Hi, just another guy from Sweden here.
I found this great site half a year ago when I was googling "Early Retirement". Have since then gone through most of the posts and comments and would like to share my progress towards ERE with you guys.
Some random facts.
- I was born in the late 70's.
- Have been more or less frugal most of my life (thanks to mom and dad I guess?).
- Live in an apartment with DW and DC (dear cat).
- Started tracking my expenses in 2007.
- I like fast cars but don't need to demonstrate success by owning one.
- I'm borderlining being vegetarian. Dinner parties and candy will be the last outposts.
- Have worked as an engineer for a decade, stagnated about 5 years ago.
- Ordered the ERE book yesterday!
By the way, I'm INTJ and into bike mechanics.
tmp's journal
July update
(sorry about the too wide charts...)
Expenses are a bit high, it covers housing costs + food for DW as well. When DW starts contributing in a couple of months I plan to stay below $1500.
Savings rate is kept above 50% which is OK under the circumstances (only one income).
Dip in 2008: bought a lot of stuff when we moved to a big apartment.
Dip in 2009: marriage
Small dip in 2010: bought some stuff when we moved to current (smaller) appartment
Dip in 2011: DW's student allowance ended.
Invested assets soon to cross the debt curve. On top of that sits a lot of money in our apartment. Contemplating moving to a rental to free this money. A lot of persuasion needed to make yet another move.
War chest currently @ 6 years (3 month moving average to smooth it out a bit). Still a long way to go.
(sorry about the too wide charts...)
Expenses are a bit high, it covers housing costs + food for DW as well. When DW starts contributing in a couple of months I plan to stay below $1500.
Savings rate is kept above 50% which is OK under the circumstances (only one income).
Dip in 2008: bought a lot of stuff when we moved to a big apartment.
Dip in 2009: marriage
Small dip in 2010: bought some stuff when we moved to current (smaller) appartment
Dip in 2011: DW's student allowance ended.
Invested assets soon to cross the debt curve. On top of that sits a lot of money in our apartment. Contemplating moving to a rental to free this money. A lot of persuasion needed to make yet another move.
War chest currently @ 6 years (3 month moving average to smooth it out a bit). Still a long way to go.
A bit late, but here's the charts for August.
Income is pretty stable at this point, occasionally business trips and book sales bumps it up a bit though.
Expenses was lower than last month but still a bit higher than optimal due to some purchases for DW's new weekly commuting rental apartment. September numbers will also be burdened by this, but then I hope to present some better results.
Invested assets are now really close to bypassing the debt curve!
Income is pretty stable at this point, occasionally business trips and book sales bumps it up a bit though.
Expenses was lower than last month but still a bit higher than optimal due to some purchases for DW's new weekly commuting rental apartment. September numbers will also be burdened by this, but then I hope to present some better results.
Invested assets are now really close to bypassing the debt curve!
Thanks pooablo! I've collected PF-data since 2008 so I simply needed to pick numbers that were relevant for an ERE-style report. Got a lot of inspiration from akratic's journal as well 
When will I retire? I think it will be possible in 1 to 3 years, depending on what happens next... To be able to retire in 1 year I would need to sell the apartment and move to a smaller rental in a cheap little town. I'm up for it, but it would take some serious DW-convincing as well...
I'm fed up with the office-environment and would rather spend more time in 'Cykelköket', our local DIY bike workshop.
When will I retire? I think it will be possible in 1 to 3 years, depending on what happens next... To be able to retire in 1 year I would need to sell the apartment and move to a smaller rental in a cheap little town. I'm up for it, but it would take some serious DW-convincing as well...
I'm fed up with the office-environment and would rather spend more time in 'Cykelköket', our local DIY bike workshop.
Inspired by Jacob, I recently tried out to simplify my oatmeal porridge. I simply mix 2 dl of oatmeal and 2 dl of water and start to eat, no cooking.
And I like it a lot!
- The consistency is quite OK, taste is actually slightly better so I no longer need to sugar
- No cooking, saves time
- No cooling, saves time
- It's slightly faster to eat
- Washing up is faster, easy to rinse of plate
So thanks a lot for saving me 15 precious minutes every morning! Bed to Work is now down to 40 minutes (15 min shower and dressing, 10 min breakfast and 15 min bike commute).
And I like it a lot!
- The consistency is quite OK, taste is actually slightly better so I no longer need to sugar
- No cooking, saves time
- No cooling, saves time
- It's slightly faster to eat
- Washing up is faster, easy to rinse of plate
So thanks a lot for saving me 15 precious minutes every morning! Bed to Work is now down to 40 minutes (15 min shower and dressing, 10 min breakfast and 15 min bike commute).
Charts for September
Difficult to see, but my invested assets actually surpassed my debt! I now aim for my next goal: SEK 1M in invested assets ($144k in current exchange rate).
My expenses were definitely on the high side. Our accomodation apartment needed to be equiped and lot of stuff was bought (I built the bed frame myself though). On top of that I had a road trip down to the car show in Frankfurt.
Due to this my savings rate and war chest took a hit.
However, I have good hopes for the future! The accommodation apartment is equiped, we now have two incomes and my expenses are quite low (think porridge and lentils).
Difficult to see, but my invested assets actually surpassed my debt! I now aim for my next goal: SEK 1M in invested assets ($144k in current exchange rate).
My expenses were definitely on the high side. Our accomodation apartment needed to be equiped and lot of stuff was bought (I built the bed frame myself though). On top of that I had a road trip down to the car show in Frankfurt.
