Mind of money

Experiment: Do we really need shampoo?

2011-07-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Questioning the need for soap and shampoo
The time had finally arrived to start the new experiment. No longer shall I be using shampoo or soap. Why on earth would I question this? Well, I got the idea from here.

As I already mentioned in one of my previous posts, if I read about something or if someone tells me something and they give reasonable arguments (even if they go against the norm), I'll try it out. And if it serves my purpose or I clearly see the benefits outweigh the downsides, I'll keep doing it.
By experimenting like this, you can really improve all aspects of your life. Even those you never thought needed improving.
I'm writing about this experiment, because other people where interested in knowing how it goes for me. It seems a bit hobo-like or nasty to not use soap or shampoo, but you should really read the blog post I linked to and for extra clarification, I'll explain in detail what this is all about...

What?
The experiment started last Friday, on July 8th 2011.
I stopped using shampoo and soap to wash myself.
I DID NOT stop washing myself all together... that would make me very dirty and smelly. I simply stop using chemical products to clean up.
I wash my hair with water, scrubbing hard to make everything as clean as possible.
This includes both head hair and beard (I have a fairly large beard that I used to wash with shampoo too).
Same thing for my body.
I'll still be using deodorant, because I do not think it's related.
I will still be washing my hands with soap, after a visit to the toilet though. This is strictly for hygienic purposes.

Why?
I'm just curious what the consequences will be. Soap does not have to be expensive, you can buy big bottles and only use as much as you need. So it's not to save money.
I'm just curious to see what the natural reactions of your body and hair will do to an absence of chemical products.
I sometimes have a lot of dandruff. I've figured out that this happens when I don't wash may hair after 2 days and also when I use certain kinds of shampoo.
The biggest problem here is not the head hair, but my beard.
So I would like to see if the natural oils of your hair will solve this problem permanently.
Another annoying problem I experience sometimes, is a greasy nose. Washing it extra hard with a lot of soap doesn't help. Here, the natural response of my skin to the new conditions, might also be a permanent solution.
But most of all, I'm just curious to see what happens. I read positive reactions on this experiment from other people, so why not give it a shot? If it doesn't work out, I can still switch back to using shampoo and/or soap. But for now, the experiment is still going.

Findings so far
So I've been doing this experiment for about a week now. What are my findings so far?

There is a difference in softness of the hair, when you don't use shampoo. The hair is a little bit firmer.
There's supposed to be a transition period, where your hair may get greasy. That transition period hasn't kicked in yet as far as I know. My hair still looks good.
I had dandruff this morning, before I took a shower. For now, that problem is still there. But after the shower (with only water!), the dandruff was mostly gone. So at first sight, it looks like you don't need special shampoo's to get rid of it. But I have learnt in the last years, that the wrong kind of shampoo CAN make it worse!

Conclusion
I haven't noticed much yet, but the experiment seems to be going well. My hair still looks good, feels good and I remain interested to see what happens next...

Experiment: Learning catalan

2011-06-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Learning catalan

I've currently started another experiment. I'm going to try to learn as much catalan as possible within the coming year. I use the website http://www.parla.cat to learn, along with the philosiphy explained at http://www.ajatt.org which is all about immersion.

I already now quite a bit of Spanish and I learnt French in school. The catalan language lies somewhere between those two languages, so I understand a lot of it when I see catalan text. The main problem is understanding it when they speak it (they have different rules regarding pronunciation than in Spanish) and to be able to speak it myself. Next year, I'm going on a vacation to catalonia (I've been there several times before), so I'll be able to test what I've learnt.
We'll see how far I get and I'll let you know.

For informational purpose I'll summarize the details:
experiment: learning as much catalan as possible within the next year
start: june 2011
tools: computer, online radio, mp3-player, podcasts, youtube, parla.cat, ...

Experiment : Do we really need a mattress

2011-06-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

Do we really need a mattress?
This was a question that popped up in the ERE-forum. There a post there, that links to an article about a guy that questions the need for a mattress. I read the article and the comments on the forum. It seems that a lot of people experiment with sleeping arrangements: there are people that sleep on a thin pad on the floor, people that sleep in hammacks, people who sleep in sleeping bags full time, ...
It gave me inspiration to experiment.

Experimentation outside the norm
Whenever I read about someone who does something weird no one else would do, I get curious. I want to know why they do it. And if they have solid arguments or perhaps links to other people who tried what they're trying, I'll look it up.
This curiosity has led me to a lot of personal experiments I tried. One of these, I will explain now...

No more bed
I live in a small room, so a bed takes up a lot of space. Along with my search for tips on living a minimalist life, I found an alternative sleeping arrangement that would save me space: putting the mattress on the floor.
So that's what I did, I took my bed apart and slept on the mattress. I did keep the wooden lats though, they make sure that there can be some air under the mattress to prevent mold from forming. That seems to be a problem when you put the mattress on the floor. You sweat during the night, the sweat goes in the mattress and gravity pulls it down. When it collects under the mattress, where no air can get to it, molds form.
So when putting the lats under the mattress (without the bedframe), I have the same minimalist setup, without the mold problem.

No more mattress
I never questioned this before reading the article I mentioned above, but having a mattress is in itself something worth questioning. All over the world, different people sleep in different ways. It's just that in the Western world, we use a mattress to sleep on because... just because. We're used to it, even though theres no real proof that it's good for your back.
But this does not mean that I accept what the article was talking about. As I already told you, if I think something is worth trying, I experiment with it.
After all, if you try something and it gives you bad results, you can always stop doing it. But by experimenting, there's a chance you can find something interesting that can improve yourself and/or the quality of your life.
So I got rid of the mattress. It was old anyway and needed to be replaced.

Was it worth it?
No more mattress, I didn't replace it. In stead, I now sleep on 2 thin camping mats, put next to each other.

I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now and I've never slept better.
The advantages are:
- It's cheap.
- Easy to move or even put away during the day. It doesn't take up a lot of space.
- It's firm and sleeps better than my worn out mattress.
- It's very low to the ground, so it makes a small bedroom look much bigger.

The disadvantages are:
- Heavy people will feel pressure from the ground, it could even be painful.
- Needs to be disassembled/aired out once in a while to prevent molds from forming.
- It's very low to the ground, which makes getting up more difficult (if you're getting older, this could be a problem)
- Might be a problem if you take home a girl or sleep with someone who doesn't like it.
- Might be a problem if you have a lot of bugs where you live and if you don't like them crawling over you.

Conclusion
This turned out to be an interesting experiment, that turned out mostly positive. For most disadvantages, solutions can be found:
- You can use the pressure from the ground to get an indication of when you're getting overweight. It helps keep you're weight in balance.
- It's small and can easily be disassembled. So doing this once in a while is not difficult.
- For the lowness, you can make a wooden bedframe that's small enough to not take up much space. Then you can put the mats on the frame. This also solves the bug problem.
- Make 2 bedframes that you can put next to each other. A higher one and a lower one. Put a single person mattress on the lowest frame. make sure the top of the mattress is about the same height as the top of the camping mat you put on the higher one. Now it looks like a twin-sized bed, but one half has a mattressy soft feeling and the other has the like-sleeping-on-the-floor firmness.

