Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Yeah step one is definitely updating my CV as I've got much experience over this past 6 years and then I'm going to try to find a decent recruiter to look for either Europe or US-based roles because my job is pretty specialized so it's not the sort of thing I see advertised on job sites. Switzerland...

Interesting you mention the US - the client I'm contracted to work for (through my job) is a the US office of a large pharmaceutical company and they defo pay a lot more for my time (to my employer) than is passed on to me personally. I'd also love to live in US for a bit honestly.

So apparently it's been four years since my last post. Time really flies when there's a Global pandemic I guess. Here's a run down of where things are - still at the same job but significantly more senior (promoted twice, sub-contracted out to a senior role with client) - doubled my income from £30k...

No update yet on my annual bonus or salary review although I have a meeting with my line manager tomorrow so fingers crossed I'll find out something. In other news, my office is going to be moving in a few months, and there is a very good chance that it will be even closer to my home. Currently my c...

It's annual performance review time at work. Got mine over and done with asap because these things always stress me out. It went fine though, and there were some hints at possibly taking on more senior work such as reviewing other people's work and getting involved in business development. This COUL...

I have a similar mindset to you to the point where I actually find owning unnecessary things incredibly stressful. Once you own something you have to look after it, keep it clean, insure it or have a plan to replace it, maintain it and store it. Not to mention the fact that it takes so much longer t...

About a week out from payday and my spending is looking a bit crap this month. Three of my friends had birthdays this month and the presents, trips and activities have blown a hole in my budget. If I had been more organized I could have ordered better presents online, but because I left it until the...

Going from 30% to 45% so quickly has got to feel great TYOL! I wonder if you can rent an extra room in your flat? I don't recall you saying if you have the space, but perhaps if you can stomach a roommate, that extra money will push your savings rate higher. We have a mortgage and I'm ready to jump...

Trying to get in the habit of posting more frequently to keep myself on track! On that note, it's about a week out from payday and I am currently on target to achieve a 45% savings rate this month. Mentality wise, I'm feeling okay-ish about the flat and the mortgage. Definitely an improvement compar...

As someone who has bought houses (twice), and felt trapped (twice), I don't know what to tell you. You have to live somewhere. At least a flat doesn't demand a lot of yard work and overhead for unused space. I think the best thing to do is to get your stash saved by not spending too much on consuma...

30% is good, 50% is better! That's great. It is a process. It is happening step by step. Don't underestimate that you evolve mentally. First I thought too, that going even further than xx% is almost impossible without y happening. But that was not the case. During the last 3 years I underestimated ...

I've spent the last few hours working on an excel sheet to track all aspects of my finances. Looking at my expenses this month as an example, I'm on a savings rate of about 30% without being particularly mindful about spending. Going forward, I think I can get that up to 50% without too much difficu...

Haha oh no, this does sort of feel like a slow descent into madness.

Since you are a natural minimalist, what do you think led you to still be spending on furniture after 9 months? What do you think are the root causes? Well I should clarify, I've been saving each month and then buying the items when I have enough cash in place, which is why it has been spread over ...

Oh, and one more thing - I'm going to re-read the book. It's been around 4 or 5 years since I first read it so I need to reacquaint myself with the basic principles of ERE and remind myself how stupid my current level of spending is.

First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who posted in response to my cry for help. I was in a bad place and my post was basically me screaming into the void; I never expected so many people to actually reply. This community is amazing and I'm definitely going to spend more time here f...

It really is scary how much time speeds up the older you get. I can't believe I started this diary in 2015. When I chose my username, ten years felt like an incredibly long period of time. Right now, FI in ten years or less seems incredibly ambitious and optimistic. So, I guess I should give an upda...

Well I'm back again for another update. I'm going to try to update this journal more regularly in future. There have been a lot of big changes in my life since my last update. Most importantly - I've finished my PhD!!! It was a long, painful and expensive process that took a lot out of me emotionall...

Thanks for sharing your progress. The last chapter is inspiring. It is always good to know why you want to achieve FI. How old are you when you plan to start working in a non-academic career? I'll be 26 when I finish my PhD. Still relatively young but internally I feel like I've aged about ten year...

I can't quite believe it's been so long since my last update. Despite not logging onto this forum, I've still been sticking to the plan of working towards debt freedom and eventual financial independence. I no longer have private student loan debt, credit card debt or an overdraft. I still have my g...