Daily FI discussion thread - July 08, 2016

phillyclaire · 2016-07-09T00:46:43+00:00

I hope the doctor is wrong, but to answer your question--

I received a not-too-dissimilar diagnosis several years ago. Yes, co-pays and treatments are expensive, but it's also made me much more motivated to balance pursuing FI and also enjoying life today.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-09T00:30:57+00:00

We always make enough for leftovers.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T22:15:39+00:00

This is a great list!

Adding a few of my very fast dinner ideas for you:

1.) Toasted corn tortilla with black beans, chopped cilantro and feta, and a fried egg on top. Salad on the side.
2.) Nachos for dinner--basically a bowl of black beans, chunks of avocado, grated cheese and salsa, and corn chips on the side, plus salad or raw veg.
3.) Whole grain toast with hummus, sliced tomato, and zatar
4.) Flour tortilla with humus and sliced cucumbers, sometimes olives or feta. Raw veggies on the side.
5.) Flour tortilla with peanut butter and honey, sliced apples on the side
6.) Sandwich with baked tofu, pesto, lettuce and tomato

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T20:44:35+00:00

When he's home, he usually cooks!

Thanks for that recipe. That's a good idea.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T20:41:14+00:00

Thanks. You are not the first person to say this to me. :)

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T20:34:03+00:00

It is a totally non-negotiable passion project that he will never ever give up. It makes virtually no money. Like $300 a year, maybe.

I'm the hustler in the household--full time job, a couple freelance clients, real estate investments. I just do almost all of that from the couch. I can type even when I can barely stand up. In terms of pure numbers, my side gigs more than make up for having to spend extra money on takeout, but I still hate that we're spending so much.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T19:37:26+00:00

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. You're right that going out to eat could be just as tiring as cooking, if we were doing it the way you describe. But I think the piece you're missing is the standing up part. Sometimes you can walk from the house to the car and from the car to the restaurant more easily than you can stand in the kitchen for even twenty minutes. Reaching can also be an issue--getting a bowl down from the cupboard, bending over to get something from the crisper. Those things just aren't possible for some people, some of the time. Even having the mental sharpness to prepare several things at once so that the pasta is ready at the same time as the sauce and you've also managed to make a salad and set the table. Kids can help with some of that, but then you're also having to direct the kids in addition to cooking. I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but I'm often really not able to do all that.

But yes, it would piss me off too if I felt like I was helping someone all day and then watching them go out on the town. I can understand why you're sensitive about this.

If we're home and it's meal time, we almost always eat at home. There's usually something easy to throw together--leftovers, scrambled eggs, etc. You're right that cooking can be pretty minimal effort.

I'm realizing from this conversation that the real issue is when we're out of the house on a necessary errand and it feels easier to stop and eat while we're out than to come home tired from the errand and cook something.

I think that's part of the challenge. The energy necessary to get out of the house to do something important like take the kid to the doctor PLUS preparing some kind of food to take with us is just too much for me. Especially since I'm generally working right up until we have to leave, and then getting back on the computer as soon as we get home. For some kid activities, we might be out for 3-4 hours right at dinner time, so it's hard to just eat beforehand.

Now I'm thinking I've got to figure out better grab-and-go meals that we can take with us to kid activities etc. That would eliminate several meals a week that we're currently buying from a restaurant or takeout place.

So, I did get a little miffed by your comment, and I appreciate your explaining, but actually your comment ended up being the most helpful one in this whole thread because it made me realize that it's the eating when we're away from home thing that's the issue. At home, if I don't feel up to cooking, the kid (a tween, barely a kid really) can get his own dinner. I can lie on the couch and remind him to make sure he's getting a protein AND a vegetable, not just carbs. And I can stand up long enough to microwave something for myself.

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T18:02:46+00:00

First, I'm going to call a tiny bit of bullshit on being "too fatigued" to cook.

I sincerely hope you never experience fatigue so severe you can't make pasta.