In any case, I like this arrangement and have no intention of going back to using a mattress. At least not until age gets to me or some medical condition prevents me from sleeping this way...

A step by step guide to a decluttered digital life

2011-05-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Modern technology and minimalism

Minimalism applied to your computer, that's what this is all about. These days, a big part of our lives can be digitized.

Minimalists have succesfully used modern technology to put all there information, important papers, old fotos, etc. in some digital format on computers and harddisks.This is a good idea, because a file on a harddisk and a fotogragh are both 1 physical object. But 1000 fotographs on a harddisks is still 1 object, the harddisk, whereas 1000 real fotographs are actually 1000 objects.

But there's a danger in there too... without careful planning, it's possible to move your clutter to your computer. That way, you have a minimalist home, free from clutter. But once you turn on your computer, the misery starts again: looking through heaps of directories just to find that one file, having a slow computer because there's a lot of files and directories and subdirectories...

A guide to a minimalist computer

There a lot to say about this subject, but it can roughly be categorized in 3 main parts:

1. Organizing your filesystem in a clean, elegant and practical way.

2. Using only the applications you need and use.

3. Using applications that have a minimal design and do what they need to do and nothing more.

Below is a step by step guide to organize and improve your digital life.

Step 1:
Remove all temporary files, old backups (that are no longer needed or way to old), files you accidently created, etc.

Step 2:
Make an inventory of all your files and write it in a text file or on a piece of paper.

Step 3:
Think about how you want to organize everything. This step is the longest and hardest part. Think long and hard about this, it will make your life easier.

Step 4:
Stop using too many subfolders and names that are too obscure or too long. It's been said that using no more than 3 sublevels in your folder hierarchy in combination with foldernames that are maximum 8 characters long, will provide the best structure that you can easily remember.

I've tried this myself and the results are amazing. It's now a lot easier for me to find a specific file or folder. Even on the computer, the saying "a place for everything and everything in its place" is a valid one. If you know the purpose of each folder, you don't have to think long about where to find, download or save a file. That's 3 times less thinking!

Step 5:
Move everything to the correct folders, only keep what you need and stick to it. Take te time to review everything once in a while. Clutter will creep into your digital life easier than in real life, so you need to keep decluttering you harddrives too.

Step 6:
Once you have a simple folder hierarchy, it's time to review your applications. What do you use often? What don't you use at all? If you ever installed applications to try something out, they might still be there. Do you still have games installed that you don't play anymore? Remove everything you don't use.

Step 7:
Make sure you use simple and minimalistic versions of your applications. Sometimes (and especially in Windows-land), applications can become too bloated with features you don't even need. If you have a clock application that can display the date and time, but that can also check your e-mail for new mail, than it's not a good clock application. A clock should be a clock. Date and time. Period.
I try to use as much applications as possible, that adhere to the unix philosophy. This means that they are applications that do only one thing, but do it well. An example is the unix 'date' command. It can show you date and time, in all available formats. Thats it. Nothing more. Date and time. Period.

So try looking for alternatives if you feel that your current application is too slow, has too many features or when you find one that does the same thing in a faster and/or better manner.

Step 8:
This step is closely related to step 7. If you use a lot of minimalist software, there might be a way to make it even more simple. Try to see if one application can replace the functionality of the other. Try combining functionality in 1 application.

A small example that I implemented: I used a calculator on the linux command line called 'bc'. But I'm also a python programmer, so I have python installed. Now it so happens to be that python can do everything regarding calculations. So I removed bc and whenever I need to make a calculation, I start the python interpreter and do my calculations there.
This has 2 advantages: I use python more, so I learn faster and that's one less application that takes up disk space.

Step 9:
Your desktop is NOT a folder/trash can/work area. I often see computers that have a desktop full of icons and files and shortcuts... Why put it there and not in a folder? If you want a temporary storage place like that, create a dedicated folder for that. Call it something simple and clear (see step 4) and make it easily accessible (see step 3 and 4).

Step 10:
A good colorscheme and a nice wallpaper make all the difference. If your wallpaper has a picture of a junkyard, it will give you a feeling of clutter. If your wallpaper is dark, it will make the room you work in, seem smaller. I often use light wallpapers, preferably even photographs of landscapes and nature.

Colorschemes of applications should be minimalistic. Photographs incorporated into the menu's of your application will make your computer look like a mess. It will annoy you after a while. Try to give everything an elegant, clean and uniform look.

Step 10 is all about personal perference and it might take a lot of experimenting to find the right combination, but it makes your computering a more pleasant experience, if done right.

Conclusion

Minimalism can be applied everywhere, in every aspect of your life. But regardless the fact that you're a minimalist or not, using this guide to organize your digital life, will make the time you spend behind the computer an experience that's more valueable and pleasant then ever before.

Returning home to simplicity

2011-05-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Today I experienced a new kind of feeling, related to my journey towards a minimalist lifestyle... I was working on an assignment at work (one that I don't like) and for that assignment I need to work on very messy systems in software that can show unexpected behaviour.

During all that work, I suddenly thought about home. A place where I continue to purge unnecessary items, where already most of it has been eliminated. A simpler place, where everything has it's place. Where mostly functiontional items are what remain.

And I was happy. Happy to know that I could return home after a long day of annoying work... to a place of simplicity, peacefulness and serenity.

Do you have a nice and simple place to come home to? If not, it's worth creating one... even if it's just one room in an entire house. You won't regret it.

Early retirement calculations - part I

2011-05-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

The most common retirement equations you need
In order to achieve (extreme) early retirement, there are a couple of things you want to find out:

When can I retire?
How big does my nest egg need to be, so I can keep living on my investments?
How can I retire sooner?

Behind all these questions, an answer is hiding. One that mathematical formulas can show us.

When can I retire?
I already covered this question in a previous post.

n = (((income-saved)*12/swr)-P)/saved/12
with:
n = number of years you need to save/compound your money
income = your current monthly income
swr = safe withdrawal rate, this is typically 4% or for conservative people 3%. I pick 4%
P = principal (the money you start saving with)
saved = amount you can save from your income each month

Lets take the following assumptions:
income = 1400 EURO
saved = 600 EURO
A 27 year old guy named Joske starts with 25000 EURO.

According to the above formula, he needs to do 30 years of saving to become financially independent.

I'll use the same numbers in the next eqations.

How much money will I have?

If you want to retire (extremely) early, you need to save money. The pile of money you end up with, should be big enough so you can live from it. To make this happen while you are still alive, there's a magical thing called compound interest. You save, invest and reinvest your interest and magic will happen.
Actually, it's not magic, it's a nice mathematical formula, that goes like this:

K = P*(1+APR)^n
with:
K = required nest egg (final Kapital with a capital K)
P = principal (the money you start saving with)
APR = the interest you earn on your money
n = number of years you need to save/compound your money

For more information on how to get to this formula, you can watch this excellent movie that I found on youtube:

Deriving the compound interest formula

That guy explains everything very clearly.

