Home › Forums › Hello, Who Are You? › Steve – 401kloset
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 3 months ago by
So Cal Joe.
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03/12/2020 at 11:04 pm #75073
Hello fellow scavengers,
I’ve been a listener of “eBay scavengers” for years but waited all of this time to join the forum. Not sure why.
I’m 42 years old living in NJ with my wife. I’ve been selling PT on eBay for 10 years. Both of our FT jobs are based on NYC.(Instagram: 401kloset)
My story:
10 years I was a single guy, a Regional Director for a large retailer and was spending my paycheck as soon as I got It, literally paycheck to paycheck. After the recession of 2008, almost lost my job and I decided to start selling on eBay to save money. I found the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement and my wife and I have been saving about 50-58% of our net income from both our FT jobs and about 75% from our eBay store.
Our plan is to stop working our soul sucking jobs in 3-4 years and sell on eBay PT to pay what little bills we will have.
My store is small. About $5,000 every 90 days (gross) with very low buy costs. About 340 items on avg at any given time. Goal is 500 by 4Q. I’m primarily focused on hard goods (Vintage, ephemera, oddities, Vtg dental, unique items).
We own a home (still paying a mortgage) and the 3rd floor is primarily my death pile, I mean my “store”. Like the scavengers we would like to get into real estate in the form of long term leases.
I’m excited to join the conversation and help when I can.
If anyone actually read this whole story, I’d be shocked. Thanks! Steve -
03/13/2020 at 6:57 am #75075
Welcome, Steve!
I’ve done both short-term and long-term rentals, and both have their pros and cons. Right now, because of local regulations against short-term, I’m exclusively long-term, and that is working out very well, too.
Salette
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03/13/2020 at 7:01 am #75076
Glad you made it Steve. Sounds like you and your wife have a good plan worked out. The biggest challenge is just being on the same page and working towards the same goal.
In fur years, how much do you think you guys will have saved to retire early? I assume then you’ll start the 4% rule withdrawal?
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03/13/2020 at 8:25 am #75080
Jay,
We were on a path to have about $900.0. 4% would cover our living expenses. Our plan would be to move to a low cost area when we leave our jobs.
The latest volatility in the market puts that into question.
In my opinion, the stock market has been overpriced for 4+ years. We have about 68% of our wealth in the market (not including the house)
This correction/recession?/depression? will be the best thing for investors. We have been putting less in the market for 2 years and have been holding cash waiting for a drop like we are experiencing. The way the world recovers from the virus will be very impactful to our corporate job timeline.
If anyone is a casual investor in the market (401k, 403B, IRA, SepIRA, taxable account) please consider increasing your contribution rates now. “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful”. Not investment advise, just my opinion. I buy things when they are on sale, not when they are full price.-
03/13/2020 at 9:09 am #75082
After 2008, we actually did very well for ourselves by purchasing four properties at undervalued prices.
If we had ready cash now, I’d absolutely be buying into the market. Imagine if you invested back in 2008. Unless you think there’s going to be a societal collapse that we cant come back from, the market will rise again.
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03/13/2020 at 9:32 pm #75092
That’s a great Warren Buffet quote 401kloset. I think Cramer used it yesterday.
I’m currently reading a book about Buffet by Roger Lowenstein. If you are a Buffet fan at all, it’s a great read.
Remember, if the market drops 25%, it needs to go up 50% to get back to the highs.. I love the math. I’m not sure where the bottom is, but I think we’re closer to it, than the top. These opportunities don’t come up very often.
Time is your best friend
Good luck with your plan.
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03/13/2020 at 10:57 pm #75093
” if the market drops 25%, it needs to go up 50% to get back to the highs.”
My math says different:
For example, if the market is at 100, and drops 25% down to 75, then to get back to 100 it needs to go up 25/75 = 33%, not 50%. No?Or maybe I’m missing some Buffet-related context here?
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03/14/2020 at 1:23 am #75094
No, you are correct… 25% down takes 33% up to get back to the high. Oops, I’m no Buffett.
I have to remember to think before I type… so boring.
Thanks for the correction.
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03/13/2020 at 9:09 am #75081
Hi Steve. Welcome from a fellow FIRE enthusiast. For me eBay reselling gave me the flexibility to pull the trigger on retiring (RE) after I hit the low end of my FI goal. That was 20 months ago and I have been loving the job-free life ever since. For me, the scavenger life is awesome in retirement because (1) I use the income for travel and to not worry about my kid getting into Georgetown (OK, I still worry about that – he hasn’t heard back from them yet). (2) It fits my personality – I get in touch with my inner hunter/gatherer (3) The research keeps me engaged in new learning every day.
Like you, I am confident in the economy as an engine of prosperity. The news cycle loves to cast doom and gloom, but the current bearish turn in the market just means that everything is ON SALE. I have initiated the process to take a lump sum pay out of my pension with the goal of dumping it into a blue chip dividend paying ETF.
BTW, I stalked your Insta and started following (commented on your latest post).
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03/13/2020 at 12:37 pm #75088
Awesome! Congrats on being FI. I’m super jealous. This resell lifestyle is like a super power. I was a spender for so many years. Buying to resell quenched my buying appetite and the rush of selling is addicting. Now I want very little for myself and my wife. We don’t watch TV and don’t get consumed by marketing. Simple living is happy living.
Good to meet you.
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