A dreamer's journey

[blink2ce]

Hi, this is the start of my ERE/leanfire journal.

My ERE/leanfire experiment will be starting shortly. I am getting ready to move to the downtown area in a Rust Belt city. I'm going to sell my car and use my bike/bus/walk everywhere. My rent will be much lower than anything I could get in my current Sunbelt city.

I am excited to try out a new way of living. I was never a huge spender, and I've always had the common sense to spend less than I earn. But the ERE book and Mister Money Mustache, along with others, have convinced me that if I reduce my COL significantly, I will achieve good results both in my financial position and in my general health and happiness.

Combine a LCOL with a reasonable salary and I might just be able to invest 50% of my post-tax earnings every month (or more?). I'm taking this one step at a time.

[Lemur]

What do you do for income?

[blink2ce]

@lemur -- I have a remote job in the software industry. My job is to help larger customers adopt the software successfully. So, project management, customer service skills are needed.

[blink2ce]

My car-free lifestyle starts quite soon. I am putting all of my furniture into a shipping container and then I'm driving to Cleveland in my car with my fragile stuff in the trunk (Computers, personal documents etc.) Upon arrival I plan to sell the car within a couple of weekends. From then it's just me, my two feet, a single speed bicycle, and the train/bus. I am very much looking forward to walking more.

I've been considering something new recently. I realized that ERE/FIRE is kind of useless if you aren't actually enjoying your lifestyle. Since ERE/FIRE only give you more options and flexibility, it doesn't by itself actually make your life better. It sounds obvious but coming from someone who grew up in an abusive household, the idea that I could design my own lifestyle based upon my own wants and needs is still a fresh concept. ERE/FIRE can only help you experience more of the lifestyle that you enjoy (provided that the desired lifestyle doesn't rely on consuming lots of new stuff).

As I go forth to Cleveland, I will take care to consider my feelings about what I am doing with my time. If I don't feel good after spending time doing something or being with someone, I plan to notice and then stop, and then do something else. I plan to do more of the things that make me feel good and I plan to do less of the things that make me feel sad, lonely, or empty inside. And I will be continuing therapy, which has been a lifesaver.

[blink2ce]

I did it! I sold my car yesterday. $12k will hit my bank account tomorrow.

I rode my bike for 30 minutes earlier today to visit a vintage furniture store. I took a 2 hour nap later in the day. My body is apparently needing to adapt to this daily exercise.

I will post a net worth update soon.

[ertyu]

Congrats!!

[blink2ce]

Thanks ertyu!

Net Worth check-in (approximate numbers):
- 29k in checking and savings accounts
- 15k in brokerage account (ETFs and dividend stocks)
- 46k in 401k

No debts.

Total: 90k.

[blink2ce]

Total income: $70k/year. I don't have any other sources of income (besides dividend payments which are minimal and are DRIPped automatically)

[blink2ce]

My company just had its 2nd layoff in a few months. This time 56 people were laid off in a company with a few hundred people. The CEO sounded shook up on the all hands meeting. My company is VC-funded SaaS which is exactly the type of company that's having a hard time right now with the rising rates.

I don't want my income to drop to 0 (no other sources of income), but I also have a lot of money in the bank... So I'm not super stressed out.

I'm keeping with my plan -- Build my network in Cleveland and keep going to therapy.

[blink2ce]

I got a job as a power systems engineer at the local utility company. It is a fantastic job. My manager is great and I am learning a ton of electrical engineering concepts and I think that this is starting me down a career that will take me as far as I want to go.

I am closing on a 1 bedroom condo in a very walkable and bikeable part of town which has good bus service. I will continue to not own a car.

I should be able to cut down significantly on wasteful spending once I actually start reviewing my expenses monthly. I think I am on track to saving 50% of my income on a go-forward basis.

[ertyu]

Things are shaping up excellently! Sounds nice

[blink2ce]

The condo ownership is going well. There is a discount grocery store an easy 5 minute walk down the street.

Current salary is $75k.
Mortgage is $65k.
Cash and assets owned is approx. $95k. (Mostly in stocks, some cash on hand in a money market fund for whatever might come up)

The plan for the next few years is:
- Use this job to get very good at power systems engineering. I can probably nearly double my salary in a few years if I know my shit undeniably. This is also a personal mission for me, not just for the income. For whatever reason, large feats of technical learning (engineering, math, psychology, etc) is personally rewarding especially if it has repeating themes inside itself.
- Chip away at the mortgage. It will take a maximum of 5 years to pay off. Much less if I continue to optimize my spending and/or get a promotion.
- Work on easy optimizations to my lifestyle. Right now I am working on eating food at home from the grocery store instead of restaurants. I bought a set of adjustable dumbbells for strength training at home.
- Make good friends in the area. I plan to be in this city for the long term, hopefully forever. I don't know how I'm going to do this. I have met some folks through a local professional/networking club and that has been alright. We played darts at a local bar.
- I need to actually go on some dates around here. I think this will be coming up soon.

