Hristo's FI Journal

[JenAR]

Depends on your rainfall and catchment area (usually roof), but often totally possible. In addition to a Berkey, I also have a Lifestraw and a Sawyer mini that I use for backpacking, which are cheap and portable, last a very long time, and allow you to drink from natural sources without getting sick.

I would suggest filtering the water before storing in the water bricks instead of after, to reduce the chance of it growing stuff in there and getting gross.

[Hristo Botev]

Thanks JenAR! Of course there's already been several threads on this here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9935&p=167624&hilit ... nt#p167624; viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10923&p=199465&hili ... nt#p199465. I do appreciate you all tolerating what a slow learner I am.

New thoughts for ERE goals (or, at least, thoughts as to what those goals might be):
- get K-12 tuition saved up
- get house better insulated
- get house paid off
- install water catchment, filtration, purification, and storage system to reduce dependency on county water supply (use water for cooking, cleaning, gardening, toilets, and drinking)
- start washing clothes by hand again (my own, no way I'm getting the family on board for this yet), and hang dry everything
- get better at growing veggies on the patio, and get better at composting
- start bucket bathing again (again, this is just me; family ain't going to do this)
- get really good at brewing beer, also perhaps distilling liquor
- increase involvement in community activity and leadership (parish council, Sunday school, fraternal org, PTA, HOA board)
- maximize health through good eating and exercise
- learn some advanced first aid, healthcare skills
- take the sewing machine out of storage and learn how to use it
- detach as completely as possible from the digital world
- (eventually, no rush) get rid of the car and rely on in-laws car when needed
- (eventually, no rush) move my legal practice to my own individual firm, with no employees/partners

Assuming the above happens, the spending for DW and I once the kids have moved on could look like this:
- property taxes/insurance: $600
- HOA: $260
- Internet/cellular: $50
- Utilities: $50
- Groceries, etc.: $300
- Transportation (gas for in-laws car): $20

This may be totally unrealistic, but it's not impossible. And at $1,280/mo., that's $15,360/year, which means we'd need $384,000 for a 4% SWR (I think, I've never really understood the SWR thing). Which of course we've already got saved in retirement accounts. So, then, the only thing ( ) preventing me and DW from declaring ourselves FI are some minor lifestyle tweaks (ha!) and the 3.5 years it'll take to pay down the mortgage and save the ~$200K for the kids' Catholic school tuition. During those 3.5 years we can focus on honing our deindustrial skills.

[Hristo Botev]

When my youngest finishes 8th grade, in 2027, I hope to be
- Retirement: $807,000
- Post-Tax Investment: $560,000
- Savings: $30,000
- Kids' K-12 Pre-Paid Tuition: $72,000 (remaining balance, will cover rest of high school tuition for both kids)
- HSA: $82,000
- Kids' 529: $138,000
- Checking: $10,000
- Mortgage: $95,000

Revised:

When my youngest finishes 8th grade, in 2027, I hope to be
- Retirement: $807,000
- Post-Tax Investment: $363,000
- Savings: $30,000
- Kids' K-12 Pre-Paid Tuition: $72,000 (remaining balance, will cover rest of high school tuition for both kids)
- HSA: $82,000
- Kids' 529: $138,000
- Checking: $10,000
- Mortgage: $0

[take2]

Curious why the hand washing and bucket bathing? The rest of your goals seem to be focused on saving and/or building skills and thus aligned to your long term plan. But those two seem to me to be a bit out of place? Given you already have a washing machine and a shower it won’t save you much, nor do they require skills that will improve/enhance other aspects of your life over time? Other than self-discipline I suppose, but your eating/exercise targets would already be hitting that.

[Hristo Botev]

Ha! I guess I don't want to figure out how to do washing machine or plumbing repair. And since neither are really necessary, ultimately, I'm tempted to get acclimated to doing things in a way where I'm using tools I understand.

