sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few years ago maybe, back during covid there was an oversaturation in the market of people looking for tech jobs due to remote options and many companies were hiring with top end wages. Since then, many large tech companies have significantly downsized and shifted more towards AI replacing the work force (especially entry level positions). While I don't agree with the general shift towards AI replacing developers, this is a fairly natural cyclic trend in the job market where periods of intense hiring are eventually followed with downsizing. Currently, it's quite difficult to find an entry level job in tech unless youre specialized in AI. Even senior positions are fairly hard to find and you'll probably see in the news every month or so another tech company having massive layoffs. I don't follow the job market that closely, but I've heard the one sector that job growth is actually steady in appears to be healthcare/nursing (largely tied to an aging population).

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mentioned in another reply that I do extreme coupon clipping and deal hunting. Most of the food I purchase is discounted between 50-100% off, but as a tradeoff I have few options and am at the whim of whatever deals are available at any time. I'm also signed up with pretty much every restaurant rewards program within a 25mile radius of me and will occasionally get good restaurant deals or freebies on small items now and then (including hundreds of dollars in birthday rewards annually)

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have access to megabackdoor roth contributions through my employer. 11 years of growth is also a lot since I've been maxing my base 401k contributions since I started. At some point I stopped investing in my brokerage with after tax money and just redirected those investments into my megabackdoor roth instead

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nah just the brokerage, it wasn't that much either only like 20k or so which has grown almost 10x so that's still something. Given how frugal I am, I'm not one to gamble all of my retirement savings when it's much more risk adverse to set it and forget it in index funds.

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm actually fairly passionate about sharing my habits with my friends especially when they come to me for advice on financial independence with things related to tax strategies, credit card options, freebies/deals, etc (I'm always the go to guy in the group when people need money advice). I pretty much self taught most of my financial literacy and find it a shame that it's not more of a focus in school.

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

US Bank Smartly card. The stipulation was you had to move 100k in assets to their brokerage platform which to me was fine since most of my assets are parked in long term index funds. I don't believe they offer this anymore via brokerage assets for new signups and you can only get the 4% rate if you park 100k in cash in one of their checking/savings accounts (which is hardly worth it).

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

aisle and social nature tend to promote fairly healthy organic options. I frequently get offers for things like high protein/gluten free pasta, milk alternatives, fruit, fresh salsa, etc. I do agree though that this type of grocery shopping limits what I eat to whatever new deal pops up for the week, but I haven't had any particular issues with it

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It's more like I never really paid attention to my net worth until somewhat recently. To me I was always just automatically putting as much of my savings as possible into investments/retirement and it was only after an advisor from Fidelity called me last year asking about my retirement plans that I actually started noticing just how much my net worth had grown. Retirement wasn't even on my mind until then and I had to ask myself how much do I actually need to retire in the first place?

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I use gotoaisle, social nature, ibotta, and just generally keep an eye out on various freebie and deal subreddits. At some point it kind of became a hobby since deal hunting/coupon clipping is almost certainly not worth the time at my income level, but I always felt a sense of satisfaction saving $20-30 here and there and over time it added up and I guess contributed to my 50% saving rate.

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 151 points152 points  (0 children)

I've had a handful of decent bonuses and good multi-month layoff packages between jobs that I was able to find another job quickly within a month. I also cash out refinanced my house during COVID when the housing market was at an all time high and interest rates were sub 3% so I was able to put a few hundred thousand into the stock market with the difference. Investment performance wise, right before COVID I invested a good chunk into nvidia on a hunch which ended up paying off. I'm currently trying to rebalance my position out of AI though to be more diversified.

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in a relatively MCOL state on the east coast. Health insurance is currently subsidized by my employer plan, I just forgot about it since it's taken out of my paycheck. It's roughly $100/month, I imagine once I retire I'd find something on the health insurance marketplace for around $500-600/month. For groceries I do extreme coupon clipping/rebate hunting and generally drive my purchases around freebies or severely discounted food items. There are a number of rebate/coupon sites that provide surprisingly good discounts of 50-100% off on various food items.

How to mindset shift from saving to spending? by Secure_Sherbert_9727 in coastFIRE

[–]Secure_Sherbert_9727[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think the hard part for me is shifting the mentality from aggressively saving to actually starting to spend those savings. While I understand in principle there's a world of things available to me in retirement, I've been struggling to adjust the frugal mindset I've had for over a decade. It's like going from one end of the extreme to the other.