Do u consider yourself a disciplined person?

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Reading posts about saving for retirement and investing etc made me think about the discipline it takes to do so. Much like following a budget or staying slim by exercising/diet.

I am more a "fly by the seat of my pants" guy. Hence why I am way overweight!
 
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I invest into retirement regularly, I don't drink and drive either and I change my oil every 8000 KM on the dot. I'm rarely late for work. I have a fruit and a yogurt for breakfast. So I guess I'm quite disciplined person? Except for relationships with women.
 
Probably more disciplined than most, but some might say I could improve.

I'd like to think I strike a good balance. I work out 4-6 days each week. Took off this AM to go see if I could catch the lunar eclipse.

I invest, but put most of it on auto-pilot. If it comes out of my paycheck before I see it, I won't miss it.

That sort of thing.

But I won't deny myself a rootbeer float just because it's largely sugar. I just won't have 30 a month. Maybe 30 over the course of 18-24 months.

When I drink, I do try to stay on the one drink an hour plan. Or I'll have a beer, then a glass of water, then another beer.

Over new years this year, I had 4 or 5 drinks over the course of 4 hours, culminating in a glass of champagne when the clock struck 12.

I was the driver, and did have to pull over when one of our party of 50 somethings had to throw up. So I was certainly the most disciplined out of our party.

Disciplined doesn't mean no fun. Disciplined, to me anyway, means the fun doesn't entail undue risk. I can drink, but don't need to drink to blackout drunk. I can enjoy the occasional sweet treat, but not make it a staple of my diet. I can work out, but it doesn't include panic attacks if I cannot get to the gym one day. I can invest, but I don't need to obsess over the daily machinations of the markets.
 
Many of us are disciplined in some areas but not others. At 65 I am addicted to working out and quite fit but the only reason I have money is because my wife is a great money manager.
 
More so now over 60 than when I was in my 20's.
The recent market uptick has me quickly closing in on 7 figure retirement nest egg
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Which is great as our retirement savings ( FIDELITY 401K + Roth + Borkerage acct) were decimated to below 200k in the mid 2000's due to the market falling off a cliff.
I have been 80% out of the market for the last year; I'm not risking our newfound bundle with an upcoming BEAR market over greed for another 10% uptick.

At least I think the bear is near, Should be given the feverish overvaluation of the aggregate.

I still drive too fast - or even off the road when exasperated with traffic or dang mad. Guess I got that AADD brain that promotes pedal to the metal.
 
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A lot better disciplined at saving money now at age 57, but up until about age 40 money seemed to burn a hole in my pocket,I would save for a bit and then find a reason or a vehicle to spend it on. Had a few years of low income jobs, payed off my wifes college debt, still helping a son with college and a daughter will start college next fall, had a fair amount of out of pocket chiropractic costs and dental cost but saving some at least usually about $300 per month goes into our USAA Roth mutual fund. It takes discipline and a bit of luck as well... ones income is not always an upward path with increases every year. Often we may have to take a job that pays less or has less hours.. lots of factors play into being able to save.. like vehicle repairs, home repairs , tax increases, dental and medical costs, taking care of a aging parent etc. Hard to keep up sometimes. fortunately I have a military pension and do not have to depend on a mutual fund to live on. With such a late start i do not expect our Roth to provide much more than enough monthly income to pay a few utility bills. Best to start at a young age even if it is $25.00 per month.. the power of compounding over time (decades) is where the true power is.
 
To me, discipline is a pattern...and usually that pattern is etched into your routine. Sometimes that's generated by the person and sometimes that's generated by circumstance. For example, I consider always being cognizant of what you're eating and getting sufficient exercise as discipline much more so than specifically making it to the gym to do bench presses and kettlebell swings 3x a week. One's more of an 24/7 entrenched pattern and the other is more of a scheduled activity.

In investing, dollar cost averaging can be a pattern that shows discipline but, depending on the person, not taking all your money out of the market when there's a 35% downturn can be a greater discipline. If you're systematically having 6% of your paycheck taken out every month to invest, that's buffered by a scheduled action that you don't see in the same way as losing 45% in one of your mutual funds. Although they're related, I think they can generate very different reactions. Therein lies the idea of people being disciplined in one area and not in another...not to mention what's considered "disciplined".
 
"Discipline weighs ounces, but regret weighs tons", Jim Rohn.

I'm disciplined enough, to where my 15 year old son says I need to enjoy life more. My response is, I don't need any more headaches.
 
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I always spent less than I made (or had). This was true even in college.

I had a girlfriend in college who would qualify for student loans, spend it on frivolous items like clothes she didn't need, and still try to borrow from me!

She graduated well in debt, and now her husband is paying for her debt while she and I had a good time!
 
The military taught me discipline, and that stuck with me throughout my life.
 
I don't see how being ''disciplined'' would make you a good investor...I don't know if I am disciplined, but I do like a routine and pace myself when working, but I have never been interested in money. Not in good place for retirement because of that, it just comes down to not being interested in chasing money.
 
I'm disciplined meaning I'm a saver. I have things that I want, but I save up until I can afford them and buy them in a way that will not have a significant negative impact on my finances. This way I'm still fairly happy, but not in an insensible way. I think many people are fooled by the "you can have whatever you want right now if you just make payments" tactics.
 
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