vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

[Ydobon]

What is this 35*300 calculation you speak of? It looks familiar I think I saw it on the blog at one point, got interested and then forgot about it.

Assuming a SWR of 4%, it's the amount of money required to pay for the mobile phone expense (monthly) forever, without depleting the capital.

Vexed is probably saving a little less than he assumes, as he will need a 'new' phone at some point. Then again, mobile phones are now essentially throwaway commodities (unless you have happened to buy the fanciest one on the market). I looked into selling an older smartphone yesterday and was offered £4

At these prices, most friends or family will give away old phones as required...

[vexed87]

At these prices, most friends or family will give away old phones as required...

Exactly! The SWR was to cover the cost as PAYG plan, and not the phone. I have several dumb phones I retired in the early 00's, they periodically come out of hibernation to cycle the batteries so they don't die. They are still going strong and will be my backup plan if I cannot source reasonable second hand smartphones, but that isn't likely!

[cmonkey]

The shortest route is 8 miles each way, extended by 5-10 miles when the sun shines.

What kind of OS does your $30 phone use?

My shortest route is about 11-12 miles I think but its a bit complicated by large rivers/bridges and fast roads. I am pondering giving the bike a chance, but I should probably get in shape first . Walking to and from the bus is about 1/2 a mile a day so that has helped.

It runs Android and does so pretty well for being only $30. A little lag sometimes but overall its great. I can't understand why people spend hundreds on something that gives you same experience.

What is this 35*300 calculation you speak of? It looks familiar I think I saw it on the blog at one point, got interested and then forgot about it.

Assuming a SWR of 4%, it's the amount of money required to pay for the mobile phone expense (monthly) forever, without depleting the capital.

How would you change that for a different SWR, say 6%? Lending club gives a higher return than stocks.

[Ydobon]

I believe it's as simple as dividing 100 by 6%, so 16.67 years required (200x monthly amount).

[vexed87]

I started out with evening/weeekend ambles around the neighborhood. Starting with a 3 mile ride, working up to 10 miles over the course of 3 weeks. I took a break at least every other day. Then took the plunge and rode to work 3 days a week, building up to 5 days. 11 miles is only 10-15 minutes longer than 8 miles so its perfectly achievable!

Cycling never gets easier, just faster

I can't understand why people spend hundreds on something that gives you same experience.

It's a status thing. I used to think it was important too, I used to mock friends who retained their handsets for years, now realise I must have seemed like an idiot. It wasn't consious but I assume my thoughts were "I can afford to spend £500 to replace my perfectly functional phone with a phone that has 10% more pixel density and 3% faster load times." After all, money is for spending, right? .

Older and wiser me knows the difference is a 3% improvement on 3 seconds load time... which isn't worth my money The penny dropped for me when I realised my 2013 mid range phone can do everything a 2015 high spec phone can so bye bye upgrade cycle. Smartphones haven't advanced for a few years. When they first came out, they improved markedly every year, so there used to be tangible reasons to upgrade - i.e. colour screens, cameras, video recording, faster data connections, mp3 playback and high capacity flash storage. Now there's little room for significant innovations and change is incremental at best (or non-existant at worst). Oddly people seem happy with the habit of "upgrading" (bi)annually. Now handsets are make shareholders money based on the success of their marketing campaigns and associated status rather than technological advantages. Now's a good time to buy a secondhand phone and run it in to the ground.

ERE's are not obsessed with status so we don't buy into specific brands or specs and are happy picking up a real bargain.

[cmonkey]

Now there's little room for significant innovations and change is incremental at best (or non-existant at worst). Oddly people seem happy with the habit of "upgrading" (bi)annually.

Electronics are designed to break down after a period of time, it's called planned obsolescent. Initially a new phone would offer many improvements, but as with most other forms of "progress" mobile technology has reached a point of diminishing returns, as you state. So effectively consumers are paying year after year for new phones that simply maintain what they were able to do last year,.

[vexed87]

I returned from my holiday in Crete this weekend and now that I am back in the office, the beach is a fading memory . However I have returned with renewed vigour and motivation to achieve my 75% savings rate so I can start to look towards my 'permanent holiday' and the day I can hand in my notice.

