Welcome to YTST

[Tortoise1000]

A Lemon Foolish welcome to YTST!

This is the planning board. What do you want in life? A new direction, or a more prosperous version of what you have now? This is a board for discussing and formulating long term plans and for working towards them in good company.

T

[AJC5001]

This is the planning board. What do you want in life? A new direction, or a more prosperous version of what you have now? This is a board for discussing and formulating long term plans and for working towards them in good company.

T

Given there seems to be much more than just Financial matters discussed on YTST, would it not be better in the Lemon Lounge than in Managing Your Finances?


Adrian

[Tortoise1000]

Good question, Adrian. This is something that I think needs sorting out.

The planning on YTST is supposed to include financial planning, particularly towards FI. That's why it has always been in the finance section. We started doing this at one time quite interestingly. However some of our our efforts were mined tactlessy by a Fool writer for an article and that rather discouraged us, we pulled our posts and kept the discussion more low profile. The number of posters did dwindle as a result, which was unfortunate. YTST got a lot smaller and turned into something of a knitting circle, in the nicest possible way. With some serious planning and and interesting posts, but not a lot of posters. Plus, it became evident in the recent crisis , quite a number of loyal lurkers, but it nice to have actual posters too

Meanwhile there was no FI board.

There was a Retirement Investing board, which was specifically set up for the investing needs of older, retired Fools, as explained here
http://boards.fool.co.uk/why-this-board-5862358.aspx

As an older retired Fool I definitely see the value of such a board, especially as pension options have become more flexible. Its about the question of, having made one's pile, how to lay it out for a whole new phase of life. Something that isn't always evident as you work towards retirement/FI. Its a new landscape. Instead of making capital out of income you want to make income out of capital. Or do you? There are mountains ahead you hadnt seen before, such as paying for care for a spouse in late old age, or passing on money in pensions or gifts.

Since there was no FI board, people sometimes used to post on there about saving up for retirement as well.

Now on the Lemon, FI discussion has sprung up interestingly and , there being nowhere else for it at first, did so on the Retirement Investing board.

As you say, if a lot of financial planning (all the FI related kind) has gone off to the Retirement board, what is YTST doing in the financial section?

As I see it there are two choices.

1)Keep YTST in the finances part and move FI in here. That would be logical It would be place for FI-ers not only to formulate their plans but also post about working towards them, very much in the spirit of YTST. That would breathe new life into the board . It would leave the Retirement Investing board for its original purpose.

2)Move YTST into the Lemon Lounge. Then it will just be a more general planning board and probably stay as it is now, rather quiet.

I'd be interested to know what people think about this. Both the Powers Than Be (aka Clariman and Stooz) and hoi polloi, I mean the rest of us Where is the referendum option when you need it? I'd like to do a poll!

T

[Stonge]

I do think there is now an opportunity for a fresh start. But the opportunity is fast vanishing.

The organisation of the boards on TMF was cluttered and muddled and very confusing, probably because it evolved piecemeal.

e.g. I had no idea that YTST was originally a partly financial board. I thought it was purely lifestyle/motivational decluttering etc.

The architects of this site need to come up with a clear and simple geography with explanations of the remit of each category and board.

A clear vision needs to be stated.

In the long term, viability here is only assured if the amount of time required to manage this site is sustainable.

Some major decisions need to be made now, perhaps suspending the site once the two week transitional period has elapsed, to implement the necessary changes. IMHO

[Tortoise1000]

Stooz and Clariman seem quite relaxed about these things, they say they can be shuffled around later.

T

[PennyUK]

Personally, I like that YTST posters on TMF had a mix of non-financial goals and financial goals. So I really hope that LemonFool YTST keeps that combination.

My feeling about Financial Independence is that much of what I've read about it implies its for people who want to stop working for pay younger than 'early retirement age' (note use of word 'feeling'). And that therefore there are people interested in working towards a comfortable early retirement in their 50s when their pensions start kicking in, but who don't view themselves as trying for 'Financial Independence'. But they may well be saving/investing in a similar way to those who are aiming for Financial Independence, without the urge to stop work 'young'.

What I've seen from the US stuff I have read about FI is that part of it tends to be about getting into a mindset of not eg eating out and going on holidays. But nor everyone wants to set their investing goals to have that kind of lifestyle for their entire life (including me!). Some people really don't want to retire at all, and have the kind of job/lifestyle where they can.

So if LemonFool YTST ends up mainly as a home for ardent FIRE investors, I might decide to slink away. But if there is a mix of people with differing views about retiring, ranging from ardent FIRE investors, to early retiree wannabees, to 'making sure I have a comfortable old age, but fine with working for some time', then it would be of use for more people.

Anyway, we don't need to make a decision: the board will evolve and hopefully be off benefit to those who lurk on her, as well as post on her.

[Stonge]

I agree I think that the FI doesn't necessarily or even often mean RE as well. FI, IMHO, is a useful strategy for anyone.

Strategies for FI include increased frugality, LBYM, but it's only one tool in the set.

Increased earnings/unearnings and optimising return on expenditure, doesn't mean reduced SOL, can be the opposite.

But I don't think you could really separate the FI boards from the RE boards as there is a lot of commonality.

[Tortoise1000]

A thumbs down from PennyUK and Stonge. Fair enough. No hordes of energetic young FIREmen in here, then

T

[futuresaver101]

Hi,

Ooops - it's my fault. All that talk of cubes etc.

So, what was that article that TMF put together? Is that why the boards got quieter? I think I missed that.

I suggest we stay where we are. It's nice seeing the same neighbours in the board structure...

FS101
P.S. Nothing wrong with knitting

[PennyUK]

It's not that I mind FIRE being discussed here, I just don't want it to crowd out other sorts of long term investment aims. I mean everyone ought to be saving for the future, its just what the financial focus is -for example a very early retirement where everyday at home is like a holiday or a later retirement with enough money to go on lots of foreign trips.

[Tortoise1000]

This is from the original YTST FAQ, when it was set up in June 2007:

' Your Tomorrow Starts Today is about looking at how you want your life to be at some key point in your future – your tomorrow – and how you can make changes in your financial life to get there sooner – starting today.

Use the Your Tomorrow Starts Today board to tell us what your goal is, what you're doing to get there, what you think your greatest challenges will be, and how the Fool could help. That way everyone in the Fool Community can share their experiences and ideas, and benefit from the discussion.

Most of our boards are dedicated to discussions about one specific topic – Your Tomorrow Starts Today is dedicated to talking about a range of things with the aim of reaching your goal, and reaching it as soon as possible. So it will include things like setting your goal, and identifying the financial lifestyle changes needed to reach your goals, and how you can make them. It's definitely not about replacing other boards – they will be very useful in helping your achieve your goal – it's about looking at things from a different angle, and bringing things together to help you reach your goal.

With Your Tomorrow Starts Today, while one person might have early retirement as their goal, someone else will be looking to get out of debt, and another will be aiming to buy their first house. While these people might not appear to have a lot in common, the Your Tomorrow Starts Today board lets them share their experiences about working towards their individual goals, and to support and learn from each other.'

T