Throw down your current ideas and we can help you iterate on them.
disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
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mountainFrugal
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm
Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
I am once again using the free spreadsheet template for yearly goal planning made available on Art of Nonconformity blog. It integrates well with the Renaissance categories offered in "ERE", especially if you notate which goals/activities are in alignment with more than one category towards "webbing" your goals/activities. I also like how this template includes choosing a theme for the new year. I'm still brain-storming, but I'm tending towards 2024: The Year of the Green and the Gray.
Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
@mountainFrugal: Thanks for the feedback. I did get hung up a little on sorting things through first (which I tend to do) but I think your approach is the right one. Get everything on paper, maybe get some feedback (if people feel generous) and then make a plan.
@7w5: That is a great spreadsheet. I did some playing around with it over the holidays and already have some goals but I think I am not at a place where I feel good about it.
This journal is probably gonna be a bit chaotic over the next few posts/months. But here I go.
One big change in 2024 is that at the end of 2023 I reached a stable state for my “traditional” retirement plan. I started this plan in 2018 When I turned 35 and feeling behind and nervous about my future. I planned in 3 stages.
For the rest of my 30s I would contribute the largest amount (basically panicking, hair on fire, doing as much as I can - It ended up around 2K EUR per month).
My 40s would still require a relatively large investment (around 1,5K EUR per month - 1K of that tax deductable).
In my 50s I would basically only contribute the minimum amount to public and private pension (around 150 EUR per month - all of it tax deductable).
My thought was that it makes sense to contribute while I am younger and if things go wrong I would still have time to fix things and course correct. Also since a big part of this plan involves stocks I felt it makes sense to have more time in the market.
I made this original plan before I found ERE and decided to stick with it until I feel confident enough in my ability to pull of something else. To be honest the last 5-6 years were pretty intense in that regard. I was not sure I would be able make it work and since I have no other assets and my family also doesn’t it felt pretty existential. The good news is that the time of just contributing as much as possible is over and I now have an amount to contribute that is lower than what I contributed over the last 5 years. Also it is stable, which means I can make a plan and more importantly that I can do it.
The thing I noticed is that being in the mode of living isn’t really fun. I was basically feeling constantly behind which meant if there was extra work I would take it. If there was less work I was updating spreadsheets feeling nervous and it felt like whatever I did it was never enough. More was better (why would I settle for “less” security?). I think this is in large part my personality but also I was (for my circumstances) pretty ambitious and at the same time risk averse (if I’d been more radical with changing my lifestyle I wouldn’t have to put in so much work and energy). A lot of my energy was spent worrying. Since also have to manage my health conditions day to day and deal with regular doctors visits there’s a lot of things to play into my fearful personality.
While there are also a lot of things that were really great the last 5 years (new relationships, I challenged myself by running a marathon, biking long distances, discovering ERE, getting a cabin and spending time in nature, re-connecting with some old friends, etc.) the fearfulness and feeling of impending doom is something I can’t continue. It’s taking up too much energy and it also is holding me back. Just to be clear: I am not regretting doing the things I did. I was working with what I had at the time but I’d like to use this change in decade and circumstance to address the issues I found. I’d like to change my focus and spend less time in my head.
The biggest risk I see for myself is that I keep moving the goal post. There is a voice in my head that is already saying things like that if I just continue like I did the last 5 years I could reduce the 10 years of my contribution to 7,5 years and stuff like that. While that is obviously true and a valueable insight I think right now that voice is taking over my internal polylogue. I think it will take a lot of time and energy getting into a more balanced state of mind. I think my approach will be to consciously focus on other areas of my life while still trying to maintain basic financial health. My idea right now is to maybe time-box activities like spreadsheets, budgeting, admin stuff, etc. I am thinking 25 minutes per day (basically 1 pomodoro on my timer)
There are some other things rattling around in my head for this year. I’ll just mention them here and probably re-visit them in a future post.
A friend of mine helped me get funding for a small solar installation. Basically I will get a 500 EUR rebate for a small installation. I already ordered two panels and an inverter. All that is missing some cables and somehow installing them on the roof without making alterations (since I am renting). This will be a good project that plays into my values of sustainability, gives me some data on how to work with solar and also saves a bit of money every month.
