Early Retirement Extreme Forums (est. 2010)

What is the purpose of the work vpn? What protocol and software does it require to connect and does the IT department block certain units to connect?

Remember also that chromebooks only get a maximum of 5 years of software updates of the operating system. Far less if you buy an old model.

I see that the full-time work give you a cash flow while decreasing your free time. That combo favor using money to solve problems, while not favoring the broader toolbox of the renaissance man.

Nice progress.

There is options to detailed tracking. I am taking a break from detailed tracking this year, but may restart next year. Even without detailed tracking you can get an estimate of the savings rate by comparing earned income to money going into investment accounts.

What is the cost for a global index fund? Could that replace some of the other funds?

The fund I use in Sweden has the annual total cost of 0.11%.

I will not track my spending in detail in 2019.

For Q1 2019 (January to March)

Earned income: $9578

Amount invested: $6237

Savings rate 65%



During Q2 I will get a bonus and a raise at work. Annual insurance premium and some workshop costs expected for my car.

The insurance is included in the other category the month when I pay . I pay about $100 for a year. I live and work in a small community with less than 1000 population. Renting an apartment is very convenient as a single man compared to owning something. Theoretically, it could be cheaper to buy and...

Annual report 2018 The annual savings rate was close to 50%, which was about the same as last year. My rent increased some, but I don’t have plans to move the coming year. The transport consisted mainly of repair and service of my car, with minor costs for fuel, insurance and tax. The food category ...

December The expenses were quite normal in December. I spent some money on restaurants and bars, so the food category become the second largest after rent. I paid for an annual membership for Audible and bought some movies, thus inflating the entertainment category. Christmas presents inflated the "...

It looks like that you were very frugal already before giving it a deeper thought.

What happened the year when your savings rate was low? Did you include some big purchase that year, like a car?

The savings rate is probably better than most people. You probably have to be a bit careful about lifestyle inflation when owning a house. I noticed that many people I know, overspend both time and money on their houses. Some repairs are of course critical so that the house does not get damaged. But...

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I am summarizing the year and it look a bit better than what I feared. I will update the journal in the beginning of next year.

I have not updated my journal in a long time. I have been busy with work related things and furthermore avoided looking too closely at my investments when the stock market has been volatile. In October and November, I have been less frugal than normal. In October I shopped quite a bit clothes. My in...

The savings rate for September was 64%. My rent was increased this month, increasing my cost of living some. The rent on the apartment increased only 1%, but the cost for renting garage and other fees/costs increased much more. The food cost was within control, but was increased some because of eati...

A bit late August update: The savings rate for August was at 63%. Food was the biggest expense, mostly because I stocked up with whiskey. In transport I paid the annual tax for my car. Report US$ Earned income 3466 Expenses Rent 475 Transport 166 Food 499 Entertainment 38 Other 102 Total 1280 Saving...

Are there any downsides for you parents with this kind of arrangement? Do they have the same protection as a savings account or do they have a slim risk of losing their money?

It was a pretty standard hotel stay in a large city. Some eating out at restaurants and tourist stuff.

It can be really expensive to eat out...

I had extra expenses in July for my vacation, increasing my food and entertainment costs. It is interesting that I can cashflow extra expenses and still save money each month. The last time I didn’t cashflow a month was over five years ago, when I bought my car. The company that I work for has latel...

I did not have to pay any capital gains tax, since the stocks I sold was in a special account (tax paid based on the whole capital, four times a year, no matter if you gain or lose). My SWR is now 2.9% Global stock index funds 66.1% Hedge funds 16.3% Short term bonds funds 8.1% Single stocks 5.1% No...

In June the savings rate was good. No expenses were of serious concern. I am also debt free now, so no debt used for investments. I also made a big realignment of investments where I switched from single stocks to mostly global index funds. Report US$ Earned income 3970 Expenses Rent 491 Transport 4...

Nice income this Month.

You are a far more careful investor than me. I am just now finishing paying off debt used for for buying stocks earlier. Are you getting any interest at all for your money in ”fixed income”? Do you expect many big expenses in the near future?