disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Where are you and where are you going?
disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Thanks :) I got the AstraZeneca. Not sure if that's even active in the US.

ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by ertyu »

disk_poet wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:36 am

  • Continue to not use washing machine (ERE Skills)
I am currently majorly failing at this one. It turns out, if one does all one's laundry by hand and one has about a month of falling down the depression hole, when one resurfaces one has an intimidating mountain of dirty clothes and not much to wear. With a washing machine (or access to a commercial laundromat, I guess), one can deal with this problem in an afternoon. As it stands, it's me versus the pile, in an epic struggle of... idek what. Pile-ness versus executive function :lol: May the hunger games begin :lol:

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

:lol: Stay strong my friend... I know what you mean though. Piecemeal seems way easier than dealing with Mt. Dirty Laundry. I've had that experience too and kept putting it off until the mountain got too big. I also had a personal issue the other week (some family stuff) and decided to just use the machine. I think being pragmatic is key here. Sometimes a laundromat or washing machine will be helpful. I am also planning on keeping one to not scare of potential subrenters of my place. Not sure how ERE friendly they will be.

I am really sorry to hear you fell down a depression hole. That sounds rough. Is that related to the whole job hunt? No need to answer if you don't feel like it of course!

On the cabin front: I did a lot of purchasing :o but some of it used. I opted for a chemical toilet at the cabin which makes me sad but there is no good spot for a compost unfortunately. Also the woman I am dating wasn't instantly convinced and I decided that I can't do everything at once. Sometimes I need to take a step back and compromise to move forward. The toilet is not the hill I want to die on (yet!) :D. I decided composting/humanure will be a version 2 module. I did sort out a mobile router for internet and made some progress on the solar front. I'll try to find some LiFePO4 battery cells and then hook up a battery management system (BMS). Probably this DIY/Open Source one (https://electrodacus.com/). So this will be the first battery I will build. Hopefully it will teach me something.

I am also reading "Building a better world in your Backyard" and I think using this cabin to learn about some stuff is still a good idea. It will allow me to level up and build some skills.

In May there will be the first workshop in this permaculture group where I rented a plot of land. I am also very excited about that and to find out how much produce this plot will actually create. I have no idea what to expect.

mooretrees
Posts: 762
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by mooretrees »

Cool to hear about the permaculture workshop! Really excited to hear what you learn and are able to implement.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review April 2021

April felt like progress again. Work is quite busy but I stuck to my 4-day work week by setting clear boundaries. It made the 4 days a bit more intense but having the 3 days off really helped. I still felt stressed a lot. It’s something I want to work on. It does feel like the main obstacle for really enjoying my life at the moment.

I continued to wash by hand although I used the washing machine once. I think I’ll do the same again this month. Mostly wash by hand but use the machine for a big load of sheets and towels. I am missing utilities/strength/time to wash those nicely. I further worked on reducing electricty and hit my 50% reduction target. That felt nice. Water usage went up a bit but still lower than 2 months ago. I think water will be the hardest of the 50% reduction goals. I also worked on clearing out storage and got rid of my big wardrobe which means I also hit my "50% reduction in storage space compared to when I started ERE" goal. That makes 2 out of three goals. For electricity I need to stay on track and water is still something I need to figure out. Still it feels good. I already thought about increasing my targets but then that is something I regularly do. Instead of being happy I achieved something I move the goal post. Instead I will leave the goals for my 12 month ERE anniversary in place and just use the extra capacity to do other stuff or improve what I already have in terms of comfort. Also getting rid of storage means I have quite some items to get rid off.

I also did a big clean at the cabin and spent some time figuring out how to install an LTE antenna for useable internet. The tests went really well and it feels like I will be able to work from out there if I sort out electricity. This is great because I really want to learn about building a solar system. I was worried that I’d have to scrap that project if I couldn’t figure out internet but it all worked out and I learned a lot about antennas. I also added a toilet and some lights plus new bedding to the cabin. It really makes the place more like a home. It’s an upgrade from bucket outside + sleeping bags ;).

