Hello from Sonoma County, California

[tsch]

Hi!
Been happily reading along for a week here. Really enjoying finding this community.

At 52 years, I find that I have squandered my opportunities for FI so far, so it will be interesting to see how much I can change that. My savings are practically nil. I'll have a big IRS debt (probably about $9k) that I will need to start working on once taxes are figured, but no other debt. Kids, don't do this. (Not to sound too glib; there's a lot of shame in it for me.)

I have made attempts to escape consumer culture in the past, but always got sucked back in. The clash with my personal values is increasingly unbearable. And I'm growing in awareness that my spending is the same pattern which I've had with other addictions (I'm "winner" in two 12-step programs which I am incredibly grateful for).

I spent two years (2011-2013) in West Africa, living in a small farming community and working on "development" projects while living on about $150 USD/month. I try not to romanticize it too much, but scarcity + endless opportunity to do creative problem solving really seemed to increase my capacity to experience joy. So I know that's possible. I swore I wouldn't get sucked back into it when I returned to the states. But I did.

Interested in practical permaculture, though I'm better with animals than with plants when I have that opportunity (lived and worked on a goat ranch for a couple of years. That was fun.)

Currently back in software/tech, so I have reasonable ability to build savings, and I can telecommute. My dog is in her last days, which will open up more options for housing. I have a strong community of friends in Sonoma county and would like to stay here, but there's a price and I need to keep reading and think about that more. I would be interested in sharing living space/land with others at some point, though it's hard to imagine finding the right mix of smart-quiet-respectful-but-irreverent kind of people I relate to best.

Took the MBTI that others have discussed w/following results:
Your personality type: “The Mediator” (INFP-T)
Strength of individual traits: Introverted: 96%, Intuitive: 80%, Feeling: 73%, Prospecting: 70%, Turbulent: 64%.

In my 20's and 30's I always tested out as INTJ. After a few years of therapy (that I really needed), I tested as INFJ and that felt spot-on. This is the first time I've taken the test in a few years and was surprised to see P. I suspect I might be more of a J who likes to keep her options open but nail down commitments. In any case, IN has always been very strong. I thought the discussion of types and distribution among ERE forum members was really interesting.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being such an interesting bunch!

[George the original one]

Aggressive payoff of IRS in 1 year would be $750/mo. Shouldn't be too hard for someone in software/tech when they can avoid the temptations?

[tsch]

Yes, maybe. I'm on the low end of that food chain, but it's a relatively lucrative food chain.

I've got a bad emotional loop over being angry about paying to the IRS and wanting to spend on myself before they get it. I need to just get over it to some extent; this is a good outlet for doing something more constructive (and more intelligent) about it.