Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights.
If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics.
This interview took place in September.
It’s a long one so I’m breaking it into two posts to keep things manageable. If you missed part one, check out Millionaire Interview 382 to catch up.
My questions are in bold italics and their responses follow in black.
Let’s get started…
NET WORTH
How did you accumulate your net worth?
My wife and I accumulated our net worth by earning money from our career-related jobs, being frugal, saving a lot, and investing in low-cost index funds; no real estate investing, no stock picking, no timing the market, no hedge funds, no dividend investing, no crypto investing, no inheritance, and no lottery.
We just purchased a rental property, so that did not help us accumulate our current net worth. I briefly invested small amounts of money in some individual stocks, and I still hold some crypto, but these did not help us accumulate our net worth, and if anything, they held us back some.
We have not earned a lot of money compared to others in our area or in higher cost of living areas. We just chose to spend little on our house, vehicles, clothing, and other possessions. Instead, we chose to save and invest more, give more, spend more on travel and nutrient dense delicious foods, and on anything that is truly meaningful to us.
We do not have any expensive habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or gambling. We value spending time with family and friends and volunteering our time to help others. All these contribute to good health. Good health is not only more valuable to us than money, but also contributes to spending less on healthcare, which leaves us with more money to save and invest.
We avoided many investing pitfalls by staying the course, not panicking in down markets, sticking mostly to low-cost index funds, and by continuing to educate ourselves about personal finance, especially investing.
What would you say is your greatest strength in the ESI wealth-building model (Earn, Save or Invest) and why would you say it’s tops?
I would say Save is my greatest strength.
Being frugal and saving my first $100K at a young age was a big accomplishment in my opinion. The only problem is that I kept all that money in a high yield savings account for years out of fear I might need all of it in an emergency. Looking back now I realize I would have been fine with only a third of that, and I should have invested the rest.
So, I could have been less conservative and more aggressive, and that would have made me better at the Invest part in ESI. Then again, I have stuck mostly with low-cost, US stock index funds, stayed the course, and avoided many investing pitfalls. I guess that makes Invest in ESI my second greatest strength.
As I mentioned earlier, I could have done more to grow my career to earn more. Had I done that, and been more aggressive investing from the beginning, I probably would have retired by now. I guess that makes Earn in ESI my weakness.
However, I have no regrets. I am blessed, content, and thankful for the way things have turned out.
What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?
Other than failing to educate myself about investing years earlier, I have faced a few minor road bumps.
Whole Life Insurance
After I purchased my home, I decided to buy a small term life insurance policy to cover the mortgage in case I died. I already had life insurance paid for by my employer, but I wanted a policy that was not tied to my job. Some people questioned why I would do this, since I was not married at the time and did not have kids. They thought if I died, the mortgage would be the bank’s problem and not mine. They would take the house and sell it at auction to recover at least some of the money. I told them that I believe in paying back every penny I borrow from anybody, even after death.
The only problem is that when I told the insurance salesperson that I wanted term life insurance, he sweet-talked me into buying whole life insurance. Whole life insurance is the best, and a guaranteed investment for my future and my retirement, he said. Yes, I fell for that. I did not know any better at the time. This guy would call me often just to say hello, and to try to talk me into buying more whole life insurance and to ask me to tell my friends about him.
Shortly after that I read the book “If You Can”, and other books after which taught me about investing in low-cost index funds, about Vanguard, and about its founder, John Bogle. I joined the Bogleheads forum, where I learned more about the value of investing in low-cost index funds, and I learned to avoid whole life insurance. To quote from the book “If You Can”:
“Act as if every broker, insurance salesman, mutual fund salesperson, and financial advisor you encounter is a hardened criminal, and stick to low-cost index funds, and you’ll do just fine.”
So, after holding the policy for about three years, I cut my losses and surrendered the policy, bought a term life insurance policy elsewhere, and started investing the money I was no longer spending on high whole life insurance premiums.