Dating is going well although it feels like I am very absorbed in ERE projects right now and not so much in relationship building and self-care. It feels good to make progress but I need to be careful. April was pretty much full steam ahead all of the time and I got the feedback that I sometimes seemed distant or pre-occupied.

Financially the month was quite boring. I did spend quite a bit too much BUT it was mostly all expenses for improving the cabin and I consider those to be ERE investments. It’s stuff I want to figure out so I don’t feel too bad spending that money. I also still hit my savings rate goal but since I also made more money than anticipated it doesn’t feel that important. Reading the thread about the new Wheaton table it also seems that thinking is pretty much moving away from savings rate since it can easily be gamed. I have arrived at the same conclusion. It’s a useful metric if I want to FIRE but that is not my goal anyway.

I also started to reduce waste (mostly plastic) so I am figuring out how to move forward here. It’s still a work in progress but is very informative. The woman I am dating got interested in this so we used this to bond about one of my ERE topics. She also really likes the cabin so that is another project we are bonding over. This feels really nice because in the past I didn’t include other people in my plans. It’s nice to work on these things together.

Health wise things ticked up a bit. Running and cycling increased. Still not at the old levels but things are getting better. I also signed up for a marathon in 6 weeks (I now regularly run half-marathons) so that will be a challenge but hopefully pan out. I will basically piggyback onto the last 42km off an ultra-marathon my partner is running. I am nervous but worst case I fail.

May will also see 2 permaculture workshops and the start of gardening season. Quite excited about that.

Goals

Completed
  • Continue to not use washing machine (ERE Skills) - Used it once. I still count it as achieved.
Progress
  • Further reduce electricity & watser usage (Reduction) - I further reduced electricity, water went up a bit
  • Get the cabin useable (ERE Skills) - Figured out internet, did big clean, added toilet and bedding
  • Get running pace back up (150km per month) (Health) - Didn’t run 150km but 85KM so more than half
Facepalm
  • Fix sink (ERE Skills) - Home improvement always feels like too much to get into
  • Build a bookshelf (ERE Skills) - See above
Financials
  • Savings rate: 47%
  • Spending went up by 10% due to ERE investments.
Reduction
  • Got rid of big wardrobe. Hit 50% target.
Health
  • Running: 85 KM
  • Cycling: 100 KM
  • Health is still an issue but getting better
ERE Skills
  • Further reduced energy consumption
  • Learned about antennas for remote work and off-grid living
  • Used cargo bikes a lot
Enjoyment
  • Making progress really made me feel good
  • Going to cabin and being in nature felt good
  • Still too stressed
Goals for May 2021
  • Have stuff for solar system ordered (ERE Skills)
  • Get rid of loose items cluttering up the flat/cabin (Reduction)
  • Keep on track with water/energy goals (Reduction)
  • Run 200km in total as prep for marathon (Health)
  • Start gardening and attend permaculture workshops (ERE Skills)
  • Feel less stressed and do fun stuff (Enjoyment)
Last edited by disk_poet on Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review May 2021

This is just a short update.

May turned out to be more relaxed than April but also less productive. I think I am sensing an obvious pattern here ;).

My washing by hand goal failed pretty spectacularly. I did succumb to the siren song of the washing machine. At least I was more efficient, but still not what I wanted.

Water & Electricity wise I had a slight uptick in usage. Electricity is at 90% of my goal and water usage at 75%. I think I’ll focus on water this month. I have some ideas to improve electricty but it involves buying a laptop and not using my old gaming PC for work. This will be much more efficient but I want to save a bit before and see what models come out over the summer.

Health wise things are ok. The training for the Marathon is going well. We (me and my girlfriend) did a 33km training run and I feel confident that given decent conditions and a good mental space I can push the extra 10km on the day. There will be another 30km training run this weekend. We also started cycling which turned out to be really nice. The relationship is going really well. We are very aligned on a lot of issues and since she is very frugal it aligns well with my ERE mindset. We also found an app that allows one to purchase almost expired food from shops around the area so that has been fun and seems like a good way to decrease costs.

