Best decision(s) in your financial life

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
User avatar
familythriftmd
Posts: 772
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 10:15 am
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by familythriftmd »

Dottie57 wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:43 am Three things:

1. Going to a technical school for programming after college.
2. Starting to invest as much as possible when I finally had a 401k
3. Buying a low cost condoand staying until now. Helped me save as much as possible.
I'm a family doctor. I advise the adolescents to look hard into tech school. So underrated!
Topic Author
ArtsyProf
Posts: 245
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:49 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by ArtsyProf »

ensign wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:30 am
Marseille07 wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:06 pm To get rid of bonds from my Boglehead AA.
:sharebeer
Could you please say more about this? Is it because bond yields are low currently, or because you prefer an aggressive 100% equity allocation? Thanks
razorbacker
Posts: 125
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:04 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by razorbacker »

Learned to stop investing based on market gossip, other wise known as "market timing". When I began investing 30 years ago, I was just country farm boy that had no background in investing. I grew up in a family that only invested in local bank CDs. Typical amateur, put money in when the market went up, jerked it out when the market went down. I was able to self educate enough to become a Boglehead, before I ever heard the name John C. Bogle. Part of that education was learning to quit playing around with individual stocks as well. Also stopped reading Money magazine.
JD2775
Posts: 1503
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:47 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by JD2775 »

Clammypollack wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:20 pm Max out 401k.
Participate in company stock purchase plan.
Live beneath your means.
I just started the ESPP this year (it's new for my company). It is hard shifting some of my money from monthly taxable contributions to VSTAX to this ESPP instead, but I think long term it is a better bet.
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8626
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

My earnings soared when I moved into the sales organization at MegaCorp. Along with higher earnings, fewer hours worked, no on-call handling technical issues. Better quality of life.

My regret was not moving to the sales side of the company much earlier.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Dave55
Posts: 2018
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:51 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Dave55 »

Starting my own business at 32.

Dave
"Reality always wins, your only job is to get in touch with it." Wilfred Bion
index2max
Posts: 514
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:01 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by index2max »

ArtsyProf wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 1:02 pm
ensign wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:30 am
Marseille07 wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:06 pm To get rid of bonds from my Boglehead AA.
:sharebeer
Could you please say more about this? Is it because bond yields are low currently, or because you prefer an aggressive 100% equity allocation? Thanks
Considering the state can print more paper money to pay for lavish spending, government bonds always carry the risk that the money you get back won’t have as much spending power.
whunter3333
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:41 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by whunter3333 »

For me, the best decisions were good ones made at the time with a long term view. When my wife and I started working a full-time job each out of college, we always saved one of the salaries. When I went to grad school and she stayed home full-time to raise children, we never experienced the loss of lifestyle shock....At one point I knew the best financial decision I could make was to get tenure as a university professor... So I put a lot of effort into it. I also paid myself first by saving earlier, maxing investments, deferred salary, etc...457 403 etc...So typical living inside one's means, paying oneself first, having a partner that is on the same page.....
User avatar
ray.james
Posts: 1902
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:08 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by ray.james »

Understanding what it takes to convert income to wealth.

1) live below means
2) invest the savings.
When in doubt, http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79939
wandering_aimlessly
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 2:36 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by wandering_aimlessly »

Three particular items come to mind:

Finding the Individual ready reserve as I left Active Duty in the Navy after 9 years...Don't believe it still works this way but I could spend 1 weekend each year taking some correspondence courses and get a year toward retirement. 11 years later I "retired" and, though I have benefitted up until now, I am actually just approaching the real retirement benefits.

Choosing to invest in myself and transition to the civilian world by going through a top MBA program. Though I lost earning time I emerged being viewed differently than I would have without the degree. I still get recruiters reaching out to me because they found my graduate school from 25 years ago.

