Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Good discussion! Glad I listened in.

Most of the key points have been made already here and in Kipling's post linked. I would immerse yourself in the men's style blogs – a good one is Simon Crompton's 'Permanent Style' – he has written lots of reviews of different bespoke tailors an has a series in which he has analysed the stylistic f...

@jacob, thanks for the reality check on the three options. I'm finding the idea of blowing the best part of £600 on storing crap which could be sold/gifted/thrown away difficult to come to terms with but you're right, it's less costly than the other two options. @Vaikeasti, thanks for your suggestio...

Thanks @Jacob for your reply about 'precious' stuff. We do have secure storage units in the UK. The cost is £11 per week for 16 square feet for one year. Cheaper than buying a flat but still an overhead. I think I'd like to cut the year in storage out of the process and dispose of the stuff when we ...

Covid DW's self-isolation is over and we are back to new-normal! I was talking to the CEO of an organisation I work with on Friday and her comment was 'everyone's very tired' – which sums up how I feel about this whole situation. My last vacation was almost 12-months ago, I worked through the summe...

Great woodworking! Well done. Have fun painting too.

Covid As the UK is in full lockdown again, the doom and gloom are oppressive. Our family has hibernated and we are avoiding people with a vengeance! The weather is pretty grim – freezing temperatures and grey, cloudy skies, which don't help the mood. It's too cold to do chores outside in the garden...

@Hristo - thanks for the exposition of your thinking. If it's any consolation, SMEs have more influence on local economies than the mom and pop micro businesses. I think we all struggle with questions about whether we have made a worthwhile contribution at work today - every job has its measure of b...

I love the Cipolla quote. So useful – I wish I'd seen it about 40 years ago! It's a resource that reinforces the power to make tough decisions.

Difficult choice and one that doesn't lend itself to logical thought processes. Well, it depends on which frames of reference you choose to invoke – whether it's your web of goals, the teachings of your faith (didn't St Benedict say something about work being part of discipleship? And he said that '...

Thanks for telling your story! As an engineer who worked in an investment bank I can relate to the challenges you have faced. 'Realising your potential' distills down to building a track record of delivery – agreeing challenging yet achievable goals and demonstrating progress towards achieving in a ...

December Update Spending An easy month for me to avoid spending as I was hospitalised - first for six days for a pre-planned elective procedure (which went very well) and five nights unplanned with a fever (now sorted by antibiotics). Being hospitalised while Covid-19 is spreading like wildfire was...

Good progress! WIth rice/beans/veggies, have you thought about batch cooking and freezing ahead for the week? You could take a container out of the freezer each day and let it thaw out in the fridge for that day's dinner. We tend to make veggie soups for lunch, which works well for us. Kids often re...

The fight against consumerism In the run-up to Christmas, the material world launches all its temptations on us. I have mostly resisted the barrage of Black Friday (just ordered two bottles of gin: one for offering to guests over the holiday and the other for a present). I was sorely tempted by a w...

ertyu wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:30 am

I’m FI at 4% also but boy I don’t trust it.

I think it's prudent to have more cover, so drawing 3% would be better!

Looks like you have taken on a real challenge with this property. You've made a good start with cleaning off all the accumulated dirt and limescale. In the UK it's usual to conceal pipes behind walls or box them in. I used to be amused by the plumbing in French hotels, where all the pipes are mounte...

wolf wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:16 am

congrats! what are the conditions to be FI by the calculator?

Thanks. The standard FIRE dogma - cover current expenses with 4% return on capital invested.

I don't know what happened there! I edited my post and it came up as a quote! So I've deleted it.

Covid-19 lockdown I’m finding the restrictions and limitations really wearing. I miss the freedom to think ‘a weekend away with DW would be great. Where shall we go?’ and then to research and book a trip. Buy-it-now I have had a surplus kitchen cupboard on ebay BIN for a few weeks. I listed it at 5...

@alphaville: It's tempting, certainly. Sell the truck (and it's ~16mpg) for ~$42K and buy a used Prius (40+mpg?) for ~$6K; that'd pay for Catholic school tuition for 2 kids for 2.5 years. DW is hoping we get an Airstream sooner rather than later, though; so it's going to be a tough sell. That said,...