Delayed Gratification - sacrificing your immediate pleasure today for future

[o48o]

-cut-
1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?
2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.
4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

1: Are you kidding me? No one should be cutting out necessities while dreaming of luxury life. Necessities are part of the budget you don't use to anything but necessities.

And my percentage of income that i am investing isn't set to stone. My budgets starts from rent and electricity. Everything comes after those. If you mess those up, you are going to have a difficult time to plan anything. If i have sudden extra costs and loans i make plans to pay those back before they cost more via interest.
After loans are paid and there's a budget for recurring upcoming bills, budget for expenses that i need to live and budget for fun.

Then i start to grow buffer money, that acts as a rainy day fund that i don't touch. It could be few months rent or something like that. ONLY after that comes the investing budget. Because one thing i have learned, is that you don't want to cash out your investments because you are running out of money. You need to have money buffered for that.

2. I sometimes think my choices, but hindsight is always 20/20 and i don't have any serious regrets when it comes to money. My only serious regrets are some of my actions involving other people. Those i can learn from. You can't learn from not investing to something that mooned million percent or something. That's not a thing anyone would knew before it happens.

3. Look at the big picture. We all look back at the markets and hoped we bought when the price was down. And if you are a trader, you can always short the market if necessary. You are not in a hurry and you can't make money every day. That's not how markets work.

4. I am not sure what you mean by this. If you mean by going all in, then it depends what that all means. You can invest to house and live in it. You can invest to your health by buying a good bed, good shoes and healthy food. Those might even pay back more then some of the stocks you are going to buy, as you need to pay less bills for a doctor.

But if you mean that someone is using all his money to market investing, that's a really bad idea. You need to build your life as well, so you are in a solid ground when markets tank.

[STT]

Being overbalanced towards BTC or anything would end up a negative and worse then just a regular manageable allocation, all depends how you can stucture your bills but even a good investment can be over allocated towards.
  BTC has its years where it just falls mostly and so needing money within that year would be less then ideal, worst outcome is if you then walk away from BTC when the mistake was really your own.

It always best to live below your means as the most expensive money to obtain is money you dont have.  Just having too much in investment would be far less of a mistake as its spare for when needed even if it has to be pulled back out of its holding, even worse is overspending and finding you cannot do without money needed for health reasons.   Companies very much charge more to those who have less, it just always seems to work out that way imo maybe because people with choices are a more elusive audience then the crowd.

[Oasisman]

There is a story on the forum about a person who gave up one of his bad habits, smoking, and facts about how he was able to save on buying cigarettes. In the same way, if you give up at least those products that are bad for your health (for example, sugar and everything connected with it), not to mention alcohol, Coca-Cola, and all kinds of fast food, you will not only save a lot but also stay healthy longer. Health will allow you to be able to work longer (I see that at 40 you say that you can’t be like you were at 30), thereby adding healthy habits, and finding time for some other passive income received from investment dividends, I think you will be able to achieve what you want. At least you will be freer in financial matters.

100% can't agree more to this. It's just so ironic when most people say "Health is wealth", but some may have overlooked the benefits of cutting out some bad habit/lifestyles as we overworked and overthink for our future and I'm guilty to this. Thanks for the reminder btw, It actually helps motivate the people (including me) who's trying to build a better future for themselves and their family.

-cut-
1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?

1: Are you kidding me? No one should be cutting out necessities while dreaming of luxury life. Necessities are part of the budget you don't use to anything but necessities.

Yeah, I expect no one should. It's one of the reason why we have the energy to continue grinding in our daily lives. However, what I meant is not actually cutting out the actual necessities, but an reassessment on what really considered as necessary, that's why I put "comfortably" at the end. And, you answered it very well, so I really appreciate your output on this discussion along with other people here who gave their valuable insights and advices.

[AbuBhakar]

I know most of us here have at least a portion of their income allocated for investments. May it be in crypto, real estate, or any other form of investments and of course savings. But, have any of you considered going full FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)? I mean in the expense of sacrificing your immediate pleasures? Like vices, hobbies, travels, and any other related expenses?