[take2]

But your family will still be using them...? For washing machine repairs if you can learn to sew and make your own beer you can definitely watch a YouTube video on how to fix your particular make/model of ever needed. And for plumbing you aren’t getting rid of your internal plumbing system so not taking showers wouldn’t help that either?

Not trying to be difficult, just perplexed.

[Hristo Botev]

So how do you reap the full benefits of a rain catchment system if you're still using county water for all of your washing clothes and showering? And I can't hook the system up to the house because I'm pretty sure it might be illegal to do something like that in my state.

[take2]

Ah, ok. Sorry, I wasn’t following that you wanted to completely eliminate county water and not just reduce dependence. You may want to double check that you can do so (disconnect from it entirely) or otherwise you might face a standing charge from being connected despite not using any. If the latter if your only option than using a small amount may only be fractionally more than being connected and using none.

I would just caution that a lifestyle without running water (+ time to hand wash clothes) is drastically different than having it but just managing cost/usage. Especially considering your SO and kids would all need to get on board to actually realise it. Perhaps a deep dive into your water usage would be a better first step? There are ways to cut down with good ROIs (efficient shower heads, etc) that could yield immediate savings and help start the process of converting your family towards using less. Same goes for electricity.

[AxelHeyst]

Your project list sounds fun!
Another low-hanging fruit on the water conservation side is switching over to a humanure toilet. Because it's not just a good idea, it's illegal!!

On the hand-washing clothes, another benefit is that it reduces wear and tear on garments, causes a behavior shift because you *see* how much water you use to wash clothes and might adjust use patterns accordingly, I'd suspect you're likely to use less water than a traditional machine, will reduce electric bill, is one more skill you wont' have to learn in a hurry if the electricity/water shuts off, and you're likely to find it an opportunity for a hands-on, meditative activity that brings you in better touch with the physical reality of your immediate environment.

[AxelHeyst]

I think Hristo isn't planning on not using county water at all, he's planning on offsetting as much as possible. And showering and clothes washing are the biggest uses besides toilet, so a rainwater system that he only uses to, idk, wash his hands after peeing in the garden is kind of a waste of effort.

[take2]

If it were just HB I would say go with gusto. But he has a family who (I assume here) would need to be converted to this way of thinking. My point is more that bringing someone along a journey via initial water conservation without a drastic jump to eliminating would likely fair better.

Also he mentioned gardening which depending on climate can use more water than anything else. I know people who have used rainwater systems just for the garden for good effect.

If you want to bucket wash and hand wash more power to you. Just keep in mind that consistency with those across the entire family is what will drive financial savings.

[Hristo Botev]

I should do some work today, but my mind is on ERE for now.

If we stick to the plan outlined above, then we should be truly FI by Spring 2024, while I'm still 45, and (of course) while we are still supporting the kids, and before they start high school. 45 was my goal when I set out on this little journey ~5 years ago, long before I took a pretty massive hit to the income in order to escape the 60-80/hr weeks in BigLaw. DW and I discussed last night how we (or at least I) get as much of an endorphin rush from making a future plan than I do from actually executing the plan, so (with that in mind) here's my guess at what Spring 2024 expenses might look like, once both the house and the kids' education is paid off/fully funded:

- Prop Tax/Insurance (on paid-off home): $600
- HOA: $260
- Life Insurance (will keep through the 20-year term): $60
- Car Insurance (will still need one for kids' activities): $40
- Car gas (again, kids' activities): $25
- Misc. "Kids" Category: $500
- Internet/cellular (for 4): $100
- Utilities (for 4): $100
- Groceries, etc. (for 4): $500
- Travel/Ent./Misc.: $200

This is $2,385 per month, $28,620 annualized, or $7,155 pp. And looking solely at the money we should have in Spring 2024 in retirement accounts and post-tax brokerage (and not including home equity, 529, or money set aside for the kids' K-12 tuition), we'd be at just under a 4% SWR.