I had a great time abroad with my fiancée, aside from the great Greek food and copious amounts of red wine, we had some real and meaningful conversations about what we both want for the future. I feel like we are on the same page again for the first time since I started reading ERE and started to re-design my life and long term goals. For a while, I feared we had started to drift down different paths, I wanted to talk about this stuff sooner, but honestly I had not dared to go into too much detail for fear of scaring her off and losing her.

If anyone bothered to read into my earlier posts it’s possible that you may have had a sense that there has been conflict between our approaches to life. She, the ESFJ and busy workaholic/career type is my polar opposite. Being an INTJ with endless obsessions and desires to master everything that interest me, yet abandon things perceived as ‘important’ to her has caused concern. Yet we remain the best of friends. I'm know I’m so lucky to have met someone as patient and kind as her because she teaches me to relax and not beat myself up over things as INTJs tend to do. For lack of better words she simply rounds me off as a person and makes me feel whole.

I finished reading 'The Crash Course' by Chris Martenson while I was away. Initially it freaked me out and I've truly gone down the rabbits hole, there’s no turning back and feigning ignorance. I've got to change things, before I’m forced to change by the world around me. For the first time I have had enough time to sit down and talk to her about my plans to live frugally, but more importantly now, to become more resilient in face of what is to come. She was surprisingly receptive, albeit skeptical about the time scales. I think she still believes that ‘they’ will come to the rescue, nethertheless she will support me in my endeavours to live more locally, and become more self-reliant, and I’ll make sure we have the skills and knowledge to make it in years to come.

Being the caregiver type, she still wants me to focus more my career, which naturally doesn't interest me as much, however she does have a point. I could be earning more so we can reach our goals sooner. This is something that has been on my mind for a few months now since there is no way I can reduce my expenses without significant pain.

Analysis of June’s expenses will be in by the end of the weekend, so far it’s looking pretty good with a savings rate of about 65%. It’s slightly lower than my target of 75%, but some bulk purchases of goods, as well as the holiday tipped me over slightly. I need to stop focusing on the day by day, month by month figures and do some proper analysis.

It’s been a great month for learning and developing, I've read many books while I was away, and in July I hope to get my first weights bench so I can start doing some weight training. Hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to finish what I started in the garden and extended and dig another plot and start planting my first ever seeds. I’m thinking onions, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuces, cucumbers, courgettes and whatever else I can squeeze into my two 8"x4" plots. I’m not expecting great results because the clay soil isn't great, but it’s a start. Maybe I'll buy some compost, I kind of wanted to minimise my expenses on the project, but if I can get a few weeks food out of it, I'm sure it will pay for itself. Savings on bags of lettuce alone will make it worthwhile!

[jacob]

I think she still believes that ‘they’ will come to the rescue,...

For her, "they" just did, in the form of you. No pressure.

[vexed87]

@jacob, no pressure indeed!

Veg Plot "Experiment" Update

I've had a really busy weekend. I somehow still found time to extend the plot which has just been collecting weeds since I went to Greece. At least I know the soil is semi fertile! It wasn't great though so I grabbed 5 bags of compost from the local garden centre. It could be cheaper bought in bulk, but I think I'll stick to two 4x8 plots. Today I spread some compost and sew a variety of root and leaf vegetables. There's something to be said about overcoming inertia. I feel like I'm ready to try anything in the garden now. Really pleased I got this far, lets hope I don't kill everything...



Assorted salad leaves, iceberg lettuce, spinach, spring onions, carrots, cucumber, courgettes. No idea how much of it will actually come up, if any. I'll definitely be sure to prepare more plots in the autumn. It's pretty late in the season to be starting plots. Lets hope this compost is enough.

[cmonkey]

Great looking plot! If you bought new seeds, I'd be surprised if nothing came up. Given the UK's climate of being cool and a bit longer than what I have, most of your veggies should be fine planted right now. Many of them are considered fall crops (exception being the cucumber which might not do well) and can be planted up until the middle of August where I am and probably later for you.

Speaking of Greece, it looks like you went at the right time. Gonna be an ugly week! Did you notice any effects of the financial fallout they are having while you were there?

[vexed87]

WRT Greece's woes, it is hard to say really, because I've never been to that particular island before so don't have many frames of reference to go on.

