Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Posted: **Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:26 am**

MDFIRE2024 wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:54 pm
It was fastforward from 2015 to FI in 2017. Wish you all the best with FI money, health and partnership. Is she also FIRE'ED?

It was fast forward, as I already had plenty of savings and no debt. Then I found ER movement. So I had to focus not mainly on money aspect, but more on designing my lifestyle or investing. Being natural born saver and minimalist helped me a lot to get where I am now in no time. My partner is not FIREd, but our combined savings (10% hers, and 90% from myself) will be sufficient to cover our expenses, even with kids (1-2). She really wants to contribute a bit more cash to our retirement fund and enjoys her current job, so she will stay there for another 3-4 months.

MDFIRE2024 wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:54 pm
Are you also RE?

I'm not. But today I had a conversation with my boss. And guess what? From 1st of September I'm officially unemployed.

Posted: **Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:19 pm**

stayhigh wrote: ↑
Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:45 am
I decided to show you my typical monthly spending in rather expensive part of UK, so you can all compare. All numbers are in British pounds and per person, so double them for couple:

rent 250
council tax + water 46
gas/electricity 30
food 80
household 10?
mobile/internet 15
other 50
Total - just under 500

And on top of this, extra 1000 or so per year to cover holidays. When I finally decide where I want to stay for good, I will buy a house to get rid of rent, so cutting my total expenses by half without any problem.

Great job on keeping your overhead so low.

How do you manage to spend just 250/mo on rent? 1,000 a year is pretty low on travel for someone who loves travel and travels a lot...do you always take the train and stay in hostels? What are your tricks to keep food at 80/mo? You must never eat in restaurants or take the train/bus as I see no transportation cost. What do you do for fun/recreation other than travel? I see no budget for that.

Posted: **Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:10 am**

1. Rent is 250 each, so 500 total. One bed flat in cheap area. This expense will be zero, as I will get my own place.

2. Trains are expensive. Traveling is mostly done by cheap airlines (Portugal for £10 round trip anyone?) or error fares. You can get almost everywhere in Asia/Americas for £150-300 round trip. This is a good place to start: https://www.holidaypirates.com/flights. Also megabus £1-3 fares are nice for local travel. When I get to destination, I eat/sleep/move around like locals and stay away from popular tourist traps. Few actual examples:

Portugal low season:
- return flight £10
- 3nights a hotel £80 total, but I had £50 off voucher, so £30
- few local buses to see places £20ish

Iceland, week before high season to get as good weather as possible:
- return flight £60
- car rent ~£100 for 4 days (£50 per person)
- petrol ~£100 (£50 per person)
- 3 nights in car/tent £0. Free bath in hot springs. Free toilets everywhere.
- food brought from home, as local prices are unacceptable

Sri Lanka
- flights for £280 return
- family run hotels for £5-10 per night for two of us
- local buses £15 per person for whole stay
- can't remember food, but it was waaay cheaper that back in the UK.
- visa £20 each

So this adds up to 4 weeks of exotic holidays for less than £1000 per person. Easy, when you plan ahead and are keen for adventure.

3. Food is even easier. Rice and other staples in 5-20kg bags, add some basic veggies, fruits, lean meat/fish and yellow sticker discounted stuff. Best deals are around 7pm at Tesco/Asda. Last month I get week worth of stuff for £2, I barely managed to take it back home by my own!

4. No transport cost, as I walk and use my bike. My workplace, three supermarkets, library are within 35min walk radius. I borrow van from work for big/heavy stuff, maybe twice a year.

5. My fun/recreation is cooking, bicycle trips, hiking, working out, jogging, free books, internet (blogs, music, movies, stupid games, chatting with friends etc) and my guinea pigs fed by leftovers and plants from local park.

Posted: **Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:35 am**

From the way you express yourself, it appears to be just a second nature to you, but from where I sit, you are the Michael Jordan of cheap bastards.

Posted: **Wed Jul 26, 2017 11:42 pm**

stayhigh wrote: ↑
Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:10 am
1. Rent is 250 each, so 500 total. One bed flat in cheap area. This expense will be zero, as I will get my own place.

2. Trains are expensive. Traveling is mostly done by cheap airlines (Portugal for £10 round trip anyone?) or error fares. You can get almost everywhere in Asia/Americas for £150-300 round trip. This is a good place to start: https://www.holidaypirates.com/flights. Also megabus £1-3 fares are nice for local travel. When I get to destination, I eat/sleep/move around like locals and stay away from popular tourist traps. Few actual examples:

Portugal low season:
- return flight £10
- 3nights a hotel £80 total, but I had £50 off voucher, so £30
- few local buses to see places £20ish

Iceland, week before high season to get as good weather as possible:
- return flight £60
- car rent ~£100 for 4 days (£50 per person)
- petrol ~£100 (£50 per person)
- 3 nights in car/tent £0. Free bath in hot springs. Free toilets everywhere.
- food brought from home, as local prices are unacceptable

Sri Lanka
- flights for £280 return
- family run hotels for £5-10 per night for two of us
- local buses £15 per person for whole stay
- can't remember food, but it was waaay cheaper that back in the UK.
- visa £20 each

So this adds up to 4 weeks of exotic holidays for less than £1000 per person. Easy, when you plan ahead and are keen for adventure.

