Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Where are you and where are you going?
Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

Mostly faster recovery and higher performance. For average people, a clear improvement in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and lower risk of multiple health issues related to poor nutrition/diet.

I don't really have to do a massive change in my diet to eat whole foods other than changing white rice for brown rice, white bread for whole wheat, no refined sugars,etc. I am still eating white fish and an occasional egg though. But 90% vegan so far in the last two weeks and hopefully many more to go.

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

Time for our monthly update:

JUNE INCOME –$10,233

JUNE EXPENSES – $5,263

- Rent: $1,200
- Groceries: $615
- Cellphones: $0 - both chica and I are using our work phones.
- Electricity: $34.65
- Internet: $95.83 - We will be calling the company to negotiate the price down
- Misc./Entertainment: $1,845 (includes $1,428 for bike and gear and birthday celebration)
- Day care: $1,473

CURRENT ASSETS: $798,305 ($40,571 decrease from last month due to stock market decline)
Cash savings: $10,807
Investments: $530,444
Chico’s 401K: $8,472
Chica's 401K: $23,582
HOUSE EQUITY: $225,00

We saved 48.56% of our income

Happenings this month:
- Groceries keep being higher than desired. However, we eat 95% of our meals at home, pull-ups, wipes and everything is included in the total. Besides, prices for everything are considerably higher now.
- We will continue having weekly budget meetings to keep track of our expenses.
- Miscellanious wasn't bad this month (subtracting the money spent in bike plus gear)
- Our condo reno will end this month and we will finish paying the couple of things we have left. Everything looks amazing and we are very happy with the results and set up we got for ourselves. Very excited to see it in person...and move in a couple of years. In fact, it is pretty much exactly 2 years from now.
- Now that we are done with condo reno, we are ready to invest like crazy again. Our goal is to invest $6,000 a month in our taxable account.
- Goal: keep eating healthy and being active. I ate vegan 90% of my meals in the last 4 weeks. I don't eat meat or diary. I do eat fish once in a while and an occasional egg. I feel pretty good and energized. I have not noticed mayor changes in my health other than being crazy regular going to the restroom.
- Bike stuff...I think I found a new passion! I love the fact that the sport includes fitness and mechanics. I like tinkering with things and making them my own changing parts, etc... I went for a 30 mile ride on Monday and it was amazing. It has been my longest bike ride so far. I have been doing some DIY fitting in my bike and I had to buy some inserts for my shoes since my left foot was getting numb after riding for 30mns.
- I sold some bike components they gave who sold me the bike gave me for free. I sold them for $275 so the bike and gear actually costed me $1,153. Not bad for a Specialized from 2021 plus all the needed gear (maillot, culottes, helmet, pedals, under saddle bag, bottles, bottle holder, lights...)
- I was approached on Friday at work for an opportunity as a manager for the soon to be top account in the company. It is a lateral move but clearly the right step for a promotion. It would also open up opportunities to be able to work from Europe since it is a massive global account. I said yes and I am currently waiting for the official notice and transition from my account to the new one.

Some pics of the condo and bike rides:
Image
Image
Image
Image
Last edited by Frugalchicos on Thu Jul 07, 2022 5:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15907
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by jacob »

Frugalchicos wrote:
Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:43 pm
- Bike stuff...I think I found a new passion! I love the fact that the sport includes fitness and mechanics. I like tinkering with things and making them my own changing parts, etc... I went for a 30 mile ride on Monday and it was amazing. It has been my longest bike ride so far. I have been doing some DIY fitting in my bike and I had to buy some inserts for my shoes since my left foot was getting numb after riding for 30mns.
Have you figured out any good local maps/routes yet? I know there are century rides around here. However, I've yet to figure out where riders go to train w/o getting bumped or creamed by Chicago drivers (<- pretty much the worst I've ever seen). I occasionally see bikers going up and down Ogden (Historic66). I suspect the key is to carefully exit Chicago proper and ride in the suburbs or countryside.

shaz
Posts: 420
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:05 pm
Location: Colorado, US

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by shaz »

The condo looks great.

Congratulations on discovering a love of cycling. The most common bike fit problem is seat height. If you start getting pain in the front of your knees, the seat is probably too low. If you start getting pain in the backs of your knees, the seat is probably too high. Enjoy!

User avatar
Seppia
Posts: 2016
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:34 am
Location: South Florida

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Seppia »

The Chicago skyline is beautiful indeed.
The architecture there is amazing in general and it’s such a cool city.
Plus they again have a competitive NBA team!

Your condo is shaping up great, congrats

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@Jacob
Hey there! long time no read you! - I am a very early bird, I usually go up and down the lakeshore path by 5-5:30am and very little people like getting up that early. The other day, I went all the way south from Hyde Park, back up to Edgewater and then came back to Lakeview. I know people drive to the suburbs up north, but I don't have a car and I am totally happy riding south for now. It is actually gorgeous and quiet once you pass Soldier Field. The hot spot is by North Beach, there is usually a lot people lingering around and there is also a ton of broken glasses on the ground (those fuckers get drunk and break bottles, they do look like zombies at that time in the morning).

