Tell your LBYM 'conversion' story here

[mickeyd]

Quote:

Mom had a little piggy bank to store dimes and used them to buy important things.

This just jogged an old memory from waaay back.

We kids in the family all had ceramic piggy banks when growing up. We were taught (i guess) to save our little bit of money in the bank.

I learned from my two older sisters that the only may to get the change out of the bank (without breaking it) was to try to fish out coins one-at-a-time via the upside down piggy bank's coin slot with a nail file or butter knife. I think that must have somehow taught me that is was good idea to make getting at the coins a difficult task. Sorta like a penalty for early withdrawal.

[healthyandfun]

This may not be exactly what you had intended, but.......I had always been a frugal sort, but two events had a strong impact in helping move to FI. Reading Your Money Or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robbin and following their income tracking system made me reorder how I spent and kept track of my money. I have followed that system since 1994 and it is one reason I will soon reach FI.
The other was more of an AaaHa moment. I had saved a bit of money and invested in mutual funds. As an educator, I decided to work summer school to pay for a new air conditioner and resupply my emergency fund. It really crimped my style of having time to travel in the summer and was a long six weeks. On the last day of summer school I received the quarterly statement from the mutual funds, and the account had increased more than I had earned working for six weeks! It showed me that I could have my money make money for me rather than to go out and work to make money. After that experience, I became much more dedicated about LBYM and increased my savings.

[ERhoosier]

Never had a LBYM 'conversion', just always a desire to build/maintain a financial cushion & eventually RE.

[redduck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Wallowing in sin and sorrow, I was walking along a dusty road near Damascus. Suddenly I beheld a blindlingly brilliant light... Since then I have reigned in splendor, by reining in my spending The rest is history. Ha

I think there may be medicine for this.

[truenorth418]

I was in my early 30s and earning a good salary but not much to show for it. At the same time, I saw many of my work colleagues aged 40 and above getting pushed around by senior management or laid off. I figured I needed to create a more sustainable lifestyle for myself. At about that same time, someone recommended I read Millionaire Next Door. After I finished that book I developed a 10 year LBYM budget to become financial independent and here I am.

[Exterous]

Mine is a bit of a two part story.

Part one: Gew up in a LBYM household. Never really sunk into me why we did that though. Then in college I mismanaged credit card debt. It was only a couple thousand dollars and not to terrible in the grand scheme of things (and I always made my payments) but it got me much more serious about finances and I started understanding why we had lived the way we did. So I started down the LBYM path and my wife (fiancee at the time) followed shortly thereafter. I don't LBYM as much as some though and the reason is in part 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I am right now more interested to read stories of people "kicking it up a notch" in their retirement.

Part 2: My parents were great at LBYM. Took very few trips, bought used cars and drove till they fell apart, furniture older than they are etc etc. They had big plans for retirement though. Then just three months after my dad retired he was diagnosed with cancer. Their Europe cruise was cancelled. Their RV trip coast to coast had to be cancelled. My dad will never be able to get his medical clearance to attain his dream of getting his pilot's license now. He might never get to be healthy enough to take any of the trips they had wanted to take together.

So now its about efficient application of money instead of more substantial LBYM. We may save a bit lower than average for this forum but we do make sure to take trips together and do not delay gratification for everything. We love to travel and we may spend a lot of time figuring out the best way to mix points, miles and sales for our trips but its a fine line to walk. My dad often tells me he regrets not being able to travel with my mom more...

[Lazarus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exterous My dad will never be able to get his medical clearance to attain his dream of getting his pilot's license now.

He can get a Sport Pilots license without a medical. You just have to have a valid drivers license to certify that you are medically fit.

[Exterous]

I appricate the sentiment of your post (and he is aware of the sports license) and we can certainly hope but the side effects of treatment and the low survivability rates of his cancer make even this very very unlikely (Perhaps 'never' was too strong of a word choice though. Highly unlikely then)

[computerguy]

I remember EXACTLY when LBYM kicked in for me.

I worked full time while attending college at night. After I graduated I went to work for a large computer company. By that time I was a bit older than the usual new employee and had a living standard based on a modest salary. My new job gave me a big salary increase. I was "rich" for the first time in my life.

I was sent to "boot camp" for new employees to learn the culture and technical focus of the company. I learned that Brooks Brother suits and black wing tip shoes were the preferred uniform. There was a lecture about personal finance. "Buy a new car and buy a big house" was the unmistakeable take away. What kind of car? A BMW! What kind of house? See where your colleagues live and buy a house in that neighborhood!

Most of my classmates accepted this direction immediately. I did not. It just seemed wrong. Following what I now know is LBYM, I bought a modest house in a modest suburb and continued to drive my Ford sedan. And I saved money. Lots of money. Over the years my salary increased substantially and I was transferred several times. I continued to buy houses for about 1/2 of what most employees had, etc. And continued to save the rest.

The rationale for the "buy a new car and big house" was that employees who were deeply in debt would work harder and longer. That might be true. I know that, unlike some of my coworkers, I never lay awake at night in terror that I couldn't make my mortgage payment on my mini-mansion.

