There are others like me and even a book!

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Fri Nov 05, 2010 6:53 pm

Oh well, here I am, thinking I'm doing something groundbreaking.

I've been thinking about early retirement for a long time, but never had a good plan on how to do it (most of it revolved around building a passive web-biz 4-HWW-style (it was old news to me when it came out), but that's hard to build or replicate, although I did make a few bucks online and still do.) I've read YMOYL about a month ago and it clicked for me when I read of a garbage-collector reaching early retirement through frugality and savings. Frugality is the secret to early retirement! So I did some calculations and arrived at the idea that I could save about 75% of my income if I stepped back to my student ways of living and that if I pulled this off long time I could retire at 35. So that was my plan. I cut my budget immediately, bought a book on how to save money on food expenses and started saving. This month's savings: 1500€
I've always saved money on the side based on the standard advice of saving 10-30% (I saved 30, of course). Never been crazy with spending, either.
Finding this website after searching for early retirement online made me laugh out loud. Not only was there someone who did exactly what I have just planned to do, he's also written a book about it!!! Not only that, but he's also taken the idea from YMOYL, and started this crazy adventure while getting his PhD. Of course I now have the book, which I'm roughly half-way through now. It's a bit eerie, like he's me only six years from now.

This means that it's actually possible! I think I've read most of the blog by now, so here I am on the forum.
Currently I'm pondering retiring even earlier in Thailand:

100€ for rent, 50€ for food, money needed: 45000€
... and then build it up from there, being able to focus on the online-stuff full-time.

I'm also an INTJ, by the way.
I guess that's it so far. So, hi everyone!
Felix from Germany

Post by **jacob** » Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:35 pm

Welcome to the party. You'll find that we all tend to have a lot in common in here.

jeremymday · Post by **jeremymday** » Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:56 pm

Yep, all have a lot in common. I imagine most of us are Myers-Briggs Rationals of some sort. Like to see who else is here actually...
Good luck on your adventure Felix!

js · Post by js » Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:25 am

Felix, I'm curious where you get your numbers of 150 EUR/month for Thailand. Is that just your wild guess or have you actually researched living expenses to retire there? What sort of accomodation do you think that would get you?
I've idly considered the same, but from the little reading I've done, the lowest I heard of anyone living there was 1000-1500 USD/month for a couple, (and more, naturally for BKK). I imagine the super-frugal could go lower than that...I'm just curious where you get your numbers from. Because if they're accurate, I'm ready to ERE off to Thailand now

dragoncar · Post by **dragoncar** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:40 am

js: After QE2, 150 EUR = 1250 USD.

AlexOliver · Post by **AlexOliver** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:33 am

@dragoncar: not sure what QE2 means, but 150 EUR = 210 USD.

AlexOliver · Post by **AlexOliver** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:35 am

wrt to thailand...
"Chiang Mai, Thailand
Zoë Westhof is an independent writer who blogs about creative, conscious living at Essential Prose.
1 Liter Milk: $1.75 – (60 THB)

2 Bed Apt: $235 – (8000 THB)

Restaurant: $2.25 – (75 THB)

Internet: $21 – (700 THB)"
source: http://manvsdebt.com/cost-of-living-abr ... -expenses/

gibberade · Post by **gibberade** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:43 am

I could never move to a different country alone...what about family and friends?

If I'm married, I'm sure it'd be fine.

js · Post by js » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:01 am

AlexOliver: QE2 = quantitative easing 2. It was a joke(?) about hyperinflation.
And thanks for that link.

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 9:54 am

Thanks for the friendly welcome everyone!
@js: About the Thailand example, I've just started researching this, but just googling "4500 THB rent" gave me this:

http://classifieds.thaivisa.com/real-es ... 45529.html
I've found others, though.
I'm not sure if Thailand is the ultimate choice. My idea was basically to move to a low-income country. Thailand was simply the first thing to come to my mind as I've been there with my parents once when I was little.
So, happy retirement!

I don't mind moving somewhere on my own. I meet people easily, so that's no problem.

Eliza · Post by **Eliza** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:55 pm

With regards to moving to a low cost of living country and building a web based income --- check out http://www.workingnomad.com/. The forums there are full of people who have done or are doing similar things. I've been lurking around there on and off for a couple of years and always found it inspiring. There tends to be some decent discussion about reasonable cost of living in various places as well.

akratic · Post by **akratic** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:39 pm

While traveling through Australia last year I heard lots of anecdotal evidence that Thailand is incredibly cheap. Travelers were claiming $10/night hotel rooms and $1-2 for a large meal out. Someone told me his friend bought a condo near the beach for $10k.
Going somewhere like Thailand is on my short list for post ERE.
Anyway, welcome Felix! How does an INTJ like us meet people easily?

I find myself unable to tolerate bars and parties and other crowded social situations for long, so that cuts off one major source of meeting people. Additionally, my goals and priorities are so different from many people my age, I find it can be hard to relate.
I've worked on broadening my interests and activities, through things like travel, and that has helped me meet people, but certainly I can't claim that I meet people easily.
I really treasure the people I find that I can relate to... I just wish I were better at meeting more of them. So what's your approach?

mwilliams92 · Post by **mwilliams92** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:01 am

thailand sounds great but don't forget to add in for health insurance where it isnt gov included!!

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:06 pm

@Eliza: The forum looks nice. This working nomad thing was something on my mind for a while. Low-cost living in a warm climate is high on my list.

@akratic: On meeting people ... I don't know what I'm doing, really, but I'll try to explain a bit. Even though I ranked highly in the J-department on the personality test (75 in Judgemental, I think), I consider myself more of a live-and-let-live kinda guy. Heh, maybe I'm wrong.

I mostly meet people out of curiosity. I just wonder what they are like and then start talking to them. Then some basic chit-chat (Where are you from, why are you here, do you like this place, etc.). Beer helps.

In general, people like it, when others are genuinely interested in them, in what they think and do, which makes me a likeable guy, I guess. I just turned my curiosity into some sort of a social skill. I want to know how different people tick. And then I'm usually integrated into the group. The first step is usually the most difficult for me, just talking to people. Thinking about it, it mostly starts with a commentary about the surrounding or something like that. I guess for an INTJ, it helps to kinda turn it into a research project about how people react. It's not hard, they're just people.

I mean, many INTJs can do crazy shit like complex calculus, electronics etc. Any teenage girl can talk to people, it's something that an INTJ may have to learn, but it's fairly easy and becomes second nature quickly. In fact, you don't really need to do much. Many people are happy to find someone who actually listens to what they say. You just sit there and listen and learn.
@michelle: good point. I will need to think about this one a bit. This is still the achilles heel of my plan ...