When I first landed a job, my initial plan was to work and grind hard until I reach 40. Then when I'm 41, I will retire early and enjoy life travelling to places I want while having my investments generate income for me. But as time passes and face the reality of life, I don't plan that anymore. I can't handle the stress of ignoring everything and just putting my focus on work and building my future.

With so many uncertainties in this world, I often think if doing delayed gratification will really be worth it in the future or will I even be alive and healthy enough to achieve my other dreams. My mindset now is not about FIRE. I prefer having a balance of work and investments while also doing things I like occasionally.

There is a story on the forum about a person who gave up one of his bad habits, smoking, and facts about how he was able to save on buying cigarettes. In the same way, if you give up at least those products that are bad for your health (for example, sugar and everything connected with it), not to mention alcohol, Coca-Cola, and all kinds of fast food, you will not only save a lot but also stay healthy longer. Health will allow you to be able to work longer (I see that at 40 you say that you can’t be like you were at 30), thereby adding healthy habits, and finding time for some other passive income received from investment dividends, I think you will be able to achieve what you want. At least you will be freer in financial matters.

100% can't agree more to this. It's just so ironic when most people say "Health is wealth", but some may have overlooked the benefits of cutting out some bad habit/lifestyles as we overworked and overthink for our future and I'm guilty to this. Thanks for the reminder btw, It actually helps motivate the people (including me) who's trying to build a better future for themselves and their family.

It's difficult to cut bad habits especially if that is the only thing freeing us from stress because of the pressure from work or other life responsibilities. Each of us has different form of stress-relieving habits like drinking beer regularly, smoking, or eating unhealty foods. Not all people would want to live healthy if their hapiness will be sacrificed.

[tsaroz]

1. I save more than 75% of my income mostly in savings account in bank, some goes to investment. I live at my parents house, there's not much expenses I need to cover. Almost all of in my family has a source of income. My wife too earns about the same as myself. There are a few things I could buy to increase my comfort but its ok even without them.
2. I have no regret for investing but have regret on not investing specially more in crypto. My stocks portfolio too are giving better yield than banks so its fine. I never had to liquid any of my assets funds yet. Took a loan a couple of times and repaid within a few years.
3. It's hard. I just think of people that are doing much worse than myself.
4. Don't go all in. You need to have enough liquid cash, not just for emergency but also for the times when market really crashes.  A formula don't fit everywhere. Even crypto investment is not a safe haven, there always are risks associated with.

[milewilda]

1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?
80% of my salary are for expenses then 20% of it would be save up for savings or emergency funds and this is where I do get my investment funds if ever I do have that kind of decision.

2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
When it comes to regrets then there are tons of things which I do regret but since mistake is inevitable but the most important thing on here is on how you would be able to make use of those mistakes into learnings to make yourself that much more better.

3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.
Just take up some break and trying out to avoid on checking out markets whenever it do have that correction. Avoid yourself on checking up your portfolio because this will be making up
you impulsive at the time that you do see your money is going down. Emotional control is crucial and its not something that someone could be able to do so.

4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?
You are the ones that would be able to realize it out on your own. Yes, you can be able to read up other sentiments but it would be that much more different when you are on the actual situation.
There are times that you do become that too emotional on which it will be leading up into mistakes.

[Darker45]

Trim down if you must. Do things in moderation. But don't remove them completely. I'm referring to travels, hobbies, and whatnot; things that make you happy, so to speak. Always remember, life is only the here and the now. Don't put off life, living, for another time, a time that may never come at all.

I have known people, some close to my heart, who have somehow sacrificed the present for the future. They died in the process, while sacrificing. They delayed gratification. They didn't get to enjoy it.

The catch, however, is that we should know our place under the sun. A poor father's happiness isn't anymore a bottle of wine, a night in the club, a weekend betting on horse races, and the like; it's to send his children to school, provide them decent clothes, and so on. Somebody else might see him sacrificing a lot. He may not be sacrificing at all. He must be enjoying, fulfilled.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

I am in my mid 30's now and this idea is not new to me. I have been thinking of executing this since I started working, but It never materialized. There has been a lot of challenges and temptations, financially. Though I have managed to keep a portion for savings and emergency, but It was just a very small portion and I know it won't going to be enough to give myself and my family a luxurious life in the next 10+ years, when I'm unable to make money like the way I do today.