[Lazarus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by computerguy I remember EXACTLY when LBYM kicked in for me. I worked full time while attending college at night. After I graduated I went to work for a large computer company. By that time I was a bit older than the usual new employee and had a living standard based on a modest salary. My new job gave me a big salary increase. I was "rich" for the first time in my life. I was sent to "boot camp" for new employees to learn the culture and technical focus of the company. I learned that Brooks Brother suits and black wing tip shoes were the preferred uniform. There was a lecture about personal finance. "Buy a new car and buy a big house" was the unmistakeable take away. What kind of car? A BMW! What kind of house? See where your colleagues live and buy a house in that neighborhood! Most of my classmates accepted this direction immediately. I did not. It just seemed wrong. Following what I now know is LBYM, I bought a modest house in a modest suburb and continued to drive my Ford sedan. And I saved money. Lots of money. Over the years my salary increased substantially and I was transferred several times. I continued to buy houses for about 1/2 of what most employees had, etc. And continued to save the rest. The rationale for the "buy a new car and big house" was that employees who were deeply in debt would work harder and longer. That might be true. I know that, unlike some of my coworkers, I never lay awake at night in terror that I couldn't make my mortgage payment on my mini-mansion.

Most of my peers are still at work for the same reasons.

[jon-nyc]

One thing that strikes me about this thread is how few 'conversions' there were. It seems that most respondents saved 30% of their allowance, baby sitting and paper route money as kids...

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon-nyc One thing that strikes me about this thread is how few 'conversions' there were. It seems that most respondents saved 30% of their allowance, baby sitting and paper route money as kids...

Good point. I was always a saver even as a kid.

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon-nyc One thing that strikes me about this thread is how few 'conversions' there were. It seems that most respondents saved 30% of their allowance, baby sitting and paper route money as kids...

Well, a lot of this stuff is learned behavior from an early age for many of us. My parents were frugal.

[jon-nyc]

edit: reply to travelover...

Not me. On balance I'd say I've been a better earner than saver in my career. Relating it to Friedman's permanent income hypothesis, I tended toward (mild) debt in youth, broke even in my late 20s, and massive savings later.


My parents were frugal too, but I think I was just optimistic about my own earning power.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon-nyc One thing that strikes me about this thread is how few 'conversions' there were. It seems that most respondents saved 30% of their allowance, baby sitting and paper route money as kids...

I don't know that people would want to reveal their uncontrolled spending binges here, though.

Once I let myself be manipulated into buying an expensive bottle of cologne--I remember it was $110 at least 25 years ago. I don't even wear cologne as a rule. I felt so bad about it when I got home that I put it away and gave it to my SIL for Christmas (who had no idea what it cost).

[NotMyFault]

In my early twenties I was a spendthrift. I had college debt, credit card debt, drifting between part time jobs and spending my money and time in bars. Then I met a girl. She was very conservative and a big time saver. She showed me that I was on the fast train nowhere and convinced me to start paying off my debts and get a real job. After a few years of living on pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches I was at a positive net worth. If you never lived the train wreck life you probably do not know how liberating it is to actually have money in the bank. Going from "If my car breaks down what will I do?" To "my transmission went out I will just write a check for that and still have money in the emergency fund" is an incredible experience. From that moment on I realized money=freedom from many worries and having more stuff was not a source of happiness but a burden. Since then I have been a LBYM convert. Since then I have tried to convert others but no one wants to deprive themselves now for a better tomorrow. It took about 6 years to go from below 0 net worth to owning a house. She waited another 4 to make sure what she taught me stuck then she agreed that I was acceptable husband material and married me.
So much for my secret identity, if any of our close friends or relatives reads this they will know exactly who I am.
That's my story. Now when I see people spending more than they make I say there but for the grace of god go I. It was really a close call.

Thanks
NMF

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd This just jogged an old memory from waaay back. We kids in the family all had ceramic piggy banks when growing up. We were taught (i guess) to save our little bit of money in the bank. I learned from my two older sisters that the only may to get the change out of the bank (without breaking it) was to try to fish out coins one-at-a-time via the upside down piggy bank's coin slot with a nail file or butter knife. I think that must have somehow taught me that is was good idea to make getting at the coins a difficult task. Sorta like a penalty for early withdrawal.

Something like these?

I made these piggy banks in Ceramics when I was a young girl. I can only imagine the age of the coins contained within. I was born in 1958 and used them until I went to college in 1976. My Mom hung onto them for me. I did not know about that until she passed until late 2001. They were in her apartment.

Note the titles of the books behind them.

PS The butter knife w*rked the best.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotMyFault In my early twenties I was a spendthrift. I had college debt, credit card debt, drifting between part time jobs and spending my money and time in bars. Then I met a girl. She was very conservative and a big time saver. She showed me that I was on the fast train nowhere and convinced me to start paying off my debts and get a real job.

Meadbh thinks: I hope she stuck around!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotMyFault After a few years of living on pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches I was at a positive net worth. If you never lived the train wreck life you probably do not know how liberating it is to actually have money in the bank. Going from "If my car breaks down what will I do?" To "my transmission went out I will just write a check for that and still have money in the emergency fund" is an incredible experience. From that moment on I realized money=freedom from many worries and having more stuff was not a source of happiness but a burden. Since then I have been a LBYM convert. Since then I have tried to convert others but no one wants to deprive themselves now for a better tomorrow. It took about 6 years to go from below 0 net worth to owning a house. She waited another 4 to make sure what she taught me stuck then she agreed that I was acceptable husband material and married me.

Meadbh thinks: Princess Charming really does exist!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotMyFault So much for my secret identity, if any of our close friends or relatives reads this they will know exactly who I am. That's my story. Now when I see people spending more than they make I say there but for the grace of god go I. It was really a close call. Thanks NMF

Great story!

[scrabbler1]

NMF, that was an awesome story. You found a gem there.

[NotMyFault]

It has been 23 years since the day we met and we are still going strong.