Early Retirement Extreme Forums

@jeremymday: Just a note, your facebook can never be deleted. I deactivated in 2009 and recently reactivated to find everything just as it was.

@S: "The city will lease you land for free to garden if you agree to maintain it. " Do you have any information on this? That sounds great!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opini ... ml?_r=3&hp

I have Dr Martens for life series, both the shoes and boots. I would advise against the shoes. They're very big and bulky and not well suited to most things one would need a shoe for. They're basically the boots with the high-top cut off. I highly recommend the boots, however.

@H: One can make money blogging by selling advertising space, writing/publishing/selling ebooks, or offering a subscription/premium service, the most popular of which seems to be letter.ly.

Clothes actually have value though, in that they keep us warm/sheltered from elements. The modern lawn has no value whatsoever, other than as a status symbol. "Look how rich I am! I have so much land I can let some (most) of it go to waste!"

Why can't people mow their own lawns...?
OR better yet: Not have lawns.

<t>They job industry is brainwashing our entire generation into working for free in the form of internships. Things that used to be paid, such as on the job training, are now unpaid. Interns are slaves and the whole system's ridiculous.<br/> Though, if you can only get employment in your field if yo...

<t>How much/whether you "need" shampoo also depends on the length of your hair. When my hair was much shorter (a year ago), I could get by with only some Dr Bronners soap, and probably could have just scrubbed really hard and gotten the same effect. Now that my hair's longer, shampoo + conditioner a...

<t>I don't understand how cloth wipes wouldn't be hygienic, if you only use them once and run them through a washing machine on high each time. Like cloth diapers. *shrug*<br/> Out of all the options, disposable tp seems the least hygienic. So much risk of tearing and getting some on your hands.<br/...

<t>"Why does every debate about choices such as ERE have to be "one size fits all"..i.e. what if every one did ERE? what if everyone ate/did not eat meat?..what if everyone drove a hybrid? etc. etc."<br/> To play devil's advocate... with every choice you make, you're saying, "THIS IS RIGHT." Your li...

<r>If anybody's interested, I collected most of his essays into a book.<br/> <URL url="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/how-to-drop-out-and-other-essays/15702189"><LINK_TEXT text="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/h ... s/15702189">http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/how-to-drop-out-and-o...

<t>Since this thread was revived, here's a bit of an update.<br/> When I posted this three months ago, all of my friends were either finishing their college applications or anxiously awaiting their acceptance/rejection letters. More than anything, I think I just wanted to be "normal" and have the sa...

<t>Stereo that plays: records, tapes, AM/FM radio, and CDs except that part broke. At this point I'd give it away for free. Originally bought for $120? It was a birthday present.<br/> Two acoustic guitars, $50 each. One originally bought for $150, other bought for $50 secondhand.<br/> That's all I c...

<t>In an inflation scenario, gold will carry the portfolio. In a hyperinflation scenario, gold will carry the portfolio. In a deflation scenario, long term treasury bonds and cash will carry the portfolio. I'm worried your compromising the portfolio and introducing more risk into the situation.<br/>...

<t>@JohnnyH: It sounds a little like you're speculating in currencies. If you're living in the US, making and spending money in USD, why keep your money outside of it?<br/> What is the "25% currency allocation" you're talking about? Cash?<br/> "futures, options, leveraged ETF and/or forex" doesn't s...

<t>I think there needs to be some kind of differentiation between retirement and drawing on SS. I agree that SS shouldn't fund a 15-year vacation, and everyone should save for old age/the inability to work/traditional retirement. <br/> The fact that the retirement age is determined by the age at whi...

I think it'd be hard for anyone to "fail" at ERE if they follow the formula: investments = annual expenses / 3%, and have an average return on their investments. If they fail, they fail in one of those two regards.

$180k to live in the city isn't much, tbh. It's hard to find a vacant lot for less in Seattle.

<t>@Robert: It's sane because I didn't buy the house XD. My dad did, and he would like to have a nicer, weed-free lawn, but has a bad back/can't do it himself, and can't afford landscapers.<br/> I understand some reasons for HOAs--for instance, in a neighborhood, there are common areas, such as play...