I do not remember how much money I lost, but I do know it was not much for two reasons: 1. Although this salesperson insisted that I buy more whole life insurance, I only bought enough to cover my mortgage which was less than $100K. 2. This guy who had always been so nice, so polite, and so professional was now very angry and very rude to me for surrendering my policy after only three years, which told me I was doing something right. I do know I would have lost far more money had I bought more whole life insurance like he insisted, and had I held it longer than I did. So, it could have been a lot worse. Had I known better, I would have stuck with term life insurance, and I would have invested the rest in index funds.
The Pandemic
In 2020 when the stock market crashed, I was ready not only to continue investing just as much in the stock market, but to pour extra cash into it while stocks were on sale. However, my wife was sent home without pay around the same time because her office shut down temporarily. She kept her job, but she had to collect unemployment benefits for a time. Worried about our job stability and a possible recession, we temporarily decreased our 401K contributions. We contributed just enough to get the employer match, and we refrained from investing extra cash. So we missed that short window of opportunity to invest more while the stock market was down.
My wife went back to work the same year, we resumed our 401K contributions and managed to max out both accounts that year. 2020 is also the year our net worth first reached the $1,000,000 mark. So, it all worked out in the end, but I still wish I had not listened to the fear mongers and their doom and gloom predictions, and invested more while the market was down.
Lifestyle Creep
We always loved travel, and we used to be very frugal about it. We shopped around for the best deal and took advantage of travel hacks. We flew only on budget airlines and booked only inside cruise cabins. As we started earning more money over time, we started upgrading and increasing our travel spending. We stopped flying budget airlines, stopped using travel hacks to keep things easier and simpler, booked our first cruise cabin with a balcony and could never go back to an inside cabin after that.
This started to worry me because it had always been our intention to avoid lifestyle creep, especially after we had made it our mission to become financially independent and retire as soon as possible. We discussed it and agreed that we would decrease our travel spending…”after the next trip.”
We have not been able to go away on a weeklong vacation since 2019, first because of the pandemic, and now because of our parents’ declining health. We have managed to go on weekend trips, not too far away from home. I was able to attend the very first Millionaire Money Mentors (MMM) conference in Florida this year, but my wife was not able to attend because her mother got sick.
Although we should be sad that we have not been able to travel as much as we used to, we are glad that we have been able to save and invest much more as a result. Our net worth has continued to grow, even in the current bear market, and we had the cash for closing costs and down payment of our first rental property. The only thing that disappoints me about all this is that I wish we would have had the discipline to resist this type of lifestyle creep on our own, without having been forced into avoiding it like we were. At the same time, I am just glad that we avoided it anyway, and I hope that we have learned our lesson and that we will do better going forward.
Collecting
I had never seriously collected anything until I turned 40. I was making good money and stumbled upon some limited-edition collectible toys based on 70s and 80s cartoons that I grew up watching. These toys were manufactured starting in the late 90s with new releases every couple of years, and they were targeting working adults like me, who had both the money to buy them and the desire because of nostalgia.
At first, I wanted to collect only four. Over $10,000 later, I had lost count of how many I had collected. I learned that when collecting, the excitement is not in owning the item. The excitement is in the hunt. It’s in searching for and finding that limited edition item; outbidding everyone else at auction, anxiously waiting for the item to be shipped and delivered, unboxing the item, then after a few minutes the excitement is gone, and it is on to the next rare item. The nostalgic value of owning the item is no longer as exciting as the hunt. It can become a disease or an addiction.
I started collecting before learning about the FIRE lifestyle movement and about investing. Otherwise, I would have never started collecting anything at all and I would have invested that money instead. I have now largely downsized my collection, selling items to a reseller for a third of what I paid. Thankfully, most of these items have either appreciated in value or at least retained their value. So even a third of what I paid is good money, better than getting nothing had they lost their value. And I got to enjoy the hunt and nostalgia, displaying my collection at home all those years.
It has been a fun hobby. I could have sold them for a profit potentially had I chosen to go through the trouble and aggravation of selling them directly to other collectors, but these days I value my time and peace more than money, and I never purchased these items as a financial investment anyway.
If you do not collect anything, do not ever start. And if you do, do not think of it as a financial investment, but as an expense, a splurge, a hobby, and do not let it get out of control.