For reference, I estimate myself to be a WL3 or WL4, depending on the context. I aspire for WL5.

[blink2ce]

Since I started my job as a power systems engineer, I have noticed some concerning things in the utility power industry.

The problems appear to not just be at my company but actually they are affecting the whole industry. I won't write them in this public journal in an effort to avoid doxxing myself. There are some stormy seas ahead in electric power.

[blink2ce]

For years I have dreamed of owning acres of land. There are so many beautiful parcels of land in Ohio, Michigan and western Pennsylvania. I don't know how to fit this into my life yet but I am thinking about it. Maybe I could buy a property and somehow turn it into an investment. I could charge hunters for the hunting season or put a solar farm on it or something.

I really just want to sit around in the wild outdoors and fuck around. Chop some wood. Feel like a real human. Build something. Scream so loud and still no one would be bothered. Make a spear and throw it at a hillside.

[frugaldoc]

For years I have dreamed of owning acres of land.

I have the same dream but mine involves having land in Vermont. I grew up on a large farm but have never owned any property myself (not even a house). My advice is, if financially feasible, pull the trigger on the land if you find a parcel that meets your needs. I myself am thinking about applying to the Navy's Career Intermission Program for a year or two so I can putz around VT and find the perfect land for gardening, reading, and porch sitting.

Go throw that spear at a hillside!

[blink2ce]

@frugaldoc It's not feasible now but maybe in a few years. A lot of the parcels with more than a few acres within a couple hours drive of northeast ohio are in the $60k and up range. I don't plan on living out in the country (at least not for a long time). I have heard that there are interesting ways to get land. For example you could buy a piece of land using seller financing and then you upgrade the land to make some money on it and pay the seller back via the income that the land is generating.

[DonkeyHaute]

I really just want to sit around in the wild outdoors and fuck around. Chop some wood. Feel like a real human. Build something. Scream so loud and still no one would be bothered. Make a spear and throw it at a hillside.

+1 for screaming into the oblivion of nature! I bet you'll come up with a bunch of different scenarios for potential land uses - I guess some of them will be dictated by the parcel of land itself - it is fun to brainstorm regardless.

We're coming up on 12 months to the day from your original 'car sale' post, are you still car-free? What did / do you think the car-free lifestyle?

[blink2ce]

@donkeyhaute Yes, I am still car-free one year later! My job requires that I go to the office one day per week, and I use Uber/Lyft. It takes 25 minutes to get to the office. I pay about $35 each way. So this is approximately $280/month that I spend on Uber.

I live in a very walkable neighborhood, so I just walk to the grocery store and to the coffee shop. If I am going farther I can sometimes make use of the bus. I also have two bicycles which I ride occasionally to go places.

I haven't run the numbers but I feel like I am definitely saving a lot of money over owning the car. Even the insurance alone was $130 a month. My insurance now (which is Named Non-Owner's Insurance) is only $35/mo.

I have rented a car from Enterprise-rent-a-car a few times since I sold the car. I rented a car for a trip to Virginia (note: I should have flown, it would have been much cheaper) and I also rented a car for a road trip to Niagara Falls with a friend. Enterprise has given me no problems at all, even though it is expensive and for that reason I will likely avoid renting very often.

The best part of not having a car is actually the freedom. I don't have to worry about repair bills, parking, road rage, oil changes, cleaning the seats, and fender benders.

I might buy a Honda scooter to go downtown quicker if I start taking Master's degree classes at the university.

[DonkeyHaute]

Nice! It could be a 'fun' (useful) exercise to work out an estimate of the savings and could help in assessing scooter options.

(if you'll permit me to brainstorm in your journal...) What are the monthly costs of owning a car?

Tangible costs: Insurance, Gas, Parking permit (location dependent I suppose)
Once-every-so-often costs*: Brakes & brakelines, tires, wipers, fender benders (how many do you estimate for the life of the car?). I think these can be estimated and amoritized over the life of the car?

Intangible cost: Depreciation of vehicle, maybe others?

One more intangible could be psychological mind share, what is the cost associated with that background worry?

Alternatively, you could scrap the calculation & enjoy being car-free! Not everything has to be dictated by the numbers

[blink2ce]

@donkeyhaute - Check out the Edmunds 5-year cost-to-own tool.

https://www.edmunds.com/mazda/6/2017/co ... =401735540

Here is a mid-sized sedan from 2017. Of course numbers will vary depending on how much you drive but the average is around $36k to own for 5 years. Truly crazy!