Early Retirement Extreme Forums

The comment about a side door was a reference to one of the meta-rules @Jacob had posted earlier: My larger point is that the WL table is focused on personal economics, efficiency, and life skills. Many people who could conceivably fit in WL 7-10 likely never spent much time or energy on earlier le...

No, black thing in middle is just webbing sewn across for strength and a secure attachment point for the straps that secure over the rolltop. The 'rope' is 1/8" shock cord. Paracord would work almost as well.

TBD. I sewed attachment points inside the frame so I can internally cinch it if rubbing is an issue. Will report back in 1.5months!

I made a rolltop framebag. No zippers to blow out.

I +1 Scott's advice, there is a lot of power in taking an experimental attitude towards these things. Try different things for a set amount of time (I like a month for most lifestyle experiments), and then reflect. It can be very scary to do, or not do, something 'permanently'. What if we fail? What...

This is difficult because after years or decades of frugality, it is easy to form an identity around COL and spending somewhere around 1 JAFI. Seems like it requires almost a completely different approach to one's finances and their broader lifestyle after years or decades of a particular approach....

I dunno, I think there are a lot of creative options possible. Effective altruism is not particularly new. Moreover, I think it is worth distinguishing “doing good” and “not doing harm”. One could argue that not providing capital to corporations that feed consumerism is more along the lines of prim...

I wouldn't say I was debating whether or not to conform or be conformed, I was having a realization that perhaps I've been nearly 100% conforming (masking) in ways that've been painful and uncomfortable in an unconscious "this is just what normal is, right?" as evidenced by the sensation o...

bsog I think this is a great set of questions/inquiry, thanks for this. I have more to mull but I had a couple points: *I assume even ERE Wheaton Level 7+ continue to spend, over the course of their lives, quite a few hours researching/trading stocks/managing accounts/balancing portfolios etc. These...

Sounds like you're in the right place Jossstick, welcome.

Scott, that all sounds really relevant and helpful, thank you. AE, having learned the word ‘masking’ in this context only in the post directly above yours, I’d have to say yes. It became clear to me from a young age that “act natural” was total shit advice, but I assumed that was because I was a hom...

Freedom-To: be an odd duck I was chatting with an internet friend and they offhandedly mentioned that they assumed I wasn't neurotypical. This gave me pause because I've never considered myself neurodivergent (not adhd, dyslexic, depressive, on the autism spectrum, or remarkably above or below aver...

The notion of combining environmentalism/collapse-awareness with business and military strategic principles makes me think of The Antimemetics Division . An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties; an idea which, by its intrinsic nature, discourages or prevents people from spreading it.

It's a different line though so it adds a lot more travel time for people coming from anywhere east of the Mississippi. For example, Chicago to Barstow is one line, direct, 38 hrs. Chicago to Bakersfield is 72 hrs and then requires a bus transfer to Bakersfield. The price is about the same. Once Qu...

There was a guy who did this from North Carolina to Southern Oregon for the bike classes. The train was delayed at some point in Denver and he got his return trip fully paid for/reimbursed. Amtrak is often delayed for one reason or another, but they take care of you. My outgoing train stopped in Gr...

..barstow Amtrak stop is close, but bus connections to QH are tricky. A much more convenient stop is Bakersfield Barstow - two quick and cheap buses through scenic mountains will get you to within 4mi of QH, if you line them up. I just took the Amtrak from Bakersfield to Denver (San Joaquin to Sacra...

I'm listening to Tim Ferriss' interview with Martha Beck and I think there are some interesting take-aways wrt freedom-to: The Path of Not There: They're talking about the tracker Boyd Varty, and how part of any tracking is losing the track. But the key is that you're not lost, you are in a state of...

This discussion is making me think of the work I did/am currently doing. I'm modeling mechanical systems for buildings in a 3d environment where the objects aren't just dimensional but also informational - a duct knows how much air is going through it and what the velocity and friction drop are, etc...

For me the takeaway of this thread is that, in so many ways, achieving RE (or high-agency semiERE status) is the real beginning of the journey/work. What comes before is prologue.

+1 starlink. It's the slamdunk solution. Heads up, though, about the energy consumption, could be a dealbreaker depending on your friend's infrastructure and time zone schedule. Confirm the operating continuous wattage vs. rated wattage with the heater element running. Another option, I had a cell s...