Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Where are you and where are you going?
Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

So, changing plans. Chica and I visited the actual 2 bed $2,400 unit today and it wasn’t great. The apartment was facing a garage with no views or natural light at all. Definitely, not what we expected for such a high rent.

We finally settled for a $1,700 one bed apartment in the same street than the 2 bed. The apartment is a significant improvement from the one we currently live in. It also has nice amenities like modern kitchen, dishwasher, gym, nice lobby (that doesn’t smell to pipes like ours now) and a nice back patio with grills.

We both feel pretty tired and frustrated. However, we will power through these next 1,5 years having the best time we possibly can. Excited to plan our next fancy vacation in Cancun or Jamaica 😃

guitarplayer
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by guitarplayer »

Hey @Frugalchicos, this is a very general question but how did you initially make your way from the Basque Country to the US, was it through a Uni programme and later you spotted a job?

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Seppia
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Seppia »

"smaller, but higher quality*" is the way we usually take as well.
US apartments tend to be/feel gigantic (especially after our experience in HK where a standard size bedroom is often 45-50sqf), it's easy to get by with something Americans consider "small".

In South FL where we're looking now, a 1000sqf two bedroom is considered "small". In HK, our 4 bedroom/2 bath apartment was 960sqf :lol:

*either building or location - with our life choices we rarely can get "top" in both

Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@guitarplayer

I did college, postgraduate and masters in Europe. However, I was working in China and a headhunter contacted me to work for a large company in the US. That is how I got sponsored and got my visa. Then during my first year in the US I met Chica and decided to stay since it was the easiest for both. My original plan was coming for a year (in fact, I arrived in July and already wanted to leave by December) and then go to Dubai or Hong Kong. 10 years later and I am still working my way out :lol:

Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

Time for an update:

**with all the craziness of moving, forgot to mention we found a last minute 2 bed apartment in the area we like, close to daycare, future pre-K, supermarkets and transportation for $2,300**

October was a pretty crazy month. We got fed up of living in a shoebox infested with bed bugs and moved to a very nice large 2 bed apartment. We almost doubled our rent expenses but I am loving the apartment and the building. The apartment is great and it might sound silly, but it is making my experience of living in Chicago much more comfortable. We have plenty of space for us, family visiting or hosting friends. We have sick views of the north side of Chicago. From our windows on the 16th floor, I get to see the Cubs stadium, all the tall buildings on Lakeshore drive and even parts of the Michigan Lake. We also managed a deal with the previous management company and they paid us $1,500 to buy new furniture.

Also, our new building has a very nice gym. It is amazing to take the elevator down to get a quick workout any time I feel like. We also have a very nice party room and a common big back patio with grills and gas fireplaces (there is usually nobody using them). All in all, these comforts and amenities are going to make my stay in Chicago much easier and enjoyable. I am also getting excited to get fit again. I would love to be able to run a half in April.

I did a couple of purchases in October, I bought a pair of Dr. Martens for the winter, a Patagonia sweater and a winter hat (all used and doesn't even get to $100 combined).

I have been playing the guitar the last couple of days and I am still enjoying it a lot. I just can't wait to get better and have more fingers agility.

We have also socialized with friends and got to became friends with two new families. One family is from Israel and the other one from Spain. Our circle of friends is growing quite a lot. We went trick or treating together, attended a couple of birthday parties and did 3 pot lucks.

I feel these next 1.5 or 2.5 years I have left in Chicago might be the best years I am going to spend in the US. I kind of like the idea of leaving the US happy vs burnt out, depressed and pissed off. Lately, I have been more focused on living a good life, doing what I want and makes me happier than just penny pinching and complaining about everything. I feel most of the improvement comes from our growing circle of friends, work and attitude. Another big thing is that I don't feel I stuck anymore. We could go back to The Basque Country tomorrow and still be quite set for life. Staying in the Chicago now is an option vs an obligation (at least that is how I felt before).

