after lurking for a few weeks I decided to create an account to participate in this wonderful forum (I started to feel a little bit like a stalker, obsessively reading here but not making myself known
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Our homestead is located in rural Bavaria/Germany. We have 7,5 acres and keep a few horses - hence the username.
My husband and I do not necessarily pursue ERE or even FI, but have decided a few years ago to reduce our expenses, so that both of us can work only part-time (less than 20 hours a week). This suits us very well - we have the stability of a paycheck and paid-for health care but lots of free time and time for our daughter (11). Were 39 and 41. After starting to read here I think about FI a lot, though... The gears ARE turning in my mind!
![Idea :idea:](./images/smilies/icon_idea.gif)
We are hardcore DIY-er in a lot of areas of our life and super thrifty when it comes to furniture, clothes, riding gear, cars, heating ect... My food budget is well under control as we are vegetarian/vegan family and I cook from scratch daily.
Unfortunately we have rather high fixed costs, due to our many buildings on the farm, the horses, tractors and related machinery, two (paid for with cash) cars, and private school tuition for our daughter. I'm very inspired by this community to cut or at least get down a few of those to increase our savings rate. We do save something every month and have both socked away tidy sums in retirement funds. But we need to step up our game in this area, since we will not get much state pension. Part-time work is penalized in the German system when it comes to retirement. I have been recording our cash flow for 1 1/2 years now and see a lot of money leaks that can be closed with some determination. I have to thank Mrs. Frugalwoods for making me see the need for keeping the books!
Our homestead has been paid off for a couple of years now thanks to good timing in buying, aggressively throwing money on the mortgage and the generosity of my (pretty affluent) FIL who afforded us a substantial interest-free loan. There is also a flat in one of our outbuildings which we rent out. We plan to convert another part of our huge old farmhouse into a separate unit to rent out, but this will take some planning and possibly a small loan. Furthermore we have invested in a large(ish) photovoltaic unit 15 years ago. It brings in good money at the moment (we sell the solar power to the provider) and pays for it self plus a nice profit.
So, this for now - it is a novella already. I'm told that I'm a very "wordy" person - seems to be true
![Embarrassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
Thank you for reading and letting me take part in this forum!