Divorce
As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I are both in our second marriage. We are both very fortunate that divorce did not cause any major financial setbacks for us. There were no children and no major shared assets involved. However, I thought I would mention it here anyway because we are aware that we were very fortunate and that we are exceptions to the norm.
Divorce has been financially devastating to many people. I remember years ago my wife shared with me a link to a financial blog for healthcare providers. I read a single post and then forgot about the blog and never looked at it again. However, one piece of purely financial advice I read in that one post stuck with me and I have shared it with others: “Marry well and marry once.” That is very good financial advice. I failed the “marry once” part, but I have more than excelled at the “marry well” part my second time around. I believe my wife feels the same way about me, but you will have to ask her yourself.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?
Staying the course, continue growing our career, continue controlling spending, continue saving and investing in index funds.
Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?
Thanks to Nords and other MMM forum members, we now know that to retire comfortably our target net worth, counting only liquid assets, is 25x our estimated expenses in retirement. We estimate our expenses in retirement will be around $80K, so our target net worth is $2,000,000.
It is funny that it comes to that number, because that was always my target anyway, even before I knew about 25x expenses. That is because I had read more than once that a person needs at least one million to retire, so I figured one million for me plus one million for my wife.
How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?
I was 48 years old, and my wife 38, when our household net worth first hit one million.
It was very encouraging to see that, and it made financial independence and early retirement seem much more realistic and closer than ever.
What personal habits and/or traits have you developed that have made you successful at growing your net worth?
- Controlling spending.
- Saving and building an emergency fund.
- Investing in index funds.
- Avoiding get-rich-quick schemes.
- Becoming bold and better at asking for a raise and/or promotion.
- Being more aggressive by investing more in stock index funds instead of keeping too much money in cash and in bonds.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
My worst mistake was not educating myself about investing years earlier.
Although I had educated myself about saving by reading books and articles, I had added the book “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias to my Amazon wish list around that time with every intention to buy it and read it. However, it stayed on my wish list for many years. I did end up reading the latest edition in 2020, six years after I had already educated myself about investing. This book is good in my opinion, and I wish I had read it back in 2005 when I first added it to my list.
But then again, if I had read all those investment books in my early 20s, I would have probably invested about one third of my 401K in bonds, which all those books recommend. Instead, as I mentioned before, I invested most of my 401K in stock mutual funds because that is what somebody else told me to do and I had no clue. That worked in my favor and my 401K grew very fast all those years. I will say it again: Ignorance is bliss.
After reading the book “If You Can”, then other investment books after that, and after reading Bogleheads forum posts, I invested a third of my portfolio in bond index funds for several years. Then after reading ESI blog posts and MMM forum posts about bond investing, I regretted investing in bonds and dropped them from my portfolio.
So, if I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would have invested my 401K, my Roth IRA, and my taxable brokerage account in US stock index funds only, which is what I am doing now.
There are other money mistakes I already mentioned. I would not buy whole life insurance, I would do a better job resisting Lifestyle Creep, and I would not have collected toys or anything else and instead I would have saved and invested that money.
What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?
Educate yourself about personal finance including investing as early as possible. Buy the books, read the blog posts, join the MMM forum and ask questions.
Choose a career or trade that will help you earn enough money to have a good life while at the same time allowing you to save and invest enough to become financially independent and retire early.
Control spending and set saving and investing on automatic as much as possible. Invest only in low-cost index funds and avoid actively managed funds, stock picking, market timing, and whole life insurance.
Do not be too conservative. Make sure you are investing enough in assets that beat inflation overtime, such as stocks and real estate.
FUTURE
What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?
I believe our net worth will allow us to retire or at least move to part-time work in the next four years.
That should allow us to do more of the things we want to do (spending more time with family and friends, exercise, volunteering, hobbies, travel), and less of the things we have to do such as career-related work.
What are your retirement plans?
Our current retirement plans are to retire or cut back to part time work when I turn 55.
We will use the rule of 55 to withdraw from my 401K plan penalty free and use the 4% rule.
We will keep two years of expenses in cash for at least a decade to deal with Sequence of Return Risk.
We also have some money in a taxable account, and we are aware that we can withdraw our Roth IRA contributions penalty free and tax free before age 59.5 in case of emergencies.
