PsAi's Quest

Where are you and where are you going?
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PsAi
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Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:23 am
Location: Germany
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PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

Hey there folks,

I'm PsAi and here goes my ERE journal.

Key data
  • German and currently living in Germany
  • 25 years old
  • Education so far (all done): B.Sc. in Biology, B.Sc. Economics, M.Sc. Marine Environment and Resources
  • No real job, no steady income. Not really one on the horizon. I'm quite picky.
  • average income per month this year: 500€ from side jobs such as fixing up bikes and selling them, renting stuff and other hustles
  • Net Worth: 35k. Monthly savings: 0. Monthly expenses: ~600€ including everything
  • 30k € in investments that have been steadily groomed by my very self. Started at 12 years old with about 13k that I inherited from my grandfather and picked some good stocks
Still using up some money from a scholarship that I had and relying on my parents every once in a while.

Short term goals:
  • Get a job or study another degree with a scholarship. Thinking of some one year masters such as Gloabl Health at Karolinska or Ecological Economics in Edinburgh. Not really inclined to do a PhD, seems like 3 years of slavery to me.
  • Finally get my C1 in Spanish. I've been hanging on my B2.1 for too long
  • Get a steady stream of monthly savings going!
  • Turn the hustles into actual businesses. E.g. I've got five stores I'm selling post cards to.
Mid term goals:
  • Go to India with my girlfriend and get ourselves certified as a yoga instructor.
  • Expand businesses


Long term goals:
  • Reach FI within the next 5-10 years.
  • A bigger journey: Taking the transiberian to Ulan Bator, crossing the Gobi with Camels, making our way all the way to Tibet and Buthan with some horses.
  • Afterwards, Get a house somewhere nice and settle. Ideally a place with nice surf spots.
  • Start a Family
  • Start a Yoga studio
  • Write a book.

Since reading ERE I've managed to cut down my expenses in food from about 100-150€ a month to about 10€. I simply started to be a foodsharer/saver and get my "expired" food now twice a week from some store/foodsaver. I actually eat more now and more diverse. I've been looking for jobs but I'm incredibly lost. I had an offer for a PhD but didn't take it, cause I didn't feel like it was for me. As for the rest of the job market the pay is either too little, I'm not fit for it, I think I can't do it or I'm not interested in it. Oftentimes I feel like I don't know anything even tho I graduated always among the better ones in three degrees already. Well anyhow, this needs to be resolved.


I will try to keep this updated and also to provide some helpful charts at the beginning of each month.

Cheers,
PsAi

PsAi
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:23 am
Location: Germany
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

Alright so 1st of the month.
Time for the first review.

Looking back: Overall a very unproductive month. Didn't get too many things done. I am just typing applications and not doing much. Some language courses, some writing. Nothing really that gives me the feeling of having accomplished something. I am at the point where my sleep rhythm is a mess, which is usually a good indicator that I need a change. Incomes have been very little and I am slowly using up savings and scholarships. However, I am happy with my expenses on food, which were Z- E-R-O. Hail all foodsavers and foodsharers! Eating out is still too much. It is just not a necessary thing to do. I aim to cut this further. Biggest share is of course rent and insurance.

Looking forward: One job on the horizon in London that would pay about 40000GPB yearly. But it is in London and I hate London. Plus I will be away from family and gf.I will probably not take it. I am getting more and more inclined to continue studying. I hope to be admitted in Sweden or Scotland somewhere. December should see higher incomes tho from some sales and renting out my room. Also, I expect lower expense in food and household, but higher one (about 100€) for Christmas presents. Stocks have been going good. Recently bought into BP and Rosneft, speculating on the OPEC. They didn't disappoint me. I am also curious how the Nintendo stock will evolve over December and the next couple of months.


Current net worth is: 35.721,98 €

composed out of

Stocks: 31264,35€
Bank Germany: 2500,00
NZ Savings:1765,63€
Cash: 192€


I am still keeping an account in New Zealand, as they pay me 3% interest. As a German this is a crazy number for me. I was speculating on better exchange rate to move some more money to NZ, but it hasn't gotten better yet.