Some people out there are more pursuing a luxurious life by not making an ideal life portion and they don't even postpone anything as long as the process can be done. But on the other hand, there are a small number of people who do not live in a wasteful way and they make a special portion to improve the quality of making money in the long term. Like trying to invest some of the money they have in fundamental assets and they postpone buying something that is not really needed.

This aims so that their life in the next 10 years can be much better and they can make money consistently from the investments they make. If we can postpone pleasure for a while in order to pursue greater things it would be much better, but this is something that is difficult for most people to implement consistently.

[Helena Yu]

It's difficult to cut bad habits especially if that is the only thing freeing us from stress because of the pressure from work or other life responsibilities. Each of us has different form of stress-relieving habits like drinking beer regularly, smoking, or eating unhealty foods. Not all people would want to live healthy if their hapiness will be sacrificed.

It's difficult, but the society are expect you to quit.

Mine was the example, I'm not happy with my life, but I always try to improve my life by getting better everyday.

You can live whatever you want when you're still single, but once you're looking to get partner, you must cut all the bad habits otherwise they won't want to be with you. Previously my stress relieving is eat unhealthy foods, now I make my mind to treat workout as my stress relieving.

Somebody else might see him sacrificing a lot. He may not be sacrificing at all. He must be enjoying, fulfilled.

He do sacrifice everything, but what he sacrifice also bring enjoyment for him, so it's like you get a bad and good thing.

[Queentoshi]

I know most of us here have at least a portion of their income allocated for investments. May it be in crypto, real estate, or any other form of investments and of course savings. But, have any of you considered going full FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)? I mean in the expense of sacrificing your immediate pleasures? Like vices, hobbies, travels, and any other related expenses? I won't say these expenditures are unnecessary. Most of us are working tirelessly from our 9-5 job, gigs, businesses, and other activities to generate money and these immediate pleasures I mentioned above can somehow help us recover both mentally from the stress of the workloads we've been carrying on our shoulders from our job. You know, being in sane mind is very very important.

You could have that in consideration and then be very unlucky to have a partner that does not see things the same way as you do, the plan then will find it difficult to work because the partner will never understand why you've chosen frugality and sacrificed some of the pleasures that you both are normally used to. Having a partner with a good understanding of the need for investment will help any plan of delaying family gratifications work better. It is important to note however that there are some experiences that you need to actually not delay because you and your family may never be in a position for them again, being able to recognize those activities and experiences can help maintain a balance and avoid regrets later.

[lionheart78]

1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?

I have been in a tight situation recently and was in debt so for now my priority is to pay for my debt and start setting aside an income when they are fully paid.  It is hard to get into an investment when we are in debt and at the same time my income is just exact for our daily needs and payment for debts.

2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?

No, what is done is done and the past is past, all I have to do is to learn about my shortcomings and make a sound plan to fix them.

3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.

If you are talking about Bitcoin trading, then the knowledge I learned from the past years observing how Bitcoin fluctuates keeps me motivated that there is always a room for profit in Bitcoin and to maximize this chance, be observant and time the market right.

4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

Make sure that we have enough funds to sustain our daily needs for years much better if it can last for more than 4 years so that our investment on cryptocurrency won't be compromised.

[Lanatsa]

1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?
2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.
4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

1. As much as possible I do consider out a comfortable living on which i could be able to give into my family but of course there's always an allocated funds for emergency funds on which this will crucial when time comes.
2. As long it is that being put up on investment then I dont have any regrets on which we know that there's always the opportunity for you to make money and this is something that you shouldnt be regretting. Although there are times or moments that once you do have negative then you do have that sense of feel of regret basing up on what you have done.
3. Take a break and dont look up the charts or your investment specially when it is on reds because it will be just that making you emotional.
4. Always consider the risks involved, once you do dive in without even knowing on that it is then you are bound into tons of mistakes into the actions that you would be taking into.

When it comes to sacrifice then there are things on which you would be needing up to sacrifice because your are projecting yourself into better future. Lets say that it isnt that making up some guarantees to be a successful one but at least you are doing the right steps on achieving or acquiring it but of course it will be still that basing up on how you do make up those plans and steps forward and making up some good decisions.