Taking advantage of tax advantaged accounts - in my case 401ks, 529s, HSAs but especially deferred income (allowing me to set up a low 7 figure account that will come back to me as income over the first 10-15 years of retirement as I am in lower tax brackets).
mike@jb
Posts: 178
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:19 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by mike@jb »

Firing our broker, and managing our new low-cost three-fund portfolio myself.
Last edited by mike@jb on Thu Feb 25, 2021 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
ccf
Posts: 438
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:13 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by ccf »

Setting up a 401(k) when I started my small business even though I didn't have much to contribute at the start.

Using budgeting software (YNAB)

Signing up for Betterment when I first heard about it. Got me started index investing. Eventually this led to Bogleheads!
sixtyforty
Posts: 656
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:22 am
Location: USA

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by sixtyforty »

Investing in low cost diversified index funds and not trying to beat the market with individuals stocks. I can thank Jack Bogle for that.
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo Da Vinci
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by abuss368 »

* Moving our investments to Vanguard.

* Recently refinanced the mortgage from 3.625% to 2.75%. When reviewing the loan amortization table it is almost to good to believe how cheap money is.

Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
as9
Posts: 447
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2020 8:26 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by as9 »

abuss368 wrote: Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:39 am * Moving our investments to Vanguard.

* Recently refinanced the mortgage from 3.625% to 2.75%. When reviewing the loan amortization table it is almost to good to believe how cheap money is.

Tony
Did a similar refinance - it's a beautiful thing. :sharebeer
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by abuss368 »

as9 wrote: Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:52 am
abuss368 wrote: Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:39 am * Moving our investments to Vanguard.

* Recently refinanced the mortgage from 3.625% to 2.75%. When reviewing the loan amortization table it is almost to good to believe how cheap money is.

Tony
Did a similar refinance - it's a beautiful thing. :sharebeer
It is crazy! Honestly I hope the rates don’t go lower if that makes sense! That would mean things are worse and not improving.

Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
mizzoutiger
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:17 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by mizzoutiger »

Like most the fundamentals are investing early and living within a budget with a compatible spouse. My top 2 individual decisions:

#1: Using creative financing to buy my first rental property while in college. I was not yet well educated in this area but determined to take action, learn, and work hard. My modest rental portfolio is easily the largest chunk of my NW and produces relatively passive income plus leveraged appreciation.
#2: Probably more luck than a decision, but working for an employer with an excellent ESOP. This free money is about to surpass all our other tax advantaged accounts combined!
Topic Author
ArtsyProf
Posts: 245
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:49 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by ArtsyProf »

OP here. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It's nice to see the diversity as well as the basics of save/invest/early, etc. This will encourage many folks.. as well as myself as I figure out how to move forward (as detailed in my portfolio review request viewtopic.php?f=1&t=341128 if anyone has time to chime in.) :moneybag 8-)

As an optimist, I will not be the one to start the "worst decision" thread. :D
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7263
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Hard to say….

1. Saying no to early job offers after graduation that would have set me on a lower paid career trajectory than my credentials called for.

2. Taking two unpaid internships during law school (no pay but the experience paid off later). And turning down a third for a paid position.

3. Discovering and utilizing the power of compound interest, both on the earning side and on the not paying it side. Setting up direct deposit into savings.

4. Turning down an NDA and an associated payment offer in my 20s.

5. Turning down Northwestern Mutual, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Alliance Bernstein and BNY Mellon as advisers (thereby preserving my savings through 2000 and 2008 and skipping fees and other investment problems) and Proskauer, Kaye Scholer, Whitman Breed Abbot & Morgan and a U.K. law firm as employers (to get jobs with a better fit for me).