Expenses totaled this month 627,36€
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Total income this month was a meager 249€

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PsAi
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:23 am
Location: Germany
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

Dezember 2016

Alright here goes the second month.

December was kind of a fun month for me. I took a small trip with my girlfriend to Dresden and the holidays were full of family and friends. My gf's family and my family met for the first time. Given the fact that she is from Spain and I am from Germany it was an incredible mess. Since virtually noone speaks English in Spain - let alone german of course - we had a lot of work translating back and forth for everyone. Nevertheless (or because of that?), it was a huge success and everyone had a good laugh and is looking forward to seeing each other again.

It was also nice to seem some old friends again, playing some cards and even a round of Age of Empires 2. Just timeless;)



Alright, let's get to finances then.
I did not take the job in London but instead started a small side job as a tutor for kids from age 6-18. I spend two afternoons per week helping them with their homework and teaching a bit of math, writing, English and everything else. The with 15€ and hour is alright and I have fun doing it. I'd even do it for less. Anyhow, that gives me about 350€ a month on the side.
My hustles went quite well as well. I sold some surfboards and was able to rent out my room a couple of times over the weekend. Furthermore, the post card business I have been setting up with a friend is getting some traction. We sold a couple of hundreds already.


I am also glad that the time in my flat here seems to come to an end eventually. By the mid of 2017 hopefully everyone will have moved out and the apartment is history then. I am getting increasingly annoyed by my flatmate who is a spendthrift and a liar and I just don't want to be around him. More importantly, I will be able to find a cheaper place. The 400€ on rent is still the biggest expense I have.

Regarding investments, it was a great month for me. The much-anticipated rally towards the end of the year actually happened and I sold some stocks with a nice plus.




Current Net worth rose to a bit more than 39000€
Quite happy with that, but unfortunately impossible to keep going at this rate;) I will provide a better graph within the next days, reflecting networth over time and swr.



Expenses this month: 843,39€
Booked a vacation for April to Sicily, which is reflected here and I also had to get some christmas gifts. Groceries were very low again. Thanks to all the foodsharers!
Eating out was definitely too much this month. Need to cut back on this.

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Income this month: 1504,50€

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PsAi
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:23 am
Location: Germany
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

The bloody story of my car.




Even though I have no work and studies going on, I haven't gotten around doing much on here and also stopped tracking my finances in every detail.

The few notes I kept reflect a very similar distribution of income and expenses leveling each other out. I will start recording in detail again when I am on the road and over in England (hopefully)


I want to quickly summarize the story and work that went into this 35-year-old beauty.

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I bought it for 5k (way too expensive, but I didn't know better and was excited) in Berlin. I took an overnight bus at 1am. I bought it at 10am and drove it straight back to my house 800 kilometers. I went to sleep and woke up with a ton of work the next 6 months.

The day after I had returned, the accelerator pedal broke. It just fell off completely. Generally, I must have been very lucky to have made it straight back home without any bigger issues. After some weeks! of searching for a mechanic that would help me fix up the car I was about to give up and sell it at a fraction of the price I had paid for it. I was quite devastated. Noone wanted to waste their time on such an old car. Too much work for too little money. The ones that would take it on were charging horrendous sums of 10000+. Also, turns out half of the mechanics I talked to didn't think they knew enough to properly fix such an old car.

Then, one day, I went to drop off some honey at a farm close to my parent's place and my father pointed out that there was a guy repairing all sorts of things. He is usually bored and can't formally work anymore because he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and ever since can't keep his balance.

I talked to the guy and was not at all convinced but I figured the most important part would be to have access to all the tools. Welding machines being the most important one for now. He literally was not able to stand straight but somehow he was almost rock steady as soon as he picked up whatever tool.

So I went with him and together we spent the last 5 months fixing up the car. Over the course of all this, we started working off the endless list of broken parts that we discovered along the way.

Here is a small overview of all the repairs that we did - so far!

