Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

[Frugalchicos]

Thank you all!!! very excited to keep killing it this next two years. Investments will start being massive in the very near future with my big salary, chica's huge salary and the savings from mini-chica's daycare. She starts going to Chicago Public School Pre-K in August. This is her last month and we will save like $1,200/month. Pretty pumped with our future

It is also time now to swift the focus onto more important topics like health and happiness

[Nicolino]

Congratulations, most of the (financial) hard work should be behind you guys already! Here´s to enjoying those options and flexibility!

[Frugalchicos]

Alright team, time for the monthly update:

Current NW: $1,022,560 - $32,618 increase from last month.

We achieved an impressive milestone in the month of June, we became millionaires. We feel super accomplished and optimistic of our future.

Other than financial, half marathon training is going well. My friend and I just came back from a 7 mile run and it was probably the best run in months.

I feel physically well, I am not drinking much and I am trying to keep a pretty healthy diet for the most part. I am also letting it loose sometimes during the weekends having a couple of beers and eating a burger with some chips. Like in everything in life, I am trying to be less extreme/rigorous and learn how to enjoy "no perfection".

My mom arrived a couple of days ago and will stay with us for 6 weeks. Hopefully she has a blast and mini enjoys her time with her and picks up some Spanish and Basque which will be helpful for when we come back.

I am not feeling it at work but it is probably just a seasonal feeling when I am more thinking about vacation and freedom. Hopefully the good time and meeting more often with friends will help to defuse that feeling.

Guitar progress is learning well. I feel pretty confident with most of the chords and power chords. I am enjoying it and I like learning new songs. Overall, it is a great hobby that I find it to be wholesome and takes my mind away from all the worries.

We have a long weekend ahead that is full of resting, long walks, beers and runs with friends. We are planning in meeting Chica's parents at their Airbnb with my mom and another couple of friends, cook some seafood paella, eat delis and drink Kalimotxo (wine and coke with ice. If you have not tried it, you should). Happy 4th everyone!

[Frugalchicos]

Not much new to update about.

Net worth went up about 48K. We are cruising along towards our goal. If everything goes well, we might leave the US in less than 2 years with close to 1.45MM. More than enough for work to be completely up to us.

Work has been quite hard these past weeks. Every week feels like a marathon. Last minute projects that need to be completed, presentations for big wigs, endless calls and multiple fires that need to be extinguished is becoming the norm. I am so busy that weeks just fly. I also finish the week so tired that some Fridays when I finish work I don't feel like doing anything but chilling in silence. I am getting mentally saturated. Work will not change so I guess I need to take things easy and less seriously. Otherwise, I will get burn out pretty quickly and say to hell with everything.

I pulled the trigger and bought a short Longboard. Now I have a long 9'2 Longboard and a short 8'2 longboard. I consider my quiver being completed. I can't wait to use them and surf the Basque waves with them.

I am also looking for guitar lessons. I think one hour a week would give me structure and enough steam to do my own learning during the rest of the week.

Training for the half is not going that great, I can run 8 miles easily but I notice a big difference in willingness, stamina and motivation comparing with previous years. I might also be getting old, but I suspect it is work what is sucking my soul and energy leaving not much left after all.

Chica did some magic and got us tickets with points to The Basque Country for Christmas. It is great to have something to look forward to. Hopefully we are able to get our Mexico vacation for next April some time soon. I think Chica will have enough points soon.

[Nicolino]

Been there. Never forget you have fuck you money and a familiy on your corner.

[Frugalchicos]

Yeah, FU money is powerful. I just need to take it easier and focus on enjoying the moment. Thanks

[Frugalchicos]

Time to catch up after a busy summer.

We had a lot of visits and social activity. My mom stayed with us for 2 months, then my cousin, her husband and daughter stayed with us for 8 days, kids' birthday parties and friends gathering. All good stuff but it might be time to chill a bit and get some time for ourselves.

Yesterday I finished the Chicago half marathon. My time was 2 hours and 2 minutes, my worst mark so far (the best was 1h 54mns), but maybe the half I feel most proud of. I run out of energy by mile 9 and had to push it for the last 4 miles, definitely a mental battle. Pretty happy with it taking into consideration that I didn't train that much and life is busier than ever.

This weekend I also pulled the trigger and bought a beautiful Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar. I feel that this guitar will be a keeper forever and will be my perfect guitar learning companion. I am enjoying playing guitar a lot and I feel it is something I will continue learning in the foreseeable future. So I don't mind spending some money in nice stuff.