Another update is that my sister and boyfriend will probably rent our condo in The Basque Country until we go back. We agreed in 500E/month (way below market price). We wouldn't rent it to anyone else but her. We trust her and her boyfriend, and we also think it would be good for the condo to be used vs sitting empty for 1.5 - 2.5 years. Having that passive income also feels nice so we don't have to worry about HOA expenses or anything like that. Besides, saving that money will allow us to save enough to buy a nice second hand Audi when we go back.

Finances: Our NW recovered $26K from last month and it is sitting in the low $800,000s. I am saving to buy a new surf board. I want to get a mini Malibu 7'2". Surfing is just like guitars. You can't just have one. I am also eyeing a Telecaster by the way Lol.

Forgot to crunch some numbers about the apartment cost while living in Chicago. We paid $1,200 for the shoebox before. $1,300 counting gym memberships. We pay $2,300 for the amazing 2 bed now. We lived 18 months in the shoebox = $23,400. 18 months in the 2 bed = $41,400. Both combined divided by 36 = $1,800/month. Still not bad for a family living in one of the largest cities in the US. Also, mini chica will start going to school next year, saving us $1,650 from daycare. We are actually considering stating one more year until the mandatory school starts in The Basque Country. By then, my guess is that money will be something I don't worry at all anymore because I would have more than what I would ever need.

ertyu
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by ertyu »

Sounds awesome -- your new apartment does sound quite sick. Enjoy!

How did you meet your new friends?

Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@ertyu

We met all our friends at the park. We go to the park with mini every afternoon after daycare. It happens we live in an area where there is a decent amount of expats and I think it is easier to connect with them since we are in a similar situation.

Nicolino
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Nicolino »

Life´s good my friend! Tiempo de cosechar lo que sembraste!

Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@nocolino

Gracias!!! Vaaamooosss!

Raiding on a fancy boat now 😃

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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

And another month goes by and it is time for an update:

NW increase of $62,000 for a total NW of 870K. Less than expected by this time of the year but I am confident we will achieve our goals as planned.

This month has been kind of quiet, getting adjusted to our new life in the new apartment. The gym in the building has been amazing and I have been working out at least 3 times a week. I feel I am recovering my tone and can run easily without feeling tired or ready to be done right away. At work, I am just cruising and ready to be done with the year and enjoy some days off.

I am religiously playing guitar every day. Even if it is for 15 minutes after lunch or 30 minutes before going to bed at night. I am quite excited for the future me playing all my favorite songs of Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage against the Machine or Pearl Jam. I am liking the new me and the hobbies I am developing. Playing the guitar, surfing, reading, healthy lifestyle...excited to have more time in the near future :). I will start Justin Guitar as soon as the Fender Play course is over.

I meant to write this for a while, but are the Frugalchicos still frugal?? umm, I don't know to be honest. I feel pretty rich and basically I have everything I want. I don't really buy a lot of stuff and if I buy something, it is always second hand. However, I don't feel my life is frugal at all at the moment. I live in a great place, have all the stuff I want, eat great, sleep in a comfy bed... I think I suffer from guilt when I feel comfortable.

Anyways, this month I bought a Squier Custom Classic Vibe 60s Telecaster for half the price (open box from ebay) and 2 surfing wetsuits at 50% discount. This is stuff I was planning in buying for a while and was just waiting for a good opportunity. I think expending money in hobbies and activities that are going to promote a healthy and rich life is always a good excuse.

I already have some of my vacations for next year planned and booked. Cancun in April, NYC with my mom in July, Camping in June and maybe in September too. I will probably do some staycation in August. I might take that time to run a half on my own in Chicago, hit the beach, take naps and play the guitar.

I downloaded Man's Search of Meaning. I can't wait to finish the book I am reading at the moment to start with it! (any other recommendations for books are welcome!)

Cheers to all of you

guitarplayer
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by guitarplayer »

Wow you have heaps of money! I think Frugality is a state of mind (according to 'the snowball', Buffet had his first child sleep in a drawer being too frugal to get a crib haha), so I think you are relatively fine.

