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Started Tracking Expnses Yesterday
11-02-2007, 09:07 AM
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#1
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 642
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Started Tracking Expnses Yesterday
First expense: (I'm using a notebook we already had, so first expense was not "notebook to track expenses, $0.49" ) Lunch $9.00. I was visiting a plant.
So the first recorded expense is one that will not exist once ER'd!
Looking forward to seeing how much the budget can be reduced in ER...
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11-02-2007, 09:20 AM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TickTock
First expense: (I'm using a notebook we already had, so first expense was not "notebook to track expenses, $0.49" ) Lunch $9.00. I was visiting a plant.
So the first recorded expense is one that will not exist once ER'd!
Looking forward to seeing how much the budget can be reduced in ER...
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It might be helpful at tax time, too, for determining deductible expenses! Good idea.
I am planning to spend more in ER than I do now. I will probably want to do more shopping just in order to get out of the house. Right now, the last thing I would want to do is to spend my few leisure hours shopping!
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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11-02-2007, 09:23 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire
It might be helpful at tax time, too, for determining deductible expenses! Good idea.
I am planning to spend more in ER than I do now. I will probably want to do more shopping just in order to get out of the house. Right now, the last thing I would want to do is to spend my few leisure hours shopping!
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One of things I plan to do before FIREing is to develop hobbies and pastimes that don't cost much money. I don't want to be in a position where "doing stuff" to fight off boredom with all that free time means spending money all the time.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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11-02-2007, 09:26 AM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: No. California
Posts: 1,858
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I keep all receipts and post my net income and expenses to MS Money. It's been an eye opener over the years. Then, at the end of the year I print out the year's expenses and can see if I want to make changes for the new year.
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11-02-2007, 09:52 AM
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#5
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lake Livingston, Tx
Posts: 4,204
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Hobbies that don't cost money are mutually exclusive words!
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11-02-2007, 10:24 AM
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#6
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic23
Hobbies that don't cost money are mutually exclusive words!
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Oh, not so!! I have plenty of things to do that don't cost money, but most of them don't involve leaving the house. I don't think it would be healthy to just hole up in my house for forty years, so I am thinking of ways to get out of the house each day. I am going to belong to a gym, which will get me out of the house, but there will still be time for other things.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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11-03-2007, 06:26 AM
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#7
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
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Want2retire:
You can look into teaching a part time evening class (finance, how to take off wall paper , etc)...good way to make some petty cash and mingle with others.
Thank god I'm in recovery....I have a built in network of the old timers to hang out with during afternoon meetings. I have a hard time now juggling work, aa, hobbies, and fun stuff.....I need to get rid of work
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11-03-2007, 10:46 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TickTock
I was visiting a plant.
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Flowering?
You should have just eaten the plant. Free lunch.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
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11-03-2007, 03:57 PM
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#9
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 642
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cute fuzzy bunny,
Not a good idea to eat that plant - too many heavy metals...
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11-03-2007, 06:30 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
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As a large manufacturing shop, it was a common remark for someone out of the office at megacorp to say that they were "out of plant". I always suggested that they go ahead and buy a bit more.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
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11-04-2007, 06:30 AM
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#11
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 642
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:chuckle:
Good one!
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11-04-2007, 10:31 AM
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#12
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,125
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic23
Hobbies that don't cost money are mutually exclusive words!
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Hiking is one. We plan to do a lot more of it. And a Parks pass is only $80 per year.
__________________
Angels danced on the day that you were born.
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11-04-2007, 10:50 AM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Quote:
Originally Posted by citrine
Thank god I'm in recovery....I have a built in network of the old timers to hang out with during afternoon meetings.
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Ah recovery. If I thought I could survive giving up drinking I would go to meetings. They are really nice: " Hi Ha". Also, where else can you admit that you are powerless over anything, and stll be accepted? Try that here and you will get 40 lectures on will power and self discipline.
Other thing I liked about AA, other than all the free coffee and mucho hugs was the joke about Da Nile. And of course, let's not forget 13th stepping.
I am wondering, now that so many places are smoke free, how does anyone survive an AA meeting?
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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11-04-2007, 12:28 PM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: near Canadian border and near Mexican border
Posts: 1,142
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bssc
Hiking is one. We plan to do a lot more of it. And a Parks pass is only $80 per year.
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And for us old pharts, the federal Golden Age pass is only a one-time $10 fee. Last winter we visited about 15 National Parks, National Forests, etc, on a 6-week vacation for $0 admission.
In Oregon any veteran with a disability, even 0% disability, may camp free in the state parks. In Washington it is any veteran with a disability with a rating of 30% or higher. Since the 2 states have reciprocity, if you are less than 30% disabled, apply only for the Oregon pass and display that when in Washington. Some places also accept your VA card if it is marked "service connected".
Now that DW has been FIRED, we intend to get in more backpacking and general hiking.
