Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Where are you and where are you going?
heyhey
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:17 pm
Location: Herts UK

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by heyhey »

mfi wrote:In a future monthly update, would you consider posting an itemized list of your monthly food/groceries purchases and how those items translate into meals/recipes?
+1 .. I am amazed at your food costs! Thanks for a fascinating journal.

ETA: remembered you are following the Warrior Diet which means eating only once a day, so is it rice, lentils and a few nuts? How is that going, are you getting enough calories to maintain your weight?

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

I mentioned some of this in an earlier post, but added a few additional thoughts as time has passed and I have more data. My food expense is low for a number of reasons:

1. I mostly follow the Warrior Diet and do not eat anything during the day, except a little fruit and maybe nuts.
2. I do not eat very much meat or dairy, which are huge cost drivers in most grocery budgets, and instead eat legumes for most of my protein.
3. I have learned to be content with simple eating, but also cultivated my cooking skill to make simple meals go further, taste wise.
4. The bulk of my calories come from lost-cost staples: legumes, rice, potatoes, tortillas, etc.
5. I only buy produce that is either on sale/in-season or just cheap all the time (bananas, carrots, etc.), instead of more expensive options. And I find that groceries are almost always running a deep discount on one or two items, so I load up and we eat a lot of that item for the next few days.
6. I only buy meat, eggs, nuts when they are on sale. For example, a local grocer was selling 12oz containers of peanuts for $2/container. We bought like 14 of them over a few week span.
7. I live in Chicago now and have access to a lot of different grocers. DF and I walk to the different grocers and look for whatever is cheapest. This is not the most efficient use of time, but it is part of our exercise, so we don't mind. So we sort of pick and choose from ~5 grocers, buying whatever each is loss leading with.
8. We take advantage of different specials that are offered. For example, a local grocer offered a Groupon for $10 of groceries for $7, which each of us were able to use 4 times. This netted $12 each of free groceries. A few weeks ago we both used an offer from Google Express where we each got $20 of free groceries net of delivery fee. These discounts add up.
9. The way I do my food/grocery accounting distorts my total "food" number down a bit, since I do not include meals out in food/groceries. Since eating at home is so cheap for us (I checked DF's finances and she has spent around $45/month, so about the same as me), I track eating out as entertainment. Given that I can eat at home for a little over $1/day, it is not accurate to say that a $8 meal out is purely for nutrition. As a result, my "food" expense will appear a little low, because a number of our meals wind up in "entertainment". With that said, we also utilize a lot of Groupons and special offers for eating out, so it's not like we are spending that much eating out.


@mfi - If I can remember, I will hang onto my receipts and post actual purchases. I just checked, and my 2015 average monthly grocery expense is $38/month. I can give you a pretty close approximation right now, though. Most months I buy some variation of the following items:

1. Bananas, around 40 total, 0.4 pounds each, $.50/pound = $8. This is lunch on weekdays. On weekends, I frequently will not anything for lunch (I normally eat a lot on Friday/Saturday nights), or just leftovers from the night before
2. A combination of the following legumes (purchased dry): black beans, red beans, pinto beans, white beans, red lentils, chick peas. These vary a bit, but I normally buy the red lentils for ~$0.8/pound, black beans for $1/pound, pinto beans for $1/pound, red beans for a bit more, and the others for a little more.
3. Rice (purchased every few months in 25 pound bags, effectively free), russet potatoes (saw some for $1.50 for 5 pounds last weekend), corn/flour tortillas, pasta, etc.
4. Eggs, when on sale.
5. Chicken, if on sale, for a couple meals.
6. Assorted produce, as noted above, based on what is on season and being deeply discounted.
7. Nuts, when on sale (which is rare unfortunately).

Here are a few of the meals we have had in the last few weeks:

Red lentil dal (like this http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/red_lentil_dal/ ), cucumbers, broccoli, saffron/turmeric rice.
Bean burritos (refried pinto beans, lettuce, avocado, tortillas, tomato, cilantro rice.)
Black beans, Brussels sprouts, rice, broccoli.
Red beans and rice (meatless), lettuce, carrots.
Chana masala (like this http://allrecipes.com/recipe/236564/cha ... hick-peas/ ), turmeric rice, lettuce, squash (yellow and zucchini).