The cabin I am renting will have to be dismantled by the end of the year. The city has decided the land will have to be re-naturalized which means all the cabins will have to go. This will be my last year with this piece of land. It’s sad and annoying that I have to pay for cleanup but on the other hand the whole community is in the same boat and the threat of this has been looming for years. It’s also nice to have the uncertainty gone and starting next year I can invest the money and energy into something new.
This will be the first year I will be around for a whole season at the community garden around the corner. In theory there’s lots of opportunity to connect with people and learn some gardening skills. There was also a storm last year that brought down some trees. They would be awesome to create a Hügelkultur but I am unsure I have the energy for this project since I will have to be an advocate for it.
I’d like to go on a bike trip this year. I’ve been missing doing them and instead of just taking a holiday I am thinking of doing a small workcation. I would visit my parents and work from their home. It would give me the opportunity to see some old friends. Also I’d like to rent out my flat during that time since I have never done that. I think doing that would make travel more affordable. I feel quite anxious about handing over my flat (less because I don’t trust people but more because I am afraid they won’t have a good time) so I think it would be a good learning experience.
I’d also like to learn to be a better cook. I like doing it. It calms me down. I also would like to order food less and reduce my groceries bill. I think there is a nice web of goal here. I’d like to pick up pantry cooking because it saves money and it is a good training exercise for bulk shopping (which might come in handy if I want to move into the countryside). To that end I’d also like to start a price book to recognize good deals. Also I will hopefully eat healthier and I feel like it’s something I could see myself contributing to a community. It also mixes nicely with community garden.
I’d like to sort out my affairs. I am often worried I don’t have a plan what happens if I have an accident or my health deteriorates. It makes me nervous thinking about the people close to me having to deal with my stuff.
I will go to my first group therapy dealing with depression this month. I am not sure what will come out of it but I think it’s a good step. We will see…
I made a spreadsheet last year tracking my working hours/working days per week. It was quite enlightening since if I had a CoL like I am planning on for this year I could have stopped working in October. Of course I didn’t (because more is better, right?) and only took 7 days off (apart from holidays and sick days) for the whole year. I still had my long weekends and free time but it shows that a different lifestyle should be possible. I want to continue the spreadsheet this year and see if I can have a more balanced lifestyle. I’d also like to track my health with it. The weekly format worked well. Maybe I’ll post some diagrams in a follow up post.
Sorry for the long post and stream of consciousness. Thanks for reading I’ll let this settle and try to continue structuring this in my next posts. Any feedback or ideas are welcome (as always).
@7w5: That is a great spreadsheet. I did some playing around with it over the holidays and already have some goals but I think I am not at a place where I feel good about it.
This journal is probably gonna be a bit chaotic over the next few posts/months. But here I go.
One big change in 2024 is that at the end of 2023 I reached a stable state for my “traditional” retirement plan. I started this plan in 2018 When I turned 35 and feeling behind and nervous about my future. I planned in 3 stages.
For the rest of my 30s I would contribute the largest amount (basically panicking, hair on fire, doing as much as I can - It ended up around 2K EUR per month).
My 40s would still require a relatively large investment (around 1,5K EUR per month - 1K of that tax deductable).
In my 50s I would basically only contribute the minimum amount to public and private pension (around 150 EUR per month - all of it tax deductable).
My thought was that it makes sense to contribute while I am younger and if things go wrong I would still have time to fix things and course correct. Also since a big part of this plan involves stocks I felt it makes sense to have more time in the market.
I made this original plan before I found ERE and decided to stick with it until I feel confident enough in my ability to pull of something else. To be honest the last 5-6 years were pretty intense in that regard. I was not sure I would be able make it work and since I have no other assets and my family also doesn’t it felt pretty existential. The good news is that the time of just contributing as much as possible is over and I now have an amount to contribute that is lower than what I contributed over the last 5 years. Also it is stable, which means I can make a plan and more importantly that I can do it.
The thing I noticed is that being in the mode of living isn’t really fun. I was basically feeling constantly behind which meant if there was extra work I would take it. If there was less work I was updating spreadsheets feeling nervous and it felt like whatever I did it was never enough. More was better (why would I settle for “less” security?). I think this is in large part my personality but also I was (for my circumstances) pretty ambitious and at the same time risk averse (if I’d been more radical with changing my lifestyle I wouldn’t have to put in so much work and energy). A lot of my energy was spent worrying. Since also have to manage my health conditions day to day and deal with regular doctors visits there’s a lot of things to play into my fearful personality.