There have been some bad news/development regarding some of my friends (people getting sick and stuff) so that was and is emotionally quite draining. I am trying to stay positive and figure out how I can support them without burning myself out.

I’ve also decided to do 1 more year of therapy and actively work on my social/relationship skills. I talked to my therapist and we came up with a plan how to move out of therapy and try to cope on my own. It feels really great. It’s not that I dislike therapy… I find it VERY useful and helpful.. but I kind of want to try to be able to care for myself using friends/family/partner and myself.

My little permaculture plot is starting to produce some salads and greens. We should be able to do some harvesting this weekend. We also did 2 workshops regarding planting. There will be another one on soil health this weekend. It’s been really fun.

The solar system is still not done and I feel bad about it. The battery management system did arrive but still no battery cells. I’ve not been on top of it and apparently supply chains are crazy. I’ve been beating myself up a little about this. I wish I was further along.

Same with clearing out the flat. While I made a lot of progress there is still so much stuff everywhere that I need to get rid off.

Goals

Completed
  • Feel less stressed and do fun stuff (Enjoyment)
  • Start gardening and attend permaculture workshops (ERE Skills)
Progress
  • Have stuff for solar system ordered (ERE Skills) - I have the BMS but missing a lot of stuff
  • Keep on track with water/energy goals (Reduction) - Slight uptick but nothing crazy
  • Run 200km in total as prep for marathon (Health) - Ran 120km
Facepalm
  • Get rid of loose items cluttering up the flat/cabin (Reduction) - It feels like I added to the chaos
Financials
  • Savings rate: 68% - Finished a big project this month
  • Spending went up due to ERE investments.
Reduction
  • Kind of dropped the ball
Health
  • Running: 120 KM
  • Cycling: 175 KM
ERE Skills
  • Found app to reduce food waste and get cheaper produce
  • Permaculture workshops
Enjoyment
  • Set better boundaries
  • More running made me feel better
Goals for June 2021
  • Start tracking my health better to focus on that (I have spreadsheets for finances, energy and stuff so I feel like I am managing these areas. Health is more important but not on my radar so much) (Health)
  • Get rid off small stuff in the apartment (Reduction)
  • Reduce water usage (Reduction, ERE Skills)
  • Run Marathon (Health)
  • Spend more time doing fun stuff (Enjoyment)
  • Do an introspection day and plan second half of 2021
Last edited by disk_poet on Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

ertyu
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Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by ertyu »

disk_poet wrote:
Fri Jun 04, 2021 4:21 am

I’ve also decided to do 1 more year of therapy and actively work on my social/relationship skills. I talked to my therapist and we came up with a plan how to move out of therapy and try to cope on my own. It feels really great. It’s not that I dislike therapy… I find it VERY useful and helpful.. but I kind of want to try to be able to care for myself using friends/family/partner and myself.
You seem ambivalent about this, like you think a part of you *shouldn't* want to leave therapy, but consider: getting out of therapy is, and should be, the precise goal of therapy. And you get out of therapy when you can do it by yourself, on yourself, more often than not. Very good goals imo.

MeloTheMelon
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:18 am
Location: Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by MeloTheMelon »

Heya, nice to find more journals from germans here :lol:
You mentioned a university job a while ago, is this still something you are considering doing? I'm just curious because it's something I'd like to try out in the future, but for now I'm definitely lacking the experience for that.
As someone who's also in the IT field, what made you go into freelance work instead of taking a corporate job? Wouldn't that take care of the high health insurance cost?

