A Few Words About Me
When I read an ERE journal, the first thing I look for is whether I can relate to the person writing it. I’ve already shared a bit of my background and how I discovered the ERE movement in my introduction post, but I’ll repeat the key points here:
- I’m a 30-ish male, currently single.
- I live in a small town on a Mediterranean island. I moved back here in Q3 2024 after spending 10 years in a large city on the mainland.
- I work remotely as a Software Developer. My income is above the median for my country, but below the U.S. median.
- My interests include (in no particular order): simple living and frugality, vegetable gardening, strength training, nature, computer programming, math, and philosophy.
- Feedback / Advice: I don’t know anyone personally who shares the ERE mindset, so I hope this journal will help me connect with others and get advice from those a few Wheaton levels ahead of me.
- Tracking progress: I’ve never kept a long-term journal, and I’d like to document my journey so I can reflect on it more clearly over time.
- Accountability: Putting my goals out in public will (hopefully) encourage me to follow through on them.
- Improving my written English: English is not my first language. While I think I can write decently, I still rely on LLMs to polish my posts. I'd like to reach a level where I can write clearly and naturally on my own, without needing to ask an LLM for help.
I like the idea of starting a journal by introducing a web of goals. It helps reflect on my current situation and will give structure to future updates.
Housing
As I shared in my introduction, over the past few months I’ve had some major expenses to renovate the house where I’m now living. It’s a family property, and we agreed I could live here rent-free for a while in exchange for taking care of the renovations. The most important work is now done, and only a few minor tasks remain, which I’ll tackle gradually.
After living here for about three months, I decided to offer a room to a friend. Housing costs are very high in my area, and since the room wasn’t being used, it felt like a good opportunity to make better use of the space. I have plenty of experience living with flatmates, and I’ve known this friend since childhood, so I don’t anticipate any issues. As an introvert, I’m also hoping that sharing the space with someone who is more socially active might help me broaden my own social circles.
Transportation
If I recall correctly, it’s been over six years since I last drove a car. I got my driver’s license at the end of 2017, but since I lived in a city with excellent public transport, I rarely needed to drive. Now that I’ve moved back to my hometown, I still don’t need to drive (I work from home and can carpool for grocery shopping) but public transport on the island is poor, which limits my mobility.
Unfortunately, I’ve developed a bit of fear about driving again, mainly because I’m unsure whether I could do it safely (not for myself, but for others). Next week I plan to visit the city and ask how much it would cost to take one or two refresher driving lessons, to regain confidence.
Food
I’m a decent cook, and over the past few months I’ve focused on learning how to batch-cook cheap and nutritious meals. My process is quite simple:
- Every two weeks, I buy a “surprise box” from Too Good To Go (~3.99€) at a local produce shop. It contains fruits and vegetables that are close to going bad.
- I eat some of the produce fresh, combined with legumes, grains (rice, pasta), or eggs.
- To avoid waste, I cook the remaining vegetables into a large legume stew, portion it into containers, and freeze it. These frozen portions can later be combined with grains for quick meals.
My goal now is to learn to make my batch-cooked meals tastier, perhaps with sauces, or meals that aren’t always served hot.
Vegetable Gardening
Earlier this year I started a small vegetable garden. Initially, the goal was to increase my food self-sufficiency, but gardening has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. It brings me joy and peace of mind, and has been a great way to bond with my father, who also loves gardening.
In the medium term, we'd like to redesign the garden in a more planned and optimized way. We’d like to install an efficient irrigation system to save water and reduce the time I spend watering (currently about 45 min/day). We also plan to build a chicken coop.
At this point, the garden probably costs more money than it saves, but I’m learning a lot, and I believe that with continued progress, it will eventually help lower my food expenses. If I were financially independent and free from my 9-to-5 job, I’d gladly spend even more time on it. I’m open to buying a slightly larger plot of land if I find one at a good price, though land prices have skyrocketed here in the last decade, so I’m not actively pursuing that for now.
Today I harvested this zucchini. It may look like an ordinary zucchini, but it’s actually the very first vegetable I’ve ever grown in my garden
Physical Health
For about two years before COVID, I trained Olympic Weightlifting quite seriously (3-4 times per week, 2 hours per session), and I loved it. Since then, I’ve struggled to regain that level of training. Last year I did general strength training for a few months and got into running (I even ran 20 km once). But I injured my ankle in November and stopped exercising. Though my ankle is now healed, I’ve only been exercising sporadically.