So how much money do I need? Well, lets use an example.
Suppose we start with 25000 EURO as I already mentionned above. This would be our principal.
So we have:
P = 25000
APR = 0.05 (I use 5% interest, that's more interest than the banks give you, but you can do better if you invest wisely)
n = 30 (see above)

K = 25000*(1+0.05)^30 = 108047.50 EURO

That's less money than I expected... but it takes 30 years to get!

How can I retire sooner?
The biggest factor in that equation is the amount of money you can save from your paycheck, as was also explained in my previous post regarding early retirement calculations.
So save, save, save...

You'd like to do more than just save? Okay, than lets see what else we can do...

We could make sure we make more money, so the interest gets bigger and that too will have an effect on compounding.

Suppose we make twice as much, meaning an APR of 10% (=0.1).
K, P and the APR are known, but we need to know n. Thats a problem, we'll have to refactor the formula...

K = P*(1+APR)^n
K/P = (1+APR)^n
ln(K/P) = ln((1+APR)^n)
--> if you do the same thing with both sides of the equation, it stays the same
and now for a cool mathematical trick:
ln(K/P) = n*ln(1+APR)
--> Yes people, that is a legal move!

n = ln(K/P)/ln(1+APR)

So for our example, this formula says:
n = ln(108047.50/25000)/ln(1+0.1) = 15.3572 years

Thats approximately 15 years less than our previous 30 years if we can double our interest rate!

Conclusion
The mathematical formulas show us that there are 2 things we can do, to reach our early retirement goals:

Save as much as we can from our pay check
Get a high interest on that money, by investing wisely

Option 1 is by far the most important one, because it's one we can have complete control over. So start saving... ;)

Experiments outside the norm I - Growing a full beard

2011-05-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

Dual monitor to single monitor
In my previous post, I wrote about switching from a dual monitor setup to a single monitor setup. I tried again to discard the second monitor, but failed again. Why? The second monitor is too important when I'm buying and selling stocks. It gives me an edge.
That's no to say that I'll buy another one if one of them breaks. But it's too much of a convenience to get rid of.

Experimenting
I do this a lot. Testing if I can live without something, trying out something new, trying out weird things, etc. If someone explains that something is better and he or she gives some good arguments, no matter how weird or outside the norm it may be, I'll try it out! If it sounds good to me, I'll give it a shot.
Experimenting lets you experience new things, find out more about yourself and/or your environment and it can let you grow as an individual.

Growing a full beard
I've always had a beard of some kind, usually something small. After a lot of experimenting, I settled with the circle beard. This style suited me best. There's a part of my beard that grows thicker and has darker hairs. For that reason, I can never look clean shaven... I consider it to be natures way of telling me: "You sir, need to grow a beard!". And I did.

But was it enough?
The hardrocker in me always wanted to have a longer beard of some kind. And several weeks ago, that desire led me to another experiment...
The idea was to grow a longer beard. The first thing I did, was look up different styles, to see what was possible. All information about beards, can be found on this excellent website: http://www.beards.org/.
Reading up on that website, I read several stories about people growing a full beard.
Now for me, it all came down to 2 options:
1) grow a longer circle beard (stay closer to my comfort zone)
2) grow a full beard (try something different)

The title of this post already says it: I chose option 2! How did I make that choice? I drew beards on an older beardless picture of mine. The long circle beard looked kinda stupid on me, the full beard looked good.

Personal growth
Growing a beard like that is something not many people do. It gets a lot of reactions, positive, neutral and negative ones.
The negative ones are the classical comparison with terrorists. That's actually where the interesting part of the experimentation lies. By doing something that provokes reactions, you can learn to disregard negative comments, even minimize the influence of positive comments and just focus on what you think of it. That in turn, will give you more self-confidence and it opens up the gates to new changes in behaviour, thinking and character.
After all, it's you who lives your life and not society.

End of the experiment
I'm still growing my beard and it's already of a respectable size.
When will the experiment end? If the beard gets so long that it starts to bother me or even when it stops looking good. Or perhaps I'll find another style or experiment to try out. But at the moment, it looks like
the beard's not going away any time soon...

Dual screen to single monitor - end results

2011-04-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Do I really need a second monitor?
Today it's friday and as I mentioned in the previous post, I was doing a little experiment this week to try and figure out if I really needed a second monitor. Without a second monitor, my computer desk wouldn't need to be as big. As I'm trying to be a minimalist, that would save me a lot of space and it would create more empty space in my room. Minimalists like empty space. At least I do.

End of the experiment...
I turned of my right monitor for an entire week, to see if I would miss it. It wasn't a big problem, the first days of the week, until it all came tumbeling down. One of my hobbies is buying and selling stocks on the stock market. And that would be one of the things where a second monitor is very handy.
I need to have a graph open on the left screen and work with my calculation applications on the right screen. Having them both visible at the same time, is very convenient.

Or maybe not?
But somehow, I don't feel like I've given it my best shot. It's not like I'm a daytrader who needs to do things quickly on the stock market. So I'm going to do the experiment again, but this time I'll decouple the monitor and put it away. This will help me resist temptation to turn the monitor on so quickly, because I "think I" need it. I'll let you know how that goes by the end of next week.

Non conformity experiments
This whole experimenting concept has given me an idea though. I actually do this a lot, little experiments to find better or different ways to do something.
If someone claims to have a better way of doing something, no matter how weird it may seem, if his explanation sounds reasonable, I'll try it out. Only after testing it, then I'll judge when necessary. This mentality hasn't failed me yet.
And I'm going to write about some of those tests I've successfully completed, that changed my habits or mentality in such a way, that those habits or that mentality are no longer conform the standards of Western society.

So stay tuned and read all about that in the upcoming posts...

Dual screen to single monitor

2011-04-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

As a computer programmer, I can see why a dual screen setup can give you several advantages over a single monitor setup. You could be looking up documentation on the right screen, while writing code on the left screen. You could also be chatting on one screen and surfing the web on another.

I currently have 2 monitors. The reason I use the second monitor, is to display my calendar and various information about my system, like cpu/memory usage, todo-list output, chat notifications, etc.
I can work on one screen and look at my schedule on the other.

But this week, I have experimented with simplifying my setup, by turning of 1 monitor. They say "once you go dual monitor, you never go back". I can agree about the benefits of a second monitor, but there is one disadvantage about it: it takes up more space on my desk. And because I'm constantly decluttering and following a journey towards minimalism, the idea came to just turn the monitor off and see how much I would miss it.

So far, the absence of the second monitor hasn't bothered me much. I use Arch Linux as an operating system, with dwm as a window manager. That's a minimalistic linux distribution with a very minimalistic window manager. The important thing about it is that you can have multiple workspaces, that be used to replace the functionality of the second monitor. (Actually, the second monitor was brought in the picture to replace some functionality of some of the workspaces, I'm just switching it back to the old system).

If I can manage to keep this system, without actually needing the second monitor, I can sell one monitor.
This would free up space on my desk. And that in turn, would eliminate the need for such a large desk, leaving me with the option to get rid of the desk and replace it with a smaller one. Which in turn would give me extra space in my small room.

All in all, it's an experiment worth trying out, considering the benefits it would give me.

Minimalism... finding out what you don't really need, getting rid of it and focusing harder on what really matters. In this case: one monitor.

