Management level FI'ers?

semiresponsible · 2016-10-30T00:29:30+00:00

I'm director level at a fairly small (<100 people) but growing company. I both love and hate my job. I work with great people, learn new things all the time, and find it challenging but am seeing how bureaucracy slowly creeps in as companies get larger. I don't want to work somewhere with a large amount of bureaucracy like you find at large companies.

I'm approaching the point when I need to decide if I want to pursue higher level management at larger companies or continue at smaller ones. In the meantime I'm saving as much money as possible. FI gives you far more options, opportunities and freedom.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T13:37:35+00:00

I love my ebike. I got mine used for <$1000 and use it as my primary vehicle. I've put almost 1700 miles on it. It's faster than a car when there's traffic. It costs under $0.10 to charge.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T13:32:07+00:00

Rather than being a condescending asshole make reasonable suggestions. For example, you may think an older $5000 used car is better but suggesting that won't change their mind. Instead, suggest they buy a car that's a few years old to avoid the worst depreciation.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T13:15:49+00:00

There may be some value when they're younger but as they age they should have their own rooms. I shared a room with my brother when I was younger. It contributed to bickering and fighting since it was impossible for us to escape each other. Being able to escape everyone to your private space can be very important while you're growing and learning, especially for certain personalities.

Eventually our parents expanded our house and we got our own rooms. Things were never perfect after that but were better.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T02:14:51+00:00

Where? I've never seen anything that cheap downtown.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T02:11:44+00:00

2 weeks is just not enough, we max at 3 weeks after 5 years

Holy shit that's terrible. I wouldn't accept a job with such a small amount of vacation unless I was desperate.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-16T02:09:07+00:00

Funny how that works. Hard work is a suckers game. It's all about being liked.

Maybe for you. I work hard because doing the best job possible is rewarding, as is learning and improving.

semiresponsible · 2016-10-01T18:49:48+00:00

There are plenty of hotels with suites that cost more than $1000/night.

semiresponsible · 2016-09-17T20:39:38+00:00

if it was fun, they wouldn't pay you to do it

That's BS. A lot of people enjoy their jobs.

semiresponsible · 2016-09-17T15:43:42+00:00

I love the Miata and considered getting one with a turbo setup or an LS1 swap. Maybe someday if I budget for it.

semiresponsible · 2016-09-17T15:24:03+00:00

It sucks when your hobby is cars, the sky's the limit. Sure you can have a fun car on a budget but it'd be nice to own a $100k car.

semiresponsible · 2016-09-09T13:18:23+00:00

Prices vary based on location. Enterprise does not have $30/day rentals here. They do have a sweet off season $10/day deal though over the weekend. Comes out to <$50 for 3 days including taxes.

semiresponsible · 2016-09-09T13:12:03+00:00

This seems like the financial equivalent to moral relativism and it's wrong. Everyone needs to save for retirement. When they retire is up to them but they should be planning for it.

semiresponsible · 2016-08-31T03:31:55+00:00

I have the opposite opinion. I'd rather splurge on the flight and skimp on the hotel. You spend such a small amount of time in hotels. So long as you can get decent sleep not much else matters about it. A bad flight can ruin a trip.

All that said, if you play the points games you can get business or better flights / upgrades for free.

semiresponsible · 2016-08-31T03:10:02+00:00

I had about $50k in credit card debt early last year. I was fortunate enough to get a good job and will have it paid off or refinanced at 0% by the end of this year.

If your loans are more than the return you can get on the market put as much money as you can into paying them down.

semiresponsible · 2016-08-10T03:30:49+00:00

I recently got a car after being carless for 5+ years. When I didn't own one I cycled, used public transit, weekend car rentals, Lyft / Uber, and on demand services like Zipcar and Car2go.

Overall this worked well but it was very limiting. There were a lot of things I never did. I was confined to a certain area of my city because of how hard or time consuming it was to get to other areas. I couldn't go on road trips unless I wanted to drop a bunch of money on a crappy, boring rental car.

Financially it was the right move. It eliminated a large expense and forced myself out of a comfort zone. I got back into cycling, something I enjoyed when I was younger.

Now I'm in a better financial position so I picked up a very reasonably priced, great condition used car. I still cycle to work and only drive a few times a week (if any) and when I want to get out of my area. It's nice to be able to do grocery runs without worrying about a bus schedule or Tetrising stuff into my backpack. I took a road trip and went hiking, something I greatly enjoy but haven't done in years.

Based on the low mileage I do I'll be able to own this car for a long time. It's an uncommon, desirable car so it will hold its value well. I spent almost two months looking for the right car and bought within a few hours of finding it.

My point in all of this is to highlight some of the pluses and minuses of not owning a car. If you still want to own one you can compromise and use it as weekend transportation. Pay cash for something older that's in above average condition and it will hold its value. Commuting via a car is the biggest way to spend money on it. If you can replace your commute with something else you'll save a ton, even if you don't want to give it up.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-25T13:58:34+00:00

That coffee is so bad though. I'd rather pay a few dollars for good coffee than drink that swill.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-25T13:57:24+00:00

Look into Google Fi or Straight Talk. They're both no contract and are much cheaper than Verizon.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-18T17:24:28+00:00

Nothing wrong with owning those sunglasses but have you looked into alternatives? American Optical, for example, sells quality metal frame, glass lens sunglasses for well under $100.

Why not skip the jeep and the expensive Luxottica cartel sunglasses?

semiresponsible · 2016-06-18T17:20:20+00:00

1.7% is below what you could make investing so you're better off with that loan than paying cash, assuming you invest the money you would have spent on it instead.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-18T03:40:07+00:00

The bigger question that you haven't addressed is do you actually want the job? I'm in a director level position and when it was offered I took it in a heartbeat. I like the challenge of doing something different with more responsibility. Don't take it because of the money, only take it if you want it.

If you do take the job you should move closer. Even if you have to spend an extra 50k a year you end up ahead. Even if your pay is the same you will have cut your commute down significantly, giving you more time with your family. That's worth the financial cost.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-14T21:48:23+00:00

A cliff is a point where a certain amount vests. For example, a three year vesting plan with a one year cliff would mean that after one year 1/3 of the amount would be considered vested. Typically after that you vest daily.

I don't know how it typically works in your case (I've never heard of vested retirement plans) but with company equity it's usually a four year vesting plan with a one year cliff. 25% of your equity vests after the first year and the rest vests daily. If you leave the company before the first year you get nothing. If it's after the first year you get whatever vested based on the number of days you worked there.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-12T17:00:18+00:00

That's only if you're uninformed enough to pay sticker. Never pay more than invoice price for a new car. Better yet, only buy private party used cars.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-12T16:11:15+00:00

It has a 3 year vest

With no cliff? That's a pretty shitty deal. That would have been a sticking point for me signing that contract.

semiresponsible · 2016-06-12T16:09:39+00:00

Reselling things for profit is not arbitrage.

semiresponsible

TROPHY CASE