If you're new here, this blog will give you the tools to become financially independent in 5 years. Here's how I did it and here's a few dozen online journals from other people who are currently doing it. This is not some stupid get rich quick scheme. The method is robust and replicable (no need to win the lottery, sell your business, or win at real estate), but not easy; much in the same way that a diet results in weight loss but is hard to follow persistently unless you set your mind to it.
The key is to save 75%+ of your net income and invest it in income producing assets (bonds and dividend stocks). This is done by running your personal finances much like a business, thinking about assets and inventory and focusing on efficiency and value for money. See this post on how to enjoy a middle class lifestyle on $7,000/year (Please read it, especially the part about the lentils!). There is a "21 day" step-by-step plan for how to get beyond 75% in the left side bar. Also, check out my answers to Frequently Asked Questions which also covers common misconceptions regarding my personal budget, blog income, retirement, marriage, children, health care, etc. I also suggest reading About ERE in the top menu bar.
Fun fact: According to alexa.com, which is a widely used site for tracking web usage, earlyretirementextreme.com has more web traffic than the peacecorps.gov, speaker.gov (Nancy Pelosi’s website), recovery.gov (website tracking where the stimulus money gets spent), supremecourt.gov, …
You can compare earlyretirementextreme.com’s number (~69000) to a long list of other government sites.
If you want to compare them to another pf blogger instead of this blog, you can find their alexa ranking on wisebread’s list.
My operation costs abut $100 a year in hosting fees. I am one person and the occasional guest poster. I think it is safe to assume that any of the above organizations employ substantially more people and spend substantially more money as well.
While the only function of my “operation” is having a web presence, it is nevertheless interesting, that more people will be reading this post because it is posted here than if it was posted on any of the sites above.
On the other hand, more people probably listen to Lady Gaga than the President, so …
Originally posted 2010-05-11 18:54:11.
Permaculture articles!