Simple Early Retirement Calculation

2011-04-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Early Retirement Calculation
There's a simple calculation that you can use, that can give you a rough estimate of how many years you have to work and save until you can live off your interest.

EDIT: There seemed to have been a small mistake in my formula, kindly pointed out to me by Robert. I needed to make the safe withdrawal from the money I have left over each month, after savings. This means that I shouldn't be using income, but rather (income - saved). What does this do for our formula? We don't need as much years to save as initially thought.
I crossed out all the wrong parts and put the correct values in the examples. I also rearranged the formula a little bit, so it's a bit easier to read.

It goes like this:
~~years = (((income*1/swr*12)-nestegg)/saved)/12~~
years = (((income-saved)*12/swr)-nestegg)/saved/12

years: number of years you need to work until early retirement
income: monthly income (after tax)
swr: safe withdrawal rate in % per year (if you take this amount from your retirement savings each year, the interest you earn on your invested money should sustain your lifestyle forever)
nestegg: how many you already saved in your retirement account
saved: how much of your paycheck you can save per month

There are other versions of this formula roaming the web, but most of them are just different ways to write the same thing.

The formula in practice
I will show you how the formula works, based on rounded values of my earnings and savings.

Income: 1400 EUR (1992 USD)
SWR: this is typically 4% or for conservative people 3%. I pick 4%
nestegg: 25000 EUR (35575 USD)
What I save each month: 600 EUR (854 USD)
How long do I have to work if I keep saving this much each month?

~~years = (((1400*1/0.04*12)-25000)/600)/12 = 54.8611~~
years = (((1400-600)*12/0.04)-25000)/600/12 = 29.8611

This means that after 55 30 years, I'd be financially independent, able to retire without worries. ~~That would be at age 27+55 = 82.~~ That would be at age 27+30 = 57.

A bit to old to my likings. Lets see how we can improve on this...

Retire Early
If you want to retire early, you need to get the result of the formula down. The easiest way to do this is by dividing by a larger saved number.

Pay close attention to this! The more you can save, the earlier you can retire.
This is beautiful, because the one thing we have the most control over is what we spend. By controlling what we spend, we can make the amount we save per month bigger.

So more saving = less working!

Example:
Suppose I can save 750 EUR/month (1065 USD).
The result would be:
~~years = (((1400/0.04*12)-25000)/750)/12 = 43.888~~
years = (((1400-750)*12/0.04)-25000)/750/12 = 18.8888

~~150 EUR/month (213 USD) of extra savings gives a difference of 55 - 44 = 11 years!~~
150 EUR/month (213 USD) of extra savings gives a difference of 30 - 19 = 11 years!

I like it. I like it a lot!

In the spirit of minimalism, I'm gonna keep it at this. It's the most important lesson to be learnt here. Remember the above and start saving, if you want to retire early. The more you save, the better...

Eliminate Unnecessary Bad Feelings

2011-04-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Being a minimalist, is a way to become a better person in general. To become a better person, there are more things you can do, not always related to minimalism per se. So today I would like to give you an interesting thought that can save you and the people around you a whole lot of misery: "Do not be affraid to admit your mistakes."

Let me give an example:
Suppose you say something without giving it much thought and whatever comes out of your mouth is something that should not have come out. You made a mistake which hurts the person you said it to or perhaps someone else... Do not wait too long to admit your mistake, explain what you did wrong and truthfully apologize.

And the faster you do it, the better. It will save you and the other person a whole lot of time feeling miserable for nothing. Just try it the next time you make a mistake, you won't regret it.

Minimalist wardrobe - part 1

2011-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have too many clothes
On my journey towards minimalism, there is one path I have skipped so far... my wardrobe. I still live at home, so when it comes to washing clothes I have it easy. My mother does those things. And when clothes seem to be worn down, she tells me that it's time to buy new clothes.
This is a problem. Why? My mother is not a minimalist and does not fully understand it or at least she doesn't see it the way I see it. Therefore, my wardrobe is not a minimalist wardrobe, making that an area of my life that needs improvement.
So this weekend, I took out all my clothes and put them in stacks per kind of clothing. It was time to catalogue everything. The goal of this is the following:
I want my wardrobe to reflect my minimalistic lifestyle.

That means 3 things:
1. I need to know exactly what I need for clothing
2. old clothes need to be purged
3. full control of all items that go in my closeth and a "one in, one out" system has to be implemented

Gaining full control
I notified my mother that from now on, everything regarding my clothes will be under my command. She sometimes buys something I need when she sees it on sale. This is no longer an option. I will decide everything from now on.
I will also implement a "one in, one out" system after I minimalized my wardrobe. For each new piece of clothing that enters my closeth, the most worn down one must leave my closeth (and my life).

Making an inventory
I'm currently making an inventory of all clothes I have. Each number will be written down. Those numbers will be matched with numbers I have yet to decide. Those numbers will represent the amount of items that suffice in a minimalist wardrobe.
I'll post more on this later.
The first thing I'm doing right now, is purging old clothes.

Getting rid of old clothes
I was shocked today, to see how much clothes I seem to have. I never really paid any attention to this. And the results are terrifying for someone who strives to become a minimalist: already 2 bags of clothes that are ready to be given away and I'm still not done.

Conclusion
Control every aspect of your life. Keep everything in sight. Some say expressions such as "a place for everything and everything in it's place". I see what they mean by that...
But giving every item its place, is impossible if you have more items than storage space. And right now, my amount of clothes make it impossible to give it all a proper place in my closeth. So I know what I'll be doing in the next weekends...
;)

On a journey towards minimalism.

2011-04-03T13:23:00.001-07:00

I'm getting more and more intrigued by the minimalist lifestyle. Own only what you need and nothing more. I've written several posts about decluttering before, but even with all the purging I did... I still feel I'm not there yet.

There are people that do a better job than me, who act as a source of inspiration to me. One of them, would be author of Miss minimalist. Whenever I read that site, I seem to find enough inspiration to continue my journey to a true minimalistic life.

So if you're interested in this lifestyle, I suggest to have a look on that blog as it may inspire you too.

A return from absence.

2011-04-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time, since I posted something on this blog and for that, I apologize.
I have been occupied with work, decluttering and life in general.
I will try to make writing posts a weekly routine. This should keep me from procrastinating.

Posts I will be writing in the short future include early retirement and what I try to do to achieve it, my everlasting journey towards minimalism and stepping outside the norms in more than one field.

Greetings,
Andy

Holiday 2010

2010-07-07T07:06:00.001-07:00

I'm leaving this weekend for my annual holiday, so I won't be posting for a while. The next post will probably be in August.

Thanks for visiting and have a nice summer!

Declutter my life - part 4

2010-06-30T06:58:00.001-07:00

Loosing track

The more items you get rid of, the harder it becomes to see what can still be thrown away. This does not sound logical, because less items means less items to think about. But the main problem lies in the fact that most of the things I still have left, can be easily put in boxes out of sight. This way, the room looks clean and minimalistic.

To make it easier to find new items to get rid of, I'm gonna make a list of everything I own. This way, I just have to review the list without having to look at the items themselves. And it'll make me aware of the amount of things I own.

