Hristo's FI Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

There really is something screwy about the fact that my government incentivizes me to keep the vast majority of my investable capital tied up in accounts I can't access during my most active and productive years.

take2
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by take2 »

The tax code is actually quite favourable for long term capital gains investment income below a certain threshold, especially if you’re a Head of Household and/or Married Filing Jointly with dependents. For MFJ it’s up to c. $80k at 0% which I believe is enough even at your current level of spending? Then just 15% up until $500k. The right way to play it tax-wise is to build up capital but limit investment income while you work (to avoid higher tax incl. net income investment tax) but then leave the salary life and switch to pure long term gains and/or qualified dividends.

Of course playing good “defence” is most important as it’s easier to generate c. $30k vs. $80k. But if you can do it taxes should be the least of your concern.

white belt
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by white belt »

Hristo Botev wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:54 am
There really is something screwy about the fact that my government incentivizes me to keep the vast majority of my investable capital tied up in accounts I can't access during my most active and productive years.
Well you can access them for a variety of purposes with things like a self-directed IRA, but that’s another layer of complexity. And obviously you’re stuck with whatever 401K options your employer offers you while you’re still working. Right now, I have all my stocks and bond indexes in my tax free accounts and use my taxable accounts for my sophisticated investing strategies.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

A few things as I prepare to finish out my work week.

First, a WOG mantra I need to remember is that pre/after-dinner snacking = food waste. Just because I'm consuming the food doesn't mean I'm not wasting it, if that consumption is beyond what I need from a caloric/nutrient standpoint.

Second, was thinking about my bidet installation from this weekend, which took a few hours (and a lot of cursing) as opposed to the advertised easy 30 minutes installation. This was due not to the design of the bidet but to my less-than-rudimentary understanding of how a toilet and indoor plumbing work. My takeaway: any time spent demystifying what had previously been mysterious is not time wasted.

Third, I'm now seeing over-complexity everywhere I look, and it's making me both very anxious and also somehow relieved, as I work to simplify and decouple myself from that complexity at an individual level. Was talking with a colleague about a deal she is working on, and one which she's a bit blown away with the absurdity of the whole process--the amount of bodies and hours and resources being poured into a deal that is basically all about moving debt around with the very clear understanding that it's all going to eventually go south, it's just a question of when and by how much and who is going to be the person standing without a chair when the music shuts off. And I won't say exactly what it is that the business underlying all of these layers of complexity and debt-shifting does, but lets just say it's something as simple as selling hamburgers. So what started as someone saying, "hey, I can make a good burger and I bet people would pay me to make burgers for them," has morphed into something so complex where you could spend months working on a deal and the thought of actually selling a burger never even gets mentioned--it's just shifting debt and collecting fees on the promise (that everyone should know is BS) of perpetual growth.

Finally, I heard this story on NPR this morning (I know, you're thinking: "no way Hristo listens to National Progressive Radio!"): https://thepublicsradio.org/article/vis ... on-pornhub; and it has me conflicted. I'm not trying to start any sort of political argument or make any moral judgment (God knows I have no basis to do so; as Pope Francis has said, to the chagrin of all the "Trads" like me: "Who am I to judge?"). But, this seems ERE relevant, if only tangentially so, as this story struck a chord with me due to having recently read through this topic viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6352&hilit=cashless&start=20 and the CHS article @JennyPenny linked to http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/20 ... ioned.html.