Work has been very busy and draining. But I am trying to take it less seriously and focus more energy into my personal goals and family. I think I just need to quit in 21 months and dedicate my time to the Chicas, surfing, playing guitar and staying freakin fit

I've been reading and watching a lot of videos of the blue zone areas (funny enough, Netflix just came out with the docu series). I recognize the lifestyle of those areas in my own hometown. Simple living, very strong social tides, healthy food and easy to get physical activity just walking up and down the hills. The plan is still quitting and moving in July 2025. Very excited for it and can't wait to pass to the next chapter of our lives.

I started reading the Monk who sold his Ferrari and left it half way. I feel a lot of this books could perfectly be summarized in an article or even a post on social media. I am currently reading World War Z and I am hooked! Such a great recommendation @Sepia ! Thanks.

[Western Red Cedar]

It definitely sounds like a good time to chill out with all of the out-of-town guests.

I was actually just looking at the mini Taylor and Martin guitars as a potential carry-on for my trip. Taylor makes a great guitar. One of the nice side effects of buying a well-made guitar is that they sound great, and that encourages you to pick it up and play even more. Is this your first acoustic?

[Frugalchicos]

I have not received the Taylor yet but spent some time at Guitar Center yesterday trying all the guitars that were in my budget and looked like a good fit. I was originally interested in the Fender CD 140 SCE but thought it was bulky and hard to play (used to mostly play my telecaster). Then I thought the Yamaha APX600 was cool and then I saw the juniors and felt in love. I think both the Little Martin and the Taylor are great. The Martin sounded great and was impressed by the tone that little thing could deliver. However, it felt like a toy as it was very small. The Taylor is slightly bigger in size, feels like superb quality and it just felt right.

This is going to be my first serious acoustic. My first ever guitar was a Fender F15 and found it super hard to play as a beginner.

[Frugalchicos]

Monthly update:
- NW is still above 1MM even though the stock market has not been great lately.
- We keep investing routinely and are putting $1,000 aside into a savings account that is returning 4.75%. We would like to have 3-4 years of expenses by the time we leave so we can ER without being too worried about the stock market fluctuations.
- Exit Strategy is pretty much defined. We like the original plan of living in our beautiful condo and not complicate ourselves big more/bigger is better.
- We might buy a second hand car when we move back or we can just use my mom's car that she never uses. Her car is about 16 years old and only has about 50,000 miles on it. It is in great shape since it is always sitting in a covered garage.
- As I mentioned above, we are building our cash stash to have it as part of the exit strategy and to have extra money to furnish our condo. We only need about 7K to buy furniture and a TV, so no big deal. We are currently putting $1,000 aside every month and are also planning in saving the future bonuses vs invest them.

Other ideas:
- We have few vacations planned. We are going to Disney World in a couple of weeks, to The Basque Country for 2.5 weeks during Christmas and to Cancun in April. My mom will come again to take care of mini during the summer.
- I would like to take work less seriously to lower the self inflicted stress.
- Continue exercising. I completed the half marathon last week in 2 hours and 2 minutes. My worst time so far, but still not bad at all taking into consideration that I only trained once a week. I will continue taking advantage of the gym in our building.
- Continue learning guitar. The new Taylor guitar arrived mid this week and I am really enjoying it.

Overall I feel pretty good but sometimes it is hard to stay focused and enjoy the day to day stuff when you know the amazing life that is waiting for us is only 21 months away.

[Frugalchicos]

Oh Sunday Scaries....they are real. I have not felt like this in a while. Some thinking out load and venting below:

Work is increasingly becoming more and more mentally exhausting. I average 7-10 calls a day on top of the duties I am expected to do and managing 6 managers. Half of the calls are high level and the other half is me presenting/addressing issues to the client's upper management or giving solutions to issues.

I am working harder than ever and work/feedback has nor been rewarding. Part of me regrets I took this promotion (although the money is good). Sometimes I also think that I should care less and coast, but I am in a position where I would show easily which might even become more stressful.

With all that said, I am retiring to something and from something. This stress is not healthy for anyone and even though I day dream about all the good stuff that is waiting for me at the finish line, it is not easy to go through the daily grind.

I need to be more strategic with my feelings and priorities. Physical activity and playing the guitar will be a good way of coping.

[sky]

Good luck and hang in there, when you reach your goal things will be awesome.

[guitarplayer]

Hi, I just checked and on Tue 2 May 2017 you had $166,092.85, that's just over 355 weeks ago. Risking a gross oversimplification and disregarding inflation and returns, it is as if you both were saving $2,483.93 a week for every of those 355 weeks. Well done!

[2Birds1Stone]

You can walk away at any time, don't forget that.

[Frugalchicos]

@sky - thanks for your kind words. Appreciate it. Also, cool sail boat and garden. Love your set up.

