Anything look different this morning? If you’re reading this on a desktop, you’re seeing the new blog design:
When I decided to launch a blog way back at the end of 2012, I pulled my hair out for two months trying to decide on a theme (look and appearance of the blog). I couldn’t decide on one, so just defaulted to an ancient design. It looked horrible, but I vowed to change it shortly after launch (January 1 of 2013). And then it didn’t happen.
2014 rolled around:
*crickets*
2015
*crickets*
2016
*cricket sympony*
2017
I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I finally updated the blog. And I did if for you. Because I love you.
Awwwwwww.
Are you throwing up yet?
Anyway, the new theme also allowed me to add some more nonsense to the site:
- Bucket List
- Anti Bucket List
- No more “borrowed” pictures from the Internet in my header image
The Anti Bucket List is what I want to ask you about today, but first we must revisit the question from two weeks ago when I asked you what advice you’d give a 23 year old. It all started when a reader wrote me:
I’ve recently graduated and landed a fairly swanky job. So naturally I’m planning an escape strategy…. Do I want to have my nose to the corporate grind-stone forever? No. Do I fancy retiring from formal work at 43? Um, yeah!
Long-story-short, I’ve just stumbled on your blog and I really like it. (I also really like Komodo dragons.) And I was wondering – what would you tell your 23-year-old self?
Any tips for someone starting with…well… financially nothing? (Not including an overdraft and a sizable student loan).
Here is what you had to say:
Reader Jacq:
Make saving automatic. Have as much as you can set up to roll to savings, or your investment account.
Spend some time figuring your self out, your values, and if you use that as your guide and act accordingly it makes life much easier.
Jamie from Medium Sized Family:
So skip the car and the expensive handbags and hitting the bars every night. But do make a budget line for some fun!
Reader FI by 55:
Invest more! I have always been a saver (as an adult), but never really invested. I had a 401k, but was relatively conservative in my youth. So I would tell my 23 year old self to invest in the market (index funds), invest in real estate and max my 401k. I’m in pretty good financial shape now, but I think I would have arrived at my goal long since if I would have invested more. Oh… and keep your car until it dies… don’t upgrade every 3 years.
I like this one from Mrs. Adventure Rich. Her advice is especially true if your employer matches your contribution. Don’t leave free money on the table:
Depending on the interest rate on the student loans, I would suggest tackling both the debt AND investing at the same time. The debt will whittle away but the investments will compound and grow in the long run.
Great one from Mrs. PoP:
Advice to a 23-year-old me? Realize that you are living your life for you, not for anyone else. You don’t have to impress others, or get anyone’s approval. For better or for worse, it’s on you – so make sure you are doing what’s going to make you happiest long-term.
I wish Done by Forty and Reader KL had given me advice when I was 23:
DbF: I’d also tell someone at that age to keep some money around for doing the stuff you want to do in your twenties, perhaps before kids come along. Go travel on the cheap. Save money for going out and doing the stuff you like with friends. Take some time off of work and your hustle for adventures.
KL: I have a somewhat counterintuitive advice: do the crazy stuff now. Do that long trip, hop over to another continent to work, make that 6-week hike in the mountains. You will find out you will regret things you haven’t done – and in your age they are dirt cheap. I’ve done the long travel and the interrail (I’m living in Europe) and now, pushing 40, I no longer want to do the hostel thing. I also no longer get youth or student discounts.
Finally, Reader Zaxon mentioned this awesome piece: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly. There is a load of good information in here. Seriously, stop reading my nonsense and read this now.
Anti Bucket List
I recently asked you what you wanted to do before you died. I’ve accomplished much of what I want to do including buying this ridiculous toy:
How about the opposite? What do you never want to do? Here are some from my list:
- Get a tattoo: Not for me.
- Climb Mt. Everest: cold + imminent death
- Buy a new car: Silly waste of money.
Get a pilot license. certain death
Learn to rock climb. certain death
Get an inside dog or cat. ridiculous
Live in a metro area. ridiculous
Trade in Starter Wife. ridiculous and certain death
Ha, this list is hilarious! And I agree with you on all of them! Planes are fun, but I’ll let someone else fly the big, safe jets. And plastic dinosaurs are less of a pain than dogs or cats.