Basically, here's my confliction. On the one hand, if Dante were alive today he would have to create an 10th and bottom-most circle of hell specially reserved for PornHub. I'm all for figuring out how we, as a society, can forever memoryhole PornHub and its ilk. It makes me physically sick to realize I live in a world where this company exists. HOWEVER, on the other hand, as a country we used to legislate morality for this kind of stuff (we still of course do, to some extent--e.g., every crime in the criminal code is a moral judgment at some level). The idea, even if always just a fantasy in reality, is that the majority decides what conduct is immoral and prohibits it or at least makes it more difficult or costly (e.g., porn, prostitution, tobacco/drug/alcohol use, gambling, etc. etc.--though I'd be remiss if I also didn't add to the list of "immoral" conduct we shamefully have prohibited in the past: interracial marriage and homosexual sex; not to mention the truly immoral conduct that we condoned and even endorsed--e.g., slavery); and then there are supposed to be certain protections in the Constitution/Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments to protect the various minorities from those majority pronouncements. But now, we have private businesses--in the form of media and social media outlets, and now in the form of what has become our primary payment/financial transaction platform--to make those moral judgments for us. I know those on the left (or, I should say, those in the middle) like to laugh at those of us not in the middle of the political spectrum when we talk about deplatforming and cancelling. But this is scary stuff. An individual (I'd say pervert, but again, who am I to judge) enters into a private and legal payment contract with Pornhub (yuck) for the rendering of certain services (trying not to vomit in my mouth), BUT, that individual's primary (perhaps sole) online payment platform then sticks itself in the middle of the transaction and says, "nope." Mind you, if we're talking about moral judgments, this payment platform's ENTIRE business model--apart from their "merchant fees" that take money out of the pockets of local businesses--is usury (https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/on-usury-3340; also, Dante's 7th circle). And yes, I know that at least some of what PH is selling is in fact NOT legal--even under our extremely permissive 2020 laws--from child porn, to rape, to human trafficking (this woman is doing the Lord's work: https://twitter.com/lailamickelwait?lang=en). But it should be the "people"--through legislation and law enforcement agencies--that are making those calls.

I am concerned about the slippery slope of all of this. Here's a hypothetical: The Southern Poverty Law Center (in all its glory: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/17/71388717 ... o-move-for) decides that certain traditional marriage, anti-abortion, and religious liberty groups are extremist "hate groups" (e.g., Alliance for Defending Freedom, Family Research Council), and based on that designation, Visa (followed by MC) says it will no longer allow its cardholders to make contributions to those organizations using their credit cards. And if these groups are "anti-LGBTQ" (in the presumably rock-solid reasoning of the SPLC), then isn't my own Catholic church? And if so, then when will Visa no longer honor my monthly donations to my parish church and Archdiocese? And, add to the mix that, as noted in the cashless society topic on this forum, we're moving towards a society that is effectively if not entirely free of non-digital transactions.

OK, that's all for now.
Last edited by Hristo Botev on Wed May 12, 2021 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

white belt
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by white belt »

If it’s any consolation, I’ve installed my bidet on 2 separate toilets because I moved. 1st installation was smooth sailing in 20-30 minutes. 2nd installation took multiple attempts and I ended up not being able to install the metal T connector without stripping the plastic threads on the toilet tank. In the end, I bought a plastic T connector and got a good enough solution, but the connection still drips sometimes.

In regards to the Pornhub thing, I think I’m in agreement that I don’t really think payment platforms should be passing moral judgement or acting as gatekeepers (in a fungible cash society, this wouldn’t be possible). My other comment is that regardless of moral feelings about pornography, access to pornography does seem to correlate with a reduction in sexual assault across all societies: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... al-assault

In this case, it seems like Pornhub was trying to get their act together to improve their systems and reduce the amount of illegal content. This will likely just push that content to other sites that are even less willing to work with authorities and harder to snuff out.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Billy Strings is to bluegrass what Shane MacGowan was to Irish folk music.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

A lot I could update, but I'll limit this post to:

(a) we had a savings rate of 46% for all of 2020 (53% for December--a lot of income, but a lot of spending as well);

(b) we managed to save just shy of $150K for the year;

(c) I spent the Christmas/New Year's break painting the main floor of the house and building a loft bed, bookshelf, and wardrobe for DD (fun w/power tools!; but now all the neighbors think I'm "handy" and keep asking me handyman-related questions);