While our parents are alive, we have no plans to move away. After that, who knows?
The Villages retirement community in Florida seems like a good option for us, thanks to MMM forum members ESIMoney and MrHoboM who gave me a tour while I was there for our MMM conference, and thanks to member Honu who has shared a lot of helpful information about The Villages.
Since we do not have any children, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is an option for us too.
I plan to take Social Security benefits when I reach full retirement age, and my wife when she turns 62.
Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?
The cost of health insurance and health care is a concern. We plan to enroll in a healthcare sharing ministry such as MediShare until we qualify for Medicare.
Because of this and the fact that we do not have children, we are very intentional about staying independent and in good health through diet and lifestyle. We changed our diet a few years ago and as a result we were able to significantly improve our health, reversing several health conditions, getting off medications we no longer need, and losing weight and keeping it off long term.
MISCELLANEOUS
How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?
When I got my first job right out of college and was making good money, I was terrible at personal finance. I remember spending too much on nice clothes, eating out, and on entertainment, then having to put groceries on my credit card before the next paycheck. Then my credit card balance got up to a couple of thousand dollars, which was a lot of money to me at the time. I also tried saving just $100 a month but struggled with that and eventually stopped. That’s when I realized I had a problem.
So, I bought a few books on controlling spending and saving. That helped me learn to be frugal and taught me how to save. As I mentioned before, I was able to save enough for closing costs and a small down payment on my first home. Then I was able to build a $100K emergency fund over time.
However, it was not until I read the book “If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly” by William J Bernstein that it “clicked.” I was 42 years old at the time. That is when for the first time I realized not only that it was possible for me to be financially independent early, but that I had no choice unless I was okay with living with my kids in retirement or sleeping under a bridge in the rain. I do not have any kids, so I guess it would have been sleeping under a bridge in the rain for me if I had not turned to the path to financial independence when I did.
Joining the MMM forum has taken my personal finance knowledge and understanding to the next level. At first, I thought I would not pay to join this forum because I wondered what I could learn there that I could not already learn reading ESI Money blog posts, or Bogleheads forum posts, or financial books. I was very, very wrong about that. The reason I joined the forum is because the ESI Money blog was running a special sale. Because I like discounted stuff, I decided to give it a try for a year at least. That was 2.5 years ago, and as of right now I have no plans to leave the forum.
The forum is a great financial resource. The mentors and other members are very diverse, intelligent, educated, successful, and experienced. They have accumulated wealth in many ways. Members do not always agree on different topics, which allows me to see both sides of any discussion and make my own informed decisions. I can ask very personal financial questions and receive many answers from members who speak from their own personal experience.
Attending the first MMM conference was a life changing experience for me, and I met many of the mentors and other members, some of whom I now consider friends for life. At the conference, I opened my Mint app and showed forum member Nords my net worth and assets, and I told him about my retirement plans at age 55. It was very encouraging to hear him say that not only could my wife and I retire comfortably when I turn 55, but that if for any reason I could no longer work now, he believes we would be fine financially. I am looking forward to the conference next year.
Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?
Jesus Christ has always been my inspiration and my hero. His example and teachings inspire me and motivate me to be more selfless, to give more, to help those in need, to treat others as I would like them to treat me, to be humble and to practice stealth wealth, to be patient, more caring, and to look at my own faults before criticizing and pointing out faults in other people.
My parents are my heroes too. They were great loving parents, intelligent, educated, hardworking, successful, and they inspired me and supported me to get a good education and a good career. They moved the family to the United States, so we could have better opportunities and a better life.
Although they did not directly teach me about entrepreneurship, real estate investing, or any kind of financial investing, my mom ran her own business from home until my youngest sibling was born. My parents took the entire family on a very long trip out of the country and rented out our house while we were gone. They rented out our house again when we moved to the US, then sold it a few years later. Looking back now, I realize that my parents were very adventurous and took risks that made life better for me and my siblings.
When it comes to health and fitness, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired me to get myself in shape in my early teens, and to stay in shape until today.
When it comes to investing, John Bogle, William J Bernstein, and J.L. Collins are my heroes.