As you can see, our meals are all over the place, but staples constitute the bulk of our diet and cheap produce fills in the rest. So trips to the grocery generally include weekly produce, and depending on what we have in the pantry and what is on sale we may or may not buy staples.


@heyhey - Thanks! Yeah, as noted above I (mostly) follow the Warrior Diet most days. I listed a few of our recent meals above, which should give an idea of what I eat.

Good question. I maintained my weight for most of 2015, but back in September I realized I was not making much progress on my body fat goal, so I got back on track (by increasing the ratio of vegetables to rice/potatoes/tortillas/pasta/bread, and exercising more consistently) and since then I have been losing weight at a steady clip. I would note that it would be very hard to gain weight following a diet like mine, where you essentially eat (plants) once per day. Getting enough calories just has to do with modulating the calorically dense food (rice, potatoes, etc.)

Also, we tend to not eat as clean on the weekends (meals out with family/friends, homemade pizza/Thai/Indian), so our weight pattern normally spikes on the weekend up a pound or two, and then slowly falls during the week :-P.

cmonkey
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by cmonkey »

I really really need to make a better effort of eating like you describe. Cooking has never been my strong suit and the DW is losing interest and I think its mostly because we were never taught how to cook proper, low cost meals from scratch (as opposed to recipes). We haven't really transitioned from how our parents cooked (recipe based, processed, meat/dairy based meals where you make a list and cook that) to like you describe and so are caught in the middle not knowing what to do.

I think it just comes down to making the effort and turning this into habit! That chana masala dish looks fantastic.

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

For most people, food is one of the areas with the biggest potential for material cost savings, so it may be worth digging into further.

I just read a post where Jacob provided three links that are useful in this area:

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/wiki/ ... _and_sales
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/wiki/ ... ng_in_Bulk
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/wiki/ ... title=Food

You are definitely right that interest and ability to cook are key. I was lucky in that my parents (mostly my mom) taught me bits of cooking here and there growing up, so I had the basic knowledge, and then when I went off to college I developed an interest in it. It is perhaps the only "creative" thing that I enjoy at this point in my life.

Cooking is certainly something that you can teach yourself. There is nothing wrong with using recipes to cook. In fact, I always lean heavily on recipes when learning new cuisines or dishes. It is like anything else, you have to have the basics down before you can start tweaking things. Pick a few recipes and learn how they work. It may be helpful to keep a journal or recipe book with notes (I do this ). Over time, knowledge will build up and overlap across different food types, and you can then more creatively use staples and spices with whatever is on sale, to create tasty and cheap meals. One of the downsides is you may start to appreciate restaurants less as you can do better for less, but this is a good problem to have!

Haha, unfortunately my DF was not a huge fan of the chana masala I made (that was the first time), but she does love my lentils ;)!

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Strategic Management

Post by Dave »

I made it through three books in November, which is good for me. I have a few more lined up, but I decided to start with Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068484 ... ge_o01_s00).

Although I have a bachelors degree in accounting/management with a concentration in finance, I realized that one of the gaping holes in my business knowledge is strategy and competitive advantage. Part of my investment process involves assessing competitive advantage, and although I know the general factors (network effects, economies of scale, intangibles, switching costs, and so on) and certain tools for analyzing (such as DuPont ROE analysis), I really do not have as strong of an understanding of this area as I would like to. So, time to drill in.

This is becoming increasingly important because I would prefer to invest in franchise businesses with strong moats instead of "cigar butt" companies.

For example, I am invested in OUTR right now. OUTR (think Redbox, Coinstar, ecoATM) will not likely become a growth story, as the future for Redbox and Coinstar (the majority of the cash flow comes from these two) is not one of massive growth. With that said, I believe it will be a good investment as the free cash flow generation is high relative to the market cap. In my opinion, it does not matter if sales decline (they probably will) because the businesses still have strong qualities: dense networks and thus low servicing costs, low cap-ex needs, little sales and marketing needs, and quick cash conversion cycles. Considering the cash generation of the business coupled with the return to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks, I see a high probability of a strong return. The risk is if management destroys value through burning cash on trying to create new businesses (as they are with ecoATM). All of that considered, OUTR will not likely be a growth story, but I do see an undervalued "cigar butt", in traditional value lingo.

