tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post8586402235695065244..comments2024-03-22T00:35:19.082-07:00Comments on Casual Kitchen: YMOYL Chapter 1: The Money TrapDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-85851361358810697422014-09-17T16:53:53.729-07:002014-09-17T16:53:53.729-07:00I had a lot of ego-push-back on the first exercise...I had a lot of ego-push-back on the first exercise for this chapter, because it seemed like it would be such a pain! I also tried to give the "already know this" excuse. But with electronic records nowadays, it was easy to complete the exercise, and interesting to see the results! <br /><br />To answer your questions:<br /><br />1) I was definitely surprised and impressed by my lifetime earnings; however, when I considered the number in light of what I've learned about "extreme" savings and early retirement, I literally, physically cringed. :\ For comfort, I'm reminding myself that we'd ALL love to go back and give our teenage selves all the advice we know NOW... but it takes the failures we've made along the way to earn that knowledge, and all we can do now is do our best moving forward.<br /><br />2) I knew my net worth before I calculated my earnings... so I don't know if my answer is what you're looking for. I'm idealistically disappointed, but realistically... not entirely dissatisfied. Had I known what I know now, the proportions would have been a lot better. But I'm still "above average" for the various savings rates I've heard tossed around for the "average American." (Not that "average American" savings rate is a good benchmark to shoot for... o.O ) <br /><br />I wish I had understood the concept of financial independence (and its attainability by average Joes and Janes) a lot sooner in life, but that feeling isn't new. :\<br /><br />Nevertheless, I would recommend doing the exercise, because it does give a nice, personal snapshot of one's ability to acquire wealth over time.Julinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-43842996979101932352012-08-09T04:35:39.449-07:002012-08-09T04:35:39.449-07:00BB, thank you for your comment. First, yes, defini...BB, thank you for your comment. First, yes, definitely include your IRAs and other long term investment accounts. <br /><br />As for your "stuff," I would recommend ignoring most of your possessions and just concentrating on your major physical assets, like your car(s) and any equity you might have in your home. Remember that the key focus on this book is *financial* net worth, and that's what you'll be building as you live the YMOYL process. <br /><br />PS: You're not late to the party at all.. there are plenty of readers who are picking up this series now, several weeks after I began it, and that's totally okay. I wrote all this up and posted it on the internet so it would be a permanent resource for anybody wanting to get on top of their financial situation in the future. Happy to hear you're already getting results. Keep at it!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-79138554960037024792012-08-08T18:53:23.604-07:002012-08-08T18:53:23.604-07:00I am very late to the party but I just finished re...I am very late to the party but I just finished reading YMOYL (1992 edition) and am now going back chapter by chapter to do the steps. I love how after reading it I feel encouraged rather than depressed like the other books on money I've read. <br />I was shocked to add up my lifetime earnings! I'm a stay at home Mom and have only worked part time jobs over the last 10 years but still managed to make over $100,000! I really expected it to be only half of that. I can see already how important each step of the book is. I am now ready to add our net worth but I'm unclear on if I should include IRA's or if I should leave that out since we can't touch that money for a very long time. Also I am curious if you added detailed amounts for all of your "stuff" or just a general figure. The thought of going through everything and giving it a value seems exhausting to me but then again maybe that's telling me something too. Thanks for writing this series, it's a big help!BBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-88714663914590313962012-05-17T17:21:20.363-07:002012-05-17T17:21:20.363-07:00I wouldn't consider that excessively cheap at ...I wouldn't consider that excessively cheap at all. You just made a mindful decision to pay down your student loans aggressively. To me that's just smart. <br /><br />And with an expense line like that you will be in great shape as you work towards financial independence. I like it!<br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-3494943997418590872012-05-17T16:11:35.517-07:002012-05-17T16:11:35.517-07:00This is an interesting exercise. I didn't coun...This is an interesting exercise. I didn't count any of my pre-college-graduation income (seemed excessive to count every penny I earned since I started working as a young teenager, as that money went mostly to help my family and to put me through college).<br /><br />So my total earned in the 3 years since graduation... about 77k. 22k went to pay off my whole student debt. Networth is currently 21k. This means I lived off of only $34K for the last 3 years combined.<br /><br />...<br /><br />This exercise has convinced me I am excessively cheap.Brittanynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-471187884654402722012-05-13T04:29:37.253-07:002012-05-13T04:29:37.253-07:00Thanks for your thoughts Ryn. I think you're r...Thanks for your thoughts Ryn. I think you're right, if you're practically right out of school and don't have that many years of life experience behind you, you're not going to blow yourself away with your lifetime earnings number.<br /><br />However, the fact that your net worth is sitting at 40% of your lifetime earnings is really impressive. With that kind of a savings rate, you're going to be in great shape.<br /><br />Glad you're joining us!<br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-68319473001867148642012-05-12T19:30:31.823-07:002012-05-12T19:30:31.823-07:00The book finally showed up at my local library, so...The book finally showed up at my local library, so I'm answering this a little late. <br /><br />After calculating my lifetime earnings, my feelings were pretty much a resounding "meh". I knew going into it that the number wouldn't be high, since I recently graduated college in the middle of the recession and spent a year unemployed. <br /><br />I was a little happier after I calculated my net worth and realized it was greater than 40% of my lifetime earnings, and that most of it was liquid. If I can continue to keep expenses to less than 60% of my income, I think I'll be on a very stable financial footing. (I was also very grateful to my parents, who agreed to foot the cost if I was willing to head to a state college. If I had student loan debt as a liability my net worth would have looked much different.)Rynnoreply@blogger.com