I would encourage you to try singing to if you don't do it already. So long you have some basic sense of producing accurate melodies with your voice, people will appreciate it regardless of the voice's timbre, accent etc.

Frankl has this good metaphor from learning to fly regarding bearing and direction (sailors on the forum correct me if I confuse terms). He uses it to demonstrate that in order to get where we want to get, we have to aim for more than that. This is reiterated in many other versions, like 'acting in good faith', 'assume innocence', 'aim for the clouds' etc. That book is more like an essay, it reads quick.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Western Red Cedar »

Congrats on the success with the guitar. It is one of those hobbies that you could spend a lifetime on and still find challenges and inspiration. I've been playing for 20 years but have never owned an electric guitar.
Frugalchicos wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:12 pm
I meant to write this for a while, but are the Frugalchicos still frugal?? umm, I don't know to be honest. I feel pretty rich and basically I have everything I want. I don't really buy a lot of stuff and if I buy something, it is always second hand. However, I don't feel my life is frugal at all at the moment. I live in a great place, have all the stuff I want, eat great, sleep in a comfy bed... I think I suffer from guilt when I feel comfortable.
I'm glad to see you enjoying the fruits of your hard work. I think you should enjoy your comfort. Your new apartment is going to inflate your monthly costs for a little while, but you've already established a nice home base back in Spain that will ultimately bring costs down. Great sleep, excellent food, a nice place to live, and some high-quality quality possessions that add a lot of value to your life can all be had quite frugally (as you know). Good food shared at home with loved ones is better than a michelin star meal in poor company.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@guitarplayer
Thanks! Sometimes I try whistling or humming while playing, it is true it helps to create or follow the rhythm. However, I still have a loooong way to go to become a decent guitar player.

@western red cedar
Actually, the only reason I bought an electric guitar is because I read it is easier to learn with an electric than with an acoustic.

I feel learning guitar is comparable to learning how to surf. It is very hard at the beginning, a frustrating and irritating process where you start seeing real progress after a few months of practicing. Also, it is similar in the way that when I play guitar or surf, that is the only thing I’m thinking in. I find that relaxing

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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

And another year went by and it is time for a year recap.

RECAP 2022:
- We have been on this journey for 7 years already
- We finished the year fairly close to becoming millionaires
- We both got a raise and good bonuses
- Finalized renovations of our condo and paid everything
- Rented the condo to my sister
- Moved to another apartment in Chicago. The rent is double of what we paid but it is also much more confortable and will definitely help to make our stay in the US more pleasant.
- We basically decided we will stay for one more year than initially planned. We will stay until May/June 2025. By that time, we would have invested 10 years into this journey, a complete decade dedicated to this life project. We couldn't be happier we decided to go this route.
- We are very well set to achieve our goals by mid 2025.

GOALS 2023:
- Become millionaires by August
- Keep investing heavily
- Chica to minimize her phone usage and become Instagram free
- We have a gym in the building that I am using 5-6 days a week. I am planning in achieving the best fitness I ever had
- Run a half marathon under 2 hours for my birthday
- Become an intermediate guitar player. I play every day even if it is for 20mns. I learnt how to play Wonderwall from Oasis this week :)
- Make more time for each other.

Summarizing, this year has been rocky financially speaking. However, we can say it has been a good year overall. We travelled quite a bit, enjoyed time with family and friends, I discovered a couple of hobbies that would like to keep for the rest of my life (playing guitar and biking) and finalize the reno of our condo back in The Basque Country. Can't complain, life is good.

Happy New Year to everyone. Cheers!

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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

Time for our January update:

We are only 60K away from being millionaires. Pretty incredible if we look back and see we have "only" been in this journey for about 8 years. I am pretty confident that we will achieve our $$ goal of becoming millionaires by summer. We are waiting for some pretty good bonuses coming over in February and April.

Life is going well, nothing major to report. Work is going good, I have some good projects for myself being more focused on project management and driving big optimization changes for my client. I am also waiting on a salary increase that was supposed to be approved at the beginning of the year.

