Comments on: Financial Freedom Is Making Me Rethink My Life

By: vandana arora

vandana arora — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:08:59 +0000

hi Trent,

I am at the same stage where u were before starting this site.

I really want to consult somethings with you.I am in the process of deciding whether to start a site,as this is the only option for me which i can continue while working.

But i really want to think about pros and cons.

I will be pleased if i receive a reply of this comment to discuss further.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 02:01:31 +0000

Rob, the way to get a break is to be ruthless about being frugal. The really hard part is that there is no single big “hey I’m saving money” decision. Instead there are a ton of little things that add up. Are you bringing lunch to work? Picking up a snack when you stop at the gas station? Going out to eat? Throwing food out instead of coming up with creative leftovers? All of those are places where you can potentially save money, and that is just with food.

The point is that you have to always ask yourself this question: “Would I rather have X, or financial freedom?”. Yes, it is a false dilemma. Obviously a dollar for a twix bar at a gas station is not going to break you, but you have to look at these things long term, and in the long term three dollars a week for a year is 156 dollars. What else could that pay for? The hard part, the really hard part, is that you have to treat a harmless decision to spend a little bit of money as though it is going to happen ten times, or fifty, or two hundred. A lot of the time we spend money without thinking much about how much or what the value of our purchase really is. Most of the time just making the savings in places you didn’t think of before is enough to get the ball rolling.

By: rob in Madrid

rob in Madrid — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:46:27 +0000

I have to agree with Andamom how do you break out of living pay cheque to pay cheque cycle when your first starting out. If the car breaks down or someone gets sick, the kids need new clothes etc. You end up putting everything on Credit Cards which then you have to use any spare cash to make payments which means the next bill goes on the credit card, it’s a vicious cycle which is hard to break.

Rob in Madrid

By: tanyetta

tanyetta — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 07:04:05 +0000

Entry for the book giveaway–
I’m writing a response to: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/24/financial-freedom-is-making-me-rethink-my-life/

I never thought we would be able to survive on one income. Two years ago my husband and I sat down and discussed having more kids and that I would be the one to stay home for four years. It was the best and most frightening decision we made. It’s been 2 1/2 years and now that we’ve paid off a great deal of our debt, (we still have a mortgage and car note) *sigh* —we’re now trying to figure out a game plan for saving more aggressively and looking into investment options. I really enjoy reading your blog, it’s making me think and re-think my family financial situation. Tha

By: GMoney

GMoney — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:41:37 +0000

The hardest part for me is figuring out when to live a little. You mentioned retirement, but that’s about 30 years out for me. At what point should one stop being so concerned about the budget? I mean I set a goal to be debt-free and then I achieved it. Next I set a goal to build up my saivings account to be at least 4 months of my salary and then I started investing 15% of my salary into retirement … I’m at point to where I’m constantly looking for what to do next. I’m afraid that I’m going to miss out on enjoying the wealth that I’ve built.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:05:17 +0000

Thanks for the post – enjoyed. Neat to see such a major turnaround in such a short time. Although I really don’t experience financial stress – I do desire that sense of freesom to pursue what I want. But truthfully – trying to figure out what I want and how I want to spend my time is something I need to ponder.

By: HappyRock

HappyRock — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:40:40 +0000

I am glad that you are reaping the benefits of your hard work. I can concur on all of your points. For me, I feel the biggest change is the freedom I feel to pursue my big dreams in life.

Mardee,

The school of thought in paying off SL include a few things off the top of my head – 1. Psychological 2. Freedom from bills 3. Stress removal 4. Risk

For me the freedom gained from knowing that I am not bound to payments allows me to pursue my dreams with vigor and without the stress of having to bring home the proverbial bacon. I think differently and more clearly without debt.

By: Andamom

Andamom — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:43:27 +0000

You make a lot of sense… and I would be following suit were it not for the fact that I have to pay for daycare ($1,500+/month), braces for my older daughter, and other stuff for them. There are probably things we could cut out of our expenses –like some of our restaurant or take-out meals, the birthday party expenses, the trips down to see family– most of the things we spend our money on now is part of the lifestyle that we have elected. We are constantly talking about how we’ll eventually need to relocate out of NYC to buy property and lower our overall cost of living –. Parenting isn’t cheap –not just for the expenses –but for the opportunity costs that also accompany it.

By: Mardee

Mardee — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:24:43 +0000

I’m curious as to why you paid off a large chunk of your student loan debt – is it for psychological reasons? Financially speaking, you’re better off keeping that debt for awhile. My SL debt has an extremely low interest rate, which is deductible. Furthermore, if you use the money you would apply to the debt and invest it at even 5-6%, which doesn’t take much these days, you’re making money.