[slapper]

You're not the only one who has trouble with delayed gratification, but maybe the greater problem is how much pressure modern life puts on doing things right. People talk about the FIRE as a reasonable way out, but no one talks about how hard it is of perpetual self-denial. You may use portfolio to make your life better, but are you using it for a better life or only to keep for survival stats?

You may put 30%, 50%, or any other number into investing, but the quantity isn't the most important thing. It's the way the trade-off works. Are you really getting more free, or are you trading one stressful rat race for another? Except this time you're racing against yourself? Most regrets around missed pleasures are problems, constructed after the fact by narratives that profit from your insecurity. No one puts "laughed with friends at midnight" on a portfolio, yet they are the kinds of activities that really make you stronger

What motivates you? If you base your whole life on market number, you'll always break when the numbers do. The true game is emotional diversification. Build the parts of your life that can't be quantified on a ledger

If you're thinking about complete FIRE, my suggestion is to not optimize your existence away. Be strategic, but stop expect money to make you feel better about life. A little indulgence, a lot of being presence, and some honest talks with yourself are more important than any number. We are not machines. We are not here only to accumulate but we are here to experience. Without inner freedom, FIRE is an early retirement to a different form of prison

[Fortify]

Today I was thinking about creating a topic/discussion about delayed gratification. I know most of us here have been wrestling with this idea at some point in your life. For some, they might still doing this for a long time now.

I am in my mid 30's now and this idea is not new to me. I have been thinking of executing this since I started working, but It never materialized. There has been a lot of challenges and temptations, financially. Though I have managed to keep a portion for savings and emergency, but It was just a very small portion and I know it won't going to be enough to give myself and my family a luxurious life in the next 10+ years, when I'm unable to make money like the way I do today.

I know most of us here have at least a portion of their income allocated for investments. May it be in crypto, real estate, or any other form of investments and of course savings. But, have any of you considered going full FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)? I mean in the expense of sacrificing your immediate pleasures? Like vices, hobbies, travels, and any other related expenses? I won't say these expenditures are unnecessary. Most of us are working tirelessly from our 9-5 job, gigs, businesses, and other activities to generate money and these immediate pleasures I mentioned above can somehow help us recover both mentally from the stress of the workloads we've been carrying on our shoulders from our job. You know, being in sane mind is very very important.

If you're one that have been doing this, I know that it's never easy, but I've got a few questions that could help some of us here, including me :

1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?
2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.
4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

Me, I honestly been slowing down on my travels, boys night out and impulse buying. I'm starting to convert them into long term investments and Imma tell you this, it's never easy lol  .

Please share your experiences, struggles, strategies, and success. It will be much appreciated, especially for those who have yet to start going all in with investments and savings.

I'm in a similar position, but if you're in your mid 30's then you potentially have another 30 years of your working life ahead of you, you don't get out of it that easily FIRE will not work for everyone and as you've identified - you can be super frugal and probably live a very boring life, but potentially be able to retire 10 years earlier than everyone else with a creaking body, or you can find a happy medium that allows you to live your life to the fullest right now. Personally I enjoy putting together a "budget" holiday by looking for cheap flights and taking an Airbnb instead of a hotel, it can cut the holiday cost in half compared to what I hear colleagues & friends paying but allow you to broaden your mind. You really need to enjoy experiences when you are younger, because the older you get the harder it can be to enjoy the same things and you never know if you will come down with a serious illness that made all your hardwork pointless. I look to boost my income all the time with extra jobs and every $300 invested is a brick towards that ultimate goal of retiring early, but I know it'll be a long way off.

[Porfirii]

Maybe in some countries you can retire early if you quit some bad habits and save, but not in all, unless you invest early (like the case of someone who quitted smoking in 2011 and bought Bitcoin instead... which is not common at all).

Look, I have two friends. Both of them have been working for the last 10 years:

One of them doesn't save too much: he's spent a lot of money in parties, a car, home rental... now he has finally bought a house, with a medium mortgage.