I keep playing the guitar almost everyday. I learned a few songs and would like to go back to my justinguitar lessons to gain more technical knowledge. I am modding my telecaster with budget but good quality pieces. I might install new pickups in the summer. Thinking in putting a humbucker in the neck. I am selling pieces as I mod and paying the new parts with that money. So it is basically a free or very little mod.

I am flying to the Basque Country in 4 weeks for 2 weeks. I will be working the first week and on pto on the second week. This is going to be the first time away from mini Chica in 3 years. However, I am very excited to see family, some friends, surf, hike, sleep and eat good food. I might buy a mini malibu (8' longboard) which I am planning in using if waves are not huge.

Other thoughts:
I have not been writing much on the forum lately or reading other people's journals either. I feel I used to write more in the past to be able to hold my self accountable and see progress. However, I have been more focused on healthy habits, hobbies, family and enjoyment vs money . Our finances are fully automated and at this point I am not going to make myself feel bad or try to optimize our groceries or miscellaneous more than what they are.

On that note, I have been thinking in not updating the journal anymore since I don't think I am bringing any value to the table or saying anything interesting. I am also more concerned about privacy and don't feel that comfortable sharing all my finances

rube
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by rube »

Hi Chico, I've also stopped reporting the financial details because it wasn't important anymore for my journey and because of privacy. But I still post some updates about life after work, what we're doing now we don't work anymore.
I'm not a "hardcore" ERE person (like the animal to name just one) but our journeys are still way different from the average Joe. And it is nice that others (newbies) and people I've met, can be inspired, follow along, also after we have "solved the money issue".
Personally I am interested to follow when you will return to Basque, how the sports activities are going, if you will pick up some work or other activities etc.
So I encourage you to continue to write about your journey of life. No financial details needed and no time constraints.

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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Nicolino »

FWIW it does add value to see everything goes well, I do enjoy seeing other succeed on this quest, specially ones I can more closely relata to.

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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by jacob »

Frugalchicos wrote:
Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:01 am
Other thoughts:
I have not been writing much on the forum lately or reading other people's journals either. I feel I used to write more in the past to be able to hold my self accountable and see progress. However, I have been more focused on healthy habits, hobbies, family and enjoyment vs money . Our finances are fully automated and at this point I am not going to make myself feel bad or try to optimize our groceries or miscellaneous more than what they are.

On that note, I have been thinking in not updating the journal anymore since I don't think I am bringing any value to the table or saying anything interesting. I am also more concerned about privacy and don't feel that comfortable sharing all my finances
The value of focusing on something changes as it becomes a solved problem and one's focus changes. It goes from unconscious-incompetence to conscious incompetence and conscious competence. It ends with conscious competence becomes unconscious competence. At that point meticulously tracking dollars becomes irrelevant. And it feels irrelevant too. Like minimalists making spreadsheets about their stuff to the point where it becomes a performance art. Squeezing out efficiency from already fully optimized variables. How crazy is that?

Just because you've reached that point of unconscious competence with budgets and graphs and moolah doesn't mean that you aren't saying anything interesting anymore. It just means that you're going to a different "table" now. Maybe not interesting relative to the old table, but interesting relative to the new table.

As far as I'm concerned, the financial aspect of the various forms of renaissance capital is one of the easiest and most boring of all of them. We're 4x richer than our grandparents and they were already doing well. The only major changes since their time were antibiotics, cheap travel, and the internet. And those are all cheaply acquired. (Yes, I did do a rhetorical move there. But our grandparents grew up rich on the other kinds of capital whereas our generation tends to be shite poor for most of them but money. This is why posts that are not about money tend to be more interesting once one leaves Plato's Cave of money.)

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Ego
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Ego »

+1 I always read your journal right when I see a new post. I like the nuts and bolts of your binational and bicultural lives. You and @seppia are very interesting in that respect. Also, I would love to see more info about the flat in Spain.

Nicolino
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Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Nicolino »

+1 on that Basque flat and travels, the do fuel my daydreaming and cubicle surfing

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