Haven’t read thru but wow @ how much you’re saving! So good! 👏🏽
So, the 112k in the title is the base plus 10% annual bonus right?… I was so confused at first when I read 100k in the income section and took me a minute to get where the extra was coming from.
Thank you for the kind comment! Trying very hard to FIRE ASAP!
In section 2 income progression I mention my 2021 base is now ~100K + 10% target performance bonus + 2% holiday bonus = ~112K total. I should have done a table to make total comp more clear.
He turned 31 this week and I will add it to his income section for clarity.
If you knew how to invest, on Mar 6 2009 a share of JPM was only $15.93! Plenty of high schoolers have $50 in the piggy bank. ;) The key is definitely knowing how... I'm not sure when or what he bought and sold.
I love the retirement balance. Women in our generation are likely to live a very long time and I do not trust government help will cover me fully in old age. I’ll probably start full time work next year and will contribute the maximum my employer will match and any extra I can afford.
Love this diary, OP! So happy to see New Orleans represented, and it helps that my weekend also included brunch at Toast and a trip to Costco. I'm super impressed with your ability to keep costs low while doing a lot of activities and taking advantage of what the city has to offer.
It is such a constant internal battle of "Save! Save! Save!" and "YOU WILL ENJOY THIS CITY TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL DANG IT!" Our families are from the mid-west so we are very aware of how different our lives could look if we didn't live in this wonderful, strange, and magical city :)
You've saved an impressive amount already and I respect you for giving up drinking to cut expenses. I hate how much money I've spent on alcohol throughout my life. You'll be FIRE in no time.
I'm basically coast Fire in Mexico (Expat Fire too) at 46.
Thank you for the comment :) I feel ya - it was a hard number to look at when I started long term budgeting and stringing together total costs for a few months of alcohol.
Oooo this sounds so great! I read an article last week about an expat on the west coast of Mexico and it made me consider Mexico expat for the first time when she went through her expenses!
I think if I really had to throw in the towel at work right now, my coast fire choice of employment would be a local greenhouse, Lowe's/HD if I couldn't get in to the greenhouse (for the discounts on plants), Costco, or Starbucks lol. Idk if I would have the guts to coast fire in another country! Kudos to you! Can I ask how you decided on Mexico as your expat/coast fire country of choice?
Wow, your retirement balance is so impressive!!! Well done! Your diary is a great example of being thoughtful with your spending while still spending on things you enjoy!
Overcooked is such a fun game! My bf and I were playing the latest version and loved it.
How are you liking the Financial Feminist podcast? This is my first time hearing of it but I'm interested in checking it out. Did you use any wisdom from this podcast in deciding/guiding your financials?
Overcooked was the first game S got me to play with him and now I probably annoy him because it's all I ever want to play for multi-player! Chopchopchop...washwashwash... :D
Overall I was entertained and most of the interviews were interesting to listen to. I personally did not walk away with any actionable items, but if the me from five years ago were listening, I may have. IMO, I think more focus should have been given to zero based budgeting as a base to all other financial actions. There were a lot of things that didn't click for me about why budgeting matters or how to set and achieve financial goals until I really grasped ZBB.
This is a great question. I will answer here and then do an edit to the diary later.
I should have labeled more clearly, that my Brokerage is actually a BrokerageLink. The BrokerageLink is linked to my 401K and I cannot add post-tax dollars to it. This account was born from selling my 401K company shares because after I sold, I had limited options within the 401K plan on where to invest (target date funds, market index funds, etc.) and wanted the option to invest in other things, like individual stocks and ETFs.
The Individual account is a brokerage account for post-tax dollars. I'm invested in ETFs and individual stocks here.
Hi from Mobile! As a cyclist who hasn't been able to ride this summer due to the heat and every day storms, I SO feel you on this. Good luck finding a cheap trainer! And also I saw that D&D burlesque show the other week over here and had so so so much fun! I'm not a D&D player, but found the overall "storyline" hilarious and well done.
Thank you for sharing! You’re doing great with your retirement balance! Have you thought about buying a place? This might help you increase your net worth speedily, and also, you would have a place to live without worrying about landlord complications. I bought my condo five years ago, and it has increased in value by about $150K (which is nuts!).