  • Weld the acceleration throttle (fell off)

    Fix the handbrake (broke a week after I bought it, again it completely fell apart when I was trying to pull it)

    Weld floor drivers side (you could see through it) Paint it.

    Weld the co-drivers side (small hole) Paint it.

    Remove parts of the window frame and weld new one back on (was completely oxidated, about to fall apart--> water coming inside). Sand it and paint
    it afterward.

    Remove A-pillar and weld new one back on (completely done as well --> water coming inside) Sand it and paint it afterward.

    Remove the bottom part of the sliding door and weld new one back on (totally done. Oxidated to its core) Sand it and paint it afterward.

    Remove, forge, and weld the entry steps of the sliding door

    Remove, forge, and weld the bottom guide rail of the sliding door. (totally oxidated, door would fall out)

    Weld the fender of the right front and back tire. In total five different points.

    Weld several other small parts around the sliding door.

    Weld part of the drivers door.

    Replace the muffler. Weld it.

    Replace the tubing for fuel.

    Make the tank stop leaking. Remove and solder the entry pipe going to the fuel tubing.

    Replace and tighten the entry tubes of the fuel tank.

    Make the lock and opening mechanism of the back door serviceable again (could not open it. Bolt broken)

    Replace rubber seal for front window (water kept coming inside) Had to remove the frigging window 4 times to have it tight and sealed.

    Sand and paint various parts of the outside.

    Fix the full beam light.

    Sand and fill the rain pipe. Paint it.

    Sort out the mess of the second car battery (solar). Organize and remove cables.

    Reinstall the CE plug coming in from the outside to get electricity from a socket outlet.

    Fix the alcove. Was not moveable anymore. Now the van can house up to 4 persons

    Fix several locks on the inside furniture

    Painted the inside.

    Replace the glow plugs of the engine.

    Replace some tubing of the engine

    Fix the cranking motor.

    Seal the tank for cooling water

    Fix the windscreen washer

    Tighten the wheel bearing

    Clean the breaks

    Replace one broken wheel bolt.

    Sand and paint the wheel rim.

    Replace the mirrors

    Seal the bloody equalizer tank. That took me like ages and ages and ages. I used a hell of a lot of glue, fiber fix (I am very disappointed with it by the way. The totally seduced me with their manly man spot!) only to eventually juck it all in the bin. Drill a new hole and fit a metal pipe in it.


New installations:

  • Some lamps hooked up to the solar battery.

    Fans to get some better air circulation.

    Various hooks and a new shelf.

    A small silo for nuts and cereals.

    A fan heater with a fuel tank underneath the car.

    Bigger mirror on the inside.

    Install a voltage transformer

And the regulars:
  • Adjusting the breaks, new Undercoat, change oil, oil filter and fuel filter.


Things left to do:
  • Adjust the steering gear. Can't do that by myself. Next Thursday I'm going to a shop.

    Ideally, have the engine checked by a professional. Probably won't do that though. Too expensive.
Now that I am seeing the full list, I can only shake my head. What a load of work I have burdened myself with :shock:
Well, I certainly learned a lot.

Here are some more pictures. Not necessarily the newest ones but I will upload some more next week!



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In total, I'm at 7k now in expenses for the car (excluding insurance and tax, which add another 600 to it p.a.)
Certainly a price at which I can sell it by now - and in good consciences. But maybe I find someone as naive as me and get to sell it for far more than what it is worth;)




By the end of August I will head over to England to live in it for a year :) Afterward, I will sell it there and fly back.
Last edited by PsAi on Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Viktor K
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:45 pm

Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by Viktor K »

Dope! Thanks for sharing this!

wolf
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by wolf »

Interesting. I would really like to know how you are doing in England. I am thinking also about Van Life recently. Thanks for sharing your journey! Take care on the roads in England. :-)
Last edited by wolf on Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jason

Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by Jason »

I have to be honest. That picture of the green van tucked into the cluttered garage looks like the moment in crime dramas when the detectives find the serial abductor.