6. Declining the siren song of overconsumption (at least some of the time).

7. Investing money in my own health, employability and productivity; avoiding productivity killing habits.

8. Listening closely to the views of a wide range of people before making my own decisions.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
chipperd
Posts: 1674
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:58 am
Location: here and now

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by chipperd »

1. Getting married. Two live much cheaper together than apart.
2. Grad school and then license to practice in my state. Private practice pays much more than agency work.
3. Involuntarily losing job, than deciding to work only very part time when kids are in undergrad college. The inverse income incentives when it comes to private colleges and universities are perverse.
4. Reading up on investing in early and mid twenties which lead to saving a good chunk of our income early on in our careers and is paying off now.
5. Asking wealthy relative for a float loan at market rate +x% to purchase larger bank owned, short sale home for growing family in early 2009, prior to selling the home we were in. Allowed us to get the home fixed up in short order prior to moving in. Paid off relative once market rate traditional mortgage (refi) was secured when first home sold.
6. Learning enough to manage our own nest egg. Save on AUM fees and can easily sniff out a scam.
"A portfolio is like a bar of soap, the more it's handled, the less there is." Dr. William Bernstein
Mr. Rumples
Posts: 2979
Joined: Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:16 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Mr. Rumples »

When I started to work decades ago, I figured one third of my retirement would be funded by social security, one third by a pension - if I got one - and one third with my own savings. It required sacrifices, but it paid off.

The other thing was following my parent's example: I handled the money, my husband turned over his checks to me; I gave him his allowance since I was - I have loosed up a lot - so tight with $ that before I let go of even a quarter, you could hear the eagle scream.
"History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." Captain John Smith 1580-1631
jebmke
Posts: 25476
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by jebmke »

The best decision I ever made was early in my adult life when I decided that significant decisions I made about my life (e.g. job, where I live, who I associate with) would be made wherever possible without regard to money.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
fourwheelcycle
Posts: 1968
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 5:55 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by fourwheelcycle »

The best decision I have made in my life, financial and otherwise, was to marry my wife - 46 years ago. My other smart decision was to save whatever we did not need to spend and put all of our money in Vanguard's low ER index funds.
User avatar
Sandtrap
Posts: 19591
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 5:32 pm
Location: Hawaii No Ka Oi - white sandy beaches, N. Arizona 1 mile high.

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Sandtrap »

0. Education, training, skillsets, need to be developed over a lifetime.
1. That if I owned my own company, I could never be layed off or fired.
2. That I could earn more and control my financial destiny better by by owning my own business(s) where opportunities were unlimited, and earnings truly proportional to greater effort beyond the normal work week and commitments.
3. To retire early with new priorities.

j :D
Wiki Bogleheads Wiki: Everything You Need to Know
hvaclorax
Posts: 598
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 5:01 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by hvaclorax »

Buying the land my house sits on. It’s doubled in value approximately 8 times (over 36 years.) Person who gave me the tip said “it’s the best advice I’ve given that has actually been taken”.
HVAC
four7s
Posts: 339
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:37 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by four7s »

Some of my best decisions were decisions I chose not to make.
LittleMaggieMae
Posts: 2569
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:06 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by LittleMaggieMae »

I think my existential crisis (How did I get here? where am I going?) in my late 30's (2002 or so) forced me to make a bunch of decisions that taken together worked out rather well.

1.) acknowledging that I should plan to be single for the rest of my life (prince charming wasn't coming).
2.) deciding what it was I truly valued in life (read Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) and attempted some of the worksheets.
3.) Went on a spending diet (I didn't have much debt (no CC debt) but I also wasn't saving much).
4.) spent a year using up, giving away, throwing away much of the stuff I had accumulated during my late 20's/early 30's that was stored or at the bottom/back of closets/drawers etc.
5.) during the year of the "spending diet" and the "clean out" (which entailed creating a budget/spending plan and some 1,2,3 year financial goals) I increased my 401K contributions (I had been saving 8% with no employer contribution for years and years) and set up a plan to get money into a Roth AND started seriously thinking about what "retirement" might look like and when it might happen and what I needed to do together.

I guess the biggest decision was to act positively when the "How did I get here crisis" hit - rather than avoiding it and pushing dealing with it off a few more years.

That and the part where I started paying attention to my spending and saving and thinking about my job satisfaction and retirement (maybe FIre before I knew it was a thing).