[Hristo Botev]

For water/energy saving measures that I can start implementing now, here's what I've got:

- camper showers, and no water on while shaving
- get my drinking water from work on weekdays
- charge phone/laptop at work on weekdays
- no more than 1 dryer load/week, hang dry everything else
- no more than 2 washer loads/week - wash on cold (might need to empty most of my son's clothes from his drawers; he likes to wear everything) (perhaps start handwashing some of my clothes)
- better manage use of water when doing dishes; deselect heat dry on dishwasher
- stop kids from standing in front of an open fridge for minutes (OK, seconds) at a time
- turn off lights
- plug TV and everything else in the entertainment center into a single, easily accessible power strip, and turn strip off when not using
- watch less TV
- be better at managing thermostat (this has been a challenge with DW working from home; and the insulation in our upstairs bedroom is a nightmare)

[jennypenny]

For water/energy saving measures that I can start implementing now, here's what I've got:
- get my drinking water from work on weekdays
- charge phone/laptop at work on weekdays

Those aren't actually 'saving' anything, just transferring the cost from you to work. I had to learn that too when I starting pushing harder to lower our water and energy usage ... that's it's about lower overall usage, not just shifting it around. Shifting helps financially, of course, but it's better to lower the overall usage because the cost could be shifted back to you if your situation changes. (and #becauseplanet)

[Hristo Botev]

Those aren't actually 'saving' anything, just transferring the cost from you to work. I had to learn that too when I starting pushing harder to lower our water and energy usage ... that's it's about lower overall usage, not just shifting it around. Shifting helps financially, of course, but it's better to lower the overall usage because the cost could be shifted back to you if your situation changes. (and #becauseplanet)

True enough; but lowering my overall usage of drinking water would probably hurt me in some other ERE focus areas!

When I get the rain catchment system and the windmill set up on the back patio of my townhome, I'll shift those two items back to the house.

[Hristo Botev]

Wife is fully and enthusiastically on board with the new savings plan, which will have kids’ tuition fully funded in 2 years and the mortgage paid off in 3, with us hitting FI potentially as early as February 2024. When that blessed day arrives, perhaps my first move will be to cut my billable hours requirement down to something like 1,000/yr, or 20/wk on a 50-wk year. I’m currently at 1,400/yr (28/wk), which was the move I made when I got my FU money stash 2.5 years ago and left BigLaw—where I was technically at 1,900/yr, but the expectation was really more like 2,000, or 40 hrs/wk (and I always met and exceeded expectations).

The change in my life happiness and well being going from a 40 hr/wk minimum billable requirement in BigLaw to 28/wk in “boutique” law has been heavenly. And another change to something like 20 hours a week would be even more so, as it would be technically and conceptually a shift from full time to part time.

One thought as what to do with that time: I could go “intern” at my friend’s custom furniture shop, splitting my work day (or week) in half between my office and his shop. I’d “intern” for free just to learn woodworking (and to hang out in his shop, which our group of friends refers to as the clubhouse). But for awhile now he’s been trying to get me to come help with and perhaps take over the business side of his shop, so he can focus on building furniture; so I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into a separate (and likely significant) income stream, with me making more money in semi-ERE than before.

Also, this particular friend is very entrepreneurial minded, always thinking of new craftsman focused ventures, and it’d be a blast to use some of my legal skills and marketing knowledge to help him bring some of those ideas to fruition.

Another thought, my friend rents space in his shop to one of our town’s most sought after general contractors/architects, and perhaps I could eventually convince him to let me “help” out on various worksites (for free), so that I could learn a little something about the home design and construction business as well (as it is a good chunk of my non-IP litigation practice involves helping my law partner with construction disputes, so it’d be beneficial on many levels to understand the building trades better).

So many possibilities when you don’t have to match or exceed your current income via salary.