Last, but not least, my wife has been an inspiration to me. She is loving, caring, selfless, patient, hardworking, self-motivated, intelligent, and overall, a much better person than me, which inspires me and motivates me to be better. And to think I only married her for her good looks.
Do you have any favorite money books you like/recommend? If so, can you share with us your top three and why you like them?
- The Richest Man in Babylon. This book taught me much about saving, especially “Pay yourself first.”
- If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly. This book taught me about investing in low-cost index funds, and to be wary of insurance salesmen and financial advisers. My wife and I have given our nieces and nephews copies of this book and the one above as part of their high school graduation gift.
- The Millionaire Next Door. This book taught me that most millionaires in America are self-made, and that they do not flaunt their wealth. It taught me that no matter how high your income, you can always spend it all and end up with nothing in retirement; and that a low-income tradesperson can retire as a millionaire if they consistently spend less than they make, save, and invest long term.
Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?
Yes, at least 10% of our gross income goes to charitable giving. That is 10% of gross income, not 10% of net worth.
Since I was a kid, I have been giving no less than 10% of every penny I received, whether wages, gifts, and cash prizes or awards. The reason I started so young is that I grew up in Church and my Sunday school teacher shared with our Sunday school class the following scriptures and stories:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Mark 12:17
“Yes, I tithe, and I would like to tell you how it all came about. I had to begin work as a small boy to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother, and she held the money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a tenth of it to the Lord. I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first dollar, I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made. Tell your readers to train the children to tithe, and they will grow up to be faithful stewards of the Lord.” — John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
“William Colgate was a tither throughout his long and successful business career. He gave not merely one-tenth of the earnings of Colgate’s soap products; but he gave two-tenths, then three-tenths, and finally five-tenths of all his income to the work of God in the world. During the later days of his life, he revealed the origin of his devotion to the idea of tithing. When he was sixteen years old, he left home to find employment in New York City. He had previously worked in a soap manufacturing shop. When he told the captain of the canal boat upon which he was traveling that he planned to make soap in New York City the man gave him this advice: ‘Someone will soon be the leading soap maker in New York. You can be that person. But you must never lose sight of the fact that the soap you make has been given to you by God. Honor Him by sharing what you earn. Begin by tithing all you receive.’ William Colgate felt the urge to tithe because he recognized that God was the giver of all that he possessed, not only of opportunity, but even of the elements which were used in the manufacture of his products.”
What kid does not want his money multiplied? I saw the results immediately back then, and to this day I have always prospered and never suffered any major financial setbacks. My wife feels the same way about tithing.
The reason why we donate 10% or more of our annual gross income to charity is because of our faith and how we were taught. This teaching that I received when I was very young was regarding money, while donating time and talents was to be done in addition to donating money.
I was taught that no matter how poor I was, if I had an income no matter how small, 10% of it did not belong to me and should be given away to support those less fortunate.
I was taught that no matter how poor I was, there was always someone poorer than me. No matter how small my income was, there was someone with a smaller income than mine, or no income at all.
I was taught that if I could not donate 10% of my $5 allowance as a kid, I was not going to donate 10% of $30,000, $80,000, $100,000 salary later as an adult.
I was taught not to give out of obligation, but out of a generous heart, and that I would be rewarded financially if I did.
I will be honest. As a young kid I did not start tithing from a generous heart or out of obligation. I gave because I wanted to be rewarded financially, and I was. I believe that as a kid, calculating 10% of every penny I received and allocating it to charity was a very early lesson in budgeting, and in helping those less fortunate. I believe that was the first step in getting my wife and I where we are today financially. My wife and I have never had to take a pay cut or lose our job our entire careers. We each have had only one year when our salaries did not increase.
Although at the very beginning I donated money to charity because I wanted to be rewarded financially, that stopped being the reason decades ago. Today we donate money for no other reason than habit because we have always done it, and because of our faith. We do not see that 10% as ours. We include it as part of our expenses today, and we include it as part of our estimated expenses in retirement.