The list

computer
flatscreen
another flatscreen
laptop
computer table
mouse
keyboard
cheap keyboard
desk chair
bed
alarm clock
desk light
cd movie collection
some music cd's
box of items of questionable legality
item 1 of questionable legality
item 2 of questionable legality
musical keyboard
elektric guitar
guitar amp
guitar cable
another guitar cable
distortion pedal
5 mouth harmonicas
irish thin whistle in D
amp wired to computer
2 big speakers
small wooden drawing box
big wooden drawing box
a little sack to put in your school supplies (pen, pensils, ...)
a paper hole cutter
a block of little square note papers
a katana
eskrima sticks
2 wooden sticks (that will become tonfas one day)
a rope dart
a hockey stick
a billiard cue
a night closeth
a big wooden trunk
8 Shaman King pocket mangas
a pan flute
a smaller pan flute
a golden chinese rat horoscope keychain
a car (Daewoo Kalos)
all kid paddle comic books
empty classifiers
2 classifiers that hold my important papers
the flemish flag
a home-made pirate flag
a fluorescent safety vest
home-made geta

List date: 2010-06-30

This list is temporary, I still have more items to add!

Things I do to life a frugal life

2010-06-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

How I live a frugal life

There's a lot of things you can do, to uphold a frugal lifestyle. Most of these actions are well within reach and easy to do, others are a bit more difficult. I found an interesting list on "The Simple Dollar". But the goal of this post is to give you a list of the actions that I do, so you can follow the progress in my lifestyle change a bit. And it might inspire others to come up with their own ideas.

Assumptions

This list will not be complete, because I will only list the actions that I currently do. I can (and will) do more and when I do, I'll expand this list and let you know about it.

The list only deals with spending less, not with earning more. Earning more, has nothing to do with living a frugal life.

Things I do to live a frugal life

1. Transportation - Car: I only have one car

I need a car for work, so I need to keep this one. But I only have one. For me, this is obvious. I don't understand why anyone would need more than one car, but apparently some people own more cars. You should find one as cheap in gas usage, tax and insurance as possible, for your familie size.

Ideally, you should strive to live without a car. But in modern society, that might not be possible for everyone. And those that need a car, aren't always lucky enough to get a company car. So buy a decent, used one and keep it small and cheap.

2. Transportation - Car: Gas

Gas is expensive. Make sure the gas usage on your car is low enough. You can take this into account when you buy a car. But the most important thing is your driving style. Fast accelerations cost money. Does it really matter if you get there a couple of minutes earlier? Ever thought about leaving earlier to get there on time?

Another solution can be a tank card from a company. My company pays for my gas, so that's taken care of. The downside is, that your car will wear down easier, because such jobs require you to visit clients often.

3. House - rent/buy

If you rent, make sure the rent is low enough. If you buy, buy as small as possible. I'm currently still living with my parents, so rent is cheap for me.

I'm currently looking for a house though, and I'm looking for a small one.

4. General - Equipment

Buy everything in quality material and take care of it. This way, it will last longer. I stopped buying cheap stuff. It is frugal, if you only buy exactly what you truely need and nothing more.

5. Food & drinks - Eat out less

An obvious one. Making your own meals is a lot cheaper and can be just as delicious. I never eat out. My meals are included in the rent (an advantage of living with your parents).

6. Food & drinks - Less bar visits

Drinking beers at the bar, costs more. Me and my friends don't go out a lot and we don't go to fancy clubs, so the costs are minimal enough. Not going to bars at all, the theoretically ideal frugal way, is a little bit anti-social and makes it difficult to meet girls. But there is a difference between spending $50/month on drinks vs. $50/week.

7. Food & drinks - Bring your lunch to work

I see delicious meals being eaten at work, every day. But I consider it a luxury and never give into it. I always bring my own lunch.

8. Clothing - Adopt a minimalist wardrobe

From now on, I'm following the clothing advice from Jacob at ERE. Black, blue and gray, all the colors you need.

9. Clothing - Buy cheap

You should buy good clothes, but buy them in discount. I buy what I absolutely need, nothing more. If I buy, it's either in january (bargain season) or in september (I think... at least it's in the other bargain season). And also in Spain on the market, some stuff I need is cheap there.

10. General - Impulse buying

Buying on impulse is a bad thing. You'll buy stuff you don't really need. I've become immune to impulse buying since I started decluttering. Always think: "Do I really need this?" or "Can I solve this problem without buying something?".

11. General - Shopping

It's good to shop only when you need something, e.g. like grocery shopping. But if you only go to shops whenever you need something, you don't know what store has what items. Interesting bargains can be found, when shopping. I combine it with necessary shopping. If you need new clothes, get them. After you got them, look around for other things. You'll not be tempted to buy other things easily, because the clothes are already costing you money and you don't want to spend any more (if you're frugal, that is).

12. Entertainment - Music

If you like listening to music, youtube has many free songs. So does the internet. You could also make your own music with lmms.

You could also learn to play instruments. The internet and youtube are loaded with free music lessons. And if buy an irish whistle, for example, it'll only cost you around $10.

13. Entertainment - TV

I sometimes watch TV with my brother and my parents, but that's more of a social thing. I couldn't care less about TV itself and I'll never buy one myself.

The TV costs money, the cable subscription costs money and there's too much commercials on TV to actually enjoy TV shows anyway.

14. Entertainment - Reading

Free books are at the library. I read e-books and blogs on the computer. It doesn't cost me anything.

15. Entertainment - General

Always try to find free entertainment. The internet is full of free games, you can play cards with friends, you can take walks in nature, go for a swim in the ocean, ... use your imagination.

16. Health - Sport

Do cheap sports that require almost no gear or go jog (or find another free method to excercise). Sporting keeps you healthy. It avoids medical bills in the long run.

17. Health - Health care

I get health insurance via work. It's cheaper that way. If you have to get it yourself, try to get it as cheap as possible (while still covering the obvious health problems).

18. Transportation - Bike

I bought a bike. I use it for short distance errands. It saves on gas (althoug my gas is paid for by the company).

19. Transportation - Walk

Really short distances I do on foot. It's free and healthy.

20. Equipment - Decluttering

Decluttering makes it possible to live in a smaller house. Less stuff to have = less stuff that can break = less stuff to replace when broken.

I'm still decluttering, but I've come a long way since the first time I started.

21. Extra - Gifts

When buying gifts, you can always get something bigger and spend more. Draw a line and stick to it. For everybody you know the same price, close friends and familie get a slightly higher price. This makes choosing and buying gifts easier too.

22. Extra - Smoking

Smoking eats away your hard earned money. I don't smoke.

23. Food & drinks - Alcohol

Drinking alcohol costs money. The problem is, that I like the taste of a nice cold beer. My solution is to try only to drink in the weekend. And when I drink, I try not to drink huge amounts, unless on special occasions. But this category has room for improvement.

A good idea is to let people know you like alcohol. This way, it can become a birthday present. And if you drink in moderation, those donated bottles can last long.

24. Food & drinks - Sweets

I don't eat a lot of sweets, except for some potato chips. But that's mostly because it goes well with the beer. It's best to buy a huge pack of several individually packed small baggies of potato chips. This way, you can eat some chips, without having to open a big bag. It makes you eat less, so in the long run, you save money. Ideally, you wouldn't eat them, but they are tasty.

