Startbyserving ERE Journal.

[startbyserving]

I'm still close to starting point of my journey. Combined SO (Significant Other) and myself have saved about 50% of take home income over the past year. Myself saving probably 75-85% of mine. So perhaps 20-30% of hers. (I spend very little, SO enjoys spending a little more, but moderates it somewhat.) **

As I've been reading the book I've thought it would be a good idea to stop from time to time as inspiration occurs and do other things. Over the weekend I did some weatherproofing on the house. A few minutes ago I read for the zillenth time: "drive to work = Bad" I decided to drive to post an add on Craigslist to see if anyone would be interested in a ride share.* Currently I'm about 10 miles to work, so a little out of walking range. I could perhaps bike at some point. Although I am not fat, and visit the Gym 1-2 times a week, I am nowhere near being able to bike. Earlier in the week I modified my desk at work where I have the option to either sit or stand. I am going to build up the amount of time I am standing until I am standing 50% or more of my day.

*Riding the bus is also an option, but I would probably consider that if I get to the point where I have no car and/ or have good ideas on how to best use my time there. Currently cost of bus ticket is relatively close to my variable car expenses, so I prefer to save time driving. I do plan to ride the bus at some point "Just to understand the process" and see how it compares. Perhaps around Earth Day? I expect the bus to be a 60-90 minute alternative to my 12 minute commute, but I hope to be presently surprised.

** I am a financially educated person, with experience running a small business. However, I haven't really ever made a budget or thought about how personal money is flowing. Up to this point my plan has been "Make as much as possible, Spend as little as possible, and Save as much as possible" (Perhaps I'm an okay candidate for the ERE system? ) I've came to realize a budget could shed some light and pinpoint efficiencies / inefficiencies. I'd also like to have budget(s) that separates SO expenses from my own so we can both understand our individual progress toward retirement.

[startbyserving]

This post is a little long so feel free to skip to the bolded text for specific points, and see if it's worth your time to read anything else:

I don't feel I've made any "material" or "measurable" progress since I made my first post close to two weeks ago. However I feel like I've made a lot of "Mental" progress and feel like noting a couple things. First much like organizing a mess sometimes "Things have to get worse before they can get better" (Perhaps this isn't true for everyone, but I take a lot of space when I work. I work most effectively my making things "Neat" as a late step in the process.)

I started reading / skimming "Work Less live more / Robert Clyatt" This book didn't really match my personality well. Perhaps the approach was a little too traditional and didn't bring enough new exciting material to me? (I'd love to learn what people did like about the book. Perhaps I didn't go i depth enough and missed something important?)

I started reading "Your Money or Your Life" and quickly made some revelations. The idea of keeping track of every cent I spend seems a little intimidating, but I do plan to do my best this coming month. I don't personally spend much entertainment wise, but I have everything automated , and sometimes my money runs in circles. As far as big expenses like hospital bills, Cars, taxes etc. I will split them across a short, but reasonable period in a way similar to strait line depreciation.

One question I've asked myself is what would I do with my time if I worked less? Obviously I would use skills to decrease expenses. But what about socially ? My friends work all day, and when they aren't working they are often times spending their money (Life Energy) for enjoyment. I noticed a reference to a "Financial Independence Support Group". I will advertise to create a local Financial Independence Group in Lexington, KY (Perhaps Craigslist?) and see if there is any interest. Perhaps there are people in my area already that I don't know about? if not , people may want to learn about it. Our public Library has free meeting space for such events.

One thing that really caught my attention was the reference that people need that on average throughout history people have needed to work approx 3 hours a day at a minimum. (Several pages into chapter 7.) Per the values of Jacob's book, we might consider the modern day number even lower. I expected this number to be low with modern day "efficiency" but I didn't expect this to be so low throughout history.

Another thing that caught my eye was a statement part way through chapter 7, Subtopic: THE STUNNING IMPLICATIONS OF REDEFINING WORK,
5. Redefining Work Honors Unpaid Activity

" If you think you are working only when you are earning money, then you (and billions of other people) are very busy being “unemployed” a lot of the time. The everyday activities of taking care of yourself, your home and your family are all unpaid work. It’s not that we don’t notice these other life chores, it’s that we don’t always honor them. In our minds we tend to regard them as mere obstacles to surmount on the way to our “real” work, the jobs we get paid for. "

I think I misread the statement, got ahead of myself, and ended up putting my own twist to it: Instead of considering home activities unpaid work, - how about consider them paid work? I.e. If you are too busy working to cut your own hair , then you are "Unemployed" as a hair stylist. - Someone else is getting paid to do the job you should be "getting paid" to do. (Your money will either go to someone else or yourself. Who will you choose to hire and pay for the job? Yourself or a stranger?)


At this point I realized that I should have my notepad up on my computer and take notes of big realizations. I created a Folder called "Financial independence" inside the "My Documents" folder. I created Notepad document called "Financial Independence Reading Notes". Perhaps one day the folder will be full enough of different things that I will want to create subfolders within it.


So some current action / goals:

Search for persons in my local area for support groups / community involvement.
Track my spending
Value my personal time / spend less time watching TV / Playing computer games *


* I didn't explain, but I have an online computer game called "Forge of empires" I have became too involved with. After my reading, I now propose this to be a "simulated" replacement for real connections with other people. I have a group of 60 real people (Which I don't know in real life) that I play the game with and compete against other people. If I leave, I'll be leaving something incomplete and letting down these other people that "rely" on me. 1. realize that this is just a game. 2. Realize that although these are real people I am interacting with, these aren't real connections. I'll likely never have any interaction with any other players outside the game. 3. Conclude that I am getting very little in return for my "life energy" I.e. wasting life energy.