So although I am in OUTR right now, my long-term preference is to be invested in businesses with a long-term growth story, a key component of which is competitive advantage. For example, another of my holdings is JBSS. JBSS is in the business of processing and selling nuts, and has been for a long time. However, in 2007 the owners decided to hire a professional management team (instead of the family running the business) who streamlined operations, significantly improving margins. Unlike most of their competitors, JBSS is solely focused on nuts and nut products, instead of a variety of snack products. JBSS also has the majority of its operations located extremely close to the nut growing regions, so they enjoy cheap transportation costs. Finally, the nut industry enjoys the beneficial tailwind of increasing numbers of consumers interested in healthy eating/snacking. As a result of these factors, JBSS's stock has been on a tear since early 2012.

That is the sort of business I prefer to be invested in, and I want to have a stronger understanding of competitive advantage so I am better able to identify businesses like JBSS. Competitive Strategy is supposed to be Professor Porter's seminal work on strategy, so hopefully this book fills in some of the gap in my knowledge. If anyone has any suggestions on additional resources in this area, please let me know!

mfi
Posts: 93
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:27 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by mfi »

Thank you Dave - your groceries post was very informative!

llorona
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Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:44 pm
Location: SF Bay Area

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by llorona »

Thanks for mentioning Google Express a couple posts back. I'd never heard of it before. We live 30 minutes away from a Costco or Target, so I am happy to pay their $4.99 delivery charge to stock up and have staples delivered to my house a couple times a year!

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

@mfi - Glad to help.

Regarding your question above about keeping grocery receipts, I kept all of my grocery receipts for December. As I will note in my December summary below, December was an unusual month because I was away visiting my brother for a week and then a week at my parents, so my grocery expense is distorted, but here is what I (and DF when I was home) bought:

Me:

$2.01 for 4 lb oranges
$8.67 for a dozen eggs, 2 lb of carrots, 2.98 lb apples, and 1 lb cheese
$4.99 of delivery fee ($25 free credit) from Google Express for 3 lb navy beans, 3 lb pinto beans, 2 lb black beans, 4 8oz cans tomato sauce, garlic powder, 1 lb of brown rice
$6.84 for 6 bananas, nearly-stale discounted bread, and 40oz jug of natural peanut butter

DF

$8.04 for .77 lb banana, 1 lb celery, 2.85 lb broccoli, 2.41 squash, 1 lb bell peppers,
$10.32 for 2.82 lb broccoli, 3.67 lb apples, 3.74 lb squash

We obviously ate more than that, but the rest was food already stocked in our pantry and meals out (quite a few in December).

@llorona - Yeah, it is an interesting service. I hope you get some good use out of it. Since signing up, I have received a few email offers for additional small discounts/credits ($10-$15), which would help offset the shipping cost should I choose to use it going forward.

mfi
Posts: 93
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:27 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by mfi »

Thanks for the details Dave - Happy New Year!

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

December and full-year 2015 reviews

Post by Dave »

December Review

Financial Review

Housing: $431
Transportation: $84
Food: $23
Insurance: $116
Entertainment: $244
Miscellaneous: $158

Total: $1,056

Assets = 5.8X annual expenses

Expenses were up in December. DF and I took a weekend trip to Milwaukee, I stayed with my brother for a week and a half, and I stayed at my parents for a week, all of which pumped up expenses. There were some extra expenses associated with holiday gifts, as well. The result was higher-than-average levels of Miscellaneous and Entertainment expenses.