Any improvements in moderation of alcohol intake, will also affect this category in a positive way.

25. Food & drinks - Water

Water is still cheap and it's healthy too. I drink a lot of water. In fact, I only drink 3 beverages: milk, alcohol and water.

26. Entertainment - Staying home

Make your living area a nice one. One you like spending time in. It'll make it possible to stay at home more, where entertainment is free or cheap.

Gardening can be a pleasant way to spent time. And when your gardening skills increase, your garden becomes a great place to spend time. I just have one room to take care off right now, so I do my best to make it as comfortable as possible.

27. Extra - Credit cards

It's extra, you don't need to use it. Go get cash from the bank and use that. You won't be spending money without seeing it disappear, which helps you control your spending.

I always pay cash.

28. Extra - Subscriptions

Anything that wants you to pay in parts, is a bad thing in my opinion. The only exceptions are the things you need, like water, elektricity, gas and internet. Magazines are out of the question. I had a computer magazine, but I cancelled it. You'll gather a lot of them, while reading less than half of them completely. And most information can be found for free online.

29. Entertainment - Hobbies

Do free hobbies or inexpensive ones. It can be related to the gardening, sports or other activities I mentioned before.

I do 2 martial arts, which costs me 400 euro/year. For 2 martial arts, that's not much.

But I could stick to 1 martial art, that would cut the cost in half. I'm just not sure wether that's worth it, because doing those 2 martial arts is healthy and it improves me. Never cut back on anything that improves you.

I also play free computer games, I learn Spanish and Japanese online (also free) and I make my own honeywine (cheap delicious alcohol... a solution to one of my problems).

30. General - DIY

Make stuff as a form of entertainment. I make weapons and train with them. It's because of my martial arts interest. It might be an activity of questionable legality, but it's very cheap and gives you many hours of entertainment (in both the creation as the use).

You should also fix everything that's broken, instead of calling someone to do it. If you take the time, put in some effort or ask someone for help, you can improve your DIY skills and save a lot of money. Money that doesn't have to be paid to either a craftsman or a new item to replace the broken one.

31. General - Stop paying interest

Interest is something that should always be collected, never paid. I have no debt. And if I get a mortgage, I'll do my best to keep it as low as possible, so I can pay it off as fast as possible.

32. Food & drinks - Reduce convenience foods

They make a lot of easy to cook food, microwave meals, etc. They are not healthy and not as delicious as the real thing. I still live with my parents, so food is taken care of, but I'll always prefere the real thing above the fast foods.

33. Travel - Total cost

Go on a camping, in stead of a hotel. Ignore places that are too touristic. They give you a false image of the real culture anyway. I usually go camping. Camping is awesome. I also like to look for local bars in the back streets, away from tourists. And I like to visit small villages, most would not even consider visiting.

34. Telephone

I use a cell phone with a prepaid card. I recharge it with 15 euro about twice a year, sometimes even less. I don't like cell phones. I'd go without one if it wasn't cheaper than a standard telephone subscription. But it's mostly so people can call me, I hardly make calls myself (to the annoyance of friends and family, perhaps...).

35. General - Haircut

Cut your own hair, it saves a lot of money. I have a buzz cut. It's $50 for a buzzer and it'll last long enough to earn it's money back in ten-fold.

36. General - Take care of your belongings

It can be related to the DIY, but not necessarily. Use your appliances with care, clean them occasionally, ... It will make it last longer. I handle most of my belongings with care and I give the inside of my computer the occassional dust-cleaning. If only I would take more care of my car... a point I can still improve on.

37. Transportation - Distance

Find work close to your home. It saves on gas. Again, my gas is paid for right now, but my job is close to my town anyway. Besides, it lowers the wear on the car.

38. Clothing - Cleaning

If you wash clothes less, they last longer. My mother washes my clothes, so there's nothing I can do about that. But I will keep it in mind for when I need to do it myself.

39. Clothing - Drying

Clothes last longer when sun-dried. My mother does this.

40. General - Love

I have no girlfriend at the moment, so I'm in the ideal frugal situation. But if you do fall in love, it can only work out if the partner is frugal too or at least open to the idea.

Conclusion

The list contains 40 items, on 2010-06-24.

Looking for a place to live - part 2

2010-06-15T05:37:00.001-07:00

A house

Living in an RV was option 1. I already looked into it and thought it was a viable option for an aspiring extreme early retiree.

There are other alternatives though, the most obvious being a house.

Living in a house has the following benefits over living in an RV:

You have more space
Your mail is always delivered at your living place
You can have a garden
It's cosy and can have nice room temperatures in all weather conditions
It's probably emotionally satisfying to own your own house (unless you have a strong nomadic desire, in that case you might be happier in an RV)

There's a lot to talk about, when wanting to buy a house, but I'm gonna keep this post about buying a house in another country.

Moving abroad

Why would anyone want to live abroad? One of the reasons could be, because it's much cheaper to live in a country where the standard of living is lower. Your hard earned money could last a lot longer there.

Another reason could be, because you like adventure and wouldn't mind spending several years in a certain country, to learn more about it.

And last, but not least, because you fell in love with another country (or perhaps even a girl from another country) and you want to go and live there permanently.

Reason 1: cheaper standard of living

In the spirit of the extreme early retirement lifestyle, this reason for wanting to move abroad, is certainly a good one. You earn your money in a country, where the standard of living is high, and you make that money last longer in a country, where the standard of living is low.

This tactic could make it possible for you to retire much sooner than expected. Or it can give you more certainty. The problem is, however, that countries with a lower standard of living, have that lower standard for a reason. And the live you have grown acustomed to in the country, where you saved the money, will not be the same in the country you'll be living in. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. It depends on the country, the circumstances and your own emotions.

Emotional counter arguments

This brings be to an important issue with moving abroad. You can not bring friends and family with you. And no matter how pink your glasses are, moving to another country puts a big gap in distance between you and your current social life. You can make new friends everywhere, but it's not easy to leave your old friends and your family behind like that.

The miracles of the internet make it much easier, but talking through a computer with someone versus going to a bar with your buddies... it's not the same thing.

You should also know, that you have to break with your culture. If you really want to move to another country, you should respect that new country and embrace it's culture. Why else would you go and live there? You can not expect to live somewhere and force your own culture upon them. That's rude and not acceptable.

So moving abroad brings about a lot of emotional turmoil within yourself and your social network. You'll have to deal with it in your own way. But I know people who moved abroad and love it, so it is possible to deal with it and family and friends may be shocked at first, but if they really are friends, they'll respect your choice and deal with it too... in time.

Reason 2: the adventure

If you want to find out what a country is like, by living there a couple of years... don't. It's much better to go RV'ing if you want to do that. It's cheaper and you don't have the problems of having to buy, sell or rent a house.

Moving to another country, brings about a lot of paperwork. If you're only going to stay for a couple of years, only to return afterwards... you're going to have a lot of trouble getting reinstated. If you keep your nationality and an address in your own country, you can still stay for several periods in another country. You'll only have to return once in a while, to collect and handle your mail. And if you decide that the new country is worth living in, you'll have connections, knowledge and more confidence to actually move there after all, if that is your wish.

