Early Retirement Extreme

Financial independence, frugality, self-sufficiency, ecology, capitalism, and voluntary simplicity

Upgrade your music collection with quality headphones

Published in November 13th, 2008

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I just spent money on a “want” for the first time in over six months(*). Obviously I had a bit of a streak going there, so what caused me to break it? A new pair of headphones that’s what. [...]

How to fix a broken thermostat

Published in November 11th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to

9 Comments

I am increasingly appreciating the concept of appropriate technology. The story begins with us being unable to switch the rear furnace (our RV has two 12V/LPG driven furnaces. The front furnace heats front half + bathroom and the rear furnace heats the bedroom.
From my perspective, the furnace is a black box. Once it is triggered [...]

Active learning

Published in November 10th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to, Strategy

1 Comment

I just learned the toe drag scoop which is probably my greatest shot at ever pulling off the Michigan move in inline hockey. Of course any 12 year old player can probably do this. Then again it’s been years since I was 12.
Learning is most effectively achieved when three conditions are present

Quality instruction - You [...]

How to live out of a suitcase

Published in November 5th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to

8 Comments

In the past I have made random comments about living out of a suitcase. I have done so in the past and it is entirely possible — in fact I arrived in the US with just a suitcase — to fit in the necessary clothes, cookware, and electronics in a large suitcase. At some [...]

The benefits of less space

Published in October 25th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to, Philosophy, Strategy

3 Comments

One of the, perhaps not so surprising, benefits of moving into a smaller place — two persons and a small dog in a 34′ RV — is that the question is no longer whether we can afford to buy something. Thanks to the difference between living in a house and living here, we have $1000+ [...]

On dealing with flakes on craigslist and freecycle

Published in September 25th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to

10 Comments

One thing about craigslist and freecycle which can be quite frustrating is that about half the people are (consistently) flaky! Come on! If someone goes through the trouble of listing something for free and putting it in a bag for you to pick up and you say you want it, the least you can do, [...]

Do it yourself investing

Published in September 16th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in Finance, How to

4 Comments

Yesterday’s post described how it is possible to get superior returns by active value investing. Now, before anyone decides to become an active investor, there are some things to consider first.
Value or any kind of active investing takes time. There are, therefore, opportunity costs to consider.
Suppose you have $10,000 to invest and that your efforts [...]

How we found a place to park and live in our RV

Published in September 13th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to

15 Comments

When we bought our RV we honestly had not done any research on where to park it. First we looked (googled) for RV parks which was not entirely encouraging. Not many parks are online and google maps seemed to show a vacuum around where we wanted to live. The selection on craigslist was also limited. [...]

How do I get my spouse to go along with my frugal plans?

Published in September 4th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to

13 Comments

So you have joined the ranks of enlightened people, who want to retire early, move to another country, or redesign their lifestyle, and now you want your spouse or partner to go along with it?
Not so fast! While winning friends is easy, influencing people is a lot harder, but it can be done. I am [...]

I just rotated my bicycle tires to make them last longer

Published in August 28th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in How to, Transportation

6 Comments

Since I started commuting I have put in 3800 miles. For those fitness nuts out there that is 171,000 kcal (figure 20mph corresponding to 900 kcal/hour) or the equivalent of 40 pounds of fat or about half a pound a week. How is that for weight loss? (*) No wonder I eat like a horse [...]

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