Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Yes, and here: https://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-philosophical-independence/dp/145360121X (chapter 4 IIRC) Thanks Jacob. I am embarrassed I forgot. I read your book at least 4 times. Those books look awesome - look forward to reading the second one. I heard you interview on an obscure...

The secret to asking the right questions is to first know all the answers. This requires becoming thoroughly familiar with the object of study. In CCCCCC-language, you need to copy, compare, compile, and master simple "computations" before the fun stuff starts. This can be done systematic...

@Jacob has talked in some past about asking the right questions. I'd love to learn to think more like a researcher and how to ask the right questions. Are there any books on that? Advice? Wisdom?

That's the one. It was a webpage---not a blog---mostly aggregating links for the peak oil community during 2001-2005ish. I don't know if archive.org also archives [email] mailing lists, but most of the activity back then was on runningonempty, runningonempty2, and energyresources which were on yaho...

What is the link to Jacob's original, first peak oil blog? I know he had a blog before ERE.

I do a one pot meal that cooks black beans and brown rice at the same time in the instant pot, so it's possible. It isn't culinary perfection, but it gets the job done. Even my meat-eating, non-frugal friends eat it up, so it must at least be passable. The instant pot has changed my life, so I seco...

This is a great goal because as you lower packaging, you will necessarily also lower processed food, which is both unhealthier and more expensive because it has value added over raw ingredients. What is some low-hanging fruit you could tackle first? Well my CSA is providing a lot of vegetables so i...

My goal is to lower my food packaging waste. Most of my waste will ideally be composted. I am first going through my packaged food and then will try to buy less packaged foods. I think this will get easier when I improve my cooking skills.

I can identify with the being too frugal where I felt guilt about spending money and my life felt like a waiting game for hitting ER. I think that is pretty natural and you don't know what extreme is until you experience it. That is why some of these changes take time too. Bouncing ideas off of othe...

It has been a few weeks since I posted. My cooking skills have improved tremendously due to books I got from the library. I also purchased a traditional straight razor so I never need to buy a replacement blade again; I just need to sharpen the razor with my whetstone and leather strop.

I got so much organic produce from my CSA pickup. Definitely a financially a smart move along with a healthy move. I cooked a bunch. The produce tasted amazing.

Cooking seems to be the best way I can save money and be kinder to the planet. I eat out more when I get tired of the food I am making at home. If I become a better cook then I can make a bigger variety of dishes and enjoy eating at home more. I'd also like to make way less plastic waste when cookin...

Have people heard of zerowastechef.com? Lots of good tips on saving money, cooking waste-free, reducing plastics etc

I really enjoy reading your blog. I am a techie too. Keep writing! I am learning a lot.

I just signed up for a CSA because I got inspiration from the book Radical Simplicity by Jim Merkel. The vegetable produce is organic and local. While I could eat slightly cheaper by just taking food from the office or buying non-organic at the supermarrket, my health and the environment are more im...

I am continuing to work on my cooking skills. I cooked Turkmen pilaf today which came out okay. I printed out flyers for a lending club for my building and will distribute them under neighbors' doors later. My friend is moving to a house nearby and we agreed to make an outdoor fall garden and grow v...

I just bought a used stainless steal coffee percolater to replace my drip coffee maker which contains plastic. This should be healthier. Proud of myself for buying used.
I made a whatsapp group to serve as a lending club for my building.

I found that looking ahead is a good way to save money and avoid unnecessary waste. If it is super hot out, I foresee bringing a bottle of water and some snacks. I think getting in the habit of thinking ahead is a really good way to avoid expenses. I initially tried what Jacob does which is not havi...

First paragraph: I was too hard on myself. Second paragraph: I'll challenge myself to spend $0 on food this month. ... Don't be too hard on yourself with the grocery bill. If I may add something from my perspective (45 years old, like 80%-90% FI and enjoying a parttime job): indeed, don't be too ha...

Post: I took some time off from ERE because I was being too hard on myself and stopped making it fun. I found if I march too aggressively towards my goals then I get anxious and burn out. I am starting by lowering my grocery bill to almost 0 by going to the office where there is free lunch. There is...