November '16 Update
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 1:45 pm
The house
Finally got my housing sorted to a level of ERE-ness. Purchase went through without a hitch and I'm now moved in to a massive, old house (1896 construction) with all the problems of a massive, old house that hasn't been particularly well maintained for the past 50 years. The frugal part of this arrangement is that since the house is considerably run down, I got it for what I think was a good price -- and -- it's divided into sections so there are two rental units so it's not just a spacious residence for myself, it's also producing income that further offsets the purchase price. The only bad news is that I've got projects, fixes and repairs coming out the yin-yang and also a shiny, new 10 year mortgage.
Cars
One of the best parts of moving back to the US has been infinitely more opportunity to tinker with cars. Over the past couple months I picked up a new project car, pretty much completed my other 'main' car to a state of finish that I'm fairly happy with, and just purchased a beater van to haul dirty and big stuff in for the houses. I'm particularly excited to get working on the project car which will be a 70 Opel GT converted to electric, but I've got lots of garage prep to do before that can begin.
Work
Work continues to be a series of urgent daily demands with a dense fog sitting behind it. I've been thinking about my work and career quite a lot. Last year I got my mind blown by the ribbon farm article about the Gervais principal and this year it's been reading the book Jacob recommended on the homepage, The Gamesman. I think there's quite a bit of overlap and it's just really given me some insights into decisions I've made in the past regarding my career and where it may go. I'm clearly a craftsman and my managers are gamesmen and jungle fighters. That explains quite a lot for me.
--Last month’s spending was a record, coming in at just 2.6% SWR. Because of the home purchase, I didn't have a house payment due which made a big difference. Otherwise, I think it would've been 4.6%, which is still great.
Finally got my housing sorted to a level of ERE-ness. Purchase went through without a hitch and I'm now moved in to a massive, old house (1896 construction) with all the problems of a massive, old house that hasn't been particularly well maintained for the past 50 years. The frugal part of this arrangement is that since the house is considerably run down, I got it for what I think was a good price -- and -- it's divided into sections so there are two rental units so it's not just a spacious residence for myself, it's also producing income that further offsets the purchase price. The only bad news is that I've got projects, fixes and repairs coming out the yin-yang and also a shiny, new 10 year mortgage.
Cars
One of the best parts of moving back to the US has been infinitely more opportunity to tinker with cars. Over the past couple months I picked up a new project car, pretty much completed my other 'main' car to a state of finish that I'm fairly happy with, and just purchased a beater van to haul dirty and big stuff in for the houses. I'm particularly excited to get working on the project car which will be a 70 Opel GT converted to electric, but I've got lots of garage prep to do before that can begin.
Work
Work continues to be a series of urgent daily demands with a dense fog sitting behind it. I've been thinking about my work and career quite a lot. Last year I got my mind blown by the ribbon farm article about the Gervais principal and this year it's been reading the book Jacob recommended on the homepage, The Gamesman. I think there's quite a bit of overlap and it's just really given me some insights into decisions I've made in the past regarding my career and where it may go. I'm clearly a craftsman and my managers are gamesmen and jungle fighters. That explains quite a lot for me.
--Last month’s spending was a record, coming in at just 2.6% SWR. Because of the home purchase, I didn't have a house payment due which made a big difference. Otherwise, I think it would've been 4.6%, which is still great.