Reason 3: falling in love with a country

If you go on a holiday to another country, you might have a good time there. In fact, you might have a great time there and decide to come back the next year.

Sometimes, coming back to the same country several years, can make you bored of it and sometimes you start feeling more 'at home' there. Visiting the same place every year, has it's advantages (for those that still like the place after several visits).

You learn more about the culture

You visit non-touristic places, that give you a better understanding about the country

You make friends and connections

You start appreciating the country more

Beware of being blinded by the beauty of summer, though. A country might be completely different in the winter. Especially the sunny places. They have a lot of tourists in the summer, but could be rather dull in the winter. I'm not saying they are, but they could be.

That means that you have to find out first. You need to spend several months there in the winter too. This way, you can find out about the weather, how cold it is, do the people react in the same way if you come out of the tourist season, etc.

If you still like the place after that, you might have found yourself a good place to live.

Note:

Falling in love with someone from another country is a different situation. You'll get in contact with the culture much faster and you get to know about the country in more ways. And true love can not hold you in your country anyway. That makes it a matter of finding out that you made the right choice in love, a difficult subject this blog is not about. Sorry, I can't do it all.

Conclusion

Deciding to move abroad, can have many reasons. But they all imply in one way or another, that you like the new country and are ready to become a part of it.

A big downside to it, is that you'll have to leave your old life behind. That's not a big problem when it comes to culture, but it is a big problem when you loose contact with friends and family. Modern technologie can only substitute a part of real life, not everything.

In the end, it's you who decide what's best for you and whether it's possible, both financial and emotional.

But it is a good option, one that I'll also keep open in my search for a place to live.

Declutter my life - part 3

2010-06-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

Broken bonds

I got rid of some more items. Nothing special and unfortunately, nothing big either. But gone is gone. Another emotional bond broken. How I love this feeling...

I had some wooden sticks and a piece of wood laying around. I was going to make something with it, but I changed my mind. So this thaught me an important lesson:

Don't do today, what is not urgent. If you postpone it, you might be able to hold it off long enough untill it's not important anymore. Thus, the postponing will save you unimportant work.

Next time I want to do something, I'll see if it's important enough to do immediately. If it's not, I'll postpone it long enough to see whether it's still important or not.

It's comparable with wanting to buy something you're not sure you actually need. If you postpone the purchase, it'll become clear that you actually don't need it, thus saving you money by postponing. Postponing is a good tool. Just make sure you don't abuse it... some things are urgent... they have to be done and they make postponing still a possibility, but not an option.

Too much stuff

I also had some books that I probably won't be able to sell anyway, so I gave them to my mother. She knows someone that can use it.

I still feel I have too much stuff though. Probably because I do. I still have toys from when I was little. They still need to be sold. I have some board games I never play (anymore)... Yes, there is much room for improvement.

I also have other items that are already on sale, but so far there have been no interested parties. I'll keep it online until after my vacation in july, after that I'll give or throw it away.

I also have a mexican hat. I used it last year on a festival. It's a cool hat. But the only time I use it is on a festival. So I already found a solution for it: I'm gonna ditch it at said festival. More info on that later...

Put them in sight

All the items I don't need anymore, are not in my room. They're in a small attic. This is good, because than they are not in the way. This is bad, because you might forget about them, if you don't see them. But that's where I use the following trick:

Find some items you want to get rid off

Put them in the way (so they take up valuable space)

Put them online for sale

Now if the items aren't being sold in a month, you'll be annoyed with that stuff being in the way and taking up valuable space. This will motivate you to take more action to get rid of it. If it can't be sold, give it away. If you can't find someone who needs it, throw it away. You'll want it gone as quickly as possible.

Conclusion

Decluttering has become somewhat of a hobby that's entwined with my new simple lifestyle.

There will be a day, when I can truely say,

that the items that I own, are all I really need.

It will be a day, where all my belongings will fit in my small Daewoo Kalos.

But today... today is not that day (yet).

Thank you for listening.

You have been a terrific audience.

Blog theme

2010-06-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

I'm playing around with the blog theme, so my apologies if the theme changes while you are reading the blog. I'm testing out the new theme engine from blogger. It looks better then my previous theme. I'm gonna try to personalize it later.

Looking for a place to live - part 1b

2010-06-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Detailed costs of living in an RV

I just made a calculation about what it would cost, to stay for 3 months in a camping.

I took the fees of http://www.campingjoncarmar.com, a good camping in the North of Spain, as an example.

If you go outside the high season, you have to pay the following fees:

Motorhome: 13 euro

Person: 6.40 euro

Elektricity: 4.20 euro

If I recall correctly, that would be the only expenses you need.

If we add this up, we get a total of 23.80 bucks per day.

3 months is approximately 92 days (I count 2 months of 31 days and 1 of 30 days).

If you stay longer than 7 days on the camping, you get 50% discount.

So in total we got:

23.80 x 92 = 2189.6

With 50% discount, this becomes: 2189.6/2 = 1094.8.

This is the total for 3 months, which makes for a total of

1094.8/3 = 364.93 euro per month (446.02 USD).

I don't know about other countries that well, but that's a heck of a lot cheaper than renting or buying a house in Belgium.

You also need the propane thanks, so it's a good idea to round this number up to 400 euro/month (488.88 USD). That's still cheap. And the standard of living is a little bit lower in Spain, than it is in Belgium, so you'll save some more money while staying there too.

Moving abroad

This excercise also showed me a new angle on motorhome living. It can be used for another purpose too: as a temporary living place, in case you want to go live abroad.

It will give you several options:

You can live in the new country, without having to buy a house immediately.
You can visit family and friends, without bothering them too much.

In regards to the first option

This allows you to find out what it's like to live permanently there. If you decide, during your stay, that you don't like it after all, you just start the motorhome and your on your way again. It's a good way to explore different areas or countries, so you can find the perfect place to spend the rest of your life.

In regards to the second option

You can visit relatives, without the need for them to provide you with a place to spend the night. You have your home and accomodations with you.

Conclusion

Living in an RV remains an interesting option, that I'm going to investigate even further. I'll also look and write about other options, but for now, it's one option that available and it appears cheap enough to support a lifestyle of extreme early retirement.

Looking for a place to live - part 1

2010-06-14T01:36:00.001-07:00

An RV as a cheap place to live?

For someone who tries to retire extremely early, the housing cost is one of the most important one to consider. It's the biggest expense in any sane budget. To cut back on the costs here, one should strive to find a place that's not too big.

The housing price will go up with every bedroom it has extra. So less bedrooms equals less money to borrow to buy the house, wich lowers your mortgage.

I'll write several posts, that document my search for the ideal place to look, which has to be beneficial in reaching my goals for early retirement.

And to start off, I'll write something about an extreme example I'm interested in: living in an RV.

Why would anyone want to live in an RV?

Well, if you live in an RV, your housing costs will be a lot lower. That might be one of the core reasons anyone would like to live in an RV. But there is also a sort of 'nomadic' component to it. You have all your belongings in a small space, which means that you can move easily. After all, it's called a 'mobile home' or 'motor home' for a reason, right?