The other one have been saving a lot: no parties, no car, sacrificing his freedom living in his parent's home... but the price of houses has been increasing a lot in the last years (up to a surprising 8.5% only in the last quarter of last year) so he can't afford to buy one without getting a mortgage similar to the other friends', due to that increase.

The moral is that, although I'm the kind of guy who thinks that sacrificing now for the future is a good strategy, due to the uncertainty in these times now I think that it doesn't guarantee that it will be worth the effort.

[Alphakilo]

2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

I don't regret things that I have missed because a portion of the lot went into investments or savings. Those things are delayed and I always convince myself that I'll be able to get a better one later without any financial constraints and that has always been what happens.

My advice for anyone who wants to go full with investment is to have a backup and another backup for that.. Investment is very hard and there is no guarantee that you'll make it for the first two years. You therefore need a failsafe plan in case that happens.

[HONDACD125]

I strongly believe that only a very small percentage of people will be able to do all that, giving up on all the things they enjoy doing to refresh their mind and have a good time whenever possible, to get a mental boost and enough energy to keep going. The reason is simple, as a man, you tend to have a lot of load on your shoulders, we call them responsibilities, and fulfilling those responsibilities is not easy, definitely not. So, when you are doing so much to make sure that your loved ones have a good life and a secure future, you deserve to have at least some freedom to do what you like doing in general, and by that, I mean things such as going out with your friends, having vacations, maybe like every six months or so, etc.

Cutting costs and saving money or making extra investments is a good thing, and I don't deny that, but I'd say we should only focus on cutting costs on things that wouldn't have a negative impact on us and our loved ones, and if you stop doing things that you used to do to refresh your mind and have some good time when you are totally surrounded by responsibilities, that is going to disturb your mental health with time, you will start getting frustrated, you will become short-tempered, you will often feel like giving up because you lack motivation.

So, the focus should be on saving money, but only on things that are extra and wouldn't have much of an impact on our lives.

[bitzizzix]

It all depends on you, if the habit affects and hinders your long-term goals or for the good of your old age, there's nothing wrong with eliminating it. However, balance is also important because life must be enjoyed and happy with what we like so follow your heart, and the best thing in my opinion is that you reduce it without having to eliminate it because all of that will have its time and if you still need those things, there's nothing wrong with you still doing it, it's just that you have to limit and reduce expenses and also the time that is minimized and that allows you to eliminate it slowly without having to be total or sudden because it will make you feel bored in living your life.
The times you mentioned I have gone through which I think I enjoyed but must be lived with full awareness so that you remain focused on future goals, because when we are old and have a wife and children those times will definitely happen again which will make you do even further if you are not satisfied when you are young and do not do it. So it's better to enjoy those times if you have just experienced them. The most important thing is that you have to be smart in living it and also smart in increasing your income so that you can still do everything because life must be enjoyed if we still want to enjoy it and it all depends on the person because everything has its time and if your time is up you have to change.

[mindrust]

That’s the main idea behind making investments. You can delay your luxury purchases now, make investments, those investments will produce income and few decades later you will have so much money, those luxuries will come nearly for free.

Let’s say you have $100k now and it is enough to buy a luxury car. If you spend that money on that car, it wi be gone. The car will keep eating your income from your job too.

If you have $2m worth of assets generating $100k annual passive income, you can buy one without egen having to work. That’s why people make investments. Because they think for the long term.

[Zlantann]

1. In what percentage of your income you set aside for investments and savings? and do you still manage to provide necessities without you or your family being deprived from living comfortably?
2. Do have regrets on the things you have missed because this portion of your money went to investment and savings?
3. How do you stay motivated? Especially when the market is down.
4. What are your advice(s) to those who wants to go full with investments?

1. Inflation has made it difficult for me to have a steady percentage that I save on investors. My simple strategy now is to subtract monthly expenses from basic needs and emergency savings, and the rest goes to investment funds. My family has not been deprived of their needs, but some wants have been reduced.

2. There is no regret if you have used your savings well. Securing the future is better than having temporal pleasure.

3. Having hope that the market will recover keeps me motivated.

4. Don't wait until you have so much money before you invest. You can also cut some expenses, save, and invest. There is no perfect time to start investing in Bitcoin,  start with what you have now.