Make sure when you sell it there is a clear and documented chain of passing of title. One man's ERE is another's man's crime spree. You don't want to be confused with the latter. Well, at least I'm hoping.

PsAi
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

MDFIRE2024 wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:43 am
Interesting. I would really like to know how you are doing in England. I am thinking also about Van Life recently. Thanks for sharing your journey! Take care on the roads in England. :-)
Will do. I also plan to do a small video series together with working on my little travel website https://gypseatravel.com/




Another small entry to keep a bit of track of what I'm up to.

So, this year I spent a lot of time on learning how to repair things.
I started with soldering and fixed all sort of cables and electronic devices that had been lying around. I continued with sewing and find real joy in it, I have to admit. I really enjoy it! :D Lastly, I did a welding course - also in respect to fixing up the car. Ultimately i just spent a lot of time in the garage with my father as well as various mechanics. So I learned a lot of skills and theory on how to fix all sorts of things. After about half a year I can proudly say that I am able to fix almost every broken surfboard, bike, moped, piece of clothing, electrical device and everyday tools that may break. Cars work as well to a certain degree, but of course, I can't do everything yet.

That has already saved me a lof of money and it is a great feeling to make something function again :)

Jason

Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by Jason »

In America in 1970's when the sexual revolution was taking place and there was a general re-evaluation of gender roles, this was a big deal:

http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/201 ... sey-grier/

Enjoy the sewing. If you like it that much, put it to use and become a tailor.

singvestor
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by singvestor »

I like the blog, picture of the Singaporeans all staring at their phones in the subway is a perfect summary of Singapore life. The "essentials" page is not working on the iPad - seems there is no content?

I am most interested in the van story though. What will you do in the U.K. for a year?

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C40
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by C40 »

He literally was not able to stand straight but somehow he was almost rock steady as soon as he picked up whatever tool.
This was golden. made me laugh out loud

The interior of that VW looks great.

I'm curious about the postcards you make. Are you willing to share more about them? (What's on them? Photography? Art? How did you get them in stores?)

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fiby41
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by fiby41 »

Mid term goals:
Go to India with my girlfriend and get ourselves certified as a yoga instructor.
Visas can be obtained online whenever:
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/Registration

Noedig
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by Noedig »

PsAi, if you are in the UK and fancy the idea, head on up to Edinburgh before the end of the Edinburgh Festival on 28th.

There is truly, something there for everyone. For example until Friday, Yoga "Lucille & Django's Totally Restorative Yoga Retreat!". Failing that Pembrokeshire and around the Welsh coast to Anglesey where the Romans extinguished the druids.

Enjoy your time in the UK. Apologies for the weather this Summer.

PsAi
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

Noedig wrote:
Tue Aug 22, 2017 5:20 pm
PsAi, if you are in the UK and fancy the idea, head on up to Edinburgh before the end of the Edinburgh Festival on 28th.

There is truly, something there for everyone. For example until Friday, Yoga "Lucille & Django's Totally Restorative Yoga Retreat!". Failing that Pembrokeshire and around the Welsh coast to Anglesey where the Romans extinguished the druids.

Enjoy your time in the UK. Apologies for the weather this Summer.
Thanks for the tip! But I'll take the ferry on the 8th of September and will go straight to Oxford after, hopefully, a few surfing session in the south.
fiby41 wrote:
Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:36 am
Mid term goals:
Go to India with my girlfriend and get ourselves certified as a yoga instructor.
Visas can be obtained online whenever:
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/Registration
thanks:) I'll bookmark it. We will go next September.
singvestor wrote:
Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:01 pm
I like the blog, picture of the Singaporeans all staring at their phones in the subway is a perfect summary of Singapore life. The "essentials" page is not working on the iPad - seems there is no content?

I am most interested in the van story though. What will you do in the U.K. for a year?

Yup, i thought the same when I was in Singapore. It is the perfect summary of most of the Singaporans.

