The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

[Mome Rath]

We have a lot of individual stocks on our portfolio, so just for yucks, DH checked them yesterday. Bottom line, it just reminded us why we're better off not looking--they were up for the day but down for the year. Interestingly, our mutual funds were down yesterday--still scratching my head on that. But again, overall, they've been doing great by us, so I'm not going to let one day break our faith. It was just interesting. And angina-inducing.

Depending on your broker/investment account, many don't show you the movement in your mutual funds until they are all settled out and technically in the next "day." My old account used to show me around 4:30 pm and hour and a half after market close. My new account doesn't settle up til later on the mutual funds; I check it in the morning of the next day pre market open.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Depending on your broker/investment account, many don't show you the movement in your mutual funds until they are all settled out and technically in the next "day." My old account used to show me around 4:30 pm and hour and a half after market close. My new account doesn't settle up til later on the mutual funds; I check it in the morning of the next day pre market open.

I didn't know that! We really aren't "check every day" kind of people--we get monthly and quarterly statements and look at those to see if everything's generally moving in the right direction. Obviously, 12/31 is a big day--DH will have RMDs (inherited IRAs), and we have to look at how we want to invest going forward. And taxes to be prepared. Good times, good times.

 

[amalone1013]

The stock market came up at Christmas Eve dinner. BIL said something to my DH about it/DHs 401k, I dont remember his exact comment. DH goes, "Don't ask me, ask my accountant" pointing at me. I just patted him on the arm and told him he was buying things on sale.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We have a lot of individual stocks on our portfolio, so just for yucks, DH checked them yesterday. Bottom line, it just reminded us why we're better off not looking--they were up for the day but down for the year. Interestingly, our mutual funds were down yesterday--still scratching my head on that. But again, overall, they've been doing great by us, so I'm not going to let one day break our faith. It was just interesting. And angina-inducing.

I have always related the stock market to that of a ride at WDW: You're strapped in, enjoy the ride because you can't control it until you get off.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

The market. Ugh. Makes me want to hide under the couch. I need to stop looking. Invest through work 457 in mutual funds and cash equivalent. I know everything will be okay....but I still want to hide under the couch.

 

[bcwife76]

My husband IS the type to keep checking every day, buy/sell/trade etc all the time. He will get up early before work to 'do the numbers.' I keep having to remind him he is NOT a daytrader and to just get his butt to his day job

 

[Deffenm]

I am really glad to see this thread. DH and I are working towards being debt free in 5 years so I can change jobs. I found out right before the holidays that my position is being eliminated in March. So the job change is coming sooner then planned except I need to find a job that pays similar to what I make now in order for us to meet our 5 year plan. We live a very simple and frugal life but that allows for DH to work his dream job that does not pay much at all. I work a high pressure, stress job currently and would like to do something I enjoy but we can't afford that yet. We have a credit card with 0 interest that needs paid off asap. We have a small emergency fund of $1200, my car loan and the mortgage. I max out my Roth 401k and HSA.

If I don't find a job within the company I will get 19 weeks of severance but not sure what else until I get my packet from HR on Jan. 14

We do have Disney trip booked for spring break but will cancel if don't have new job. Our biggest expense outside of normal bills is groceries. We spend over a thousand dollars a month for a family of 5.

Any advise on how to reduce that? I check for sales, use coupons, and meal plan. I am at a loss. We need to bump up our emergency fund once the credit card is paid off so if I can get my grocery Bill down I can throw the extra money at it. We don't eat out or go out barely at all. We got rid of cable already as well. We do have a membership to local community center but we won't give that up as DH and I have lost about 300 pounds total between us and maintaining our health is critical.

I think the only other option we have is for either of us to get another part time job. Of course we have also discussed charging our 19 rent since he is working full-time and not going to school. We were trying to allow him to save up so he could move out within a year but he doesn't seem motivated to do that. Lol

 

[elaine amj]

@Deffenm $1000/mo for groceries is probably something you can trim down. My favorite technique is to meal plan around the sales. Basically when the flyers come out (I use a flyer app on my phone like flipp), I go through them and then decide on my menu based on what is on sale. If chicken is on sale, we will have chicken that week. If oranges are on sale, that's what we'll eat.

Another technique is to have a price book (in my head). I never buy meat that is more than $1.99/lb. If it is more, I simply don't buy it and we eat something else (or we eat from my freezer). We almost never eat steak/roast. Only ground beef. We almost never eat expensive/fancy ingredients.

