Living Frugally to Retire By 40? Mental Illness or Smart ?

marketsurfer · Mar 30, 2015

PoundTheRock said:
I love this answer, considering my six years in federal prison. Before reaching 40, I owned my own home, had millions, and spent trading hours in Tokyo Joe's chat room. Remember the good old days of 1999? Then, my dumb ass started a hedge fund.

I spent much of those six years in the prison library, hit the books, and learned data science. I was fortunate to land a great job because of those acquired skills. Prison is the best thing that ever happened to me. I write my monthly restitution check with great pride and have paid off about 82% so far.

Now in my early 50's, there is no greater happiness. My MacAir, clothes, and luggage are my sole possessions. Life is simple and beautiful. Every day, I go into work, walk into the executive conference room, and just want to cry at the view out the window. To experience joy and sadness at the same time, there is no greater gift. Every day is precious.

Regards,

PTR

Wow, PTR, this is truly inspiring. You should spread this experience via a book, or something. I stand in awe and believe you have a tremendous amount of advice and positivity to share with the world.
peace,
surf

marketsurfer · Mar 30, 2015

Brianharvey said:
What should these young guys be doing in your opinion, out of interest? What do they 'have'?

They should be LIVING, CREATING and BUILDING-- not wasting away saving pennies.

surf

Visaria · Mar 30, 2015

He should also be shagging loads of birds...if I knew a guy like this, I would beat some sense into him.

clacy · Mar 30, 2015

marketsurfer said:
They should be LIVING, CREATING and BUILDING-- not wasting away saving pennies.

surf

Not everyone is a "creator" or "builder". The world takes all kinds.

Why do you care so much?

In the list of destructive human behavior, people living frugally is like 10,000th on my list.

Ditch · Mar 30, 2015

A way of cutting down a lot on expenses, but still enjoy a sensible luxurious lifestyle, is to buy the big ticket items used and from high end manufacturers. A smart buy of a car is to buy one that is on the verge of becoming a classic, ie a Porsche 911 of the 996 series can now be had for $15k -$20k. You can already notice in the market that collectors are starting to pick up them at these prices, especially the more exclusive models such as the Turbo and the GT3. This appoach also works well for other items, such as watches, jewelry, boats and furniture. Buy used high end items and instead of burning a ton of cash on depreciation you could be making a smart investment while you enjoy the ownership.

BSAM · Mar 30, 2015

dealmaker said:
Let's not dilute the conversation by introducing a political tangent. You had asked and I gave my opinion.

No dilutin' going on, brother Deal.
Thank you for posting your opinion.
But, no need to get your panties in a wad when someone else posts their OPINION.

marketsurfer · Mar 30, 2015

Ditch said:
A way of cutting down a lot on expenses, but still enjoy a sensible luxurious lifestyle, is to buy the big ticket items used and from high end manufacturers. A smart buy of a car is to buy one that is on the verge of becoming a classic, ie a Porsche 911 of the 996 series can now be had for $15k -$20k. You can already notice in the market that collectors are starting to pick up them at these prices, especially the more exclusive models such as the Turbo and the GT3. This appoach also works well for other items, such as watches, jewelry, boats and furniture. Buy used high end items and instead of burning a ton of cash on depreciation you could be making a smart investment while you enjoy the ownership.

I agree 100%. The last 5 luxury cars I purchssed were from ebay at a fraction of retail.i also buy ultra high end watches preowned at sometimes 30 cents on dollar. Thats turned into a little business. Another trick is to use currency differentials to buy luxury for cheap. Living well smartly is the key

marketsurfer · Mar 30, 2015

clacy said:
Not everyone is a "creator" or "builder". The world takes all kinds.

Why do you care so much?

In the list of destructive human behavior, people living frugally is like 10,000th on my list.

I care because i hate seeing wasted lives built on bad advice and fear. I care about people.

These folks are doing it to live rich one day. Todays the day. Any other thought is fantasy

If they want to live poor, thats another story

surf

Ditch · Mar 30, 2015

marketsurfer said:
I agree 100%. The last 5 luxury cars I purchssed were from ebay at a fraction of retail.i also buy ultra high end watches preowned at sometimes 30 cents on dollar. Thats turned into a little business. Another trick is to use currency differentials to buy luxury for cheap. Living well smartly is the key

I'm into high end audio myself. Prices of that have gone totally through the roof the last ten years, however you will be amazed by the discounts on used. Stuff, that has barely come out of the box, can be offered at discounts of 50 - 70%. The caveat though is to buy it when you notice the opportunity and to avoid the extreme esoteric. If you're going to wait till you need, you can't find it.

luisHK · Mar 30, 2015

marketsurfer said:
I agree 100%. The last 5 luxury cars I purchssed were from ebay at a fraction of retail.i also buy ultra high end watches preowned at sometimes 30 cents on dollar. Thats turned into a little business. Another trick is to use currency differentials to buy luxury for cheap. Living well smartly is the key

How do you know how good is a car on eBay ?
and even in a shop how do you know a second hand car hasn't been fixed up only to last until you bring the car back home ?
Car prices around here are through the roof so i'm keen on buying second hand (still pricier than a new car in Europe or US, except when more than a couple of years old, but the little experience I have doesn't inspire me much confidence - and eBay looks like an even less safe alternative )