3. Food is even easier. Rice and other staples in 5-20kg bags, add some basic veggies, fruits, lean meat/fish and yellow sticker discounted stuff. Best deals are around 7pm at Tesco/Asda. Last month I get week worth of stuff for £2, I barely managed to take it back home by my own!

4. No transport cost, as I walk and use my bike. My workplace, three supermarkets, library are within 35min walk radius. I borrow van from work for big/heavy stuff, maybe twice a year.

5. My fun/recreation is cooking, bicycle trips, hiking, working out, jogging, free books, internet (blogs, music, movies, stupid games, chatting with friends etc) and my guinea pigs fed by leftovers and plants from local park.

Thanks for the info. You get some incredibly cheap airfare. I suck at travel hacking and getting cheap flights, I need to get better at that. Stay in hostels while you can in your 20's. Hostels aren't as fun in your 40's.

Posted: **Fri Jul 28, 2017 8:53 am**

Jason wrote: ↑
Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:35 am
From the way you express yourself, it appears to be just a second nature to you, but from where I sit, you are the Michael Jordan of cheap bastards.

I don't feel like Michael Jordan (or other MJ), as I just started in different place than you. You know, Wheaton scale and "your ceiling is my floor" kind of stuff. There is a huge room for improvements for me. Homesteading is one of possibilities.

Allagash wrote: ↑
Wed Jul 26, 2017 11:42 pm
Stay in hostels while you can in your 20's. Hostels aren't as fun in your 40's.

Thanks, I'm working on it.

5 weeks till FIRE. Or should I call it FIERE? I'm a little bit nervous/excited now.

Posted: **Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:50 am**

"Your ceiling is my floor" is the sanitized version of something a dunking Michael Jordan would say at the moment his nutsack rested on someone's head, so now I'm thinking you might be more like him than either one of us thought.

Posted: **Fri Jul 28, 2017 1:02 pm**

Well I don't consider myself special or anything. Maybe I just asked better questions? Let's hope I will be dunking like mad throughout my life.

Posted: **Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:32 am**

Stayhigh, you cheap bastard, tell me how do you manage to keep your grocery cost so low without eating instant noodles and other crap all the time?

1.5lbs of fresh vegetables for .3$, and some fresh crispy fruits, not too bad for day worth of food, isn't it? Just add pasta/rice/beans/meat/spicies/whatever, or just have it plain. That's just over a dollar per day.

Yesterdays shopping, this is roughly week worth of healthly food for 15$. Kale, spinach, cabbage, carrots, eggs, apples, peaches... and popcorn! I have tons of staples like rice, pasta or frozen meat at home.

Cooking and prep time? Less than 10min! Enjoy!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:40 am**

Just came back from work for the very last time.... I'm FIREd!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 9:24 am**

Woohoo, congrats!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:14 am**

Great job. Congrats.

You should treat yourself and get a box of buttered popcorn.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:47 am**

Congratulation!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 2:23 pm**

Yippee! Another one joins the elite!

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 3:34 pm**

Wow. Congratulations.

Just binge read your journal.

I'd probably spend more than you do now even if I homesteaded.

I'd like to hear more about how you're able to find cheap places that are walk-friendly. When I find cheap places with those prices, they tend to be out in the middle of nowhere instead of centralized.

Posted: **Mon Sep 04, 2017 3:42 pm**

Thanks guys. Being still in my 20s, it feels even more special

@Felipe
I don't have any advice for you on finding places, I'm currently living for 9 years in same flat.

Posted: **Tue Sep 05, 2017 9:09 am**

Awesome, congrats! What are you doing on your first day?

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2017 7:49 am**

cmonkey wrote: ↑
Tue Sep 05, 2017 9:09 am
Awesome, congrats! What are you doing on your first day?

I went for 100 miles hike, just came back last night

and I have another trip in just few days time

Posted: **Wed Sep 27, 2017 2:41 pm**

I'm thinking about that hike. Did you make hotel reservations ahead or walk in each night?? The latter would be convenient if you didn't end up on the street often.

Posted: **Thu Sep 28, 2017 2:31 am**

I never prebooked any hotels, as it kills flexibility and freedom. And by using hotels you miss one of the best part of trips like this:

This month I did four multiday hikes, to use last bits of british summer (if 5'C nighttime and 15'C daytime you can call a summer)

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