FI Numbers Don’t Lie, But They May Mislead (Part 1)

Stop What You’re Doing …

Cuz I’m about to ruin the Grumpus sense and style that you’re used to?

In the now timeless words of Chris Farley, “Holy Schneikes!”. I saw a lot of negativity on the interwebs this week, which made me regret getting a Book of Face account. I only got an account in order to run a Financial Independence (FI) blog. Prior to that I was as anti-FB as they come, and had never had an account. In fact, I still do not have personal account, just this semi-awesome public persona with his two avid followers (thanks kids!).

I used to simply listen to podcasts about the cognitive dissonance people engaged in on the internet, now I get to see it first hand. I used to read well thought out news articles that would lay out facts, points, and counter-points forcing me to think about all sides of an issue. Now I get sucked into the visceral, opinion laden, and nonfactual diarrhea that spews out from peoples’ minds, through their thumbs, and into their comments box. Is it me, or do people just like to shout “fake news”, strap into their echo chambers, and argue past each other with no intent, or hope, in reaching common ground. It’s enough to make a grumpy guy like me point out that people suck … I mean REALLY suck.

What does any of that have to do with personal finances, FI, and retirement planning? I don’t know, but I felt it needed to be said. If that loses me an occasional reader, so be it. As Bob Dole once said, “…the exits, which are clearly marked, are for you…“. Continue reading →

Golden Albatross vs. The Visual Learner

Posted on 27-July-17 by Grumpus

Not everyone learns the same way. Some people learn through reading, others learn through the spoken word, and ‎others yet learn visually. I am a mix between reader and listener. I will also concede that I am a rather verbose writer, and am aware that I have written extensively on creating a financial plan. As a result, I wanted to try something different with this post.

Every now and then I like to push myself out of my comfort zone, so I thought I would build a financial plan by drawing some pictures. I should warn you, I am graphically challenged. And since I suck at drawing, I thought the use of Power Point might assist in producing something discernible. As most military officers know, nothing makes us more stupid than attempting to boil a complex topic down to a few power point slides — which is exactly what I did. I feel thoroughly chastened by the experience. Regardless, I hope all the visual learners out there enjoy the product of arts and craft day here at the Grumpus Maximus HQ.

Continue reading →

An Unintentional Meander Up Grumpy Avenue (Part 1)

Posted on 02-July-17 by Grumpus

“You only have to do very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” — Warren Buffett

Learning Lessons the Hard Way

In the fall of 2004, I sold 300 shares of Amazon stock as part of a down payment on my first, and to this point only, home. Wait, before you say “Man, that Grumpus is an idiot” there is more to the story. I bought a home in Southern California (SOCAL) only eighteen months before the height of the housing bubble. For those of you unfamiliar with historical SOCAL housing prices, I’ve posted the below chart of what housing prices did in San Diego from 1987 to 2015:

Yep, that’s bad. So bad, in fact, that my home’s value only recently passed the original price for the first time since the bubble burst. In the meantime the amount of Amazon stock I sold in 2004 would have done this:

The sky is the limit for Amazon!

OK, now you can say it now — I am an idiot.

Continue reading →

Financial Planning (Part 1): Time and Planning

Posted on 25-June-17 by Grumpus

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)

I received several comments in response to my last post from people who were receptive to the idea of Financial Independence (FI) save but one factor – the amount of time it would take to figure out how to achieve that goal. I get it. Life has a knack of interrupting attempts to plan long term. From babies to hobbies to the day to day grind of work. There just is not enough time in one day, one week, or one month to sit down, study the problem, and conduct the planning that FI requires. No doubt FI takes time – I used a three month Temporary Duty (TDY) assignment to develop my plan. Since I was separated from my family, I decided to put my time to good use. However, you may not be so “lucky” as to get three months of TDY from life’s other responsibilities to conduct FI planning. If lack of time is your biggest obstacle to planning for FI, attached is an outline to follow in an attempt to save you some … time. Depending on how well you track your finances, using the outline will probably cut your required planning time in half. Speaking of the need to track your finances, if you do not already do so, please read my post on the need to track your finances before going any further with this one. Continue reading →