Anyways, your progress is great and I'm definitely stealing some ideas from here. I didn't knew that those food apps exist here too (only saw it in the UK), but there are two bakeries in walking distance who are participating in these apps, so I'll give it a try.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

ertyu wrote:
Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:48 am
You seem ambivalent about this, like you think a part of you *shouldn't* want to leave therapy, but consider: getting out of therapy is, and should be, the precise goal of therapy. And you get out of therapy when you can do it by yourself, on yourself, more often than not. Very good goals imo.
Thanks ertyu. That is a good point. I think you were right that I was second guessing myself and also am a bit scared of falling back into old patterns. But that is not a good reason to not try (fear that is). I think a lot of my life is driven by the fear of failing or being judged. But that is something that I am actively working on. I hope things are well with you. Long time no update ;)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

MeloTheMelon wrote:
Sat Jun 05, 2021 12:02 pm
Heya, nice to find more journals from germans here :lol:
You mentioned a university job a while ago, is this still something you are considering doing? I'm just curious because it's something I'd like to try out in the future, but for now I'm definitely lacking the experience for that.
As someone who's also in the IT field, what made you go into freelance work instead of taking a corporate job? Wouldn't that take care of the high health insurance cost?

Anyways, your progress is great and I'm definitely stealing some ideas from here. I didn't knew that those food apps exist here too (only saw it in the UK), but there are two bakeries in walking distance who are participating in these apps, so I'll give it a try.
Haha :) Thanks for stopping by. Just subscribed to your Journal and will catch up soon.

I did take the university job and it's fine. Honestly academia is a bit less stressful than freelancing so it feels very slow. On the other hand I am only hired for half a day every week so I am not feeling super involved/productive. People tell me otherwise but still... what are you looking for at a university job?

Re freelancing: I think you're right re health insurance. I think at this point it's the devil I know and finding a job and giving up "freedom" (I am not sure I am actually more free) feels weird. I think being my own boss sounded cool 10+ years back to I went for it. It's not bad but I am reconsidering on a regular basis. It's a constant back and forth. ;)

MeloTheMelon
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Location: Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by MeloTheMelon »

disk_poet wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:00 pm
Haha :) Thanks for stopping by. Just subscribed to your Journal and will catch up soon.

I did take the university job and it's fine. Honestly academia is a bit less stressful than freelancing so it feels very slow. On the other hand I am only hired for half a day every week so I am not feeling super involved/productive. People tell me otherwise but still... what are you looking for at a university job?

Re freelancing: I think you're right re health insurance. I think at this point it's the devil I know and finding a job and giving up "freedom" (I am not sure I am actually more free) feels weird. I think being my own boss sounded cool 10+ years back to I went for it. It's not bad but I am reconsidering on a regular basis. It's a constant back and forth. ;)
I see the same with my current job - kinda in academia - it's a lot less stressful than being in the industry. Re the university job, I think I would really enjoy teaching some classes, I worked part-time as a teaching assistant while I studied and really enjoyed it. I'm just not really into the whole research and publishing game professors are in :lol: I guess I'd like to teach part-time and only focus on that, but I'm not sure if this is even possible here.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
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Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@Melo: I think a lot of universities are looking for lecturers (Dozenten). You can just do the teaching and no research. That is something I have also been thinking about because it is relatively flexible and also has natural gaps between semesters. Not sure how well it is paid but probably liveable.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

June is turning out to be an expensive month. I've bought lot's of parts for the cabin and a solar system.. hovering around 1-1,5K EUR. I think it's good I am doing it because I am making progress and the solar system is the next big thing I want to figure out but it still: It always feels like a step backwards to spend that much money. I now have: 4 battery cells + busbars, 1 battery management system + charge controller, 1 inverter, 2 solar panels on order. At this point I am missing some shunts, cables, breakers, small parts and fuses. My goal is to have everything together at the end of the month. So hopefully this month will just be super expensive and then I'll be back to "normal".

I also built a small shelf for the cabin and am starting to build a raised bed/bench for plants out of old pallets. The shelf took forever and at some point I was sitting on the floor, exhausted, everything crooked and things twisted and turned in every direction but the right one. It was just comical. I did manage to finish it but it's crooked and not very stable. Still it does the job and I learned some stuff.

Even though I am slowly making progress I find myself frustrated a lot because I am not moving fast enough. Things are still messy at home. Too much stuff cluttering up, too many projects unfinished or not even started. I need more time and energy but work is eating most of that up during the week.
I am now seeing the advantage of the ripping the bandage off and making quick changes. It's really an endurance contest moving forward this slowly. On the other hand... this is what I am usually quite good at.