Become homeless – really really sucks. Although, I wouldn’t mind traveling for a year or two.
Divorce – hard on the wallet and everything else
Hard drugs – My life is damn good. Why screw it up?
Joe recently posted…How We’re Generating Passive Income in 2017
I’ve done the tattoo thing and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Getting it done feels like fire ants are biting you, but for, y’know, a few HOURS. I probably should get my tattoo touched up but I can hardly bring myself to do it. Did you know that LAYERS of your skin flake off afterwards and you ooze blood/ink for a while? I really should have done some Googling before getting inked!
Anyway, I digress.
Things I DON’T want to do:
1. Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Why, guys? Why??
2. Scuba diving. I just don’t like the idea of it.
Mrs. Picky Pincher recently posted…What A Frugal Weekend! October 8
Haha- I like this idea! I think my anti-list will start with:
Disney Vacation – Expensive/Overly-Consumeristic. I’m terrible, but I’m hoping our son (and any other kids we have!) never want to go… I’d rather take them camping!
I’ll have to add more, but that is my start!
Mrs. Adventure Rich recently posted…Buzzing In Our Earbuds: Our Favorite Podcasts- Part 4
Get a divorce – lose a lot of money and my best friend!?! No thank you.
Run a marathon – I like my toenails
Get in one of those cages to “swim with sharks” – Imminent Death
I would never want to be President of the Unites States. Way to stressful. I’m setting my ambitions way lower and have no problem admitting that. Oh, and base jumping.
“too”
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…September Rewind: The One Where I Didn’t Sleep
Mr. 1500,
In your recent pull-up video, it appears that you made a custom box as an attachment point for your pull-up bar. It would be great to learn a bit about that box, and perhaps see a couple of photos of the internals of the box.
Any additional info would be greatly appreciated!
Email incoming!
Don’t worry about putting on that condom. She probably makes all the other guys wear them, and you’re just special.
Done by Forty recently posted…Inside the Index
Ha!
Nice website refresh, your Web browser Icon looks similar to mine.
Get a tattoo, or date anyone with too many tattoos – I’m with you lol. That goes for Piercings too
Skydiving – I don’t need to know what falling to my death would feel like.
Dress in style – Look ridiculous and I don’t like vanity.
Drive a Smart Car
Ride a Unicycle.. With or without juggling.
Drink a Budweizer
Hang out with cool hip or affluent people that boast, brandish and brag… Arrogance, Vanity, Hedonism. All things I don’t like. Modesty and Humility are virtues.
I have more but it would probably start offending sensitive people… Probably already have lol
Amen to all of that. Wish we had more time to chat when you were here. Next time…
Underwater caving – seriously, why! Caving seems like great exploratory fun. Scuba diving with pretty coral and fishies seems like fun, but why on earth would anyone WILLINGLY put themselves deep underwater with thick layers of rock between them and sweet fresh air? Terrifying!
LadyFIRE recently posted…The Year of Investing – September 2017
No thank you to the following:
-Spending any time whatsoever at the shopping mall. Stuff of nightmares.
-Buying a new car. Been there, done that, not doing it again.
-Buying plastic crap that will break within months.
-Working in a cubicle. (Oh wait. Doing that as we speak, Nevermind!)
Oh gawd, malls are the worst.
Nice redesign! We now have the same WordPress theme. Yah Genesis Magazine Pro!
Never have I ever wanted to be a high ranking corporate executive. Seems like you have to give up your dignity in exchange for a lot of douchey-ness.
MyMoneyDesign recently posted…The 401(k) Age 55 Rule for Early Retirement Income
I’m going to pass on….
…jumping out of a perfectly good airplane
…inserting alien objects in my body that have to be replaced every 10 years and having to replace all my bras unnecessarily as a result of this.
…paying huge sums of money so I can admire the queue management capabilities of large corporations that have convinced people that waiting in line for a half hour is a form of entertainment with a 2 minute reward at the end,
We love you too 😉
Nice clean new design, loads much faster too. Just keep the funny content the same 🙂
Team CF recently posted…FIRE Journey and the Job
Thanks for the kind comments CF!
Personally I never want to own a second home. It seems like an awful lot of work, upkeep and expense… plus you only spend part of your time there.