Due to this my savings rate and war chest took a hit.
However, I have good hopes for the future! The accommodation apartment is equiped, we now have two incomes and my expenses are quite low (think porridge and lentils).
October update
Splurges this month included a new jacket ($200), weekend in Gothenburg ($230), gift ($150). Apart from that i put aside $2,300 which corresponds to about 60% of my take home pay. This is still a bit low, I'm aiming for a steady 70%.
I really need to start learn about stock investing. So far I've invested in bonds and senior life settlements, but I would like to diversify a bit. Dogs of the dow comes in mind, but I'd prefer to analyze my picks a bit as well to add some individuality to this otherwise generic method.
Splurges this month included a new jacket ($200), weekend in Gothenburg ($230), gift ($150). Apart from that i put aside $2,300 which corresponds to about 60% of my take home pay. This is still a bit low, I'm aiming for a steady 70%.
I really need to start learn about stock investing. So far I've invested in bonds and senior life settlements, but I would like to diversify a bit. Dogs of the dow comes in mind, but I'd prefer to analyze my picks a bit as well to add some individuality to this otherwise generic method.
TMP,
Check out david fish's CCC spreadsheet. He gathers almost all of the relevant ratios and statistics and compiles them in one place. It's updated every month and the best part is that it's free. Lot's of good dividend stocks to research further.
http://dripinvesting.org/Tools/U.S.Divi ... mpions.xls
Larry
Check out david fish's CCC spreadsheet. He gathers almost all of the relevant ratios and statistics and compiles them in one place. It's updated every month and the best part is that it's free. Lot's of good dividend stocks to research further.
http://dripinvesting.org/Tools/U.S.Divi ... mpions.xls
Larry
Also on seekingalpha.com , David Van Knapp, Dividends 4 Life, Norman Tweed, Dividend Growth Investor, Chuck Carnevale.
These guys are all good reads and good for ideas for dividend stocks.
http://seekingalpha.com/dashboard/investing_income
Larry
These guys are all good reads and good for ideas for dividend stocks.
http://seekingalpha.com/dashboard/investing_income
Larry
I can second that there's a lot of useful info on Seeking Alpha and a small, dedicated group of dividend enthusiasts (if you can believe there's such a thing). My personal favorite is Five Plus Investor. I'll usually read her comments and articles.
What you find on SA is that there are a few people who are trolls, a great many people who post very formulaic articles ("10 Great Dividend Stocks", "7 Dividend Stocks for the Bear Market") and a few people who are very insightful.
What you find on SA is that there are a few people who are trolls, a great many people who post very formulaic articles ("10 Great Dividend Stocks", "7 Dividend Stocks for the Bear Market") and a few people who are very insightful.
Short November update.
Had another quite frugal month, which in combination with a bit higher salary bumped my savings rate to 77% (my current goal is to keep the rate above 70%).
Updated YMOYL Wall Chart
My expenses are diminishing (1 year rolling average represented by red line), and I hope to stay under the target most of the time next year.
My actual investment returns (green line, 1 year rolling average) are currently a bit lower than the estimated SWR (4%) due to a temporary (I hope) discontinuation of payout from my SLS bonds.
To diversify, I've recently started to buy stocks in investment companies.
Had another quite frugal month, which in combination with a bit higher salary bumped my savings rate to 77% (my current goal is to keep the rate above 70%).
Updated YMOYL Wall Chart
My expenses are diminishing (1 year rolling average represented by red line), and I hope to stay under the target most of the time next year.
My actual investment returns (green line, 1 year rolling average) are currently a bit lower than the estimated SWR (4%) due to a temporary (I hope) discontinuation of payout from my SLS bonds.
To diversify, I've recently started to buy stocks in investment companies.
December update
My savings rate for December came in low, at 64%. This was mostly due to christmas presents and dinner parties.
Total savings rate for 2011 was 63% compared to 51% for 2010 (2009:38%, 2008:16%). I hope to reach 70% for 2012!
Moving average for expenses are still a bit high, but the target level will be in reach when we get rid of the extra rental appartment next fall.
I'm also planning on extending my mortgage by k$70-75, boosting passive income to target level.
2012 will be an interesting year indeed, best case scenario includes becoming FI during Q4!
My savings rate for December came in low, at 64%. This was mostly due to christmas presents and dinner parties.
Total savings rate for 2011 was 63% compared to 51% for 2010 (2009:38%, 2008:16%). I hope to reach 70% for 2012!
Moving average for expenses are still a bit high, but the target level will be in reach when we get rid of the extra rental appartment next fall.
I'm also planning on extending my mortgage by k$70-75, boosting passive income to target level.
2012 will be an interesting year indeed, best case scenario includes becoming FI during Q4!
January update
Savings rate for January was a frugal 75%, on par with my pre-ERE level of ambition.
Variable expenses during January (qt.):
- Decorating (1), $29
- Gifts (2), $19
- Dinner parties (3), $89
- Eating out (1), $94
- Upkeep (2), $127
With a second mortgage in place, amount invested increased to appr. $225k. This will generate return in three months from now. My existing TLP investment is still on hold.
Savings rate for January was a frugal 75%, on par with my pre-ERE level of ambition.
Variable expenses during January (qt.):
- Decorating (1), $29
- Gifts (2), $19
- Dinner parties (3), $89
- Eating out (1), $94
- Upkeep (2), $127
With a second mortgage in place, amount invested increased to appr. $225k. This will generate return in three months from now. My existing TLP investment is still on hold.