Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I've been there! The suburbs had no town square, the restaurants were franchises, and adding variety required lots of driving. It was an adjustment at first. I questioned my decision, as I moved from a "top ten" small town to one of the regions fastest growing suburbs. I remember spending ...

I even hook up the trailer when I don't have a pocket for my phone. Yes, I carry my phone in a bike trailer.

I lived in an apartment complex next door to McMansions for years. It was a pretty good deal. The rent premium was $200/month over an average apartment in non-ideal location.

I was able to live/walk/bike in the McMansion neighborhood at a fraction of the cost.

I used to think the same thing after college. Then I did job A for nine years, and I'm currently in job B for five years and counting. I'm now one of those people.

Once you get into a routine, the years just fly by. Semi-ER is within reach now. Whew!

We've been through a recent phone refresh. For the heavy users in the family: Republic Wireless, $29/month with taxes and fees Everyone else is on PagePlus at around $5/month. ($80/year plan and carrying over unused minutes.) Verizon no longer activates flashed devices on PagePlus as of last week. T...

Kirby vacs are pretty bad. (But not as bad as home maintenance plans.)

Rental property is like buying a/another job. Either part-time or full-time. All landlords I've encountered have been grumpy and don't seem to enjoy their jobs. The whole point of FI is creating more freedom. I'd much prefer passive income. If you want to do a comparison, the Vanguard REIT fund has ...

CC is very underrated. I think this is a great idea.

As someone in flyover country, I'd recommend wool socks, wearing your robe to bed, and a stocking cap. (Went through this last year when the furnace was being replaced.)

We now have multi-stage 96% furnace, so the thermostat stays on 70 when people are home. The gas bill is barely noticeable.

Careful, get rid of too much junk and you'll have to move into a smaller place. Then you'll be burdened with all the extra money from living cheaper. We've been doing the same over the last few months. Every time we think we've finished, another pass through reveals more garbage hoarded as "tr...

Doesn't getting rid of stuff feel AWESOME??!! I swear, I get a rush from it lately. I'm tackling my mom's house next week, and I can't wait. There's something about creating order from chaos that is incredibly satisfying. I know what you mean about getting stuff from other people. My family's reall...

The Sawzall is great fun. Especially the metal blade that goes through steel like butter. A close second is watching consumer goods fall apart with one whack of the sledge hammer.

I'll get a video next time!

After three car loads to the thrift store donation center and four large trash bins, the basement is clean! A good chunk of my holiday vacation was spent on the project. What a burden junk is! Some things I learned: - Vintage denim holds it value very well. It was easily sold on ebay. - Vintage leat...

So sorry to hear this happened to you. And thank you for the taking the time to write about it. A neighbor had his pension tied to company stock. The stock tanked recently, and the pension now evaporated. He's older and ready to retire, and he has no time to make it up. At least you're relatively yo...

Enjoy! It could be the best year of your life!

I did a partial gap year. Bought a new bicycle and had a blast.

I'm trying to avoid the suburban trap of putting the kids in so many activities that they displace all family time.

We have a tennis court and disc golf course in the neighborhood that I want to be the center of our summer evenings.

The additional hours are going to be taxed at your highest marginal tax rate. Overtime is usually not a good deal unless you're chasing every dollar. You might be better off spending the time optimizing investments.

Premium fees for speculative trading? I think it's a bad idea:

http://i.imgur.com/lDWY2.jpg

Good info, SClass. I agree, we're finally at a point where we have cheap phone plans.

For the money, FeedomPop is very generous with their services considering the cost.

PagePlus is a Verizon MVNO, so you get a great network, and things "just work".

If you're working in tech, there's jobs based in SF & NYC that allow telecommute. You could make SF & NYC wages, and live anywhere. Option two, would to find a consulting gig with 90% travel, and be homeless. If one was young and liked to travel, this could be appealing. I do think your apar...