This Saturday is marathon day. It's supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far, so the plan is to start at 5 in the morning and be done between 9 and 10. We'll see how that goes. We've been trying to get up earlier this last week and I am finding myself tired and exhausted because I don't manage to get to bed early enough.

I'm feeling a bit exhausted and frustrated at the moment. I'd like to be able to focus more on the fun stuff I am doing and not be so hung up on work. I hope this passes...

NuncFluens
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Location: Bavaria, Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by NuncFluens »

I know that feeling of moving backwards when I spend a lot of money. I tend to console myself by calculating the amortisation period and focusing on "when will this start making money". Sounds like a solar system should get you there eventually.
disk_poet wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:10 am
@Melo: I think a lot of universities are looking for lecturers (Dozenten). You can just do the teaching and no research. That is something I have also been thinking about because it is relatively flexible and also has natural gaps between semesters. Not sure how well it is paid but probably liveable.
I'm curious about you guys' experiences here. I'm working a university-adjacent job right now and it has been my observation that non-professors don't get any chance to teach their own classes. If you mooch up to a professor you might get to do their lab-exercise class, but that's about it. Is this specific to my university or are you facing the same gatekeeping?

MeloTheMelon
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:18 am
Location: Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by MeloTheMelon »

NuncFluens wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:42 am
I know that feeling of moving backwards when I spend a lot of money. I tend to console myself by calculating the amortisation period and focusing on "when will this start making money". Sounds like a solar system should get you there eventually.



I'm curious about you guys' experiences here. I'm working a university-adjacent job right now and it has been my observation that non-professors don't get any chance to teach their own classes. If you mooch up to a professor you might get to do their lab-exercise class, but that's about it. Is this specific to my university or are you facing the same gatekeeping?
That is the same feeling I got. I got to "teach" a couple lab classes, and I know of some older PhD students who taught some of the elective courses, but even that was really rare. The only time I saw a "non-Professor" teach a class was when a Prof was absent for an extremely specialized elective and they got someone from the industry to teach this class. Although that also was only a course over the summer break with a lot of project work and not a standard lecture.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
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Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@NuncFluens: That's a good idea re amortisation to take the sting out. I think what also helps me is to see those purchases in terms of a larger goal (can be risky because it's a reason to get stuff and not exercise ERE skills) but still. I think with my slow-burn approach I just can't do everything at once. I am realizing more and more that this is a major trade-off that I somehow didn't grasp. Not having enough time to find ERE solutions for everything means having to fall back on money which then starts a negative feedback loop of depending on money and having to work more. It's probably obvious for everyone else but I needed to experience it to grasp it.

Regarding teaching: I studied at an applied university (Fachhochschule for the germans) and we actually had probably 30% of classes being done by outside lecturers. It might have been the esoteric field or the fact that it was a new department. I also know that there is a general shortage of CS teachers in high schools and apprenticeship schooling. So that is something that I am also thinking about.

NuncFluens
Posts: 221
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
Location: Bavaria, Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by NuncFluens »

disk_poet wrote:
Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:57 am
@NuncFluens: That's a good idea re amortisation to take the sting out. I think what also helps me is to see those purchases in terms of a larger goal (can be risky because it's a reason to get stuff and not exercise ERE skills) but still. I think with my slow-burn approach I just can't do everything at once. I am realizing more and more that this is a major trade-off that I somehow didn't grasp. Not having enough time to find ERE solutions for everything means having to fall back on money which then starts a negative feedback loop of depending on money and having to work more. It's probably obvious for everyone else but I needed to experience it to grasp it.
Ok, I think I get it. This is much more about the renaissance ideal than it is about the loss of money for you, isn't it? I'm still accumulating hard, so maybe I'm much more willing to "play the game" and use the system. I'm still coming more from a typical mindset of throwing money at it as long as I can turn a profit. Something to think about maybe...
disk_poet wrote:
Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:57 am
Regarding teaching: I studied at an applied university (Fachhochschule for the germans) and we actually had probably 30% of classes being done by outside lecturers. It might have been the esoteric field or the fact that it was a new department.
We had a similar situation when a new field was established at our university (also Fachhochschule). Although we mostly had industry professionals coming in to take over a lecture or two. Now that it's solidified most classes are done by professors, however.