Investments were hit pretty hard in December. OUTR declined substantially after updating their 2015 guidance (although their updated guidance matches my "average" case expected outcome for 2015, so this does not trouble me). This is not necessarily a bad thing as they have been buying back stock, and now they are (in my opinion) buying their own stock at a deep discount. JBSS declined a lot from their high, so now I am up 16% YTD instead of the 29% I was previously. This is a solid company, and I have no intentions of selling it anytime soon, as I expect the price to eventually climb back up and beyond where it was before.

Nonfinancial Review

It was a really fun month with all of the travelling and visiting family and friends noted above. I could have eaten healthier, but this is how the holidays go sometimes!


2015 Review

Financial Review

Expenses: $13,105

All in all, I am satisfied with how the year turned out. I have come to appreciate more that there is no such thing as a "normal" year of expenses, but being in in two weddings and having a couple months of double rent due to the move to Chicago drove our expenses up around $2,500 more than a more "average" year. For whatever limited value it is, my "normalized" expenses are then around $10,550. This is a bit higher than the $10,300 I was shooting for, but I am pleased. I have a stronger grasp of what my expenses are and that was a major reason of why I was keeping this journal.

In terms of investing, I have come a long way in 2015. I am not going to discuss this at length in this post as nothing has really changed from my previous thoughts, but I continue to plan to follow a value investing strategy focusing on small-cap US companies. Time will tell whether this is worthwhile, but I intend to give the strategy several years to test it out. My portfolio's return fluctuated wildly over the course of the year, at times my return being 15%+ above the market and at times 15%+ down. At the close of the year, I trailed the market by ~9%. This drop really all happened in December, as I took a big dive in December. Since I do not believe anything has fundamentally changed with my investments, I consider this a positive development as I plan to be a net buyer of (undervalued) stocks into the foreseeable future.

Nonfinancial Review

I set a number of goals in 2015 that I did not accomplish, but that are of little value to me after a year has passed. I guess that is part of the nature of goal setting. Focusing on the essence (not the specifics) of the goals I set, I believe I accomplished what I set out to. I ate much healthier and exercised more, while learning about nutrition and other forms of exercise (kettle bells and yoga) along the way. I used Craigslist and bartering at different establishments to buy and sell possessions more efficiently while increasing my ability to negotiate. I started volunteering at an assisted living facility to meet people and give back a bit. I didn't read the 25 books I set out to, but I read around 15 or so in addition to a lot of other material. I was fairly consistent in the last half of the year with meditation, and I was more generally mindful in everyday life. So while I may not have taken a first aid course or learned to make soap as I set out to, I certainly made progress in areas that are important to me.

Looking at 2015 as a whole, I am pleased. Onward to 2016!

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

Spring 2016 Update

Life has kept on chugging along, as it always does. I went through two significant life events since my last post.

First, I got married to my girlfriend of 8 years. We are happy to be married! In financial terms not much changed from the consolidated perspective. I have decided to discontinue reporting my expenses and assets. This is for two reasons. First, I am not as interested as I used to be in these details. I believe I have internalized the core principles, and the data is not actionable. Second, I prefer to maintain a degree of financial privacy in this journal. This is not to make secret our financial lives from internet friends, but to keep a layer of separation for anyone who knows me personally who follows this journal. I will still periodically review our financial situation in broad strokes. I am also open to reviewing our investing strategy as time goes on to observe what worked, what didn't work, etc.

Second, I started a new job. Instead of working in public accounting, I now do accounting at an asset management company. The decision to make a move was the result of a combination of doing work I lost interest in + being alone all of the time. If either of these factors had been more favorable, I likely would have stayed. My new job is more satisfying on both levels, it pays materially more, and the cost is that I have significantly less flexibility.

Beyond these factors, not much has changed. My focus is on health, mindfulness, and wealth. Almost all of my actions contribute towards one of these three areas. I spend my time about the same as before: working, workouts (body-weight exercises now), walking, reading (investing and other), meditating, cooking, spending time with family.