@guitarplayer - I actually never calculated it in that way. It is quite impressive to be honest! I am proud of us - we really did our homework

@2B1S - Thanks for the reminder buddy. It is har to rewire my brain from go getter to a more soft coaster attitude. I need to find that sweet middle ground spot.

[Frugalchicos]

Time for an update, team.

Busy month in October. We went to Disney World (traveled with points and packed sandwiches and snacks), celebrated Halloween and got busy selling guitars and some clothes.

Disney World was a fun and got it crossed off the list. I am happy with the experience we had but I don't see myself repeating the experience anytime soon in Orlando or Paris. I consider it a one-time experience.

We celebrated Halloween with some friends and it was fun. We will go Treat or Treating on Tuesday. Hopefully they have some Almond Joy for me!

I have been exploring with guitars lately. I bought an interface for playing electric through the laptop using Garageband. It is very fun and love that I have a ton of amps and pedals to choose from. This experience triggered me to sell the telecaster and the Fender amp. I think one electric guitar is more than enough since Garageband is what it is making the actual sounds and not necessarily the style or quality of the guitar. I am not willing to get into the rabbit hole of buying endless music equipment so keeping it minimalistic might be a good idea. I also swapped the Taylor acoustic for a Martin DJR-10E electro-acoustic. I couldn't be happier with the outcome now. I have a minimalistic guitar set up with a 1993 Fender Stratocaster, a Martin DJR 10E and a Tascam 2X2 interface. Everything for less than $1,000.

Health plans: I am letting myself enjoy more copious meals lately, more meat and wine and beer. And that is ok. Life is cyclical and so is my mood for physical activities. I still work out at least 3 times a week. I am shifting it more into weights. I would like to build up my upper body and strengthen my legs.

Read World War Z and Zone One. Amazing books. More book recommendations are welcome!

Financial wise, I am very excited for a stock market rebound. Hopefully we see it before we move back to The Basque. That would help to feel more confident retiring. We keep saving about 65% of our income and we are trying harder not to spend so much in "miscellaneous"

I am ready for a nice and cozy winter -- cooking, reading, playing guitar and working out.

[jacob]

Disney World was a fun and got it crossed off the list. I am happy with the experience we had but I don't see myself repeating the experience anytime soon in Orlando or Paris. I consider it a one-time experience.

So you didn't sign up with the First Order?

[Frugalchicos]

@jacob

Is that the Star Wars first order? - to be honest, I have never watched a Star Wars movie lol. A lot to catch up when retired! Haha

Edited my previous post following Chica’s suggestion to make sure I mention we traveled with points haha. She does an amazing job with the CCs. She should probably post a How to guide in the forum for everyone interested

[Frugalchicos]

Time for an update Team.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit busy in the Frugalchicos world. We learnt our lease wasn't going to be extended, so we had to find a new apartment and where able to negotiate leaving our old place on 12/1 without being penalized. We found a place down the street that it is a bit smaller but it is also $265 cheaper a month. The building is very similar, having a small gym and an impressive rooftop with grills and 365 views of Chicago. Even though chica and I had to work hard on Friday moving everything and cleaning the new place, I am happy with the outcome of the events. We were also able to sign the lease for the remaining of our stay in Chicago (till June 30th 2025), so we make sure we don't get any ridiculous rent increase.

The new apartment is literally one street away from the lake, like 10mns walking from the bus stop to go to work or 15mns from the train station. It is also a bit further from mini's school, but not too bad either. Like a 12-15mn walk. Since the apartment is a little smaller and has less storage, we had to downgrade or buy more space efficient stuff (like mini's car seat). I am also planning in taking some stuff back to The Basque Country when we travel for Christmas.

All in all, life is good so far. However, I checked some pics from 2 years ago from when we lived in Bilbao and could notice the difference in looking much younger, jovial and perhaps happier. I guess that is the difference of not being working, surfing and hiking all day... Dang, can't wait to do it again for good! Now that we are more settled, I would like to go back to working out and running weekly. I also would like to eat healthier and more consciously and cut on drinking.

Financial wise, we are officially millionaires worldwide. I feel very confident we will achieve our goal of having 1MM in investments and properties paid off with no problems even before June 2025. We have about 860K invested right now and all our properties paid off. This year so far, we are on our way of increasing our NW 300K, I hope next year is as successful as this one.

Looking forward to our next trips. The Basque Country during Christmas until January 8th and then Cancun in April. My mom will come to Chicago for the summer to take care of mini when she is on summer break and then some other trips to plan here and there. I would love to visit Colorado or Alaska. Chica wants to go to The Cayman Islands, we will see...

Happy holidays to you all!

[guitarplayer]

Good to hear the apartment move went smoothly! It does not always have to.