Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Are the ones in your photos wild / up for grabs? You can pick them wearing gloves and then use a flame to burn off the spikes/thorns. A powerful lighter or a gas stove works just fine.

The fruits are a bit too sweet for my liking but make excellent jam.

I recently signed up for Freeletics. They had a deal for c. $47 for a year, or about $0.13 per day. I think it’s usually twice that. I’ve been liking it so far. Lots of selection of various exercises, including loads of stretching routines which I add on to the end as my flexibility is horrible. I u...

I should add I am aware of another large American construction company which is actually private but c. 97% employee-owned. They have a model where after 3-5 years if you’re doing well you get offered the opportunity to buy-in at certain amounts. I believe they offer an interest-free loan to actuall...

Where are you at nowadays and what are your future plans?

Any chance you’ll be in Portugal at the end of August?

From what you described it a) doesn’t sound like you can even do it; and b) doesn’t look like a great deal at face value. The two companies I’ve worked for both had stock plans. The first was via an employee decision to purchase, and they had a matching program - 1 share for every 4 regardless, and ...

TopHatFox wrote: ↑

Tue May 09, 2023 2:24 pm

I’m so rich I’ve made $600 in two days studying about mines & tech <3

I remember that feeling. My bank account tripled with my first paycheck, and I couldn’t believe how much money they were giving me.

The feeling will fade but enjoy it while it lasts!!

I asked my father once when he started to “feel like a man” (i.e. an adult). I was 20 at the time and still in college, very much feeling like a child. He said very tersely “definitely before I was 20”. It made sense though - he had already emigrated to a new country, had to learn a new language and...

Aww, I miss Jason and his crazy profanity littered yet profound posts. I hope he’s doing well.

My two cents, with the caveat that I don’t work in software/coding. Congrats and I think it’s a great opportunity and you should throw yourself into it to learn as much as possible and boost your resume for the next role (either at the same place or elsewhere) Personally I don’t think @Viktor’s Opti...

$18 for a loaf of bread?!? That’s incredible. Makes me happy DW got into making sourdough during the pandemic. I think we pay c. £50 for flour that lasts us about 6 months of 1-2x a week for making bread. Let us know how you find the farm share once you start receiving. I’ve never done it but my mot...

Re: general location. I don’t really have anything to add as I’ve never been to any of those places, but I wouldn’t necessarily not buy due to the factors others have mentioned. You don’t need to view this as an “on/off” decision - i.e. if the area will be disastrous in 25 years and you think you wa...

Are manufactured homes bad? I'd guess they are, cause they need to be light to transport, and light probably means shittier materials. Is it still possible to buy a house that doesn't have an HOA? & What is a private development fee, like a gated community? I’m not sure what you mean by manufac...

I wouldn’t characterise buying a home as exclusively for the rich, or that renting a room in perpetuity is a better option. What I would stress is that no matter how you cut it, it’s a six figure decision and should not be taken lightly. Most people (especially most Americans) tend to believe “renti...

Increasingly I come to the conclusion that getting a property will in my case have to be an expressive act rather than an instrumental one. In other words, it will not be for financial profit or a means to FI, it will be a separate project in and of itself. Hopefully on favourable financial terms, ...

In terms of size of house, and other costs. I would personally care less about the size of the house, or at least it wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of my list. You can find 4B houses that are cheaper than 1B apartments; location is everything. Figure out where you want to be and then consider siz...

In terms of where to keep your money - first you should determine when you’re likely to buy. Figure out how many sub-locations you want to live in to try out, and how long you’ll spend in each of them. I can’t stress this enough btw; even within the same larger area there will be differences between...

You’re asking the right questions but it’s way too theoretical. Real estate is hyper local so the answers will vary - your selected locations are spread across vastly different areas, and the ultimate location within those areas will also differ wildly based on school districts, “which side of the t...

I actually used to do this years ago when I first started working. I hated the idea of being in any kind of debt but ultimately realised it was a bit stupid to be in credit with the credit card companies. I just checked and my card indeed no longer allows me to be in credit either. I just pay the b...

I recently did a 0% finance on buying a new phone. I needed one anyway as mine was about 7 years old and crapping out on me. Normally I would just buy cash, but in this instance 0% finance is literally just free money. In this case (and all such cases I would consider) I have the money upfront but i...

12. I'm lightly considering renewal of my professional certification. There are some problems I'd like to throw money at. This could be boredom of inactivity settling in, but it's on the radar. I still wonder if some paying work could fit my other priorities. I think this could make a lot of sense ...