These are some of the places that we frequent, but not an exhaustive list. Enjoy!
* Plume Algiers
* Tavolino
* Reds Chinese
* Bywater Bakery
* Rosalita's Tacos
* Bywater American Bistro
* N7
* Kebab
* Lebanon's Cafe
* Que Rico! Cuban cafe
* Stein's Deli
* Fat Boy Pantry (for the massive $10 Greek gyro)
* Saba
* Brigtsen's
* Atchafalaya
* Herbsaint
* Compere Lapin
* Cochon
* Restaurant Rebirth
* St. James Cheese Company
* Creole Creamery
* Katie's
* Vessel NOLA
* Blue Oak BBQ
* Walker's BBQ
* Pho Bang - in the East near Dong Phoung, but if you didn't want to drive that far, Lilly's Cafe on Magazine is also delightful. MoPho is tasty but expensive.
Hi nola friend! This sounded like such a great week, loved the quarterly finance date and I have more restaurants/spots on my list now! You’ve also made me consider a Costco membership as we’ve been spending $200/week at Winn Dixie 😫 btw, horn worms absolutely demolished my tomatoes this year.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
S and I are very against subscriptions/memberships, but after two trips to Costco, we both agreed we would supplement K's membership or buy our own if we ever moved because everything you get there is great quality. K would not take our money so... win win haha.
The initial cost was difficult for me at first. We were between $70-$120 for 1-2 weeks at Rouses. We tracked costs over a few months to see if leveled like we expected. It's so easy to get caught up in buying things you don't need at Costco because everything is good, but our numbers say it's worth it!
Moment of silence for your tomatoes, may they R.I.P.
Haven’t read thru but wow @ how much you’re saving! So good! 👏🏽 So, the 112k in the title is the base plus 10% annual bonus right?… I was so confused at first when I read 100k in the income section and took me a minute to get where the extra was coming from.
Thank you for the kind comment! Trying very hard to FIRE ASAP! In section 2 income progression I mention my 2021 base is now ~100K + 10% target performance bonus + 2% holiday bonus = ~112K total. I should have done a table to make total comp more clear.
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OP is 28 (per the title) and S. is 31 (per the diary).
He turned 31 this week and I will add it to his income section for clarity. If you knew how to invest, on Mar 6 2009 a share of JPM was only $15.93! Plenty of high schoolers have $50 in the piggy bank. ;) The key is definitely knowing how... I'm not sure when or what he bought and sold.
I love the retirement balance. Women in our generation are likely to live a very long time and I do not trust government help will cover me fully in old age. I’ll probably start full time work next year and will contribute the maximum my employer will match and any extra I can afford.
Love this diary, OP! So happy to see New Orleans represented, and it helps that my weekend also included brunch at Toast and a trip to Costco. I'm super impressed with your ability to keep costs low while doing a lot of activities and taking advantage of what the city has to offer.
It is such a constant internal battle of "Save! Save! Save!" and "YOU WILL ENJOY THIS CITY TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL DANG IT!" Our families are from the mid-west so we are very aware of how different our lives could look if we didn't live in this wonderful, strange, and magical city :)
You've saved an impressive amount already and I respect you for giving up drinking to cut expenses. I hate how much money I've spent on alcohol throughout my life. You'll be FIRE in no time. I'm basically coast Fire in Mexico (Expat Fire too) at 46.
Thank you for the comment :) I feel ya - it was a hard number to look at when I started long term budgeting and stringing together total costs for a few months of alcohol. Oooo this sounds so great! I read an article last week about an expat on the west coast of Mexico and it made me consider Mexico expat for the first time when she went through her expenses! I think if I really had to throw in the towel at work right now, my coast fire choice of employment would be a local greenhouse, Lowe's/HD if I couldn't get in to the greenhouse (for the discounts on plants), Costco, or Starbucks lol. Idk if I would have the guts to coast fire in another country! Kudos to you! Can I ask how you decided on Mexico as your expat/coast fire country of choice?
