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.
With the coming new year, the air is buzzing with resolutions (see here, here, here, here, here, and here — it seems that things have gotten quite goal-oriented in the pf blogosphere this year). Now as for me, I never understood the point of making resolutions simply because it was a specific date. Then again, there is so much I don’t understand. For instance, I don’t understand anniversaries and birthdays as a cause for celebration either, so maybe I just don’t get it. Perhaps I am a lost cause. Perhaps not. I see the significance of the actions taken on those particular days but I don’t see the point of taking action just because of the calendar tells me to.
To me new year resolution bears the mark of the “Yeah I know I have a problem right now and therefore I will take care of it … next week”-philosophy. Hence a resolution uses a particular event to move one from stage III to stage IV of making changes.
I have noted, however, that new year’s resolutions are usually forgotten in about 2-3 weeks when the initial fast gains slow down and the struggle becomes harder. The problem is that new year’s resolution do not automatically come with a strong self-discipline or a strong support group. It is those things that must be established first, because merely moving past January 1st is not automatically going to cut it. Fortunately these can be engaged in all year long.
