Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Only those who care enough to suffer a little inconvenience should be counted. See, the problem with this is the inconvenience is often unevenly distributed. If someone has a car vs. relying on the bus, it's a lot faster to get to the polling place. A white collar worker may be able to vote in the ...

Bit of an update; I've been thinking about paths to downsizing spending further, and I think I've hit the point where all the easy frugality options have been taken. That is to say, everything I've done thus far aligns pretty well with my default way of being; anything from here on out will require ...

A tangent, related to all this talk on expensive drinking outings: I've been doing some research for a writing project recently, and part of that has been reading up on Reformation-era German drinking culture. For them, it was a crucial part of one's honor and social standing to buy drinks for other...

Hello Camberville neighbor! (Or, as you enter late twenties, early thirties, quickly becomes Cambervillington.) On community theater: Have you checked out Theater@First? They're in Davis. On A/C: I highly recommend a window unit for the dehumidification at least. You won't have to use it that often...

It's hot & humid as hell here, so what better time to write a budget post? Monthly Expenses: Rent: 740 (shared 4br) Utilities: 60 (with expected seasonal variation) Groceries: 120 Food/drink out: 220 Entertainment: 65 (mainly theater and concert tickets) Shopping: 80 (clothes, home goods, hobby ...

would it comfort 7Wannabe5 to know that even professional programmers, with decades of experience each, constantly break stuff? including the systems that manages 7Wannabe5's money, credit score, SSN, medical records, tax info, drones flying around, commercial aircraft, modern cars.. I can attest t...

@Jason: Sure thing; I've been making time for other pursuits this summer, so I won't be producing much of anything, but come fall or winter I could throw one for you. @Imperceptible: Ah, I must have misread your meaning. That does make a lot of objective sense, but there's a couple reasons I don't t...

@Jason: Perhaps I spoke too harshly; I have nothing against the Pottery Barn as an institution, and I'm sure they have fine chairs. Moreover, I'm sure you could find some tasteful, reasonably attractive ceramics there. But the qualities that make something a good mass-market piece are very different...

@Mister Imperceptible: That's certainly fair. In my case, I like it enough that I'd do it for free, and considering the rocky early career paths I'm seeing my theater friends from school go through (many of whom are far more skilled/driven than I am), I doubt anyone would ever pay me to act. Plus, t...

\Would I have ever played with you at Improv Boston a few hundred yards south in the land of pretentiousness?\ I don't think so- I've only ever dabbled in improv, and never around these parts. I find it's a lot easier when you know what you're going to say beforehand :D Also, I've been looking into...

@BRUTE Sorry to disappoint. If I was a hundred yards south, I'd be a Cantabrigian, which is less ambiguous (but a bit more pretentious) @Riggerjack That, too. I do think it's a lot easier to monetize a 'side hustle' (as they're known) in this day and age, though. There's a surprising number of peopl...

ZOMG if this isn't the most millenial fucking thing I've ever read. Hah, I think I'm 90% of the way to peak millennial- all I have to do is change my income plan to 'artisanal vegan soap company', then I'd be all the way there :D In truth, I don't think my generation is so dissimilar to those that ...

I guess this is also serving as my introduction post, so, hello! I'm fell-like-rain, and these are some things about me: I'm a early-20s recent grad living in Somerville, MA (hence the title), working in tech, and interested in a lot of artsy stuff- I write, draw, throw pottery, do theater (both on-...

I'm having trouble seeing the logical connection between "this habitat project is misguided" and "all of environmentalism is misguided". In the U.S., our air, soil, and water are (in general) quite clean, and far more so today than they have been in the past. Major toxins like he...