Thanks for your serious input, (mostly) everyone! I do agree with all of your comments. In all honesty, I had thought of this “idea” and posted it on this forum literally 5 minutes later. It wasn’t an idea that I had for 2 months and had thought over from every angle. I am aware there are tax implications – as well as others – but like I mentioned, this was an idea that I had and posted immediately on this forum to get some responses like the (serious) ones I have received.
I think the biggest drawback for me would be the short term gains, so I probably won’t do it. I will already be facing a roughly $5,000 tax bill next spring from a 100% rebalancing I just recently did and don’t really want to add to that.
At any rate, I truly believe that my net worth is “weighing” on my mind. Not necessarily in a bad way – but the fact that I know I have so much for my age. Of course it would be fun to go spend it, but my true desire (as evidenced by posting on this forum) is to become financially independent – not to go buy a Mercedes or do something frivolous. In all honesty – I am able to save 20% of my gross income and still live a great lifestyle – going on vacations, living in nice neighborhoods, eating out/going out, etc.
I’m making assumptions here, but most 22 year olds that are signed over $230K+ would not just “leave it alone” like I have. I’ve only spent $4,000 of it on furniture and the rest has went unspent.
It’s mentally challenging to sit and watch your money grow as you add more savings to it (I’m sure you can all relate!). When I think that my $300K can generate $21K (average) in appreciation a year, and I add in $10K of savings on top of that yearly, the NW figure starts to grow quickly.
While I of course want to become FI, I think it is somewhat “unhealthy” (maybe this is my Buddhist inner-self coming out…
to always be thinking in the future about some future lifestyle milestone that will be so big to attain. I know the beauty of Vanguard/investing is (amongst other things) that it is relatively easy and does not/should not eat up much of your time. So I should have plenty of time to not focus/think about my finances/NW, and live more in the moment……..
Can anyone relate to these feelings?