(d) turns out the county water folks really were just guesstimating as to our water usage, and not actually checking the meter, which shows our water usage was a good bit lower than what we'd been charged--I wish I could say I'm surprised, but truth is I'd have been more surprised if the water folks weren't ripping us off (I'm told a refund will be forthcoming, but I'll believe it when I see it) (I'm still on a 3-4x/week showering schedule, which I think has now become a habit, as I no longer associate waking up in the morning with a shower--rather, I'm now of the mindset that showering is appropriate only when I'm actually dirty, either from exercising or from doing work around the house, etc.); and

(e) I've started the year working my way through Wendell Berry's Library of America essay collection (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/seri ... ry-edition), and my goodness, this man's ERE Wheaton Level score is off the charts.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Cognizant of my tendency to make lists of goals as a substitute for actually doing things, here are my (admittedly ambitious) reading goals for 2021:

- Read the entirety of Wendell Berry's Library of America collection, both his essays and his fiction;
- Read the entirety of Paul Kingsnorth's published works; and
- Read the entirety of Jacob's startup curriculum for finance, economics, and investing (inspired by the back-and-forth on Anticonsumerist's Journal).

As for my savings, generally, the plan is to just continue to put everything in a savings account, except for 401k match money and 529 savings. Perhaps by 2022 I'll be ready to open up a non-Vanguard brokerage account.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Decision time. My choice? Take a 7.5% raise for 2021 and stick with the same minimum billable requirement for the year, 1,400 hours (i.e. 28 hours/week over 50 weeks), which is low for my profession; OR, take a 15% raise and bump my minimum billables up to 1,500 (i.e., 30 hrs/wk), which is still low for my profession. I.e., is the doubling of my yearly raise worth what is roughly an extra day of my time per month?

I don't "need" the money (that's the advantage of being somewhere in between having FU money and being FI), and at current spending levels the difference in take-home pay would equate to a difference in savings rate of about 2.5 percent (57.65% vs. 60.09%). On the one hand, I already spend more than enough time at work to easily hit 1,500 hours; however, I of course waste a WHOLE lot of that time (much of it on this forum). So, perhaps the higher billable requirement would prompt me to waste less time at work, and to get compensated better for the time I'm actually here. On the other hand, I think it's highly likely that 2021 could throw some more curveballs our way, and it was definitely nice having the buffer of a 1,400 minimum requirement to get through 2020.

I'm considering responding by saying I'll do the 1,500 for a 20% pay bump, but the answer very likely will be no (which would be fine), but if it's yes, having demanded more money will put me in a position of having more expected of me, and I'm kind of cool with expectations remaining low for me for the time being.

One wrinkle could be that getting extra income would make DW more comfortable with the idea of reducing her hours at work; which would be great (assuming her boss would go for it). Another wrinkle is that I don't think retirement is really in the picture for me until both kids have at least graduated the 8th grade and moved on to high school (i.e., ~7 years). That's not to say I won't scale things back a bit or transition to something else entirely before then; but DW and I aren't going to be full time living in an Airstream anytime soon, and at least one of us will likely need to keep a job with health care benefits until the kids are older.

Anyway, tough decision; but a good one to have.

ETA: I'm cognizant of the fact that I've previously said on this journal that I think 2021 will be my last full year of full-time salaried law firm life. That might still be the case, and moving to 1,500 hours for the year and more money might make that even more likely to happen. OR, we could get stuck into depending upon the higher paycheck, making it that much more difficult to leave.

ThriftyRob
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by ThriftyRob »

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 'idleness is the enemy of the soul'). My personal view is that the unconscious mind takes its cues from where we put our attention and energy, so your focus on optimising your billable hours will reinforce your goals of achieving FI and alternative income sources. Personal viewpoint and ymmv.
As I opened, it's probably not a decision that a spreadsheet will help you with. Go to bed with an open mind and sleep on the options and let your heart guide you.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Thanks @ThriftyRob. I ended up saying I'd do the 100 hours for a 20% bump (as opposed to a 15% bump), and fully explained my reasoning--which was basically that, although a 15% increase in gross salary sounds great, that $ would be taxed at my highest bracket such that my actual take-home pay increase, though not insignificant, wouldn't really be enough to entice me to work an extra day per month. I suspect they won't go for the 20%, which is fine, because I'm quite content with a 7.5% raise staying at my current very manageable minimum billables.