In addition to supporting other non-profit charitable organizations, both financially and by volunteering our time, my wife and I financially support our church primarily. This is for many reasons. It was at church that we learned to tithe. We like our church very much, our pastor, the church staff, the church members, their values, the church location, the work the church does for the local community, and for communities around the country and around the world. So, we want to make sure our church is not forced to close its doors or stop these community programs because of a lack of funding.
These church programs include feeding the poor, providing shelter to the homeless, disaster relief, counseling (pre-marital, marital, financial, substance abuse, depression, etc.), financial assistance for couples adopting orphans, events, and support for children with special needs and their families, construction, and medical mission trips to third world countries, and many more. These programs are available to anyone, even atheists, agnostics, people of a different faith, people who are members of another church or no church at all.
Most church members and church attendees donate less than 10% of their income if they donate at all. So, our church depends on the few who do tithe to fund these community programs, to pay the pastor and staff salaries, and to keep the lights on and the doors open.
Because we are involved with our church, we know firsthand what our church does with that money, and we know the values of our church align with ours. In addition to volunteering our time, skills, and talents, and tithing, we also have donated money and volunteered our time to United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, Salvation Army, Score International, and others. On occasion, we also provide financial assistance to family, friends, and sometimes even strangers in need. When we do this, it is always a gift and never a loan. We also keep it anonymous when possible.
Thanks to ESI Money blog posts, and to financial Christian radio programs, and to feedback from the MMM forum members, about two years ago my wife and I finally opened our first Donor Advised Fund (DAF) and started “Tithe Bunching.”
We donated shares of VTSAX from our taxable brokerage account to our DAF, two years’ worth of tithes. The following tax season, we itemized deductions and received a huge tax refund, an amount around half of what we had donated. We took this huge tax refund and bought more shares of VTSAX to start accumulating the next two years’ worth of tithes, then we will repeat.
For the following two years, instead of tithing cash to our church monthly like we used to, we invest that same monthly amount in VTSAX. From our DAF, we send monthly “grants” (tithes) to our church.
That is Tithe Bunching, bunching together two or more years’ worth of tithes into a single, large donation and then itemizing deductions the following tax season. For the next two or more years after that, we take the standard deduction. Without Tithe Bunching, we would have to take the standard deduction every year because a single year’s worth of charitable donations for us is always lower than the standard deduction.
The advantage of using a DAF for us is that by donating shares of stock index funds, as opposed to selling those shares and donating cash, we do not pay capital gains taxes on those shares, and neither does the donation recipient.
Do you plan to leave an inheritance for your heirs (how do you plan to distribute your wealth at your death)? What are your reasons behind this plan?
The short answer is No.
We do not have children, and we do not plan to accumulate much more money than we will need to live comfortably in retirement.
However, we may change our mind later, especially if we see our assets grow over time more than we expected.
Mr. Hobo Millionaire says
I, too, fell into collectibles for a short while. What you said about the hunt ending up being more of an addiction to the collectible is 100% true. You, at least, so your collectibles for 1/3 of what you paid. I gave mine all away.
I second what MI-382 said about the MMM forums. It’s a GREAT source of financial information. Anything financially you can think of to discuss has been discussed (over and over). No, we don’t all agree, but you can’t say all angles aren’t covered by the time it’s been discussed/debated/argued from every side.
Diogenes says
Thanks, Mr. Hobo Millionaire! Good to know I’m not the only one who fell into collectibles. Yup, very happy to have joined the MMM forums, and very happy to have met you!
Maverick says
Well done. Just a counterpoint…you DID “play the lottery.” The first time ended in divorce. The second time appears to be working as a team towards unified goals.
Diogenes says
Thanks, Maverick! LOL…never thought about it that way, but you are right. 🙂
M says
i appreciate you spending a fair amount of writeup on your charitable giving. I applaud you for being so committed to this part of money management since it seems that many people that are pursuing Financial Independence neglect it. I also appreciate ESI’s comittment to giveback, and even asking the question on these millionaire interviews.
We have been steady donors through the years, although not tithers. My goal was to get our giving to 10% of our total spending–something that we did in 2015–and are now to over 20%. I’m also a huge fan of DAFs.
Nice writeup and progress.
Diogenes says
Thanks, M! And well done!