@Shaz
Thanks for the recommendations!! I have been watching a lot videos of GCN and Katie Kookaburra in YT. They both have DIY fitting videos and are very detailed and helpful. I feel cycling, surfing, running and hiking will fill my days in retirement

@Seppia
Chicago skyline is beautiful indeed. Thanks! we are very happy about how the condo is looking. It will be our small headquarters! and the best of all is that everything is paid off :)

theanimal
Posts: 2628
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:05 pm
Location: AK
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by theanimal »

@Jacob+Frugalchicos- In high school there was a day each year we'd bike from the southwest suburbs to school (~Roosevelt+Halsted). We'd take Ogden for most of it. The craziest part of Ogden is right before and just after Jacob's neck of the woods. Otherwise there are decent side streets and room to ride along with the cars without feeling like you are going to get clipped. If you can make it out further southwest, there are some long rides from Willow Springs. You can incorporate the I+M canal trail, Michigan canal trail and others.

ETA: I just remembered there's also the Salt Creek Trail too, starting from Brookfield Zoo. Though careful when you go if you're looking to do some training, weekends are very popular for family strolling and bike rides.

The state websites seem pretty good at least with regards to forest preserves. It looks like you can go more or less on a trail from Cicero north along the Des Plaines River Trail, 54 miles one way.
https://map.fpdcc.com/#
https://maps.lakecountyil.gov/trailmap/

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@theanimal

Those are great resources. I will stick around with the lake path for now since I’m terrified of the crazy traffic and Chicago drivers. I am also wearing cleats and my capacity of response to take them off is not the quickest so far. However, as I get more experienced I would definitely like to try some of those routes.

Thanks a lot!

Nicolino
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:16 am

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Nicolino »

The condo´s coming around nicely I see! It must give you guys peace of mind to know you have sucha a nice place to live debt free a couple years from now!

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@nicolino

Thanks! having a condo ready to go definitely helps to "imagine the dream" in a more realistic way. It also solves a lot of questions and uncertainty that we would have if we had to move, find a place, etc. Besides, buying that condo for such a low price and be able to renovate it slowly represents a financial milestone for us. We were able to buy it, renovate it, get a parking spot and a storage room nearby for about 170K...usually, all that goes for 250-300K

Very happy with how things are going, with the exception of the stock market somehow. But even though, we are working and investing, so that could also help in the long run.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1301
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by guitarplayer »

Some good news here @Frugalchicos! I think given the experience with the previous quasi ERE episode and then difficulty with the job market in Spain, heading for a role that will open up positions in Europe is potentially going to play out very well for you.

About diet, I have recently visited some artificial fishing water basins and it got me wonder: perhaps fish from such fresh water basins is better to eat bc not contaminated with heavy metals like our typical sea bred salmon etc? Have not followed it up though.

You might know this website: for my biking adventures I use www.bikemap.net ; the website seems a bit clunky and takes time to load (at least for me), but there are loads and loads of routes designed by the biking community there. There are various specs one can add to their designed route, and some people put the effort. Some routes are also with a description and rated. Also, possible to design one's own route, and they incorporate bike paths in the layout of the map canvas. Here is zooming on on Chicago.

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@guitarplayer

Thanks! Yea, lets see how things pan out. But if I can’t work from Europe, I still have the hope of working with my friend in his luxury tours business.

You might be right about the fishes. I know some companies are doing a great job raising sustainable fish and in a healthy way. However, this is not the norm. I stay away from Tilapia or farm raised fish from Asia. I usually buy frozen fresh cod.

The bike website looks sick! The Indiana trail looks like a pretty good one. I might try that one by the end pf the summer! Thanks a lot!

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

Yesterday was my birthday, I turned 40. So I guess I am a middle aged man. These are my goals for the other half of my life:
- Be happy
- Lead a simple, humble life
- Be a good partner and supportive husband
- Be a good mentor and father
- Be a good friend, brother and son
- To not hurt others and if I do it, be able to recognize I did it and apologize sincerely
- Enjoy fitness and exercise such as surfing, cycling, running and hiking
- Strive for constant self improvement

Yesterday we had a wonderful birthday party in Michigan surrounded by Chica's family. We cook spaghetti with clam sauce and fish on the griddle and Chica made me a wonderful chocolate cake with three berries jam and chocolate frosting. I couldn't have asked for more. Very happy I have all these people in my family :) - Looking back, I can say life has been great. I have a wonderful wife, an angel as a daughter, great extended family and I was able to accumulate wealth while traveling the world.

Here are some pics from yesterday:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Western Red Cedar
Posts: 1205
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Western Red Cedar »

Feliz cumpleanos amigo!

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@WRC

Muchas Gracias! - Eskerrik Asko!

sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by sky »

Happy birthday!

Those are good goals for life.

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@sky

Thank you very much!

guitarplayer
Posts: 1301
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by guitarplayer »

Belated happy birthday!

In case you missed it, these days 30 is the new 20 and 40 new 30. I'd say you have at least 5 more years until mid-age!

Nicolino
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:16 am

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Nicolino »

Feliz cumpleaños! Parece que fué un día increíble, en un lugar hermoso y con gente querida!

I am on my way for 42 this year, it's indeed a change to enter middle age, but you are doing great for you and your family, everything is going well!

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Post by Frugalchicos »

@guitarplayer

Thanks! That’s a great way of looking at it. You just shaved me 10 years!

@nicolino

Muchas gracias! Yes, life is good :) can’t complain at all

Post Reply