Next week, I’ll start a weekly yoga class to try something new and meet people. I’ve also decided to do at least 30 minutes of exercise each morning after watering the plants.
I’m considering joining a weightlifting gym again. The closest one is about 15 km away, so I’d need to drive there. On one hand, I’d like to join for the community aspect. On the other hand, I could do strength training at home with the equipment I already have. Still deciding.
Mental Health
I’ve often struggled with anxiety, and I believe a health condition I’ve had since my teens is partly stress-related. While anxiety can sometimes push me to be productive, I want to manage it better. I’ve set two goals:
1. Digital minimalism
I’ve noticed I often listen to podcasts while doing simple tasks (chores, cooking, etc.). While not bad in itself, I’d like to reduce this habit to be more present and calm my mind. I’ll allow myself to listen to podcasts during long house-cleaning sessions, but not during short tasks like cooking or doing the dishes. I’ll also stop using screens while eating.
2. Meditation
I’m starting small: my goal is to meditate for 5 minutes after my daily workout.
Relationships and community
This has long been my weakest area. As an introvert who enjoys solitude, I haven’t prioritized developing strong social skills. Since moving back to my hometown, most of my social interaction is with family and childhood friends. It’s also been several years since my last long-term romantic relationship. This doesn’t cause me suffering, but I know I’m missing out on the joy that a stronger community could bring, and I worry about becoming too isolated in the future.
Goals:
- Be approachable and friendly in the yoga class I’m starting next week.
- Host at least one dinner with friends each month.
- Try to meet some of my neighbors. I feel a bit shy about knocking on their doors, but bringing them some tomatoes when I harvest them might be a natural way to start.
Over the past 5–6 years I’ve worked in software, mostly in data science, ML, and engineering roles. While I have a master’s degree in a STEM field, my academic background was originally in the social sciences, and I didn’t do much math in high school. As a result, my intuition is decent, but my fundamentals are weak, so I’ve decided to improve them.
In March, I subscribed to MathAcademy and started from scratch. I’ve completed the first Mathematical Foundations course and am now working through the second. I hope to finish the third course by year’s end, so that next year I can move on to university-level topics (calculus, proof methods, linear algebra, mathematics for ML). Eventually, I’d like to build a strong enough foundation to tackle deeper books like Probability Theory: The Logic of Science and fully understand them.
Finances
Excluding the recent expenses for the house renovation, my average monthly spending over the past three months has been around 500 euros. I’m not entirely sure this number is fully representative yet, as it doesn’t include extraordinary or unexpected costs, but I expect to maintain it most months, and perhaps even lower it slightly over time. Based on this level of spending, I currently have enough savings in cash to cover a few years of living expenses. The rest of my net worth is invested in index funds.
I only started investing last year. I chose index funds because they seemed like a simple and relatively safe option for me. However, over the past few months I’ve been reading more about degrowth and related ideas, which has made me question whether continuing to invest in index funds is the right approach. If those who argue that economic growth is likely to stagnate are correct, the traditional "buy and hold" strategy may no longer make sense.
I’m now exploring alternative ways to invest. Tangible assets that increase resilience and reduce dependence on the broader economic system (such as building a chicken coop or improving food self-sufficiency) seem like good options, though they obviously come with diminishing returns. Real estate could also be attractive, but buying a home outright in my area is extremely difficult, and I’m not interested in taking on a mortgage.
I would very much appreciate any advice or ideas on alternative investments that align with a degrowth or resilience-oriented mindset.
Reading
I recently finished How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci. I appreciated that it was both easy to read and a bit grounded in the historical origins of Stoicism, not just self-help fluff. The exercises in the last chapters seem useful, and I’d like to incorporate some of them into my meditation practice.
After the recent power outage in Portugal, Spain, and some areas of France, I’ve become more interested in degrowth and resilience. I’m currently reading El futuro de Europa: Cómo decrecer para una reindustrialización urgente. I’d like to read more about investing and preparing with the "polycrisis" in mind. On my reading list are The Resilient Gardener, Building a Better World in Your Backyard and Deep Response by AxelHeyst. I’d welcome any other recommendations, even more challenging books.
I know this was a long post — thanks for reading if you made it this far! I’m new to journaling, so any feedback, suggestions, or just a hello would be very appreciated. See you around!