disk_poet
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Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review June 2021

In somee sense June was a good month and in some sense it was an awful month. The stress factor at work is high which tends to taint my free time. I had a few days where I was basically a couch potatoe, watched movies, ate but not out of enjoyment but because I was just feeling empty. I remember having a lot of those days in the past but I changed that. This felt like a regression to a previous state. It didn’t make me feel good about myself.

On the other hand I ran my first marathon. That feels like progress in the exact opposite direction. It was very exhausting and I really didn’t prepare adequatly for it. I just prepped the running but not the general fitness and core strength. That really got me during the run. It was on the hottest day of the year so far, so I started really early. Still the heat really got to me (esp the night after, when I had a high fever and bad headaches). Things I did well: Running early, finishing, hydrating. Things I didn’t do well: General fitness, eating. My girlfriend supported me and that was really nice and helpful.

I also ordered and received all the big parts for the solar system and a new laptop to go with it. The goal being to work at my cabin end of July/Beginning of August for a week or a bit longer. Now there is assembly and small parts (cables, resistors, etc.) left.

I also did a reflection day. This was really helpful. I came up with maslow-ish categories for goals I want to pursue. They are: Health, Self-actualization, Relationships and Resources. The priorities in Health for this year being mobility & wellbeing followed by fitness. For self-actualization I want to focus on reduction of my lifestyle. The rough goal is to be 'ready' to move into a small/tinyhouse or my cabin from a space/resource-usage standpoint. Also I want to solidify ERE as a goal for myself and do more solo adventures. For relationships my goal is to deepen my relationships and also start new ones. This is also what I am focussing on in therapy so that is good. Practical things to do here are spending quality time with my friends and being more active in the permaculture community or some other local community. For resources I basically have my 50% reduction goals. I also want to get the flat ready for subletting and then there is this goal of traditional retirement… A few years back I had a panic attac thinking about retirement and how I did not prepare at all. It was on my birthday.. and being bad with basic arithmetic I miscalculated my age. After finding out that I was 1 year younger than I thought I was I decided to use this do-over to actually set up a plan so I wouldn’t have the same panic attac again 1 year later. It basically meant setting up a spreadsheet with a simple accumulation phase ending at around age 60 and then having a spending/drawdown phase until I die. I also talked to the retirement agency here in Germany, set-up a basic plan just to be in the system (as a freelancer there is no national retirement plan to pay into automatically) and put some money in index funds assuming a 3%-ish ROI. All with the goal to afford me a very basic but liveable lifestyle when I am getting to the traditional retirement age. All under assumption the world isn’t going to shit. Anyway: Long story short… there are some loose ends I promised myself to take care of until this year. This entails filling out some forms with the agency to clear up some unaccounted time when I was in university and also exploring if there are plans with some tax-advantages that I could pay into. I put this under the category "Resources" but it’s something I want to get done this year so I don’t have to think about it again for a while. I want more stuff to be on autopilot so I don’t have to think about it much.

With all this project work I didn’t really focus on enjoying life and being healthy & well this month. This is something I really would like to learn. Maybe it’s time to re-visit meditation. I also might the book "Hooked!" that @moretrees recommended in her Journal. Seems fitting.