My only regret - was that I did a "set it, and forget it" on my retirement savings/contributions. If I had paid a tiny bit more attention and maybe increased my contributions to the 401K by 1% every year and maybe transferred $50 or $100 a month to a Roth once I hit my 30's - I wouldn't have noticed it, I would have had more flexibility and better retirement savings, and I would have had a lot less "craptastic" stuff to weed thru in my late 30's. :)
User avatar
K72
Posts: 440
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2018 7:04 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by K72 »

1. Going to graduate school

2. Taking an Engineering Economics class in graduate school

3. Buying my first property at age 25

4. Reading The Power of Money Dynamics by Venita Vancaspel from cover to cover when I was young

5. Deciding to buy a 2nd modest home for our residence and keeping the original as a rental

6. Discovering this forum and acting on the messages, the most important of which was moving my retirement $ from a high priced advisor to DYI in index funds
Last edited by K72 on Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All we want are the facts...
poker27
Posts: 1149
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 2:48 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by poker27 »

I took an entry level job at a large company when I was 20. 15+ years later, and several moves, I'm at the same company. I didn't go to college, and hardly graduated High School. I was destined to be making minimum wage working a retail type job, so I'm glad I took the chance.

I would also say buying a house 10 or so years ago. It hasn't increased much in value over the past decade, but it required me to stay in the same place, and have something to show for it 10 years later. Although I now have the itch to move somewhere.
Carol88888
Posts: 711
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:24 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Carol88888 »

Realizing that I was not good enough at picking stocks to do it on my own and switching to index funds. This has enabled me to make more money with a whole lot of less stress.

Thank you, Bogleheads!
User avatar
riverant
Posts: 1073
Joined: Tue May 04, 2021 6:51 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by riverant »

1. Finding MrMoneyMustache and JLCollins stock series in 2015. While I've chosen to not follow the MMM sort of frugal lifestyle, these sites did turn me onto maximizing my savings rates and solely focusing on passive index funds. The benefit of this was boosted by fortunate salary growth.

2. Finding Bogleheads. After super-charging savings, BH has continued to help me fine-tune efficiency and optimization. The first example was far better understanding asset allocation (Stocks vs bonds and international vs domestic). I've since slightly introduced bond and x-US exposure to my portfolio and feel good about understanding the arguments and my resulting position. Smaller examples include MBR, estate planning ideas, learning about BOA platinum honors... etc.
Jack FFR1846
Posts: 18502
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:05 am
Location: 26 miles, 385 yards west of Copley Square

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Boy, I have to say that events that lead me to pursuing education really was everything.

I was working as a ski shop/ bike shop guy. I moonlighted at a shop where my shop shared buying to increase volume buys and reduce cost. Because of this, I was fired. I decided to finish my community college degree. Following this, I got a job at double what I was making at the shop.

Next, I had worked as a technician for a few years and started taking night classes in engineering. I decided that I could do coursework and quit my job to go back full time. When I graduated, I got a job at double what I made as a tech.

Lastly, I decided to pursue an elite program at my workplace, where the company sent promising engineers back to school full time, away from work and paid all expenses. Took me 2 tries, but I got in and got my Masters. No immediate salary increase, but after a job change and then an internal job change, I was making double what I made when I went away for grad school.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
capran
Posts: 1091
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 9:45 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by capran »

Have only done a few things right: Getting a good education put both of us on the right track, and then living a majority of our life debt free created a life that felt like money does grow on trees. And early on we bought 4 years' worth of Washington's GET (Guaranteed Education Program). It ended up paying out much more than it cost. (which is probably why they retired that program).
Swansea
Posts: 1533
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:16 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Swansea »

Opening an IRA in the 80s.
BillWalters
Posts: 339
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2019 5:21 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by BillWalters »

One house, one spouse.
WhiteMaxima
Posts: 3339
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:04 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by WhiteMaxima »

Not selling during stock market crash and continue investing.
User avatar
MortgageOnBlack
Posts: 641
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:50 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by MortgageOnBlack »

Being deviant to the Jones’. Every time one of my peers bought a new car, I seemed to buy an older, reliable, and proven model(still driving my 91 Honda). Made the solid white Hanes tee my trademark.

