Early Retirement Extreme Forums

"On a Buffett side note we are a only a couple years from the end of Buffett's sideways market prediction."
@Chad, do you have a link on this? Googling for it came up empty. I am interested in knowing what this Buffet prediction exactly is. Thanks.

Not slow at all.. and I am loading from up in the frozen plains of Scandinavia. I've lately been mostly reading on my iPad (borrowed). Could that be why? A browser issue that does not affect Safari users?

<t>Similar to boots and skis:<br/> <br/> - walking with snow shoes, feeling liberated from tracks and paths on a snow-filled winter forest floor, free to go anywhere and everywhere, being one with the depths of the forest and its frozen stillness.<br/> I wish I could kayak. I can't swim and so have ...

<t>That was hilarious, ether. Thank you for sharing. You write engagingly!<br/> My finance education came from:<br/> <br/> 1. Parents: who shunned debt, saved for a rainy day and acquired things only when they had enough cash saved up for it. All 'things' were put on a roadmap after careful consider...

<t>"I suspect this is much more common than in first world countries".<br/> Groan. Last I checked USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand were all first world countries. Us in the second and third worlds have done far less stealing of other peoples property than in the first world. Is this just math tha...

Awesome!!! Congratulations!!!
Welcome to the club. So glad to hear you made it. Enjoy the low monthly expenses-totals that are going to start rolling in. It's a great feeling knowing one can now live on so much less $$$.

<r>Congrats and welcome aboard! You are off to a good start. I wish I was where you are, when I was 30.<br/> It is good to hear from someone in Europe. And living in a country I have long wanted to move to, too. <E>:-)</E><br/> Curious, have you decided on an investment strategy for the funds you ha...

<t>I am trying to get my head around QE3 and what it means for us, ERE hopefuls.<br/> QE3 has also been dubbed 'QE Infinity' because unlike past Quantitative Easings, this one has no limits on it.<br/> So the US Federal Reserve announced its third attempt at fiscal stimulation:<br/> <br/> - Sure eno...

<t>I hope the expenses you are recording is capturing everything and is also categorized. I do mine on a simple spreadsheet with about 12 categories that fit me (housing, medical/health, parents, toys & hobbies, food, transport, gifts, etc). I found this to be a good way to spot wastage. Many ha...

Curious - why are you returning to the US?

Congratulations! It takes guts to pull that plug.. and you've done it.
Good luck and keep us posted on how post-ERE goes. We are all headed there and learning from each other is the best.

<t>Oooh, Singapore. One of my favorite countries in SE Asia.<br/> While, I largely agree with what other posters have said, I do think you have some room for cost-cutting. For example, do you really need an iPad + cellphone + (I assume) a computer? Each of those usually comes with a monthly service ...

<r>Welcome to the boards, Meliora. Another European here. <br/> My guess is that Dutch cost-of-living and ERE figures cannot be very different from what people in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Finland, etc. have reported here. Or is it?<br/> Yes it takes us longer, but we also have a good/functional hea...

Nice blog. It is good to hear from this side of the pond. I have the same addiction as you - travel.
Thanks for writing in English - I so wish I could write that well in German or French or Spanish. Keep going!

<r>On the theme of immigrants - this time about the success of Indian motel owners in USA: <URL url="http://www.boblonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=3364">http://www.boblonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=3364</URL><br/> I remember, back in 1997, living in a small southern California town where the loca...

Something is tearing up those undies after all. Do you really want to expose yourself to the risk? Best to keep them return-yielding assets protected, IMO.

<r>@J_: Housing prices in Finland have not fallen like they have in Holland and other European countries.<br/> If anything they have been going up, keeping a bit ahead of inflation:<br/> <br/> <URL url="http://www.stat.fi/til/ashi/2012/04/ashi_2012_04_2012-05-25_tie_001_en_001.gif"><LINK_TEXT text="...

<t>Currently my expenses break down like this:<br/> Housing: 250 (includes heating, electricity & water)<br/> <br/> Food: 155 (I eat mostly vegetarian, cook from scratch, lunches at work)<br/> <br/> Commute: 75 (car-pool & public transport to work)<br/> <br/> Travel: 260 (my joy & addict...

<r>Welcome to the forums, v-squid. You are doing well - close to finishing off your thesis, working for a year already and you've discovered ERE early in life!<br/> If you do buy that apartment, you may want to make sure the mortgage is for as long as possible, you can pay back the loan ahead of tim...

<r>For those of us, with no TV or no access to US programming, and wondering what the fuss is all about - just do a search on YouTube for "doomsday preppers". Most of the episodes are on it. <br/> I read somewhere that NatGeo killed the series (amazing someone there had the brains to do it). I am no...