Re the wife’s excitement about the plan: we were originally talking about first saving for a rather significant home renovation, adding a 3rd bedroom upstairs to get our son out of the basement, thereby solving the problem that he has to climb 2 flights of stairs for access to a full bathroom. As it is our son sneaks up many nights to sleep on his sister’s floor (or on her trundle bed). This project would no doubt cost a minimum of $50k as it would involve significant ceiling/attic work and updating bathrooms and changing the floor plan. But, DW and I had the tape measure out last night trying to figure out how we’d make a 3rd br work, when DW said, “how about we just stick a temporary, but substantial, partition down the middle of the master bedroom, have the kids take that room, and we move in to [DD’s] room?” Brilliant!!! DW just saved us $50k+, less a couple hundred bucks for a nice partition. Also, the freed up room in the basement will give us a much needed office/craft room/play room/exercise room/room for DW and me to have a cocktail without the kids hearing everything we say.

[Hristo Botev]

Just add to note, DW got on board because of the kids’ tuition thing. As important as it is to me that our kids get a Catholic education come hell or high water, it’s even more important to her. So the security knowing that tuition is taken care of, without ever needing to take financial aid money from someone else, will allow DW to rest easy. So that’s why the tuition account gets funded first (and it’s why DW is willing to commit to a budget that will involve some sacrifice to maximize savings). As for the mortgage, DW really could care less. Her thinking: we’ve got a 15-yr fixed with a good interest rate—why the rush? I see her logic and don’t disagree (and as followers of my journal know, I’ve been going back and forth in this). But for me the security of having a paid off house is worth it. And if you combine savings from a paid off mortgage with having the kids tuition fully funded, that’s more than $3K/mo.in spending we won’t have to come up with every month. That’s how we get to FI.

[Hristo Botev]

Spent all of yesterday playing bedroom musical chairs yesterday at the homestead (get your mind out of the gutter). DW and I moved from the master to our daughter's room, and our son moved from the basement to the master, which he will share with our daughter, with the room separated by a 6' high partition. So far it seems to be going well, and I'm definitely sleeping easier not having our son sleeping 2 floors below us without access to a bathroom. We paid $500 for the partition, though no doubt we could have spent considerably less if we'd been a bit more creative and resourceful. But, oh well; it's still a $500 job as opposed to a much bigger renovation that would have cost well over $50,000. And it took one weekend as opposed to the prolonged hell that is an extensive home renovation with a contractor. DW and I don't mind the smaller bedroom at all--the queen bed and the dresser fit, though barely, and I prefer the much smaller bathroom, as it means DW has less room to spread her stuff around. I'm also proud to say my already culled down wardrobe takes up only an 1/8th of our shared closet space; yet more of a reason why the business uniform of slacks, dress shirt, blazer, and leather dress shoes really SHOULD be the staple for anyone who works in a professional setting. You get a large number of "outfit" variations* with very few pieces, and if you throw in a pair of jeans and a more casual pair of shoes, you've pretty much got every single professional or social situation covered.

Also, our new room faces west and doesn't (unlike the master) have a raised, cathedral-style ceiling. This means the room is significantly cooler and much darker in the mornings--though I'm waiting for my kids to start complaining about the temperature in their room(s).

*I put quotes around "outfit" in recognition of the fact that Jason Isbell warned me to never call what you're wearing an outfit!

[Hristo Botev]

I'll add, the freed-up multipurpose room in the basement is already a hit with everyone in the family and several of the kids from the neighborhood. DW's work desk is now down there, as is a small TV with video game console hooked up to it. We will move the bookshelves down there and get a sleeper sofa and an armchair from the in-laws, and I'll also get the sewing machine back from the in-laws' condo. It'll also be the "cellar" where I ferment and bottle condition beer. And, I now (finally) have a dedicated place to dry and fold laundry. I.e., by having the kids share a bedroom, our small 1,300 sq. ft. house just got MUCH bigger.

[horsewoman]

Great idea with the in-house move! We like to do that now and then, switch up rooms or purposes of rooms, it gives one the feeling of a "new house" without most of the hassle of an actual move! It is also the perfect time to get rid of clutter...