I sometimes laugh at my simple life. When I read the journals of other ERErs, I am always very impressed by the breadth and depth of their skills, knowledge, and interests. Maybe I am just lazy, but my general strategy is to make my life as simple as possible. For example, I have not had any desire to get a bike, because then I'd have to store it and learn to repair it. I'd rather just walk. Related, after I left my previous employer (who supplied a cell phone) I simply did not buy a new cell phone. So I have been phoneless for almost a month. I really didn't want to go to the trouble of getting a new phone, paying for the phone, and being addicted to the phone, so I decided to try life without it. Also, I gave up drinking coffee and tea (daily) this spring. This was primarily driven by recognition of my addiction to caffeine, but also a desire to be less reliant on coffee and tea and the tools needed to brew them. It is just simpler to drink water. In general, it is true to say I have relatively less energy than some of the more go-getters in life, so just taking care of the basics and enjoying the simple things is a formula for my happiness. I'm generally satisfied with this approach, and I feel it is sturdy in that the things I enjoy can essentially be done anywhere and anytime for low expense.

All in all, life is pretty good, and I really cannot complain. I hope everyone has been doing well, and I hope to check in more frequently now that life has slowed down after tax season and the wedding.

cmonkey
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by cmonkey »

Long time no see! Congrats on getting married and the new job. :)

I think a simple life is a better life and I feel a push toward that as well all of the time. I can count my main activities I engage in on one hand and I like it that way. I can enjoy each one all the more instead of spreading myself too thin. The same goes for physical items, I have been really pushing on going minimalist as we redo our house and go through things.

I get a lot of joy out of just 'being' and experiencing each passing day from sun up to sun down. Rinse and repeat.

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jennypenny
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by jennypenny »

Congratulations!

It really is nice once you've internalized the principles of ERE and don't have to obsess over the details anymore.

inchicago
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by inchicago »

Congratulations on your marriage!

FBeyer
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by FBeyer »

Dave wrote: I sometimes laugh at my simple life. When I read the journals of other ERErs, I am always very impressed by the breadth and depth of their skills, knowledge, and interests. Maybe I am just lazy, but my general strategy is to make my life as simple as possible...
I want the skills to do that, but my brain is built partially from squirrels on cocaine and I cannot figure out how to simplify that much. I'm trying, I'm thinking about how to cut away everything superfluous and every time I think I'm getting somewhere I find out that there are a million things I don't understand yet, and I'm back in the library rather than in my recliner with a good book in my lap.

Good for you. At least one ERE follower is envious :)

BlueNote
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by BlueNote »

Congrats on the marriage!

I agree that many of the personal financial details people focus on aren't actionable. However the practise of budgeting, for example, focuses ones attention and mental energy on an area of their life they may have ignored and often results in large initial improvements. The problem often becomes that once someone knows how to the use the budget "hammer" they'll start to see all their financial problems as variance "nails". Instead of just budgeting, which is useful for understanding, one should actually build a web of goals and activities that work to reduce costs and provide benefits to other areas of ones life at the same time. Once you understand the key levers and internalize them it's not too hard, it's like learning any set of skills. Ultimately ERE revolves around some core principles that fit into a sustainable system that can be internalized so that a person doesn't have to refer to a set of guidelines or list of steps every time they want to do something. It's good to see that you are internalizing these principles so quickly.

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

Thank you everyone.

@cmonkey - Yeah, it was a busy spring but I hope to spend more time on the forums going forward. Just reading threads the last few weeks has been very enjoyable and I was quickly reminded of the value gained of being a part of this community. By the way, that last sentence of yours was quite poetic :-D.

@jp - Yes indeed! It is nice to not track everything in such detail. This is especially refreshing since my job is accounting, so having to account for a few less things (at least in such a high level of detail) is nice :).

@FBeyer - Haha, I know what you mean. I joke that I am by nature a horrible meditator and bad at mindfulness. By that I mean my mind wanders all of the time and it continually leaps to the next "thing", whether that is a financial goal, something to buy, a skill to obtain, a book to read, etc. But over time I have come to see the fruitlessness of these thought patterns, and I have reconciled that with the benefits of a simple life. I have embraced this over the last couple years. I don't always do well at it, but I do see it as preferential to the alternative. The difficulty is in balancing a simple life with the desire to continue to grow. Just because I am simple does not mean that I want to stagnate!