Goals

Completed
  • Start tracking my health better to focus on that (Health) - Created version 1 of a spreadsheet
  • Run Marathon (Health) - Might have been the slowest ever but I did it
  • Do an introspection day and plan second half of 2021 - Felt really good
  • Reduce water usage (Reduction, ERE Skills) - Second lowest month, still not on target though
Progress
  • Get rid off small stuff in the apartment (Reduction) - Got rif of one big box. Lot’s more to do.
Facepalm
  • Spend more time doing fun stuff (Enjoyment) - It feels like I was always busy or trying to do stuff. No great.
Financials
  • Savings rate: -20% - Yes.. this is a negative savings rate. I bought a laptop, solar panels and had a big health expenditure.
  • Spending went up due to ERE investments.
Reduction
  • I got rid of one big box but there is much more to go.
Health
  • Running: 112 KM
  • Cycling: 160 KM
ERE Skills
  • Not much, continued reading the Paul Wheaton book
Enjoyment
  • The month felt kind of stressful, I don’t think I particularly focused on having a good time.
Goals for July 2021
  • Get rid of the loose items in the living room (Reduction)
  • Hit the 50% electricity goal (Reduction, ERE Skills)
  • Focus on wellbeeing (Meditation & Mobility) (Health)
  • Have solar system working (ERE Skills)
  • Go on an adventure (Enjoyment)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review July 2021

I am writing this late August because I went on holiday first week of August and still didn’t find the time to write this post. I hope I will be back on track next week.

I don’t remember July to be super great. Colleagues at work were on holiday and we had a big project that finished. I remember that being very stressful and having to work a lot to finish everything.

One thing that was nice is that I organized a small birthday party for my best friend + family at the garden. It was his birthday and he didn’t have any plans. It was a really nice day and it was nice having them all out there.

I will cover August in a separate post but next week I actually have 2 viewings for potential flats. They are not smaller but still ca. 150 EUR cheaper and more importantly rent-controlled which will make me sleep much better at night. Currently I live in a house that is in a high gentrification area and it’s clear that longterm the people with "low" rents will be driven out. They are doing lots of rennovations, addings flats to the roof, etc. It’s the typical story: Buy a house, wait 10 years till some deadline runs out when you have to pay taxes on gains and then modernize & sell the flats. I am not sure how the flats are looking but it’s a good step to start going to viewings. Also makes me nervous though because I like my flat. But that’s probably loss-aversion at play.

My relationship is still going well but my girlfriend will finally be moving to France for work which is making us both nervous. She will be able to commute every week but it’s not great and I hope we find a good arrangement. I personally am good with alone time but I am still worried if and how we can find a way to stay emotionally connected. Also it will add logistical overhead and stress. I am also intrigued about France though. It’s a good chance to explore another country a bit more and get exposed to a different european culture.

Goals

Completed
  • Hit the 50% electricity goal (Reduction, ERE Skills) - 51,01% to be exact ;)
  • Get rid of the loose items in the living room (Reduction) - There are new ones, but got rid of current set
Progress
  • Have solar system working (ERE Skills) - Doing this when I have free brainspace means I am moving sloooow
Facepalm
  • Go on an adventure (Enjoyment)
  • Focus on wellbeeing (Meditation & Mobility) (Health)
Financials
  • Savings rate: 50%
  • Spending went down, Income went up
Reduction
  • I got rid of some loose items
Health
  • Running: 3 KM
  • Cycling: 240 KM
ERE Skills
  • Finished Paul Wheaton book
Enjoyment
  • I don’t remember
Goals for August 2021
  • None, since this post was delayed until late August

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Review August 2021

Post by disk_poet »

Review August 2021

August again turned out to be a mixed bag.

I had a week of vacation which I spent with my girlfriend at my little cabin. That was really nice. We both enjoyed being in nature and living simply. I also learned a lot about how much time it takes to do certain things when off the grid. E.g. since my new solar system wasn’t ready, there was a lot of energy management. Same with water. We had to grab water for showering etc. in buckets. It just took a lot of time and interruption. Same with internet: We used a mobile router and some days it was great and some really shitty. Definitely less reliable and I think for a permanent solution one needs to have redundant solutions in place. I didn’t mind it but it was interesting to see how I was able to keep busy with living + some bike riding and reading. It was also the first time we spent an extended time together in a small space which was a good learning experience. Of course we had some disagreements but all in all it went well. I also learned how a tiny space get’s cluttery real quick. In my flat I have reduced things quite heavily so it takes a bit of chaos to make it look like a mess. The little cabin + trailer got messy real quick. You could really see the entropy increasing. I realized how important it is for me to increase the visual cleanliness of the space by putting stuff in boxes and closing things up. I think I knew that before but really seeing it in action changed it for me.

