If you're new here, this blog will give you the tools to become financially independent in 5 years on a median salary. The wiki page gives a good summary of the principles of the strategy. The key to success is to run your personal finances much like a business, thinking about assets and inventory and focusing on efficiency and value for money. Not just any business but a business that's flexible, agile, and adaptable. Conversely most consumers run their personal finances like an inflexible money-losing anti-business always in danger of losing their jobs.
Here's almost a thousand online journals from people, who are following the ERE strategy tailored to their particular situation (age, children, location, education, goals, ...). Increasing their savings from the usual 5-15% of their income to tens of thousands of dollars each year or typically 40-80% of their income, many accumulate six-figure net-worths within a few years.
Since everybody's situation is different (age, education, location, children, goals, ...) I suggest only spending a brief moment on this blog, which can be thought of as my personal journal, before looking for the crowd's wisdom for your particular situation in the forum journals.
If you enjoy the blog, also consider the book which is much better organized and more complete. You can read the first chapter for free, listen to the preamble, or see the reviews (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,Z). Subscribe to the blog via email or RSS. Get updates on the facebook page, join the forums, and look for tactics on the ERE wiki. Here's a list of all the ERE blog posts.
In an effort to reduce the outgoing mass of garbage, this being a good proxy for measuring ecologic inefficiency and by implication, economic inefficiency, I have built a worm composting system out of two plastic totes.
I essentially followed the instructions I found on a website.
The two grey 10 gallon totes were $3.50 each (lid included) at the local walmart. We had to buy a 1/4″ drill to make the holes in the bottom. I assumed the size of these are critical since the worms eventually have to go through them. In retrospect it’s probably not that important. For the ventilation I used 3/16, which we already had. The worms we got on freecycle (the guy at local nursery was clueless). I dumpster dived for the newspaper, and the dirt I got from outside. To raise the working tote, I put it in the other tote on top of two beer bottles which I had emptied in advance 😀 I think the cardboard cover came from a moving box that had been left outside in the rain and thus was no good anyway.
I’m looking forward to seeing how this works. It is standing outside, so I worry slightly about the temperature, but we, that is, the worms should be safe for another couple of months.
Then we’ll have to think about making space to move it indoors.
Originally posted 2009-03-09 16:00:59.