The background of all of this is I'm growing more and more concerned that my "job" is just part of the problem. It's less a part of the problem than it used to be, when I was working in BigLaw, but apart from the fact that my job provides me with the resources to support my family and help support my local community, in a way, at the end of an 8-hour day I don't think the world is in a better place because I sent some emails and wrote some briefs. My clients aren't dumping toxins into the drinking water, or whatever, or building bombs, etc.; but they also aren't the kind of small, hyper local, independent businesses I think are essential, that I think we should all be encouraging and supporting (e.g., local artisans/craftspeople/musicians, very local bookstores, record shops, and other retail, farmers markets, family farms, solo proprietor service/maintenance/skills techs, etc.). Those businesses can't afford me, and while I am happy to (and frequently do) give some free "suggestions" to friends who own those kinds of businesses (not in the nature of legal representation!), those suggestions are always very pragmatic in nature--i.e., "look, you got other more important priorities to deal with before you need to start paying someone like me to do X--X isn't really that important unless you want to expand into other markets, but here's what you could do to avoid getting burned in the meantime." Any business model that would be profitable while serving the kinds of businesses and individuals I want to serve would either have to: (a) be of the LegalZoom variety, as it concerns scale and volume and automation; or (b) basically be taking advantage of folks by selling them services they don't really need, or that are of a one-size-fits-all variety that aren't particularly well suited to what the individual business needs. And I have no interest in doing either one of those things.

Basically, with where I'm at currently I've found the place where I'm most comfortable doing what I do, working mostly for "SMEs," as opposed to the Fortune 100/500s I was working for previously. And, curiously, my firm is in fact one of those small, hyper local businesses I think are important (staffed by folks who mostly live within walking distance of where they work, and who spend their money (mostly) locally, with local business and individual taxes supporting the same community in which we all live and work).

But if I want to feel really "good" about the time I'm spending practicing law, in a way that is also personally profitable, the only thing I could imagine doing would be some sort of advocacy law, working for a non-profit/ngo type thing. And I have plenty of different reservations about doing that--mainly, I want to be a do-er, not a facilitator; I don't want to "support" a specific kind of way of living or a cause or a kind of business, etc. via litigation or lobbying or regulatory counseling, I want to live that way and participate in that kind of economy; and I don't want to then be dependent on charitable donations or corporate/government grants for my paycheck.

So, ultimately, as I'm writing "out loud," I think the plan remains to stay where I'm at as I move towards FI, and then slowly transition my way out of the full-time practice of law altogether. Perhaps I'll start a community composting business, or a mobile bike repair business (@Jacob's idea, I believe), or a zero-waste bulk foods dispensary business, or invest in friends' small businesses while also providing them legal and corporate advice/guidance, or some combination of all those things and others.

ThriftyRob
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by ThriftyRob »

@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 boring routine which is balanced out by the really rewarding (in satisfaction terms) tasks. Rather like eating a balanced diet. Your firm sounds like it's fulfilling an important role in your community too.

I think you're right not to contemplate taking on legal work which isn't a good fit with your competences and experience. We're all called to do what we are uniquely equipped to do in making a difference. It may have been Anthony Robbins who said something along the lines of 'most people don't recognise opportunities when they are staring at them'.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

