I mentioned the website to my mother some months ago. She looked at it and pronounced, well, a little extreme.
However when she came to visit recently, I showed her the book. She promptly ordered her own copy and is greatly enjoying it. Though she and my father are far from "early retirement" (Dad's due for regular retirement with a company pension in about 2 years), she's finding the theory in the book quite interesting. Especially the stuff in the first half, about Renaissance ideals, hobbies, and values. My mom is not very math-oriented, so I don't know how much that part will appeal -- but the first half is a smash hit.
I just wanted to say thanks to Jacob for writing something that I can share with my mom (she's been a frugalista for decades, so it's tough to find something in that arena that's new to her!), and that sometimes people you wouldn't expect might pick up the book and read it for reasons other than retiring extremely early.
That's great! When I spoke to my mom about some of the ERE principles and told her about the website and book, she read the book and quickly dismissed it, saying "That guy's not really retired, he just stopped working at a job and now he has to spend all his time working to prevent spending money".
I hope she at least picked up on some ideas, or has some of the concepts in the back of her head. When I told her about the book I said that if she had any interest she should read Your Money or Your Life First, I think that would've been more likely to cause her to rethink some of her financial habits... she has some pretty bad ones:
-- Over the last 5-8 years, she (her and husband) seem to buy a new car every 1-2 years, only to decide they don't like it or it isn't perfect for them, so they sell it and buy a different car. They've had one or two cars that I never even saw between when they bought it new and sold it (and I visit her every year or sometimes every other)
-- They built a new house about 5 years ago. It's not ridiculous, but it is much bigger than the 2 of them need. It includes a theatre room with a 10 foot projection screen, 6 high end chairs on a stepped floor, extremely nice sound system, custom lighting, etc... They built it 5 or so miles outside of a small town. They work at home but cannot get decent internet service, so they pay $500 per month for T1 service. They like the house but because of the internet cost they are not planing on building another house in the same area but where they can get internet service.
-- A couple years after building the house, they built a koi pond in the backyard with custom landscaping, etc..
I don't know how much retirement savings they have, but I can't imagine they are savings very much. I know they have a mortgage for the house and they buy the cars with loans. They work for the same company, and it has been in trouble and has laid off a ton of people over the last 5 years. I think they both have good management skills and could get other jobs at some point, but it seems pretty risky the way they are living. I guess I should ask how they're doing savings wise. Maybe they have a big pile of retirement money and are just fine.
On the bright side, when I made a list of financial goals and my budget/tracking system for this year, I asked my brother if I could share my monthly spending/savings numbers with and give updates on my improvements, basically a financial accountability partner who I will make journal reports like those on this board, but I just send them to him only. I only asked for it as one-way, but he shares his own numbers with me also. He was already doing pretty well, but I think some things are rubbing off on him and he's giving thought to financial matters that he hadn't really considered before.
My dad has been going through some rough times with work lately. He has his own business related to construction, and hasn't been able to get much work, especially the last 6-12 months. I think he's fairly frugal but when I talk to him on the phone I find myself wondering if it would help to suggest reading the book or other resources that he could read to help him reduce his costs. I guess I'll share with him more of the things I do and see if he asks questions or if they rub off on him.
Part of the reason ERE resonates with me is that it formulates, in different words, the same lifestyle philosophy I grew up with. This upbringing has been assaulted on all sides by the culture I live in (USA). Even my closest American friends are at odds with what seems most natural to me. Reading the ERE blog and book is like recieving a lecture from my grandparents.
The bright side: I have gotten one of my American friends to read the book. His outlook seems to be changing!