AirBnB is my choice. Great value and you can stay wherever you want in the world. We stayed in a wonderful apartment in Lisbon this summer and it was super nice and extremely affordable.
Owen @ PlanEasy recently posted…DYK? Your Marginal Effective Tax Rate Could Be 60-70%!
-Bungee jumping- I just don’t get it!
-Travelling anywhere cold (or colder than where I live).
-Scuba diving- I don’t need to scuba dive to see what’s below, I can see it on Youtube just fine.
-Watching a horror movie – Why?
The redesign was worth the wait! I have to check the mobile version to see if it’s way better too, your old mobile version was pretty frustrating and I primarily read / comment while on my phone.
Snorkeling – I sound like Darth Vader underwater AND I’ll probably drown if I go deeper than waist-deep water.
Scuba – Ditto.
Tattoos – I know they might become an option for pain control when all other options fail but I really really really hope not. Tattoos are far better on other people.
Skydiving – Nope, I like my internal organs to stay internal.
Get into sales or marketing – I like people far away and not talking to me.
Revanche @ A Gai Shan Life recently posted…Moving day! And week 1 in our new place
OK, here’s a couple for your anti-bucket list. I never want to:
* Go broke and be homeless
* Have to attend a funeral for one of my children.
* Get divorced.
Mr. Tako recently posted…September 2017 Dividend Income And Expenses
My anti-bucket list has this in it, as of today:
1. Don’t want to visit New York City. F all that concrete and shopping sh*t
2. Alaska cruise. Feels like a near-death ritual anymore.
3. Retire to a gambling town.
I’m generally a glass half full kind of guy.
Ha ha! NYC is fun. I’m more of a country boy myself, but seeing all of the sites in person was a good experience. And there is Central Park to get away from the chaos.
I have family in Las Vegas. Bleh. Super hot and I don’t enjoy the gambling culture.
Fly to Alaska next time! It is pretty kick-ass up here,
Surprised with some of the things and experiences people are putting on their anti-bucket list. Something like this (a list of things that I actively say I will never do) is somewhat anathema to my philosophy of always being open to trying new things and experiences. Without pushing our boundaries a little and taking some risks life would get pretty boring and we would stagnate. At least that’s my opinion anyway.
Nice job on the redesign!
No thanks to…
– Living further away/out of state from my family. I want to grow old with my sister-friends!
– Watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette. Hard pass.
– Watching my kids sign up for student loans. I have 17 years to figure out a better plan 😛 I’m thinking…”You pay the first semester, I’ll pay the next” if they choose an in-state university? Hmmm I’m open to suggestions 🙂
Suggestions? Don’t go to college at all! Go to a coding boot camp and get a high paying job after 6 months. If they still want to go to college after that, they can go in 10 years when they’ve saved up $1,000,000.
I’ll take it! I’m on board for great alternative (not to mention cost-effective, Time-efficient, better applicable experience) like that. Thanks for sharing!
Ohh, this is a good question. hmm, let’s see… For me:
• Climb Mt. Everest is on mine too – especially after watching documentaries about it.
• Have a bunch of others rely on me for their livelihood (run a business).
• Gut and fix up a house (too many variables for me, would prefer to do it bit by bit or buy the result).
• Buy a new car or new house
• Go hunting
• Go to a war zone
Haha love the idea of an Anti Bucket list!
Totally with you on the Parachute jumping and the coffee drinking!
My brain is too tired to come up with anything funny that hasn’t already been said in the comments but just wanted to inform you that the link to “How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly” is broken!
Cheers
theFIREstarter recently posted…sneaky september update – income & expenses report
Hello Mr. 1500 Days! I know your post is a few years old here, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I have a slightly different take on the anti-bucket list genre. In fact, I recently started a blog around it! (anti-bucketlist.com, if anyone is interested in taking a peek.) Anyway, my list is made up of things I’d rather not do, but that I’m willing to do in order to become a more courageous person. I decided a few years ago that I was tired of living passively and ignoring the fears and dislikes that I was putting up with but never addressing, so I made of list of everything I could think of that I feared or disliked, and set out to address them one at a time. I’m still a work in progress, so the list isn’t finished yet, but at least it’s helped me to become more proactive and willing to try the hard things in life. I figure they will come anyway, so I might as well practice bolstering my courage now. 🙂 Have a great day!