Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Hi.... just signed up and posted in Lifestyle or maybe it should have gone into Money area... its about living on a small amount of money... and my lifestyle... take your pick lol
Just saying hi....
Iru

ohhh and I am a very proud Aussie - and can't believe some writings here that I have read - embarrassed even
Such a wonderful country that helps EVERYBODY and leaves NOBODY destitute
I love a sunburnt country
....

another aussie checking in.
28 years old melbournite living on a farm, computer programmer turned agricultural engineer I guess you could say My skill set fits in pretty well with the ERE mindset

A belated check in from me. 30, Canberra based, engineer/company director.
My income is a bit higher than most I see in ERE, as is my consumption. However, I try to target a 80% savings rate, so the general ratio seems to fit in.
Current net worth of $840k, and a ~5 year horizon for work being voluntary.

bigchrisb for most ERE ppl 840K would be more than enough to retire on. What is your target amount if I may ask?

I am Sydney based in IT, same age like you with 170K net and goal of 400K on lower end and 600K on higher (3-4 years more to go).

It's funny - I just posted my rationale in another thread (viewtopic.php?t=2944) hopefully cross posting that is ok, if not, I'll re-phrase some of it here.

My net worth is like 22k.
:S
You guys intimidate me!

@lonermat
with names like Bigchris and Aussierogue maybe we have really small apendages and trying to compensate. Whats the saying about imagine evryone sitting on the dunny - the intimidation factor quickly diminishes.

Very true about the intimidation - I felt much the same in ~2005 with a negative net worth! At the end of the day, personal finance shouldn't be a competition with others, but just a competition with yourself and your own needs.
Spend less than you earn, invest the surplus, try to maximise the surplus, and repeat! Like any behavioral change, it can be slow at first, but starts to form a bit of a landslide as it goes on!

Matt, I would be happy to swap my net 170K and annual 100K-ish income with you if I could be 23 years old again.

You should not underestimate your biggest advantage: you started early! I started very late when I was nearly 29 due to circumstances out of my control.

I'm not as concerned as I made out to be.
I just can't envisage earning $100k ever. What a ludicrous amount of money.

Well, after tax 100K becomes 73K minus Medicare surcharge and flood levy let`s say you got 70K left.

Hello All,

I'm new to ERE (40% through the book, really inspired). On maternity leave at moment but doing project work at sydney university. I like my job at moment but am preparing for when I don't like it. I love the principles of developing other practical skills in the book ,rather than outsourcing everything. I am currently working on a bucket list, skill set list, and a when can I leave my job strategy.
I'm in sydney and keen to meet up.

Also - I've implemented a PP in Australia, so let's see how that goes. THe bonds part was the hardest, really, but not impossible.

...Hi fJ....another good read frugalJo is -
The Simple Living Guide - Janet Luhrs

@irukandjisting thanks i'll track it down at a library! , currently also looking at the moneyless man by Mark Boyle, for inspiration
@LonerMatt interested in setting up PP, any tips on setting up bonds? was it through RBA?

It was through RBA - just dive in, they are pretty reasonable to deal with, IME, and its definitely easy to set up.
I went for

Cash - 5 Year Bonds

Bonds - 10 Year Bonds

Gold - QAU

Stocks - IOZ
Since bonds 'have' to be bought in $1000 increments, I added extra to my check that I sent, and then tipped more into 10 year bonds, since I get paid cash every few weeks.

@LonerMatt nice PP, I only have the physical gold in storage, but QAU looks good, i'll investigate. How do you find the cash 5 year bond compares with a regular high interest cash bank account?
I had never looked at bonds before this year, this regular payment thing sounds very appealing.

Well, at the moment the bond I purchased was 6.5%, compared to TD and HSA that's a better rate (Ubank is paying me 5.5% currently, down from 6.5 at the start of the year).
I think bonds in Australia are a pretty good deal. I struggle to think of any decent portfolio that doesn't include some bonds - they are stable, consistently above real inflation, and can be sold back pretty quickly to a (generally) reliable entity.
I've considered some corporate bonds, but haven't really made much of a move yet.