ThriftyRob wrote:
Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:30 am
SMEs have more influence on local economies than the mom and pop micro businesses.
No doubt that's true from an actual dollars perspective, but apart from Wendell Berry, I've been very influenced lately by Paul Kingsnorth and Rob Greenfield; both of whom advocate in their own way for de-coupling yourself as much as you can from the globalized economy (as does Berry). And, of course, it's hard to figure out how far one should take that, as there's really no such thing as a closed loop system (anymore?). So, of course, even your independent, one-location book shop isn't selling books printed locally by local authors (same for the music shop, etc.). But as far as a community's resiliency is concerned, it seems like it's the mom and pop micro businesses that's where we should be focusing, as opposed to the "SME" that's just a distributor for some overseas factory, or a franchisor/licensor, or a franchisee/licensee, or a professional services business with its clients mostly located elsewhere. As for my own dilemma, as it concerns my job, e.g., I think "people" should, for the most part, be eating food they cook themselves, with ingredients sourced as locally as possible. I'm trying to live this way personally, and as a family, cooking 99% of our meals at home with ingredients mostly sourced from CSAs, etc. But I go to work everyday and make a living representing, among others, restaurant chains and some national food manufacturers. And, of course, if what I think should happen were to actually happen, on a significant scale, my index fund-invested retirement accounts would be nearly wiped out--which is yet another area in which I profit off of a system that I know is just off kilter, unsustainable and unstable, inequitable, and unhealthy. Perhaps this is my natural Catholic guilt, but my confessions these days have much less to do with the "boring" sexual sins, etc., and much more to do with coming to terms with the fact that I'm participating in a system and a way of living that is, I believe, not just unhealthy and inequitable, but sinful. And so as a "good" Catholic, what's expected is that I simultaneously feel guilty about my participation in that way of life, while also working to reduce and ameliorate that participation, knowing all the while that I'm not going to attain perfection (it's a fallen world, after all). All that is to say, and this is rambling, I know, but I hope the saints my Church recognizes in the future will be so recognized for their rejection of our modern world (see St. Benedict and his reaction to the falling Roman Empire), and their commitment to a more sustainable, equitable, stable, fair and just, healthy, and wholesome way of living--in the manner of Berry, Kingsnorth, Greenfield, Klamus, and of course our esteemed prophet Jacob.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

Some random thoughts, with photos, as I'm going to be billing a bunch of hours over the next few weeks and am procrastinating getting started a bit.

I mentioned previously, but I built DD a loft bed and bookshelf as part of DW and I moving back into the master bedroom and separating the kids into different bedrooms. It still needs to be painted, and it's certainly not perfect. But as the first piece of furniture I've built, I like it, and DD loves it. I mostly used lumber from Home Depot, but the shelving had been been left by the prior owner of our house and had just been sitting in the garage.

Image

Even with all my various mistakes, it still cost less than it would have cost me to buy a cheap metal or particle board one online, or from IKEA, etc. Plus, I was able to tailor it to fit exactly what DD needed (e.g., her ceiling is a little low, so I made this a little shorter than most of the ones I found online).

With the leftover wood from the bed project (plus I think 2 more 2x4s from HD), and with some old fencing I'd taken down from our patio a while back and had been trying to think of a way to dispose of, I built DD a wardrobe as well, as she doesn't have a closet in her room. It turned out well, I think, and it looks especially nice now that she's got her hanging clothes hung up.

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Again, because I built it myself I was able to custom tailor it to what we needed/wanted. E.g., I built it specifically so that DD's laundry basket would fit at the bottom.

I'll add that when you are dealing with limited space, as we are in a townhouse with the world's smallest garage (too small even for a Nissan Leaf, which is why we sold it), a pick-up truck tailgate makes a great work bench.

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Adding to the list of things that in a prior life we'd have happily outsourced, we are currently in the process of painting our kitchen, entryway/hall, front room, and stairwell, as well as painting our kitchen cabinets (everything was various off-putting shades of green before; and not of the more neutral "builder's green" we've lived with before). We are getting the whole family involved with the process, which I mention to explain why the cut-in in the picture below looks a little sloppy (thank goodness for painter's tape).

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Next, I take it as a huge compliment that my views on online retail generally, and Amazon specifically, are sufficiently well known among my friends that they know a good "prank" is to stack up a box of used Amazon boxes in front of my front door, and then snap a photo to send around to our wider school/church community with a question about my mental state.