Then again we have our own grocery issues .My husband spends a lot on the expensive fancy chips. At $5-6/bag....OUCH! My guess is almost a quarter of our grocery budget goes to his snack food.

 

[Haley R]

@Deffenm $1000/mo for groceries is probably something you can trim down. My favorite technique is to meal plan around the sales. Basically when the flyers come out (I use a flyer app on my phone like flipp), I go through them and then decide on my menu based on what is on sale. If chicken is on sale, we will have chicken that week. If oranges are on sale, that's what we'll eat.

Another technique is to have a price book (in my head). I never buy meat that is more than $1.99/lb. If it is more, I simply don't buy it and we eat something else (or we eat from my freezer). We almost never eat steak/roast. Only ground beef. We almost never eat expensive/fancy ingredients.

Then again we have our own grocery issues .My husband spends a lot on the expensive fancy chips. At $5-6/bag....OUCH! My guess is almost a quarter of our grocery budget goes to his snack food.

We do this same thing for meals during the week. I go through the ads every week to see which store has the best deals and what’s on sale. We have so much meat frozen in our freezer because I bulk up when things are on sale.

 

[runwad]

I usually spend between $700 & $800 for my big eaters family of 5. And I cook All.The.Time!

We used to never go out to eat only DH and I for our anniversary but now that the kids are older I will say him and I might go out once or twice a month.

I have a hard time getting my grocery budget down and I do all those things shop sales, get meats that are about to expire and bring 'em home and cook or freeze all that stuff! But like some other posters DH is always going and buying junk because I won't and he can't be bothered looking at a sale ad and buying something on sale, it's not worth his time.

 

[Southernmiss]

I will not budget for food/groceries so low that it's only ground beef or meat under $3 a pound. Beef here is often $5 per pound- I won't go over $5 per pound and will buy slabs of meat that I have the butcher cut or grind into ground beef- I can get those for abt $2.75 per pound. But it's at least a 90 percent fat free cut.

To me, there's value in eating healthy to avoid health issues later. Our family of 6 with four teens and young adults $700 or a little more for groceries is reasonable to me. Months my kids are all home from college $800 or $900 is possible.

Even my boys at college, I insist that they're not eating ramen noodles and hot dogs all the time. One eats a lot of chicken, broccoli, Greek yogurt, blueberries. One makes hamburger helper and chicken alfredo, etc. One son had a health scare in February and I don't want them to harm their health by being too frugal.

Now that our boys are mostly away, dh,dd17 and I eat much less 'filler foods'. We've reduced our breads, pastas and grains. We eat mostly proteins and vegetables. Dh has lost 16 pounds and can stand to lose a few more-I'm afraid years of pasta and filler foods contributed to his weight gain.

I think eating cheaply for the budget's sake can do more harm than good in the long run.

 

[Haley R]

I will not budget for food/groceries so low that it's only ground beef or meat under $3 a pound. Beef here is often $5 per pound- I won't go over $5 per pound and will buy slabs of meat that I have the butcher cut or grind into ground beef- I can get those for abt $2.75 per pound. But it's at least a 90 percent fat free cut.

To me, there's value in eating healthy to avoid health issues later. Our family of 6 with four teens and young adults $700 or a little more for groceries is reasonable to me. Months my kids are all home from college $800 or $900 is possible.

Even my boys at college, I insist that they're not eating ramen noodles and hot dogs all the time. One eats a lot of chicken, broccoli, Greek yogurt, blueberries. One makes hamburger helper and chicken alfredo, etc. One son had a health scare in February and I don't want them to harm their health by being too frugal.

Now that our boys are mostly away, dh,dd17 and I eat much less 'filler foods'. We've reduced our breads, pastas and grains. We eat mostly proteins and vegetables. Dh has lost 16 pounds and can stand to lose a few more-I'm afraid years of pasta and filler foods contributed to his weight gain.

I think eating cheaply for the budget's sake can do more harm than good in the long run.

You pay $5 per pound for hamburger?!!!! Omg we regularly pay $1.88/lb for hamburger.

 

[Southernmiss]

You pay $5 per pound for hamburger?!!!! Omg we regularly pay $1.88/lb for hamburger.

No. As I said, ground beef is often $5 a pound. I don't buy ground beef at that price. I have some of a sirloin slab ground into ground beef at $3 or so a pound.

But yes, days of ground beef under $2 a pound are gone around here.

We don't eat much ground beef and prefer healthier proteins.

 

[elaine amj]

I think eating cheaply for the budget's sake can do more harm than good in the long run.

I agree with many of your points and we do eat a lot of vegetables (I joke that DH is half vegan).