I feel lucky that we went when we did though as it could have been messy, I was sure to take as much cash was we needed, although I'm sure there are no restrictions on card payments, despite the bank closures. Directly comparing Greece with the UK isn't really fair but the major settlements look a bit run down. Lots of empty/half built and abandoned buildings (although this could be a side effect of the last market bubble bursting, most paused construction in the UK has since resumed). This was surprising as we have returned to another property boom in the UK.

Lots of homelessness/begging was evident in Heraklion (although I suspect these where mostly refugees from middle east, north africa etc.) General infrastructure was in poor shape, lots of pot holes, damaged street lights etc, but the country was still ticking over.

Business owners in the main centre were clearly desperate for our custom, but again, it's hard to say if this was a result of economic difficulties, or just standard as the competition is fierce, lots of people selling the same things! I kept thinking, "where is their moat?"

I've never really enjoyed "shopping", but it was an interesting experience walking around the city, as it caters to holiday makers from all over the world. Lots of shops selling animal furs (for the Ruskies), lots of counterfeit handbags and other wears (in the EU, seriously?). I helped out a local coffee shop owner and bought some roasted beans, and it would have been rude not to take some olive oil fresh from the presser, sadly the beans were disgusting! I'll stick with my local Italian style espresso beans in future.

SO bought me some rum in the duty free, saved a small packet there, and should keep me happy for a couple of years to come.

Flights out and back we're horrendous, almost enough to put me off travelling anywhere where brits travel again. This actually happened on my flight... The drunken fool spent the night in a cell in Bulgaria and his holiday was over before it started, I recall hearing someone from the same flight at the hotel saying he had been fined £35,000 for refueling and staff wages. Ouch! The flight back was chaotic with drunken adolescents screaming and shouting until 3am... I feel like an old man complaining about it, but it tarnished what would have otherwise been a very relaxing holiday!

[Ydobon]

There are no restrictions on ATM use or payments for foreign nationals, but I've always carried cash in Greece.

Maybe it's our choices of small but picturesque villages, maybe it's the ultra relaxed attitude of the Greeks I've met, but I've never had much confidence in 'electronic money' to work over there.

Still. Capital controls? The poor sods, how would we feel if we were told that we could only withdraw £45/day from tomorrow?

[vexed87]

It probably wouldn't make much difference as my weekly spending is much less than 7x£45

Rather inconvenient though!

[skintstudent]

Somehow I've managed to miss your journal until today. So firstly welcome to another fellow Brit. Congratulations on your progress so far. Those are very impressive saving figures. More impressive, though, is your "will do" attitude. It's been a good read.

Regarding your veggies, I think you've a good chance with most of the crops you've picked. The only one I think you might struggle with is the cucumber, although we have success with it even in rainy Scotland, but we do grow it in the greenhouse. Once the lettuce and spinach are cropping you may need to watch out for them going to seed. Your plot looks to be quite exposed to direct sunlight. This is a benefit to getting the crops started, but, in my experience, can promote the going to seed if you don't keep them well cropped throughout the season. Good luck with them and may the slugs be kept at bay!

[vexed87]

Thanks skintstudent.

Agreed, it's always nice to see another Brit on here as our circumstances are quite different at times to the US. Have you got a journal? I'll keep an eye out for it if so!

I have decided against sharing net worth updates (and edited out the old ones) as cmonkey raised some concerns in his own journal which was a bit of an eye opener. I know some Ne'er-do-well types will probably find it quite easy to find me in RL and I want to avoid any unpleasantries. I don't see any problem with listing monthly spending updates though so they will continue. I have had some good ideas on how to present my progress in a interesting way so I may have a go at that soon too...

Unfortunately we are suffering with a heat wave here in the UK at the moment and it's currently 32 °C. Far too warm for my liking so I don't feel like doing any number crunching/graphing today. We don't even own a fan. In a desperate bid to stay cool I have been walking around in my underwear since getting home from work. I don't know how people in warmer climates copes with this heat daily. The British are not made to tolerate this sort of heat! Riding home on the bike was a challenge, I have literally never sweated so heavily in my life, but proud I managed it. All the poor saps were baking away in their cars or burning gas to blow cool air in their faces only to get out of their cars and be even less adjusted to the heat than me!

