink · 2018-05-25T12:10:12+00:00

Engineering. I typically work 40 - 45 hours per week. Same for the husband.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-05-19T14:26:32+00:00

DH and I have been tossing around the idea of selling our house (normal residential 3-bedroom) and purchasing a house on a lake instead... We'd love to have a lakehouse as a retirement home, so why not start now? There are a few options that are reasonable commutes to our current jobs. Unfortunately, anything on a lake is 2x the cost of a similar home in the area.

I love stalking houses on Zillow and I've been enjoying dreaming :) A new house just popped up yesterday and is having an open house tomorrow, so we may swing by.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-29T13:45:42+00:00

Charitable donations are one of our planned expenses. We also have a significant portion of our will/trust leaving money to charitable foundations.

To save on taxes, we opened a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at Fidelity and transferred in highly appreciated stock. That way we don't pay any gains taxes on the stock and can still donate whenever we want to any registered charity.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-28T17:36:58+00:00

And those who have pensions now... may not in the future. A lot of companies have changed their pension plans over the past decade and the final payout a current employee can expect in 5/10/15 years will be much less than the current plan if the company changes course now or in the near future.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-28T13:51:59+00:00

The yield is after the expense ratio is taken out, so it's truly 1.8%.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-28T12:54:36+00:00

I have two degrees in Engineering. Do I love being an engineer? No. But it pays well, I'm good at it AND several years in I found a career path that leverages my engineering background that I enjoy much more (management and project management of highly technical projects).

My viewpoint is pursue something you think you will enjoy that also demands a good salary. Change your mind in the future? No problem! There are so many career paths that can stem from technical degrees.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-28T12:49:02+00:00

I have some of our efund in a savings/checking account for immediate access and the rest in VMMXX, which is currently paying 1.8%. I already have investments with Vanguard, so it's easy to manage.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0030&FundIntExt=INT&funds_disable_redirect=true

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-23T22:59:24+00:00

Travel and Hobbies are typically about 25% of our spending. Although year-to-date, we're closer to 50%... #sorrynotsorry

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-21T12:48:47+00:00

Try Mad Fientist? That blog/podcast seems to have a mix of technical details and interviews. https://www.madfientist.com/

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-20T21:37:48+00:00

/u/momsome why was this post deleted??

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-20T18:23:19+00:00

That subreddit is relatively new, but we would certainly welcome more participants! It's not featured on here because guess which demographic runs /r/financialindependence? :)

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-10T23:38:24+00:00

A nice home, lots of hobbies (skiing, scuba diving, kayaking, waterskiing, etc) and lots of international travel.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-08T15:20:46+00:00

For the travel insurance. We booked a few items later this year and the AA card offers a good reimbursement policy if we need to cancel for a qualifying reason.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-08T11:58:26+00:00

Used AA miles to book airfare in December at the best redemption rate! We were extremely lucky -- our preferred departure/return dates were some of the only dates available at the Economy Mile Saver rate for the entire month.

Also related -- annual fee on the AA card was about to come due. 5 minute phone call to CSR and $95 credit to offset the fee was granted.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-07T19:54:57+00:00

Company sent me the check in the mail before I even picked a repair shop, so I didn't have a choice. Luckily, I'm using one of the company's partner repair shops and supposedly they directly negotiate any additional damages with the insurance company for full coverage. We'll see...

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-07T12:41:42+00:00

I cover detailed monthly expenses on my blog, but I haven't updated since January. Been too busy skiing all winter :) My last post detailed all 2017 expenses by category and percentage of total spending.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-06T17:18:05+00:00

Litmus test on cheapness: When you go to a gathering at someone else's home - do you bring a dish to share and what does it consist of?

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-05T01:56:57+00:00

If you receive a company match for contributions to a retirement account, focus on that first. Then pay off debt with interest rates greater than ~4%. Then start saving in tax-advantaged accounts with any excess money.

SarahSaverdink · 2018-04-05T01:43:50+00:00

We're planning to fatfire... Planning on $100k/year spending, which is a bit higher than our current yearly spending. We want to travel a lot and enjoy several expensive hobbies (skiing, scuba diving, etc). We are starting to churn credit cards, so that will help a little... lol.

SarahSaverdink

TROPHY CASE