Defiant attitude to consumption with high savings rate went a long way for me. I took pride in being frugal.
sc9182
Posts: 2180
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:43 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by sc9182 »

hvaclorax wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:56 am Buying the land my house sits on. It’s doubled in value approximately 8 times (over 36 years.) Person who gave me the tip said “it’s the best advice I’ve given that has actually been taken”.
HVAC
Could this be "commercial" land/lot you are talking about ? Say, if you paid $5000 back then 36 years ago, you prolly be looking at $1.3 Millions today .. correct ? Good job .. especially, you may have used loan/leverage to buy that property !

A $5000 invested in SPY would have yielded - measly $82K .. nowhere close to cool $1.3 Million !!
Sometimes its better lucky than good :-)
cbs2002
Posts: 698
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:10 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by cbs2002 »

I'll try not to repeat.

1) Having kids later in life than the norm at the time. We were well on our way to the 2-comma club (100% equities) before having kids. Many big decisions since have been easier without the "how do we pay" question hanging over them. Down sides too, but on the financial front it's been a blessing.

2) Listening to my father-in-law. My parents were financially responsible in that they lived below their means and saved. But the HHI was never large, and they never invested beyond CDs and whole life policies. Around the time I was getting married, I and my spouse had a series of sit-downs with my FIL where he laid the foundation for what would become our adherence to the BH way. Thankfully I was mature enough to keep my mouth shut and my ears open. Never told us that we had to do anything. Later I realized this was a way of both taking care of his own child, and making sure the yahoo coming into the fam (me) had a shot at doing the same. I hope I can give my kids the same guidance in a way that inspires them to stick with it.
User avatar
meowcat
Posts: 788
Joined: Wed May 09, 2012 5:46 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by meowcat »

The best financial decision we ever made was selling our house that we really couldn't afford and began renting. Yes, it's true. We watched our net worth skyrocket over the last 6 years since we sold. It has allowed us to save 20% of our gross income. Just one short month ago, we moved into the two comma club. Truly, we never thought we'd see the day.
What the bold print givith, the fine print taketh away. | -meowcat
jaqenhghar
Posts: 464
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:24 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by jaqenhghar »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:12 am Hard to say….

1. Saying no to early job offers after graduation that would have set me on a lower paid career trajectory than my credentials called for.

2. Taking two unpaid internships during law school (no pay but the experience paid off later). And turning down a third for a paid position.

3. Discovering and utilizing the power of compound interest, both on the earning side and on the not paying it side. Setting up direct deposit into savings.

4. Turning down an NDA and an associated payment offer in my 20s.

5. Turning down Northwestern Mutual, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Alliance Bernstein and BNY Mellon as advisers (thereby preserving my savings through 2000 and 2008 and skipping fees and other investment problems) and Proskauer, Kaye Scholer, Whitman Breed Abbot & Morgan and a U.K. law firm as employers (to get jobs with a better fit for me).

6. Declining the siren song of overconsumption (at least some of the time).

7. Investing money in my own health, employability and productivity; avoiding productivity killing habits.

8. Listening closely to the views of a wide range of people before making my own decisions.
To your point 5 above, those are some heavy-hitting law firms who wanted you! If you wouldn't mind sharing, I'm curious how you made the decision to say no to BigLaw and what you ultimately decided to do.
Dennisl
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 1:46 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Dennisl »

Realized how much of my paycheck was going into a whole life insurance policy. Read a lot - Bogle, Bernstein, Ferri, history/taxes/stocks/bond books. Asked a lot of questions on forums. Fired my financial adviser. Termed up, got disability insurance and estate planned. Got my emergency reserve together, and have been plowing into broadly diversified index funds since. Biggest part was getting over the denial of what a dumb mistake getting a FA was because he was recommended by a friend.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7263
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

jaqenhghar wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:41 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:12 am Hard to say….