While there are also a lot of things that were really great the last 5 years (new relationships, I challenged myself by running a marathon, biking long distances, discovering ERE, getting a cabin and spending time in nature, re-connecting with some old friends, etc.) the fearfulness and feeling of impending doom is something I can’t continue. It’s taking up too much energy and it also is holding me back. Just to be clear: I am not regretting doing the things I did. I was working with what I had at the time but I’d like to use this change in decade and circumstance to address the issues I found. I’d like to change my focus and spend less time in my head.
The biggest risk I see for myself is that I keep moving the goal post. There is a voice in my head that is already saying things like that if I just continue like I did the last 5 years I could reduce the 10 years of my contribution to 7,5 years and stuff like that. While that is obviously true and a valueable insight I think right now that voice is taking over my internal polylogue. I think it will take a lot of time and energy getting into a more balanced state of mind. I think my approach will be to consciously focus on other areas of my life while still trying to maintain basic financial health. My idea right now is to maybe time-box activities like spreadsheets, budgeting, admin stuff, etc. I am thinking 25 minutes per day (basically 1 pomodoro on my timer)
There are some other things rattling around in my head for this year. I’ll just mention them here and probably re-visit them in a future post.
A friend of mine helped me get funding for a small solar installation. Basically I will get a 500 EUR rebate for a small installation. I already ordered two panels and an inverter. All that is missing some cables and somehow installing them on the roof without making alterations (since I am renting). This will be a good project that plays into my values of sustainability, gives me some data on how to work with solar and also saves a bit of money every month.
The cabin I am renting will have to be dismantled by the end of the year. The city has decided the land will have to be re-naturalized which means all the cabins will have to go. This will be my last year with this piece of land. It’s sad and annoying that I have to pay for cleanup but on the other hand the whole community is in the same boat and the threat of this has been looming for years. It’s also nice to have the uncertainty gone and starting next year I can invest the money and energy into something new.
This will be the first year I will be around for a whole season at the community garden around the corner. In theory there’s lots of opportunity to connect with people and learn some gardening skills. There was also a storm last year that brought down some trees. They would be awesome to create a Hügelkultur but I am unsure I have the energy for this project since I will have to be an advocate for it.
I’d like to go on a bike trip this year. I’ve been missing doing them and instead of just taking a holiday I am thinking of doing a small workcation. I would visit my parents and work from their home. It would give me the opportunity to see some old friends. Also I’d like to rent out my flat during that time since I have never done that. I think doing that would make travel more affordable. I feel quite anxious about handing over my flat (less because I don’t trust people but more because I am afraid they won’t have a good time) so I think it would be a good learning experience.
I’d also like to learn to be a better cook. I like doing it. It calms me down. I also would like to order food less and reduce my groceries bill. I think there is a nice web of goal here. I’d like to pick up pantry cooking because it saves money and it is a good training exercise for bulk shopping (which might come in handy if I want to move into the countryside). To that end I’d also like to start a price book to recognize good deals. Also I will hopefully eat healthier and I feel like it’s something I could see myself contributing to a community. It also mixes nicely with community garden.
I’d like to sort out my affairs. I am often worried I don’t have a plan what happens if I have an accident or my health deteriorates. It makes me nervous thinking about the people close to me having to deal with my stuff.
I will go to my first group therapy dealing with depression this month. I am not sure what will come out of it but I think it’s a good step. We will see…
I made a spreadsheet last year tracking my working hours/working days per week. It was quite enlightening since if I had a CoL like I am planning on for this year I could have stopped working in October. Of course I didn’t (because more is better, right?) and only took 7 days off (apart from holidays and sick days) for the whole year. I still had my long weekends and free time but it shows that a different lifestyle should be possible. I want to continue the spreadsheet this year and see if I can have a more balanced lifestyle. I’d also like to track my health with it. The weekly format worked well. Maybe I’ll post some diagrams in a follow up post.
Sorry for the long post and stream of consciousness. Thanks for reading
I’ll let this settle and try to continue structuring this in my next posts. Any feedback or ideas are welcome (as always).Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
Thanks for your journal. May you enjoy the last year of your cabin!
