Early Retirement Extreme Forums

It’s certainly been a long while since I’ve posted! Almost two years ago! So much has happened since then. I had a job where I was working from 60-80 hours a week. It had a pension and good pay, but I had to leave due to my health. I took another job with better pay and it ended up being a nightmare...

Thanks so much Alice_Au. I wish I had never got into the habit of eating out. Expensive and not good for health really. I have gotten into the habit of not eating lunch out at work. Downtown prices are astronomical and will be more so soon with new taxes and I'm sure what I am bringing is way health...

It’s been some time since I last posted so I thought it’s time for an update. It’s been a little over five months since I have had a full-time job. A little over three of those months have been temping at a non-profit. My pay is about 55% less than I was making, and I have no benefits. As crazy as t...

Thanks bigato for the ideas. I will definitely think about what I'll do with, because having a car kind of stresses me out but it does make sense to test it out before just getting rid of it.

bigato, excellent idea! I am only driving it on Saturdays and Sundays right now (if then) so it wouldn't be that hard to stop for 3 months, especially in the summer. The winter is what I worry about.

classical_Liberal, I like the way you think! Actually, I hadn't even thought of that as a long term solution. I have people telling me I'm crazy for even temping. I always respond with I have no debt and my expenses are low so I can do it. I feel like temping will allow me to explore options and may...

I've also put my ERE as a set of milestones. I agree with you that it is very easy to keep adding yet another thing to it as I have done but for me, I like working towards a goal. It keeps me motivated.

Long time, no post. A lot has happened recently. I’m so glad though I started implementing a lot of the ERE principles in my life. It’s allowed me to walk away from a job which was causing me major stress and unhappiness. I have never in my life left a job without having a new one. But that’s what E...

Thank you for the comment fell-like-rain. :) You are correct. I had no plan. Just some ideas. I had spent the last week or so coming up with how will I make this happen in 2019. I know where I want things to go, so I'll be putting most of them on automatic so I simply don't have it in the account to...

Congratulations to you both!

It's been awhile since my last post. I have been reflecting on the past two years and realize I need to get serious about this ERE thing as the clock is ticking every day. I read a journal post earlier (Jin+Guice's) and I was like whoa, that was the best summary I've seen as far as what we are taugh...

I have been on the hiring end and have seen many resumes with short timeframes for jobs. Sometimes, the person hasn't specified that it was a temporary or contractor position. Sometimes, they just had a bad string of jobs that didn't fit. Sometimes they are just starting out in their career. And som...

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, that I forgot my password. Anyway, it’s time for this year’s summary and new goals to be written. 2017 Goals Summary: 1. Learn to invest wisely in stocks. While I did manage to learn a lot more and open up a Roth, I only put in $1,000 for this year. I will contin...

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I think I’ll stick to quarterly updates from now on. So for the best news: I FINALLY GOT A NEW JOB! No more overtime, lots less stress and more money/vacation. I’m still absolutely exhausted from my old job but I’m hoping in another month or two I can start seeing...

I just happened upon this and wanted to comment that one of my biggest pet peeves are those ridiculous "listicles". They give you a sentence or two, then make you click to the next lame sentence with a lame photo, all the while with tons of spammy ads that my computer and Internet speed do...

Here are a few we have that I enjoy: Ticket to Ride, Spot It (quick fun card game), Colorku (which is like Sudoku but only with colored marbles and it gets more and more challenging), and Brain Box: U.S. States (I used this for international visitors and students and they loved it.) I have more but ...

I would have to agree with JasonR about the storage units (if you can find them). They can bring in some real good cashflow and a lot less hassle.

I think this idea is a good one since it cuts down on vacant lots and raises additional tax monies for the city. (The current plan of shutting off different street lights to save a buck has been very annoying.) I am not personally planning on investing in one of these, although I have met several in...

I will feel a lot better when I have the 5-10 years saved, for sure. What I've done to keep myself on track is made cash envelopes for groceries and eating out this month to ensure I don't spend more than I have allocated. It's much more difficult for me to spend cash because I start to panic when I...

I wonder if anyone runs into this, that you think about buying something for a holiday or special occasion, and then think, "Where am I going to store it until next year?" It's a good deterrent from buying impulse items or things that will only be used twice a year.