On the reduction front things were going well. I’ve reached the 50% reduction since start of tracking in all three areas (stuff, electricty, water) for the first time. In electricity I actually managed to get to a 75% reduction. I think this will go down a bit over the winter but still. I will not set new goals until the first year of ERE rolls over but it was really satisfiying to see the change.

Financially the vacation + some birthdays + some improvements for the cabin meant that I spent a lot of money. I also earned 1 less week of income so that resulted in a savings rate of 31%. Not great. I think/hope september will be better. My current goal is 42% and I am at 38,5% on average this year. To reach the goal I’d have to average 50% for the last 4 months. That will be tough especially with my girlfriend moving to France this month and me potentially moving into a new flat…

… which is the other thing that happened in August: I looked at three flats that I could potentially move into. They all need major rennovations, are a bit smaller (but with an extra room) and a bit cheaper. They all are through the same group and are rent controlled. Also once you’re in you can move to different size flats if they open up without having to re-apply. The location is not as lively as my current flat (no cafe down the street) but they are only about 2km from where I live now. They are super close to transit and one is right across the street from a great park. Looking at it objectively I think all of them are a bit of a step down (not as nice) but are a bit more practical (1 small extra room, rent controlled, lower ceilings => better heating). So for me it would be more of a long term thing that would allow me to go in a rentvesting route. Since one can move up or down in size depending on the life situation + rent control it seems like a good mode to be in. Still, giving up my current flat makes me sad but I think that is just because of loss aversion.

Work wise things are very busy. It is one of the parts of my life where I am least happy with atm. Having the shock of covid at the beginning of the year I still have way too much to do and freetime is harder to come by. This was definitely better last year. I also realize that having stress at work really negatively affects my health/excercise routine and from that my mental health. That is the biggest thing I need to work on but it is hard. I know I can do it because I’ve gotten myself out of it before but I also know that it won’t be instanteneous and it won’t be easy.

The other thing that makes me nervous is my girlfriends move to France. It will effectively turn our relationship into a long distance one. I am not sure how well that will go. I’ve had them before and I didn’t like it. But that was also almost 15 years ago and I am a different person now. It will lead to some stress and figuring things out though. On the other hand it can also be an adventure and that is the kind of view I’d like to have on it. But given work stress it’s not easy to keep that mindset.

Looking at this I think the focus for September will again be mental health. Stress being the biggest factor here.

The second thing that I want to pursue is going fridgeless. I am planning to live the 6 months (October - March) without turning on the fridge. For that I need some kind of insulation box that I can use. The plan then is to use ice or cool-packs/water bottles that I will put on the windowsill to "power" the box. So the goal would be to find a used Yeti box somewhere and if none is available at least find a good deal.

Goals

Completed
  • n/a
Progress
  • n/a
Facepalm
  • n/a
Financials
  • Savings rate: 31%
  • Spending went up, income down because of holiday
Reduction
  • I got rid of a shelf in the kitchen putting me at 53% reduction since start of tracking
  • Lowered electricty and water both above the 50% reduction line
Health
  • Running: 16 KM
  • Cycling: 160 KM
ERE Skills
  • Spent a week at the cabin
  • Fixed a leaky faucet at my house
Enjoyment
  • A week of vacation
  • Went on several bike rides
Goals for September 2021
  • October will mark both the end of Q3 and also 1 year of ERE. I want to have some concrete goals for Q4 and also finish up V1 of my tracking sheet. I think the goal is to have two "workshops" to come up with concrete things. (ERE Skills)
  • I want to counter the movement stress with some nice experiences (Enjoyment)
  • Go on more bike rides (at least 1 a week) (Enjoyment,Health)
  • Savings rate of 50% (Financials)
  • Obtain cooler box (ERE Skills)

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