Early Retirement Extreme

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

Using paper bags instead of padded envelopes

Published in August 13th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in DIY, frugal, recycling

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I have gotten more brutal in terms of selling out of my library and hence I have run out of padded envelopes. No problem. I now make my own. Freecyclers seem to collect bubblewrap (as do I) so the [...]

Personal finance games

Published in August 6th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in anticonsumerism, financial independence, freebies, recycling

1 Comment

I was reading a post by Lazy Man (and Money) on the game of personal finance. I like the idea of seeing personal finance as a game. At various stages I have had various perspectives on savings and frugality. I have seen it as a way of sticking it to the banks, a way of [...]

Money for nothing and the shirts for free

Published in July 22nd, 2008

Posted by Jacob in anticonsumerism, freebies, frugal, recycling

4 Comments

I have noticed that there is a limited number of dominant freecyclers in my group (find your local group by going to freecycle.org) so I have started to pick up cues on who wants what. If someone offers something, then rather than just picking it up for free, I will usually make an offer to [...]

Why do so many people hoard so much?

Published in March 5th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in anticonsumerism, consumerism, culture, recycling

6 Comments

In a comment, Hannah wrote:
I have to wonder: Is the inability to value one’s time (rather than hyper-accumulating Things) simply an inability to accept one’s inevitable departure from this world? Do people who have an acquisitive mentality towards life have an inherent denial of death, and thus seek to “escape” into their goods, which are [...]

Who else is giving things away?

Published in February 21st, 2008

Posted by Jacob in charity, household, recycling

6 Comments

I few days ago I started filling a donation bag (the pink one in the picture below) with my old roller skates, a chocolate maker, a book, and a vest. After I wrote a post about it, a few people got inspired (see the comments in the aforementioned post) and donated something too. DW might [...]

How I became financially independent in 5 years - Part III

Published in January 17th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in cost of living, financial independence, household, motivation, personal finance, recycling, voluntary simplicity

13 Comments

I posit that most people can attain financial independence in less than 10 years and in less than 5 if they are truly determined. I also submit that many people are not willing to make the necessary changes.
Read part I here
Read part II here
Having just graduated with a PhD and paired everything [...]

Making socks last

Published in January 11th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in DIY, clothing, frugal, recycling, voluntary simplicity

3 Comments

Get identical socks. First of all, they are easier to pair up after doing the laundry. More importantly though, if one sock fails you don’t have to throw out the pair or wear mismatched socks like Pippi Longstockings. Simply pair it with another sock. I don’t think you have to be a mathematician to appreciate [...]

Envelope recycling

Published in December 29th, 2007

Posted by Jacob in ecological footprint, recycling

5 Comments

Here is a chance to take advantage of some economic inefficiency: Recycle your envelopes. DW and I used to run an amazon store selling used books and recycling the padded envelopes which I got from buying other used books is really a no-brainer when padded envelopes easily cost north of $0.75. Some used book sellers [...]