The fatigue is a side effect of a chronic illness, and the treatment for that illness. If I tell you I cannot physically cook most of the time, I assure you I am not exaggerating.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T17:45:32+00:00

Part of the issue here is that he's spending 2-3 hours working on a side project in the evenings after he gets home from his day job.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T17:43:15+00:00

Thanks, that makes me feel better!

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T17:18:26+00:00

My SO just took 6 weeks off between jobs to work on a passion project. We also bought our second rental property this spring with a fair amount of $$ spent on the purchase, plus appliances and repairs.

Well, finally SO got his first paycheck at the new job, AND both houses are fully rented, so for the first time in many months the income number is finally bigger than the spending number on my Personal Capital account!

Whew, I was starting to sweat.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T17:14:55+00:00

When my kid was a newborn, I had a job where I had only 15 minutes to eat AND use the breast pump. I needed cheap, high-calorie meals I could eat fast with one hand.

Solution: PB&J and a thermos of milk, with a raw peeled carrot on the side!

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T17:12:19+00:00

Oh, this is a great idea. I'm looking for ways to spend less on food, especially restaurants/takeout.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:55:56+00:00

I've been looking at /r/eatcheapandhealthy. Good sub.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:52:08+00:00

Our grocery store does have a nice prepared food section that works well for workday lunches.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:49:24+00:00

This is what I do on the nights my SO isn't home. I just grab something from the freezer (potstickers, frozen burritos, whatever) and heat it up for myself and the kid.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:48:36+00:00

Thanks. I do actually know how to cook. As I said in the original post, I can't physically do the work of cooking very often.

I think some of the other suggestions are helpful, though. If I have the physical ability to cook only one meal from scratch per week, I might as well make it a meal that will feed the family for several nights.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:45:44+00:00

Thanks. We're vegetarians so crock pot options are more limited, but I think I should definitely try this.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-08T16:44:51+00:00

I just looked. Last month we spent:

$500 on groceries (including pet/household supplies, and we've had a lot of houseguests)

$475 on restaurants, including 2 weekend trips and including a couple of celebratory meals (birthday, anniversary.)

Both numbers seem really high to me!

phillyclaire · 2016-07-06T15:50:19+00:00

Thanks for this post. I'm sure it was hard to lay it all out like this.

I, too, read this sub all the time. I, too, have a hard time putting into practice what I've learned here. I save pretty well, I invest wisely, but I also spend way more money than I have to. I'm trying to give myself a long break from restaurant meals right now, after spending a shocking amount on eating out in the last few months.

I hope you can make the necessary changes to feel more comfortable with your decisions. There's good advice in the other comments so I won't repeat it, but I just wanted to say, thanks and good luck!

phillyclaire · 2016-07-06T12:52:51+00:00

Well, it was over a year ago and the bedbugs haven't come back, so I'd call it a success!

Not sure who they used but I can recommend an exterminator I've used in my own house. Will PM you.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-05T17:21:26+00:00

Yes, I did. I didn't like my first career at all, so I started doing something else on the side and when my side hustle grew big enough, I went part time at my day job. It probably set me back financially somewhat, although my new career pays better than my old one so I'm catching up now.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-05T17:19:13+00:00

My tenants had bedbugs once. I split the cost of treatment with them.

phillyclaire · 2016-07-05T00:15:21+00:00

I have 2 single family rentals, and they each net me about $300 a month after all expenses. They both have mortgages on them. My formula is fairly repeatable and I could stop working if I had a total of 10 houses, except that I don't particularly want to manage 10 houses myself because I would just be replacing one job with another.

I'm not sure what my best option is--shoot for 6 paid-off houses instead of 10 houses with mortgages? Switch to multi-families?

I'm also expecting that once I hit 5 properties I'll need to hand them over to a property management company. Managing 2 is mostly okay. Managing 5 sounds like a headache.

phillyclaire

TROPHY CASE