I'm still working on the blog, so there are quite some pages that have no content yet. But please keep letting me know when something is not working:)

Lastly, I'm going to study for another year and eventually decided to do it in the UK
C40 wrote:
Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:42 pm
He literally was not able to stand straight but somehow he was almost rock steady as soon as he picked up whatever tool.
This was golden. made me laugh out loud

The interior of that VW looks great.

I'm curious about the postcards you make. Are you willing to share more about them? (What's on them? Photography? Art? How did you get them in stores?)
The funniest part is usually when we have to go to the warehouse for some sort of tools or bits and pieces. Since he can't keep his balance everyone is always staring at us. He clearly seems like he his totally drunk. So I guess, everyone assumes he is my wasted grandpa or something :P


Regarding the postcards: It is sort of a collaboration between me, my girlfriend and a friends girlfriend (since two days ex-girlfriend, so we will see how that goes on). Here is a link to some of the cards

https://www.facebook.com/veronikasaras/

I'm mostly doing the selling, i.e. walking straight into the stores or meeting with their agents, whereas the girl(s) do the drawing. But honestly, lately has been a bit of a low in terms of motivation to keep going with everything. Cards are a tough business and after you have supplied the initial stores it is hard to find new customers.

Jason

Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by Jason »

Those postcards are great. Really. I love the one on the header. I'd impulse buy that shit.

But out of curiosity, who drew the one posted on the August 3 entry? That's a sailor's knot of sexual innuendo. I'm certain I can't be the only one that sees tweetie bird sitting on the tip of a penis. Well, not certain, but fairly confident. Anyways, its not surprising that there was a break up in your midst considering that one.

PsAi
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

More van pics :)

Fixed the last small parts. I'm good to go now!

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PsAi
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by PsAi »

So... new Update. Finally!


I arrived on the 13th of September to Oxford after driving my Van over here for 2 weeks together with my girlfriend. She is back in Germany by now.
Oxford has been great so far, really. It was definitely the right choice to come here to study. The environment is absolutely amazing (and all the clichees are true).
Anyhow, I love it and I will have a great year here and learn a lot.


Finances:

Total assets are currently about 25k due to the tuition, which, after a month being here, I think is worth paying for.


Beneath are the expenses/Income for September.

Expenses: 326 GBP
Some one off expenses this month due to the trip, which was surprisingly cheap, and a gym membership for 12 months.
Most expenses in food. Unfortunately, no away around yet the crappy stuff they eat here.

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And the bummer: 16595 GBP in tuition. Darn
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Income: 1559GBP
Various hustles, such as renting out, selling bikes and surfboards, postcards. Pretty happy for September.

Over the last few months this has fed very nicely into my investment account in New Zealand which stands now at about 15000 NZD and is locked away for 9 months at 4%.




Amount of rent saved: 600GBP


On the Vanlife side of things in Oxford.

Transport: I cycle from the where I am parked (driveway of a lady) to the center, which takes me 18-20 minutes depending on traffic. A perfectly fine commute. Brought the bicycle from Germany, no expenses there.

Food: I mostly by cheap stuff the supermarket and live off nuts and conserved food that i brought from Germany. That'll last me for a while. I basically don't cook, because I find it too messy in the van and I do eat out quite often (=university kitchen, which is absolutely amazing) which accounts for the relatively high expenses in food.

Hygiene: I joined a gym that is incredibly convenient for me in terms of distance and opening hours for 65 GBP for 12 months. I have showers there.
Rent: I did some gardening, in total maybe about 10 hours, and that was it for a month. I saved myself the average rent of 600 GBP here. Pretty neat gardening job I'd reckon:) I even had time to go to Cornwall over the weekend for some surfing.

All the basic needs are covered. I'm set and if nothing goes wrong, I wouldn't know what, I can keep going like this for a year.












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SavingWithBabies
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Re: PsAi's Quest

Post by SavingWithBabies »

That sounds wonderful. Particularly the gardening as rent payment. That bicycle ride is ideal too -- enough time to get some exercise but not so far that you grow weary of it! Thanks for sharing the photos. Your bus brought back memories of running behind a similar bus (I think it was a 1983) in order to bump start it.

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