Financial Fives says
Seeing the theme of very strong willpower and delayed gratification, something that’s harder for some and easier for others but a crucial trait nonetheless. I also find it a dilemma at times to constantly seek out that higher paying work, or stay content with the good balance of what is there.
Diogenes says
Thanks, Financial Fives! Yes, willpower and delayed gratification are difficult, not only in personal finance, but in other areas too such as in diet and exercise. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
MI 343 says
Thanks for sharing. Jesus Christ is also our hero! As Savior & Lord, his love also motivates us to tithe and give abundantly beyond to our church and other ministries to spread the gospel and help others in need.
May the Lord continue to bless you immensely!
Diogenes says
Thanks very much, MI-343! Amen, brother! May the Lord bless you and your family as well!
Mary says
I’m dying to know what toys you collected. I fell into collecting Miche purses and shudder to think about how much money I wasted on that. *facepalm*
Diogenes says
I know how you feel, Mary! I collected toys (figures, vehicles, buildings) based on 70s Japanese giant robot and cyborg themed anime I watched as a kid, in the 80s. This is before the time of Transformers and Gundam. These toys are made of diecast metal and plastic. Most of them were made by Bandai, a Japanese toy manufacturer and distributor. They are marketed to nostalgic adults with jobs who grew up watching these shows.
MI-296 says
Well done! I am curious about your dietary transition and what it enabled in your life. Can you elaborate on the changes you made and their impact on your health?
Again, well done!
Diogenes says
Thanks, MI-296!
Over four years ago, we switched from decades of eating a low fat, low sodium, high carb, high fiber, moderate protein diet that consisted of lots of whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds to a high-fat(mostly saturated)/low-carb/moderate-protein keto diet consisting of daily fatty red meat, bacon, butter, chicken dark meat with the skin on, seafood, whole eggs, low-carb dairy, other high-fat/low-carb foods and plenty of sodium.
We follow a science-based version of the keto diet taught and practiced at the Duke University Keto Clinic for over 20 years to treat diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, GERD, NAFL, PCOS, and other health conditions. This version of keto is not to be confused with the version used for over 100 years to treat epilepsy, which is a higher fat, lower protein diet and much more strict.
We started this diet, now a lifestyle, for health reasons and not to lose weight. We have been able to sustain it this long because of the many health benefits we’ve enjoyed and because it’s freaking delicious and very convenient. We did lose over 30 pounds of fat, and that’s a welcomed bonus. The main benefits we’ve enjoyed:
Triglycerides decreased while HDL increased significantly.
Blood pressure dropped and has stayed normal.
Hunger and cravings are gone for good. We now eat only one or two meals a day, without snacking in between.
Irregular heart rhythm issues significantly improved, to the point medication was discontinued by doctor’s order.
Autoimmune disorder symptoms went into remission without medication.
Skin tags, a sign of insulin resistance, gone.
For the first time in our lives, we have been able to maintain our weight loss long term. Before keto, we would gain the weight back and more within months of losing it.
Improved body composition, losing inches in all the right places even if losing little to no more weight, which probably means increased bone density and muscle mass.
Serious digestive issues resolved.
Serious acid reflux, to the point of causing esophagus damage, gone.
We no longer get the common cold nearly as often as we used to.
Had terrible allergies, taking two daily medications year round. Haven’t had allergies or taken medications the past four years.
Used to have trouble sleeping, and had very little energy throughout the day. Sleep is so much better now, and we have so much energy during the day we stopped drinking coffee.
Snoring decreased significantly.
Mental fog replaced with consistent mental clarity throughout the day.
Stress and anxiety decreased significantly.
Carpal tunnel symptoms in remission.
Joint pain relief, to the point we rarely take ibuprofen now. Used to take ibuprofen daily.
Improved dental health, whiter teeth and less plaque build up.
There are more benefits we’ve enjoyed since switching to this new way of eating, but this has already gotten too long. I hope this helps!
MI-296 says
This is great context, and I really appreciate hearing about this element of your journey. While I have googled some of your description elements and think I have found some aspects of what you are doing, I am always interested in learning more. Well done, and glad that there are so many things firing on all cylinders in your life!
Diogenes says
Thanks very much, MI-296!