1. Saying no to early job offers after graduation that would have set me on a lower paid career trajectory than my credentials called for.

2. Taking two unpaid internships during law school (no pay but the experience paid off later). And turning down a third for a paid position.

3. Discovering and utilizing the power of compound interest, both on the earning side and on the not paying it side. Setting up direct deposit into savings.

4. Turning down an NDA and an associated payment offer in my 20s.

5. Turning down Northwestern Mutual, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Alliance Bernstein and BNY Mellon as advisers (thereby preserving my savings through 2000 and 2008 and skipping fees and other investment problems) and Proskauer, Kaye Scholer, Whitman Breed Abbot & Morgan and a U.K. law firm as employers (to get jobs with a better fit for me).

6. Declining the siren song of overconsumption (at least some of the time).

7. Investing money in my own health, employability and productivity; avoiding productivity killing habits.

8. Listening closely to the views of a wide range of people before making my own decisions.
To your point 5 above, those are some heavy-hitting law firms who wanted you! If you wouldn't mind sharing, I'm curious how you made the decision to say no to BigLaw and what you ultimately decided to do.
Oh I didn’t say no to big law! Just chose other firms - to do global work. It’s hard when you have great offers but you have to decide… often based on gut feel. Whitman Breed got acquired right after I interviewed (and there were hints). Kaye Scholer and Proskauer are fine firms but not intl. The UK offer was tempting…. But I’m American. I joined a U.S. global big law firm and spent ten years doing European oriented stuff.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jsapiandante
Posts: 300
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 5:58 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by jsapiandante »

Marrying my wife. Same core values when it comes to finances and life in general has been easily the best financial decision I've ever made. Next is discovering this forum and the Bogleheads way right from the start of our investing life.
solarcub
Posts: 253
Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:09 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by solarcub »

1) Saved a lot while I was single, more than I needed for just me, in case I ever got married, had kids, and needed the money.
2) Married a teacher. They are generally frugal.
SGM
Posts: 3341
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:46 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by SGM »

Investing in my further education through graduate school and then professional school. Incorporating my business.

Investing in stocks early in my working life.

Delaying SS until 70 and converting tax deferred to Roth accounts.

Not wasting money on expensive vehicles.

Paying off our mortgage early.

Avoiding financial advisors.
newyorker
Posts: 1635
Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 7:59 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by newyorker »

Being a member of bogleheads 😇
OpenMinded1
Posts: 1576
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:27 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by OpenMinded1 »

Starting to save and invest at an early age.

Living within my means. (Maybe not well within my means, but close.)

Being debt free and owning a home by the time I retired.

Not sure how to put this, but as a young man I was pretty infatuated with a few women that in hindsight I'm glad dumped me. :D Knowing what I know now, I'm glad I didn't get married to any of them. It probably wouldn't have worked out well financially if I had. I found a great mate and have been happily married for 33 years. I probably wouldn't have made it thru more than a few years of marriage with the others.
Last edited by OpenMinded1 on Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ed 2
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 9:34 am

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by Ed 2 »

1.Opening that mailbox back in 1998 , getting that postcard from Vanguard and requesting the prospectus.
2. Opening mine and my wife’s Roth IRA’s at Vanguard and maxing out year over year since.
"The fund industry doesn't have a lot of heroes, but he (Bogle) is one of them," Russ Kinnel
02nz
Posts: 10510
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:17 pm

Re: Best decision(s) in your financial life

Post by 02nz »

Staying the course in the dark days of 2008-2009 and early 2020. At the time, putting money (in accordance with my regular investment plan) into a sinking market seemed scary, but those chunks of money have earned very handsome returns.

Also, maxing my 401k and Roth IRA in the early days of my career, when compounding had the most time to work its magic.

Getting out of Edward Jone before I had enough for them to make much money off of me (I began investing with them when I was still a minor).
Post Reply