Here's the stack:

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And as for what was actually inside: a friend was giving me some scrap wood from his shop for us to use as firewood, but he purposely used old Amazon boxes just so he could get a towering photo of Amazon delivery boxes in front of my front door:

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Finally, the award for best Christmas present for 2020 goes to this John Prine album, given to me by DD. And for some reason whenever I look at this album cover what comes to mind is: 2021 life goals.

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RIP John; you're a true poet.

AxelHeyst
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by AxelHeyst »

2021 #lifegoals indeed! Nice work on the bed and wardrobe, they look really clean.

I made no-churn ice cream last night, and couldn’t find our whisk so I stuck a blending attachment in my cordless drill to whip the cream. I think of you every time I make that ice cream.

ThriftyRob
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by ThriftyRob »

Great woodworking! Well done. Have fun painting too.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

AxelHeyst wrote:
Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:58 am
I think of you every time I make that ice cream.
Ha! Glad to hear it! DS has sort of lost his interest in the ice cream for the time being, given that it's winter. But DW has her eye out for used ice cream makers, and has had a couple back and forth with folks (she's very firm on the price she's willing to pay, and which make/model she's looking at). No doubt that will appeal to DS a bit more than the no churn method. DD, on the other hand, continues to make and sell new batches of chocolate bars, and she's gotten really creative with her variations. DW and I have kind of had to get used to the fact that we've lost a shelf of the fridge to DD's chocolate bar operation. Just call her Willy Wonka.

Whatever it takes for the kids to learn that there's no "magic" involved with consumer goods;* it's mostly just a question of convenience and voluntary ignorance that causes someone to, e.g., buy a bag of tortillas from the grocery store rather than make them yourself.

*Except for bourbon, of course.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Western Red Cedar »

Based on the photos of the new furniture, I can see why the neighbors think you are "handy" - keep up the good work!

I got that same John Prine album for 2019 Christmas on vinyl. I listened to that, along with Bruised Orange, many times after he passed away last year. Great man that will be missed. He had an amazing run.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

New word of the day, Precariat: "neologism for a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which means existing without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precariat ... roletariat.

Taken from this article, which presents some intriguing ideas, given some of the recent discussion on this forum of kinds of ERE-ish communities: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021 ... d-capital/ What's most intriguing to me, especially in light of the current and long overdue breakup of my own GOP, is that more and more I'm seeing SO MUCH in common between folks who are on fundamentally different sides of the left/right linear spectrum. I'm seeing more and more emphasis on the "power" dynamic (as in, who should control/have power), and less emphasis on the "values" dynamic (i.e., what values should Americans live by?).

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At least I hope that's the case, and that there will be more common ground found between liberals and conservatives who share a common belief that power really should be decentralized and local (and citizen-based) as much as possible, minimizing the power of big corporations and big government.

I mean, this time last year I probably would have stopped reading an article as soon as I saw the term "cis-men" used; but now, so long as folks who use words like "cis-men" are advocating simply for a world in which they will be free to live as they please, "free[ing] space from the interests of state and capital" so that they are free to structure their own communities in a way that is consistent with their own values--well, hey, you be you, so long as I'm free to be me!

More and more I'm liking the idea of buying 50+ acres of land with friends, just to preserve it largely as forest, carving out small areas for cabins, kitchen gardens, community areas, and the like. As retirement plans are concerned, this is the one that would make the most sense now (to have a place where the family can escape the city on the weekends and long breaks, and where friends and family can gather) and after the kids finish high school (where DW and I can make our permanent or semi-permanent empty nest homestead).

Hristo Botev
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Re: Hristo's FI Journal

Post by Hristo Botev »

DW is now fully vaccinated. Not sure exactly what that means since I suspect it will be several months before it's my turn. DW has some anxiety, given my recent propensity to land in the ICU, of bringing COVID home from the hospital as she goes back to seeing patients in-person.

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