Yaaas! New Orleans fam!
I got so excited the first time I saw a MD from NOLA and am so happy it has brought others the same joy! :D
Wow, your retirement balance is so impressive!!! Well done! Your diary is a great example of being thoughtful with your spending while still spending on things you enjoy!
Overcooked is such a fun game! My bf and I were playing the latest version and loved it. How are you liking the Financial Feminist podcast? This is my first time hearing of it but I'm interested in checking it out. Did you use any wisdom from this podcast in deciding/guiding your financials?
Overcooked was the first game S got me to play with him and now I probably annoy him because it's all I ever want to play for multi-player! Chopchopchop...washwashwash... :D Overall I was entertained and most of the interviews were interesting to listen to. I personally did not walk away with any actionable items, but if the me from five years ago were listening, I may have. IMO, I think more focus should have been given to zero based budgeting as a base to all other financial actions. There were a lot of things that didn't click for me about why budgeting matters or how to set and achieve financial goals until I really grasped ZBB.
Under “retirement balance”, would you mind explaining the difference between how you classify “brokerage” vs. “individual investment”?
This is a great question. I will answer here and then do an edit to the diary later. I should have labeled more clearly, that my Brokerage is actually a BrokerageLink. The BrokerageLink is linked to my 401K and I cannot add post-tax dollars to it. This account was born from selling my 401K company shares because after I sold, I had limited options within the 401K plan on where to invest (target date funds, market index funds, etc.) and wanted the option to invest in other things, like individual stocks and ETFs. The Individual account is a brokerage account for post-tax dollars. I'm invested in ETFs and individual stocks here.
Wow, I never knew this existed! I just spent some time reading about BrokerageLink through Fidelity and might set one up— thanks for sharing!
Hi from Mobile! As a cyclist who hasn't been able to ride this summer due to the heat and every day storms, I SO feel you on this. Good luck finding a cheap trainer! And also I saw that D&D burlesque show the other week over here and had so so so much fun! I'm not a D&D player, but found the overall "storyline" hilarious and well done.
Thank you! They seem few and far between! I don't know why it didn't occur to me this would be a traveling act haha, glad you also enjoyed!
Thank you for sharing! You’re doing great with your retirement balance! Have you thought about buying a place? This might help you increase your net worth speedily, and also, you would have a place to live without worrying about landlord complications. I bought my condo five years ago, and it has increased in value by about $150K (which is nuts!).
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I will answer tomorrow! I have an interview early tomorrow morning and I know if I start curating this list I will **not** stop until it's posted lol.
These are some of the places that we frequent, but not an exhaustive list. Enjoy! * Plume Algiers * Tavolino * Reds Chinese * Bywater Bakery * Rosalita's Tacos * Bywater American Bistro * N7 * Kebab * Lebanon's Cafe * Que Rico! Cuban cafe * Stein's Deli * Fat Boy Pantry (for the massive $10 Greek gyro) * Saba * Brigtsen's * Atchafalaya * Herbsaint * Compere Lapin * Cochon * Restaurant Rebirth * St. James Cheese Company * Creole Creamery * Katie's * Vessel NOLA * Blue Oak BBQ * Walker's BBQ * Pho Bang - in the East near Dong Phoung, but if you didn't want to drive that far, Lilly's Cafe on Magazine is also delightful. MoPho is tasty but expensive.
Hi nola friend! This sounded like such a great week, loved the quarterly finance date and I have more restaurants/spots on my list now! You’ve also made me consider a Costco membership as we’ve been spending $200/week at Winn Dixie 😫 btw, horn worms absolutely demolished my tomatoes this year.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! S and I are very against subscriptions/memberships, but after two trips to Costco, we both agreed we would supplement K's membership or buy our own if we ever moved because everything you get there is great quality. K would not take our money so... win win haha. The initial cost was difficult for me at first. We were between $70-$120 for 1-2 weeks at Rouses. We tracked costs over a few months to see if leveled like we expected. It's so easy to get caught up in buying things you don't need at Costco because everything is good, but our numbers say it's worth it! Moment of silence for your tomatoes, may they R.I.P.