@BlueNote - I agree with you and really enjoyed your response - it is a great way to think about ERE. I budgeted and tracked financial information in varying levels of detail throughout my early and mid 20s. When I created this journal, part of my goal was to dial up the level of detail and see exactly where everything stood. This was highly educational for as you said it focuses your attention on an area you may have ignored or not noticed, and therefore can lead to large initial improvements. But at some point the budget becomes fixed without a structural change in lifestyle, and that is where the web of goals/activities comes in in designing a more efficient and robust lifestyle. This part is much more interesting, and I hope to continue to improve going forward.

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

DW is out of town for a bachelorette party, so I have the weekend to myself. After getting home from work, I made dinner (rice, onions, eggs, carrots) and then went for a walk. As I started my walk, my mind started into the usual pattern of thinking how I wanted to allocate my time this weekend: run, yoga, strength training, reading a 10-K, reading an investing book, reading a meditation book, the possibilities seemed endless. I felt anxiety that I needed to do something productive. And of course I needed to do something productive - I am marching towards specific goals, so I should use my precious time to work towards them.

Then the mindfulness kicked in and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Why did I need to do something productive? I am working a solid job that pays well and am living well below my means. I am invested in what I consider to be undervalued businesses that presumably will appreciate in market value. I have been eating pretty healthy this week and getting in several long walks, some yoga sessions, and some strength training. I have been meditating every morning and trying to be mindful throughout the day and night. So why was I feeling this anxiety to do something productive? I am quite literally doing exactly what I need to do to achieve my goals, and barring unexpected circumstances, I will achieve them. The progress in inexorable.

I (metaphorically) opened my physical eyes and closed my mind's eye and saw a beautiful Chicago evening around me. All of my anxiety melted away as I realized 1) I am doing exactly what I need to be doing and 2) the world around me is quite beautiful, regardless of what may be going on inside my head. I began to see a rare, beautiful Chicago evening. Sunny, warm but not hot, and critters of all sorts (ducks, geese, rabbits, squirrels) scurrying around.

It is easy for the human mind to trap itself in narratives about what is going on in the wider world, how that world perceives it, or whether it is adequate and doing enough to meet its goals, but at the end of the day it is all just mental noise. Something about this evening triggered a melting away of that noise for me, and it was a great reminder that everything is okay. Even if I don't do a single productive thing this weekend, everything is still okay.

IlliniDave
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Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by IlliniDave »

I go through similar bouts of having urges to attempt juggling too many balls. It seems to happen when I think too much (and even worse, start making lists). I find it gives me a feeling that is more than restlessness but less than anxiety. Usually I can get it to pass by just doing something and being mindful about it (i.e., let it take up all of my attention). I suppose it is possible to work my "list" off, but I'm not sure there is a lot of value in it. I find I'm more suited to delving deeply into a limited number of dimensions rather than sampling a broader array.

That's interesting what you said about using your physical eye versus your minds eye. Although those words did not occur to me, I know what you mean. I think that's why I sometimes take pictures like the ones I linked in my journal. Looking in some direction with an eye towards getting a picture makes me mindful of what it is I see, rather than interpretive of what I see.

You captured in the busy city the thing I have to flee to the solitary corners of the Northwoods to reliably find!

Dave
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 pm

Re: Dave's Journal - documenting the path to FI

Post by Dave »

ID,

I have tried to work through my list many times, but it seems to have this incredible ability to generate more and more tasks to do :). This approach sounds so annoying I hesitate to share it, but in some ways I appreciate the "no-goals goal" that some productivity gurus espouse. In practice this really just involves doing what you said - delving into one or two dimensions of current interest rather than trying to conquer the world.

Haha, well I found some peace last night at least, which is a start. These states of mind are not eternal and I am sure I will cycle through these though patterns many more times, but on occasion I can find some peace. I actually get quite nostalgic when I read of your Northwoods journeys, as I spent much of my youth camping in western Kentucky and I have countless fond memories of spending weekends in the woods. Historically I have found it much easier to be peaceful in isolated woods than in the big city, but my life is not lived in nature at this point, so I am working with what I can!

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