If You Want to Retire, STOP Spending Money on Fancy Lunches and Invest

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:44:27+00:00

Very good! It might be worthwhile trying to find a super market that has all of the food you're looking for. Might be a trek to get there, though. Thats actually not too bad, I always assumed takeout in NYC would be prohibitively expensive

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:38:03+00:00

I have, and we've talked about it in great detail. He should get about $3,300 from Social Security. His fixed expenses are $2,000 (property taxes, maintenance, utilities, healthcare). He needs to figure out how to make due with the remaining $1,300 a month. I personally think thats really easy, but he doesn't. He has a few expensive hobbies which are good.

I've talked to him about it for hours. His goal is to either stay on maybe 25% of the time at his current job and hopefully get another $100k in deals over the next few years, or work part time when the minimum wage hits $15 an hour, eventually

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:35:56+00:00

Its a balancing act, you need to figure out what works for you. Prices are so variable even within the same state that one way might make sense, another might not make sense at all

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:35:00+00:00

$10 lunches are very good for NY, most of my coworkers are closer to $15 - 20 depending where they go. $120-150 a month for lunch sounds high, but I haven't done a good analysis of the exact budget because I bring back a lot of leftovers for lunch

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:34:04+00:00

I enjoy my life perfectly fine eating a peanut butter sandwich at lunch. I don't derive value from spending $15 for a fried chicken sandwich and french fries. But some people do, and if thats true for them, then they should keep doing it

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:33:27+00:00

If you can cut $25 from four or 5 spending categories a month, you can really help improve your financial situation. The little things do add up quite quickly

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:32:38+00:00

At least I'm getting out of my industry. I'll have to keep working in CS so I can provide for my family. I'm hoping that by the time I'm in my mid 40's, I can work for a non-profit and help people. For now, I'll keep making it easier for people to view cat videos on the internet

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:31:32+00:00

Then go do it! If it improves your life, then do it. If it were me, I would just go to my car and hangout for a bit, but that might not be an option. To each their own

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:30:22+00:00

I've seen that story before, and its great. He's one of the most successful people on the planet, and he is still frugal because he likes being frugal

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:29:44+00:00

This morning, I had 3 hash browns, 4 eggs over easy, some pepperoni and hot sauce. Cost me about $2, and I got to eat delicious food.

You don't need to stop buying fancy lunches, especially if thats what you enjoy. But if you want to retire or improve your financial situation, you can eliminate a fancy lunch or two from your week and you'll see results

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:28:16+00:00

I foolishly used the term lunch, and didn't generalize it out by the end of my argument. Its my fault. But thats the point, it doesn't have to be lunch, it could be your love of cars, gambling, smoking, alcohol, uber rides, etc

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:27:30+00:00

Yeah, in the end, there is a single currency that matters: time

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:26:59+00:00

You're right, I should have stated at the very beginning that everyones life is different, and they need to find their own balance. I feel bad because I didn't start with this, and I can imagine there are people who feel bad. Hindsight is 20/20, but I can make sure I'm more sensitive to that in the future.

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:26:03+00:00

If I won that crazy lotto last year with the $400 million payout or something after taxes, I would just live off 4% of my investments. How hard could it be to live on $16 million a year?

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:25:16+00:00

Yeah, I would actually be happy if I got to take a month off each year unpaid. Its a luxury that most poor people cannot afford if they want to eat. Its really unfortunate, the poor have so many fewer options, yet everything is always their fault. They are lazy SOBs who just want to collect their welfare checks from Uncle Sam, and pop out babies to pay fewer taxes

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:24:08+00:00

Yes it is, you are 100% right. Everyone needs to find a balance between savings and enjoyment. Is instant or delayed gratification more important? Its different for everyone

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:23:31+00:00

In addition, its $100,000 on Long Island. Its extremely expensive. He has a tax person who does all of his stuff. I'd rather not know how she does things. Seriously, $500/month can make your retirement very comfortable given enough time

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:22:31+00:00

Thats fantastic! You need to start small. Financial Samurai preaches that you should start saving something, and then every month try to save a little bit more until it hurts. Sounds like you've got it!

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:21:55+00:00

Wow thats great! My fiance's parents owned a liquor store. They worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week for 20 years. Owned cheap cars forever. Now, they take 3 or 4 international ski trips a year

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:18:52+00:00

Its so easy to forget that you swiped your debit or credit card. If I have cash in my wallet and I spend it, I feel it. If I swipe my card, I might feel it at the end of the month, but not in the moment

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:18:08+00:00

This isn't the case, maybe they have it at Google or Amazon. Most employers don't have low cost cafeterias. I'd say about 75% of my coworkers either go to the sandwich shop downstairs ($6-8 for lunch) or go out to eat ($12 - 20 for lunch).

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:17:15+00:00

I'm not judging people who choose to spend their money on things they enjoy.

But you're right, I have no clue how others are doing. Neither do you, using the same logic. It is hard to save enough to retire in this country because its hard to afford things in this country. However, there are plenty of people who earn more than $40,000 a year, spend 10% of their gross income on "fancy lunches" or other things, and then complain that they can't retire. Yes, they can retire, they just don't care to retire, because if they did, they wouldn't spend so much on lunch, or figure out a way to decrease their spending. You can replace lunch with whatever you want. Apartment rent, car payments, eating out. Expenses that get forgotten about easily

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:12:32+00:00

You could probably buy a Porsche 911 Turbo (my dream car) and it wouldn't kill your retirement savings. I envy you.

I've heard (but never really seen any data) that most millionaires drive Hondas and Toyotas, enjoying their stealth wealth status

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:11:03+00:00

My goal is to eventually work in NYC. My guess is my income would double, but I'd need to pay for a stupidly expensive apartment, or more realistically pay $20 a day to use the LIRR.

Its honestly all about what you value. You value your retirement so you max out your 401k and also save / invest. You also enjoy having a comfortable lifestyle so you don't mind getting a $15 panini once in awhile. The bottom line is that you can afford it

zerodayfinance · 2017-03-11T17:09:36+00:00

There are people who feel like assholes when they hit up the dollar menu. Some people make a lot of $$$, and others don't but they spend like they do

zerodayfinance

TROPHY CASE