Early Retirement Extreme Forums

loutfard wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:37 pm

I should probably have moved this to a separate new topic in the money and investment section of the forum...

You didn't work alone on this one. My bad.

guitarplayer wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:55 pm

I have the 40k in a tax sheltered account where I pay no tax on earnings so my first choice at the moment to do what @sky suggested, keep cash at 4.58% and see what’s going to happen.

Cool, cool. Good luck!

guitarplayer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 06, 2025 5:16 am

I tried to read the investment curriculum but I am just disinterested, at least in the first book 'Economics', and I cannot get interested.

Thanks for sharing, I had the seem experience. It doesn't help that I've done some IT work for finance departments, so I have a hard time taking the numbers they publish seriously. The pressure to conform is crushing.

Jacob shared Unexpected Returns earlier, and I found that much easier to read. It shows long time returns of 5-8% (before costs, taxes and mistakes.). That seems reasonable to me. You could do worse than giving that book a try!

delay wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 08, 2025 4:40 am

Thanks for sharing, I had the seem experience. It doesn't help that I've done some IT work for finance departments, so I have a hard time taking the numbers they publish seriously. The pressure to conform is crushing.

My friend's mom is a chief accountant at a local production facility with a couple hundred employees. They're a private company. My friend conveyed an incident when, after she completed the yearly financial report and sent it to the CEO, he immidiately told her "What are you doing? That's too much profit! Fix it". She did some massaging and the profit came down by half, which satisfied the CEO. Of course, here the issue were taxes on profit. I can imagine that, at public companies, there must pressure in the opposite direction, i.e. "make up more profit". Hopefully, the presence (and certainty) of external accounting audits preclude public companies from making really gross manipulations.

Separately, no dig might be a preferred gardening method but in its absence, there’s something satisfying about turning over the veggies bed. Maybe cultural, see playing in the sandpit.

guitarplayer wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 05, 2025 1:31 pm

The plot is great, there is a plum and apple tree, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, a shed with tools and well maintained 65 square meters for growing food. This can be expanded, there is quite a bit of grass paths and a bit of a hedge. I think the whole plot is above 200 sqm, maybe something to check. There are structures on it, like shed, greenhouse, compost bins. But blackberries grow sort of outside of it, by the fence so there's some sneaky stealth growth. The greenhouse needs fixing with about 5-7 panes missing after storms earlier this year.

That plot sounds incredible! congrats! so many possibilities!
When I had a plot at a community garden in the US, it was a 2mx2m raised bed among 40 or 50 other 2mx2m "plots" with one shared shed. It closed at sundown and there was no running water from Nov. to March...

Hey @NewBlood, I had something similar to what you describe last year so hear you. The plot is great, much better than that prior arrangement! I spend a lot of time there now.

@Jean, you will be happy to learn I am back to drinking coffee so we can have a coffee at campfire next time round.

Otherwise, I am thinking about update format for here.

I hope you didn't do it for me
I'm curious to compare the coffe buzzed gp with the sober gp.

See Erdos on stopping coffee and / or similar products for a month to win a bet.

Paul Erdos wrote:Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper.

Separately, shout out to forumites. I need to gracefully tell my manager that I am moving on to another venture (that sales thread I set up elsewhere combined with a couple other things must have pushed the dial of my success at self promotion). I have a few ideas on how to do it, but since I’ve not got much experience in this kind of talk and I can have blind spots communication wise, I welcome any obvious suggestions! The current work had been good, I got a lot of autonomy and learned a lot too. Got a high mark from the manager recently.

My main talking point will be that of next venture aligning better with both professional but also other life goals, which is true.

June 2025 Update

Garden

I am going later today, I love the garden. It is a near perfect arrangement.

- The commute to get there is 20 min by bicycle (could be closer)
- Set up is there from previous steward of the plot, including tools, shed, greenhouse (was broken but got it fixed),
- Fruit Trees and Bushes
- It costs about $150 a year in taxes to the local council. Compared to buying a house with a garden which would cost much more in taxes and veg garden would render the house 'atypical' in terms of resale value (for good or bad)

Great green space in the more-or-less city centre.

Work

I am going to be changing jobs if all goes well, accepted an offer and undergoing background checks. It would be 'the sexiest job of the XXI century' by some sources, and in an international company. Better opening for moving across the pond (either way) from the UK, compared to my current employer that is UK specific.

I don't feel great thinking of sharing the news with my current team, I think it is the traditionalist in me. But numerous people tell me that I should be okay, it is normal to change jobs for one reason or another.

Money

In terms of trailing 12 months (TTM) annual expenses (where the expenses exclude income tax and mortgage principal but include interest - mortgage will be paid off in summer), we now have

Total including current value of social security (UK state pension): 30.51 TTM
Total minus UK state pension: 22.71 TTM
Total minus UK state pension minus (flat we live in+cash needed to pay off mortgage): 14.11 TTM
'Good money' i.e. cash and investments outside of pensions ~ 7.1 TTM

Relationships

DW and I have known each other for 9 year and 10 months, soon to be 10 years!

Health

I have less of an exercising routine now, but thinking about getting into a routine again. I think generally I had too much routine so took a break to take a breath.

Music

@bos just motivated me to look again at recording stuff. I think best will be the approach of 'just do it', to counter my overthinking tendencies.

Flat

We had the flat for almost two years and the past few months nothing has broken (think inherited faults from previous owner(s)). The neighbourhood has proven really good, happy where we are. If I end up picking up that other job I wrote about above, it will be 15 min walk from our place!

guitarplayer wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 08, 2025 5:52 am

Music

@bos just motivated me to look again at recording stuff. I think best will be the approach of 'just do it', to counter my overthinking tendencies.

That's great to hear! The Madfientist, who is a FIRE blogger, mentioned his struggle to get started on things he really wanted, which was recording his own music. During the working period of his live he told himself "when I retire, then I will" but then he tired and it still took him 2-3 years to get even started. He finished his first album two years ago and said it's the thing he is the most proud of in his life. Not related, but he also lives in Scotland.

guitarplayer wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 04, 2025 2:58 am

See Erdos on stopping coffee and / or similar products for a month to win a bet.

When it comes to him, the "other similar products" were probably much more impactful

Congrats on the new job!