)
The ERE blog describes working five years on a job you like, embracing your frugal self, and having money work for you. That's very different from punishing yourself for five years!disk_poet wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 6:10 am
My thought was that it makes sense to contribute while I am younger and if things go wrong I would still have time to fix things and course correct. Also since a big part of this plan involves stocks I felt it makes sense to have more time in the market.
...
The thing I noticed is that being in the mode of living isn’t really fun.
Good idea, my spreadsheets are often closer to daydreaming than reality. There's a danger that timeboxing makes something feel valuable. Before you know it, you'll start to "reward yourself with 25 minutes extra spreadsheet time".
Several people I know are on medication against depression. The medication hasn't solved the problem, but if they stop using it, weird things happen, so they are kind of stuck. Group therapy sounds like a good alternative. Exchanging ideas and things to try. I guess I would double check the motivation of the organizer of the group, for fear of it being some kind of church or scientology recruitment scheme. (I guess I'm easily scared as well
)Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
@delay: Thanks for your comment. Good point that making something scarce can make it seem valuable. I didn’t think of it like that before. I need to mull over that. I am unsure if I will fall for that or not.
Regarding the depression: Yes.. I don’t want to be stuck on medication long term. I also talked to my doctor and he said I could use it as a booster to get therapy started but it’s not a long term solution. Thankfully this institution is part of a public social program financed by the state and public health insurances. I am unsure how prevalent these church/scientology schemes are in Germany. I know they exist but I don’t they if they are wide-spread. It’s also a closed group so one has to apply. Hopefully that makes it a bit more sheltered.
Regarding the depression: Yes.. I don’t want to be stuck on medication long term. I also talked to my doctor and he said I could use it as a booster to get therapy started but it’s not a long term solution. Thankfully this institution is part of a public social program financed by the state and public health insurances. I am unsure how prevalent these church/scientology schemes are in Germany. I know they exist but I don’t they if they are wide-spread. It’s also a closed group so one has to apply. Hopefully that makes it a bit more sheltered.
Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE
I finished my spreadsheet for this year and went to my first group session.
The group was a good experience. It was a very nice atmosphere and a small and intimate group. It felt good and I will go back. Unfortunately I will be traveling for the next two meetings but I think that's ok. It was nice to not feel like I am alone with my issues. That is something that therapy didn't do for me. It also made me a bit more appreciative of the things that are going well in my life.
The other thing I noticed is also that I am not the only one where depression (or dealing with it) takes up a lot of productive time. It's the same with my other ailments. All the doctors appointments, medication runs, and daily management just means I will get less productive hours out of every day. I want to plan accordingly.
I exported my work hours and days of non-work (for this year I will distinguish sick-days from free-days) as a chart. My goal for this year is to actually get my non-work days to 0 (or close to) at the end of the year. I will take that as an indication that I took more time for myself and see how I feel.
I hope the billable hours will follow suit.
The other thing I did this week was to start my pricebook for pantry shopping and declutter a bit. I will pick this up once I will be back from traveling in 4 weeks. I am going to visit some friends. Unfortunately I will still have to work but I will try to see how travel and work play together and what the pain points are.
The group was a good experience. It was a very nice atmosphere and a small and intimate group. It felt good and I will go back. Unfortunately I will be traveling for the next two meetings but I think that's ok. It was nice to not feel like I am alone with my issues. That is something that therapy didn't do for me. It also made me a bit more appreciative of the things that are going well in my life.
The other thing I noticed is also that I am not the only one where depression (or dealing with it) takes up a lot of productive time. It's the same with my other ailments. All the doctors appointments, medication runs, and daily management just means I will get less productive hours out of every day. I want to plan accordingly.
I exported my work hours and days of non-work (for this year I will distinguish sick-days from free-days) as a chart. My goal for this year is to actually get my non-work days to 0 (or close to) at the end of the year. I will take that as an indication that I took more time for myself and see how I feel.
I hope the billable hours will follow suit.
The other thing I did this week was to start my pricebook for pantry shopping and declutter a bit. I will pick this up once I will be back from traveling in 4 weeks. I am going to visit some friends. Unfortunately I will still have to work but I will try to see how travel and work play together and what the pain points are.