It may be warm, but the sun was glorious and I'll be sad when it's gone and the clouds and rain come back... truly remarkable weather.

[vexed87]

July spending was going rather well until my Dad's Doberman got hold of my cheapish walking boots. That’s what I get for not putting my shoes away I guess.

On the bright side, I now have some Hanwag Grunten's on the way! I must admit, having money in savings is making it a little harder to refrain from BIFL purchases. I found it all too easy to drop £160 yesterday.

It was easy to say no when I had a credit card balance to pay off, now that's gone, more discipline is required to meet my goal of 75% savings rate.

Still, if these boots last half as long as Jacob's pair, I'm still saving in the long run. The logic behind thinking longer term saving with shorter term increases in spending is clear as day, but I can't help feel uneasy with these big ticket purchases*. I already know the 75% savings rate is a bust again this month. Unlike in the past however, there is no sense of guilt over this purchase, as I know the boots are something I’ll use every day.

Maybe I need to rethink my goal to stop constant disappointment, that or find a way bring in more money. I might stand to save a little more on groceries if my veg patch is a success, but already the slugs are attacking my courgette plants but that’s a story for another day.

(*)Hah, if past self could hear me quibbling internally about the purchase of a pair of boots @ £160 when I would willing enter a mobile plan costing £890 without batting an eyelid.

[cmonkey]

Ha, I have been pondering those boots after seeing Jacob's autoblog post 2 days ago. I still get the posts by email everyday.

You'll have to update how you like them, particularly for outdoor use/comfort. I don't really have a good pair of outdoor footwear, particularly any that would last long.

Strangely I am not finding it difficult to not spend money even with it just sitting in my account waiting to be invested at the end of the month. I am sitting at 78% savings rate currently and will probably drop to 73-75% but the end of the month. I enjoy logging in each day and not seeing any activity. It's become a nice end-of-day closure for me.

[jacob]

I bought a second pair after the innards started coming apart in my first pair after some 15+ years of nearly constant use. The inside leather was simply worn through.

[cmonkey]

I bought a second pair after the innards started coming apart in my first pair after some 15+ years of nearly constant use. The inside leather was simply worn through.

Would you say the quality is the same/better on the second pair? Would they be comfortable for long periods working in the garden?

[vexed87]

Quick update for June spending.



Another expensive month, but this time I managed some savings. Here's the breakdown:



Food and Drink was £140 under budget, not surprising considering I spent half of the month in Greece. Most of the £224 accounted for in Misc was food and drink spending. Technically I went over budget here, probably not worth the headache of trying to track and convert data, so holiday spending is going down as a miscellaneous expense.

I'm pleased with entertainment spending, generally I aim keep this below £100.

This was the last bill for my expensive phone plan, looking forward to how much I can squeeze out of a £5 top up in the near future.

Pet food spending appears quite high on the face of it, however I make a bulk purchase every 2-3 months so this will even out when data is annualised.

I don't budget to giving because it's highly variable. Its a category that I try my hardest to keep spending down in but SO insists on gifting for all the usual consumer days, e.g. mother's day, father's day, gifts for christenings and weddings etc. Its a regular point of contention at home, but not worth the heartache so I just cough up. Spending is rarely this high though so looks like you caught me on a bad month

I've mentioned it before, but pet insurance is being cut loose as soon as I'm comfortable any bills won't hurt my stash. The policy just paid for itself though as our mutt just had a costly x ray/anesthetic, hence the vet bill. I took the highest voluntary excess but it does lower the monthly payment

I paid for half a tank of petrol for SO as a one off gesture, I don't drive though so it pained me greatly to be putting money in the hands of oil companies. To make myself feel better about that I treated myself to a new rear bike light bracket for my new 50 lumen rear light, sort of an essential purchase really as the stock mount was shockingly loose and the light wobbled all over the place, not very safe. I'm making a conscious effort to reduce spending on bike parts as I can get a bit carried away, it's my main hobby and has cost me dearly over the last year or so! Other items purchased were a new chain and new racing red bar tape as the last set was worn out.

Savings rate for June rests at a miserable 35%, largely down to the triple whammy of a deposit for our wedding photographer, the holiday and the vet bill. Better luck in July I guess. There have already been a few extra expenses but not quite as bad as last month.