I do think a useful technique is to have an idea in your mind about what is reasonable to pay for an ingredient or a typical homecooked dinner. And buying things only on sale makes a big difference. Things like chicken breasts can range from $2.49 to $5.99/lb around here. Or I have a couple of turkeys in my freezer right now - one that cost me just $5 ($0.29/lb) and another that cost $10 ($0.69/lb). They often cost $1.49-$1.99/lb. Translate that to any food staple in your freezer/pantry.

 

[Haley R]

No. As I said, ground beef is often $5 a pound. I don't buy ground beef at that price. I have some of a sirloin slab ground into ground beef at $3 or so a pound.

But yes, days of ground beef under $2 a pound are gone around here.

We don't eat much ground beef and prefer healthier proteins.

I didn’t realize how costly hamburger is in other places. We eat lots of hamburger at our house along with chicken breasts and pork.

 

[WVMomof3]

Ground meat is $4-$6/lb here, depending on cut. Definitely have never bought a pound for under $3. I like at least 85/15 and I just looked at my Kroger app and it is currently $5.49/lb. You can get a 3 pound tube of 73% for $9, but I would never buy that. I never see ground beef on sale unless it is close to date.

 

[Haley R]

Ground meat is $4-$6/lb here, depending on cut. Definitely have never bought a pound for under $3. I like at least 85/15 and I just looked at my Kroger app and it is currently $5.49/lb. You can get a 3 pound tube of 73% for $9, but I would never buy that. I never see ground beef on sale unless it is close to date.

Huh maybe it’s because I’m in the Midwest? I have no idea but ours is alway on sale for $1.88/pound. We do buy the 80% though

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We do this same thing for meals during the week. I go through the ads every week to see which store has the best deals and what’s on sale. We have so much meat frozen in our freezer because I bulk up when things are on sale.

With so much meat in the freezer, USE IT. About every other month we only eat what's in the freezer and pantry to clean it out. Every meal is built around what we have. Period. Some strange combinations, but we don't end up throwing out expired food that we paid for months ago and forgot about. Fresh fruits and vegetables (in season) are replenished as they are used.
Try it, live on what you have stored up in the freezer and on the shelves. Surprising how much you'll save by not going to the store.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Hi-
We have been able to achieve FIRE and I wanted to pass on some condensed thoughts to those that are in their 20's or thirties. I have not read all of the previous 16 pages.

If you are young, I know it is hard to find extra money for the future when you are broke. Climbing up the ladder needs to happen one step at a time. Frugality in the early days can lead to nice options down the road.

1. Drive your (healthy) car for a long period of time (8-12 years). Get a AAA membership if you are skittish about breakdowns. To keep life simple, do NOT lease a car. Set aside some cash for tires, brake work, and a battery if these items are not "fresh" when you acquire the car. A 2-3 year old used car can be a great deal and should be reliable. If you buy new, keep it for 10 years. Read the owners manual and follow the maintenance schedule exactly as it is written. Always consult a consumer magazine to avoid cars with poor reliability. The goal here is to avoid having one or more car payments for eternity!

2. Shop yard sales and thrift stores when possible--especially for growing children's clothes! Our daughter loved going to the thrift store when she was little. Now as a college graduate, she still will go to pick up things from a thrift store.

3. Try to pay off your credit card every month. If you have an unexpected expense (for the car?), pay off the balance as soon as possible.

4. Regardless of your income level, live beneath your means. If you do this over a 10 or 20 year period, you will be rewarded handsomely later in life.

5. Once your rainy day fund is fully funded, and you have an extra 1000 dollars in your account, start doing research on low fee mutual funds. Long term investments in a mixture of mutual funds are another key to long term financial success.


Just developing these basic habits can help steer you clear of excess debt and improve your financial health.
These habits are in addition to the usual frugal things that people do---cut coupons, shop sales, cook at home, etc.

Fun facts- We bought our 1998 F150 brand new and still have it. (165K miles)
The last car we owned, we bought with 27K and sold with about 240K on the odometer

Good luck and remember to take it one step at a time!

 

[Haley R]

With so much meat in the freezer, USE IT. About every other month we only eat what's in the freezer and pantry to clean it out. Every meal is built around what we have. Period. Some strange combinations, but we don't end up throwing out expired food that we paid for months ago and forgot about. Fresh fruits and vegetables (in season) are replenished as they are used.
Try it, live on what you have stored up in the freezer and on the shelves. Surprising how much you'll save by not going to the store.

Oh we definitely use the meat from the freezer. We pull out meals every week and defrost them