If my writings have helped you, the best thing you can do is to pay it forward by walking the talk or spreading the word. If you really want to do something directly, writing a review of the blog here would be much appreciated. Also, you can vote for me in the 2009 Plutus [...]

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I usually start my “program” with a relocation closer to work and shopping. This allows one to shed at least one car. The rest is just variations and polishing that theme. Extreme early retirement can thus be reached through a frugal antisuburan lifestyle without car dependence, hour long commutes, and big houses.
Note that this is [...]

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I like change. I like moving to a new place every once in a while just to change things up and learn new things. I don’t like fast change which “travel” is usually associated with. Travel is for the experiences, but I like learning things more than experiencing things and learning takes time.
One problem is [...]

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You can find a similar list for 2008 here. To see the best of 2007 which is really only December, just look through that month. There are some good ones in there too. As usual when it comes to these lists, “best” is what many now call “awesome” and it serves more as a roundup [...]

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In this new series of posts I give popular personal finance advise in an easily digestible list format of tips, reasons, things, and so on. I will tell you how you too can be rich, good-looking, or perhaps just plain awesome by adopting these amazing insights which have been developed by a real PhD. Also [...]

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Yesterday, Baker over at ManVsDebt wrote a post with the title “Is travel worth it?“. Now, people often say that travel will create memories that last forever, that traveling broadens your horizons, or increases your understanding, but I am not so sure about that. Regardless, here is what I have learned from visiting 14 countries [...]

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The short answer is: No, you don’t but it’s fun.
My housing story is as follows. During grad school I lived in dorm with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. This is not a big deal when you sleep from 3am to 10am. I usually had everything for myself. The cost of this was ~$270/month (I’m trying [...]

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This has been a stressful week for me, probably the most stressful since I retired from my career half a year ago. This Wednesday I tested for Jiho in Shinkendo (passed) and today I tested to get my ham radio Technician Class license (passed (*)).
On Monday I am flying across the pond [to Europe]. [...]

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On labor day I went sailing on D_’s 21 foot two masted sailboat on the local reservoir. Having been reading cruising and sailing books for a couple of years by now, this was the first time ever I have actually stepped onto a boat that is bigger than a rowboat but smaller than a ferry. [...]

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When I first came to the US about five years ago, someone asked me if I rode bikes, as in bicycles. I replied in the affirmative, and then I was asked whether I liked to ride for fun. “For fun?”, yes, you see in the US, people mainly ride bikes recreationally, whereas in Europe, people [...]

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