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mcs2269
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:34 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Hello!

Post by mcs2269 »

Hi everyone,

I am 24 years old currently living in Madison, WI. I've been interested in FI for a couple years now. I got ahold of Jacob's Early Retirement Extreme about 1 year ago. For me the majority of the book being about changing one's attitude came naturally as I've always thought frugally, but what converted me entirely to FI was seeing the math. I spent a lot of time digesting/internalizing/memorizing it. After seeing the math I went back and took the beginning 4/5 of the book much more seriously.

I work a cushy salaried corporate job and am taking advantage of it while I can. They provide everything they can to keep me from leaving work, but I've found that if I just leave after a 40 hour week nobody will really notice.

I have student loans from a brand name school, which I regret for the most part just because I now recognize that it chains me to any form of mandatory work for at least a couple more years. However I just include the minimum payments(which I overpay) in my expense ratio to make conservative estimates of when I will hit financial independence. The loans are small and tiered, so I'm knocking them down like dominos from high to low interest rate.

By my expenses(housing,food,transportation,insurance, NOT counting student loan payments) I'm currently living 15% below the federal poverty line which I find amazing(just moved to Madison from __________). My rent at $500 per month is my largest expense and I'm considering becoming a vandweller.

Thank you for having me here in this community, and I'm looking forward to learning from you all.
Last edited by mcs2269 on Tue Aug 14, 2018 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

suomalainen
Posts: 979
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 12:49 pm

Re: Hello!

Post by suomalainen »

Hi. A friend of mine used to live in Madison. He loved it. Worked for Trek, I think.

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mcs2269
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:34 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Hello!

Post by mcs2269 »

It really is a great place and good for biking too. I wasn't used to seeing the fat tire bikes they use in the winter around here. Those are pretty cool.

Yollk
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:20 pm

Re: Hello!

Post by Yollk »

Hi mcs-
I too am new to this community (and FI to boot). Lots to learn

How long have you been living in Madtown? ... I'm in a STEM doctoral program, and the running joke is after graduation we'd prefer to deliver pizza as long as we don't have to leave the city
Last edited by Yollk on Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

shadow
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:18 pm

Re: Hello!

Post by shadow »

Nice to meet you! The math is also what captivated me about the philosophy(esp. things like FIREcalc, but ERE's emphasis on low expenses is extremely impressive).

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Hello!

Post by wolf »

mcs2269 wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:37 pm
I work a cushy salaried corporate job and am taking advantage of it while I can. They provide everything they can to keep me from leaving work, but I've found that if I just leave after a 40 hour week nobody will really notice.
Welcome to the ERE-Forum!

Yeah, nobody really noticing, when leaving work on time / earlier, was also a big lessons learned in the beginning of my corporate job life. Most collegues won't notice / or forget after a short time, because they are busy with their own (work) life.

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mcs2269
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:34 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Hello!

Post by mcs2269 »

Yollk wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:38 pm
How long have you been living in Madtown? ... I'm in a STEM doctoral program, and the running joke is after graduation we'd prefer to deliver pizza as long as we don't have to leave the city :lol:
I’ve only been living in Madtown for about half a year. I’m assuming you’re at UW? Do you know how I can access a directory of courses? I assume I need login credentials to see fall courses, but it would be great if I could get the schedules to sit in on classes.

Hobbes
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:35 pm

Re: Hello!

Post by Hobbes »

Greetings mcs2269!

Where you planning pursuing the #VanLife while still holding the cushy corporate job? If so, I kindly request a journal covering this experience :D :lol: !

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mcs2269
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:34 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Hello!

Post by mcs2269 »

@Hobbes

If it weren't for me being so excited about my lifestyle and blabbing about it, people at work wouldn't know. I'm basically looking for a way to cut down on my biggest expense, which is rent at $500. I do live up north, so the #Vanlife would likely be seasonal so I don't lose any toes to frostbite.

Right now my girlfriend and I are deciding if we should get an apartment together. If that happens, I'll likely get the rent down to $350 or $400, at which point I think that would be good enough.

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