__________________
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
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11-14-2007, 10:55 AM
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#15
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 26
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Hiking is still my favorite hobby, once fit, its easy to add a few more toys to build upon the base.
Now I have snowshoes, xc skis, full backpacking setup etc... About $2k for everything, but the actual activity is free. Lots of the guys I backpack with are using gear that is 10 - 20 years old, so i expect to get a lot of value out of my stuff.
As for tracking expenses, that is going to start for me in full in 2008! I just got back from the honeymoon and wife and I have decided to make and stick to a rather strict budget... something I have never done before, eek!
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11-15-2007, 09:59 AM
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#16
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 202
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
One of things I plan to do before FIREing is to develop hobbies and pastimes that don't cost much money. I don't want to be in a position where "doing stuff" to fight off boredom with all that free time means spending money all the time.
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I had the same thought. In that both DH and I enjoy observing wildlife (that's birds, foxes, elk, etc...for you guys whose minds easily sink toward the gutter), I decided that we needed really good optics (binoc., spotting scope, field guides) to use during retirement. Hmmm...might be appropriate for the dirty minded types, too.
As it turned out, it was a great investment. We use the binocs a lot and the spotting scope mainly in coastal areas. Result: a "free" hobby for retirement...if you don't count the cost to going to the park...or the hottest birding spot, which we would have done anyway. BTW, watching an avid birder can be quite entertaining all by itself!
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11-15-2007, 10:13 AM
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#17
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 202
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire
Oh, not so!! I have plenty of things to do that don't cost money, but most of them don't involve leaving the house. I don't think it would be healthy to just hole up in my house for forty years, so I am thinking of ways to get out of the house each day. I am going to belong to a gym, which will get me out of the house, but there will still be time for other things.
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Don't know whether you like birds or not, but we put a birdfeeder outside the kitchen window. Kept it full of black sunflower seeds and kept the bird bath full of water. We had all kinds of birds show up. They gave us endless pleasure. During the winter, a source of fresh water is really a draw...of course you have to heat it to keep the water from freezing. It brings birds to your "window" which wouldn't otherwise frequent a feeding area. Keep a bird field guide handy to ID the birds. Baby birds are the most fun...they haven't got everything figured out yet...and the adult birds bring them to the banquet. It can be quite a treat, especially when you have your morning cuppa coffee.
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11-15-2007, 11:26 AM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lake Livingston, Tx
Posts: 4,204
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Hiking, yep that's cheap, well if you discount boots, shorts, walking sticks, camping gear, (hiking inevitably leads to camping), gps, compass, maps, cost of travel to get to hiking trails, those hikes around the house get a little tiresome. Sure it's not as bad as collecting gold, but it can get expensive.... it's up to the individual. And, I stand by my statement, most hobbies cost money! There is a slim line between hobby and obsession. DW's hobby is scrapbooking... now there is a cheap hoby..... RIGHT!
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11-15-2007, 01:55 PM
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#19
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes
Don't know whether you like birds or not, but we put a birdfeeder outside the kitchen window. Kept it full of black sunflower seeds and kept the bird bath full of water. We had all kinds of birds show up. They gave us endless pleasure. During the winter, a source of fresh water is really a draw...of course you have to heat it to keep the water from freezing. It brings birds to your "window" which wouldn't otherwise frequent a feeding area. Keep a bird field guide handy to ID the birds. Baby birds are the most fun...they haven't got everything figured out yet...and the adult birds bring them to the banquet. It can be quite a treat, especially when you have your morning cuppa coffee.
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I love birdwatching! Actually this is one of the things that I had planned. I already have several field guides that would cover my ER area. Birdwatching can lead to meeting some terrific people, as well, if one chooses to join a birdwatching group. Usually groups like that cost little to nothing.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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11-15-2007, 05:58 PM
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#20
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,924
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes
Don't know whether you like birds or not, but we put a birdfeeder outside the kitchen window. Kept it full of black sunflower seeds and kept the bird bath full of water. We had all kinds of birds show up. They gave us endless pleasure. During the winter, a source of fresh water is really a draw...of course you have to heat it to keep the water from freezing. It brings birds to your "window" which wouldn't otherwise frequent a feeding area. Keep a bird field guide handy to ID the birds. Baby birds are the most fun...they haven't got everything figured out yet...and the adult birds bring them to the banquet. It can be quite a treat, especially when you have your morning cuppa coffee.
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I put out corncobs and peanuts and sunflower seeds and safflower seeds and suet cakes and flowers (for hummingbirds and butterflies) and water; I get many birds (and squirrels and raccoons and 'possums and chipmunks). The birds include crows and three species of hawk.
Sometimes I realize I have been watching the critters for a long time; a form of meditation?
It costs a bit, but I consider it cheaper than many other hobbies/entertainment.
__________________
"Knowin' no one nowhere's gonna miss us when we're gone..."
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