That, coupled with the fact that your student loan debt goes away if you die (unlike credit card debt), makes it seem worthwhile to hang on to the debt until your income is high enough so that you can’t deduct the interest anymore (of course, maybe you’re already at that point).

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 05:03:56 +0000

Financial bondage is making me rethink my life.

I played by the rules, worked hard, stayed in school, got good grades, went to college [thereby blowing tend of thousands of dollars plus several years of my time], honestly reported self-employment income, and all I got out of it was student loan debt, a tax lien, and a minimum wage income.

If I had it to do over again, I’m not sure I would have stayed straight and narrow.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 03:52:11 +0000

Well said! I totally agree. Since I’ve stopped chasing the consumerist lifestyle my life has totally changed. I’m still paying off all those fancy dinners and expensive cocktails from those trendy restaurants and clubs I *had* to go to in my early 20s, but that debt is steadily disappearing and with it a lot of unnecessary stress. Frugality has mellowed me out and made me more environmentally conscious. It’s made me appreciate what I have instead of coveting more. I wish I could share my joy with one of my best friends, but he’s still caught up in that lifestyle and he’s as crabby as ever!

By: Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:39:05 +0000

Very nice post. This sounds alot like the end state you are supposed to have after finishing the program detailed in “Your money or your life.” Have you read that one by any chance?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:18:41 +0000

You hear things like “living a life of quiet desperation” “selling out for a paycheck” and other depressing quotes and it doesn’t have to be that way. There is another way. I am glad you are living it and writing about it for others to read. You get to be an authentic you because you are on the road to Financial Freedom. Yes!

By: UncleOxidant

UncleOxidant — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:46:12 +0000

Being debt free and having a good bit of savings means you don’t have to worry as much about losing your job, as you say. The paradox is that when you aren’t desperate to keep your job (for fear of losing that income you need to service all that debt) you actually do a better job.

We’ve been completely debt free since 2000 when we paid off our mortgage. Then the .com bubble burst and hit us pretty hard, but since we had no debt and a good amount of savings it wasn’t too bad. Now I’m working on rebuilding the savings that we spent during those lean years to prepare for the next downturn. But the great thing is that at this point if I decided I didn’t like my job anymore I could walk into my boss’ office and quit and I’d have about six months to find another job before we’d start feeling the lack of money. It’s that feeling of control that, paradoxically, makes me a better worker than I was back when I was afraid to lose my job.

By: MoneyChangesThings

MoneyChangesThings — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:23:26 +0000

Really great that you learned this all when you are young and have little kids. You will all be the better for it, and you will be grounded when the peer pressure hits your kids.
The most helpful book I’ve read about the habits of those with a surplus is The Millionaire Next Door. Stanley is an academic who studies frugal rich people and documents their spending habits. Up until then my assumptions about how affluent people spend money was based on observing big spenders, not the frugal rich, since by definition they don’t stand out. My husband’s grandmother had an aphorism: From the rich you learn how to save!

By: Accidental Alpha

Accidental Alpha — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:29:03 +0000

This is the most inspirational post I’ve read–anywhere–recently. It’s an excellent reminder that there’s a difference between the power to buy what we want and the power to have and enjoy what we want–especially those intangibles like a restful night’s sleep.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:16:42 +0000

Conversely, sometimes rethinking your life can help you get closer to financial freedom. Changing environment at work–> introspection–> finally opening an online savings account and putting away 40% of the take-home pay–> being able to pick up and go to another job, another town, back to school. As a grad student I’m making about as much working half time as I was working full time, and I’m excited about the future. I have to say it’s a bit like the transtheoretical model of behavior change… moving from contemplation to preparation and action.

By: Michael Graham Richard

Michael Graham Richard — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:03:08 +0000

Right on! That’s the main reason why I want to achieve financial independence: Freedom.

I don’t want to buy expensive crap, I just want to know that I can do whatever makes me happy.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:37:32 +0000

This is great to hear and a good source of motivation for me. I’m in college working full time to pay for living expenses, school and currently saving for retirement and a retirement fund. It is sometimes hard to keep on this track while I watch friends and roomates not work and party all the time thanks to either mommy and daddy, student loans and/or credit cards. But I know I will be much better off when I graduate in a few weeks compared them when they get hit with their huge student loan and credit card bills.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:20:59 +0000

Amen! Yes! Well said! You hit the nail right on with this article! I am 24 and my wife 26 and we are also on the stress-free path like you are. It’s good to know that the rest of my long life is going to be free from financial issues. Thanks for this blog and congrats on your efforts!