[startbyserving]

Sep 19 , 2015
Wow time flies. It certainly doesn't feel like over 6 months since my initial posts. Reading over my first entries has been interesting. I've managed to accumulate additional problems more than I've managed to solve the old ones. I feel like I've made some progress though!

• Tracking my spending has been challenging. I feel I mostly need to get a habit embedded more than anything else. If I don't write something down immediately that throws my system off, then I'm hunting for receipts, etc.
• I've not made great progress managing my time.
• Although I am still burned out at work , having the leverage to leave anytime I want certainly helps my outlook and even job function some. - If I don't like some aspect or decision concerning my job I don't hesitate to share it. For example: A couple months ago my boss asked me a rhetorical "what should I do?" concerning a situation with a family employee. I fairly bluntly replied "From what I understand you've been told this before, but what you should do is..... " I provided some facts and figures as to was the course of action that should be taken. Of course he was shocked for a second. Then he replied "No I've never been told that. Or I've never been told that in that manner" He ended up starting down a corrective path fairly quickly.

I've made limited progress health-wise , but I am glad for the things I've done:

I've tried to incorporate fresh cooked beans into my diet. I want to learn more about cooking from scratch, and that's going to be a slow process.


I've incorporated standing into my routine at work:

I've had my eyes open for a smaller or more efficient house. A big motivation for this has been utility bills over the past 12 months. I live in the southern "Ohio Valley" general area. We still pay more for heating than cooling in this area, so I've been focusing on houses without vaulted ceilings and/or that have fireplaces. - Preferably a fireplace that has or can accommodate a high efficiency insert.

I'm weighing the option of staying where I am. I already live in a fairly small house (If it weren't for my ceilings being vaulted an extra 2 feet.). The smaller front bedroom heats / cools much better, so I could try staying in there to see how it does. So far, I'm not convinced that I've found something "better enough" to merit the hassle and expenses. Is it worth it to pay and extra $20,000 for an older house that is a little smaller and slightly more convenient? - I certainly see the value in trees now. Having an interest in 'passive heating/cooling' , 'drainage', etc. I certainly overthink a lot of aspects of the ideal house.

I've spent a lot of time pondering the value of 'convenience' (i.e. being in the city) , city water, electricity, etc. While I certainly value these things, I feel many people rely way too heavily on these 'luxuries'. I could get a small house out i the middle of nowhere for very cheap. However 1. I'm not sure that would be worth it socially. 2. That won't be something to consider presently, as Sig. other has no intention of leaving current employment position anytime soon. (Likes co-workers).


Recently I read some books:

Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Saloman. I've looked at several books on small houses, but this was the first one that really appealed to me as I've 'flipped' through it. It spends a great deal on giving examples of the people themselves, and spends a great deal of time addressing the social challenges of living in small houses.

Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money by Dolly Fried. This book takes a complete 180 degree attitude approach as compared to Jacob. This book written in 1978 is amazingly applicable today. Dolly today, (of course) is very different than the one that wrote the book. That makes me ask a few questions.
Is the ERE attitude cyclical? (I.e. Most of us has heard the phrase "She lived during the great depression" as explanation as to why an older person is tight with their money.)
How sustainable is the ERE plan individually? Won't we want more individually once we have the means to purchase it without requiring work in exchange for it?

The environmental aspect is a pressing one. That will certainly be a motivator for me. But 'living comfortably' can certainly appear attractive and be hard to resist.

[jacob]

Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money by Dolly Fried. This book takes a complete 180 degree attitude approach as compared to Jacob. This book written in 1978 is amazingly applicable today. Dolly today, (of course) is very different than the one that wrote the book. That makes me ask a few questions.
Is the ERE attitude cyclical? (I.e. Most of us has heard the phrase "She lived during the great depression" as explanation as to why an older person is tight with their money.)

Wait what?! I can live well without a job and with (almost) no money. I don't see how you see ERE as being the complete opposite of Possum Living. Also, seeing recent interviews with Dolly Freed, she doesn't appear to be all that different in values from how she was back then or in between. Just more mature and experienced. She was 19 when she wrote the book. Forsooth, even I am slightly more mature/experienced since I wrote the blog. (It's almost 10 years since I started.)

Yes, the attitude is cyclical. I've noted this in the past. There are a bunch of forgotten/neglected treasures written in the 1970s early 80s. Ernest Callenbach and Larry Roth, for example.

In the 1920s-1930s, the main writer is Borsodi who is almost completely neglected in the West. The always popular Nearings (especially in the 1960s/70s) also started their homestead at this point.

In the 1880s. I'm don't know of any writers from this period with these ideas. Dragline?

In the 1840s. Thoreau's Walden. Emerson's Self-Reliance

As a rule of thumb, you'll see these periods (yearning for a simpler life, rejecting the excess or failure of the previous mode) of prolific writing/wider adoption appear a few years after major market booms and busts and last about a decade of so. Such major recessions happen every 30-40 years, thereabouts.

Yet, the undercurrent is constant. There are always some regardless of social/economic/cultural conditions. However, for books to appear, you need a lot of these people since only about 1 in 1000 actually write and publish a book.

[Dragline]

In the 1880s. I'm don't know of any writers from this period with these ideas. Dragline?

You're somewhere between John Ruskin's "Unto This Last" and Russell Conwell's "Acre of Diamonds", but neither is quite on point, with maybe some James Allen thrown in ("As a Man Thinketh" -- a little later).