If you buy a small RV, parking is not a big problem. It's an ideal solution for those that like to travel a lot. They can go and see the world, taking their precious home with them.

So what are the advantages, disadvantages and which of those make living in an RV appealing to me?

Small spaces

I like big spaces. Yes, if I'm outside, I like to be able to look far to the horizon. This is a problem on the inside of the RV, because it's designed to be small. But with an RV, you can drive to sunny places and be outside a lot. And there's a lot of space outside...

The small space itself, could also cause problems for storing your belongings. If you have too much of them, there might not be enough room to put everything in. But as I wrote in another article, having too much items is nothing more than excess emotional bonds that make life more difficult. This problem is already being taken care off, because I'm constantly in the process of decluttering my life. I live in a small room at the monent, even a smaller place than an RV (although that's just the room I sleep in and entertain myself in). But it has forced me to get rid of all the stuff I no longer use.

I'm actually striving to decrease my possesions to a point that they can fit in my car. And if it fits in my car, it will definently fit in any RV.

The costs of living in an RV

The good thing about the costs of living in an RV, is that you have no property tax to pay and the initial investment is much lower than that of buying a house. The bad thing is that you have to pay gas. And with rising gas prices, it does not sound like a low cost. You don't have to travel if you own an RV, but your RV becomes your car too, so you'll have to drive it anyway.

But let's presume that you can keep the gas costs to a minimum. What other recurring costs does an RV imply?

There's propane, because you need to be able to cook. The propane thank probably needs to be replaced every 3 to 4 weeks. That's not so bad, because in a house, you might use propane thanks to cook too.

Elektricity... something modern life requires. But you are not hooked up to the power net, so you'll have to get elektricity from the RV battery. Most RV owners use a special battery for their suppliances, in combination with one or more solar panels. This way, the energy from the sun gets stored in the second battery and their elektricity is taken from sunlight, without the danger of not being able to start the RV after a few days being stationary.

I'm no expert in that field, but that looks like a pretty cool solution. It's definently one of the things I like about living in an RV. But the costs of a solar panel are pretty high, I think... ? Well, it'll probably pay off in the long-term.

Another important cost are the bi-weekly fees you need to pay to dump your sceptic thanks in an RV-park. But compared to rent or a mortgage, those costs are very low. You'll also need to fill your water thanks, possibly at the RV-parks too.

The overall costs?

I think that with carefull planning, the costs of living in an RV can be much cheaper than living in a house. But RV's weren't build for permanent living, so you'll put a lot of money in modifications and appliances in the RV will break faster. Adding everything up, you will still be cheaper off than with a house, providing that you don't travel too much, to keep the gas costs low enough.

My view on living in an RV

I think it's the perfect solution for travelers, as long as they stay in the places they visit for a couple of months. You'd never have trouble finding a place to sleep, you don't have to worry about your belongings at home... they are with you all the time.

But it will cost money to maintain and upgrade, so in the end, it's only worth it if you want to live the nomadic lifestyle.

The main issues I have with it are that the material breaks faster, there are not as much camping sites or RV-parks in Belgium as in the U.S. and parking places here tend to be rather small.

And the biggest downside is that housing prices rise with the year, so the sooner you buy a house, the better. Well... I'm not really sure about that yet, but I tend move more towards that way of thinking.

Conclusion

With careful planning, living in an RV can be cheaper than living in a house.

It has it's downsides, but also it's charms.

At the moment, I think it's better suited for people that have a more 'nomadic' personality, but I'm keeping it open as an option. If it appears to benefit my journey towards my goal of extreme early retirement, then I'm willing to try anything. Wouldn't you?

Notes

Some blogs I found to be an interesting read on the subject are:

http://tynan.net/

http://tosimplify.blogspot.com/

and

http://www.frugal-retirement-living.com/living-in-an-rv.html

Two types of businessmen

2010-06-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

Two mentalities

The way I see it, there are two types of businessmen (or women):

A The salesman that can sell almost anything he wants

B The man behind the screen, who's good with money and knows how to make the right decisions

Type A

The first type will generally be more extrovert. They know what to say and will stop at nothing to convince others of their beliefs, if they need to. They are people of action. They like to take action and they like to experience action.

Type B

This type can be both extrovert and introvert, but because they are thinkers, I'm more inclined to say that most of them are introverts. They know how to handle money and they know how to make good decisions. They make strategic decisions and think ahead. They are planners. Failing to plan, is planning to fail, in their book.

Type A and early retirement

Looking at this type in terms of early retirement, they can get the money they need, whenever they want to. If they lack money, they'll sell something. If they have nothing to sell, they'll buy something and sell it with a profit. This is a good skill.

There is a small problem with their mentality, in terms of the early retirement, though. Because they like action, they'll try to get it in their free time too. This can be in many forms, but a lot of them cost money. They might like computer games, skiing or snowboarding, paintball, carting, or other hobbies with a lot of action. And most of these high action hobbies, cost money.

They like to live in the moment. If they need money, they can get money. But they'd rather use it, then save it. If there's a person with an early retirement mindset, who also falls under this cathegory, we have a clear winner. It would be a person who can get there and he can get there fast. Unfortunately, most of them do not have the early retirement mindset.

Type B and early retirement

These people are not that good at getting the money they need to reach early retirement. But they will take their time to become good. They will make a plan and try to stick with it, unless circumstances require them to make plan-changing decisions. In terms of early retirement, they will take their time to set up a system, that let's the money gradually come their way. Certainty is more important than quick results. Those who have the early retirement mindset, can get there. It'll take longer for them to come up with the money, but with careful planning and making the right decisions, it will happen.

The last of the coffee table

Remember that coffee table I was going to get rid of? This gives me a good example for these two mentalities. I consider myself to be of type B. I can't sell things, I'm not good at it and I don't really care much about getting good at it. It's just not my thing.

My brother, on the other hand, is a very good salesperson. He likes to sell stuff and he often succeeds in making a profit.

So what did I do to get rid of the coffee table? Nothing, I told my brother to sell it. He actually sells most of the stuff I want to get rid of. That means it's less trouble for me, more chances of actually getting it sold and for what he earns, I split it 50/50. All I have to do is take pictures and give it to him. It's a win-win situation.

Final notes

I talked about two types of businessmen. These types are what I believe to be true. They are not facts, but my personal view on the matter, perceived through observation of both professional salesmen and company bosses I have had. It doesn't matter what type you belong to, if you are aming for early retirement (or even extreme early retirement), both types can get there. All it takes, is to know your qualities and use them to your advantage.

Declutter my life - part 2c

2010-05-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

Bye bye, coffee table

In the previous post, I talked about luck and taking action. Harsh decisions can help you, when you are in doubt. I apply these techniques myself, so I'm not just talking about something I bearly know anything about. I know what I'm talking about and I only give information that's been useful to me too.

That's why I took my decluttering and simplifying another small step forward, by deciding to get red of that coffee table I was talking about. Another item I'm no longer bound to. And it feels great. And what a space saver this is.

Why do I get rid of it?

It's a good coffee table, good quality and it's in perfect condition. But I still live with my parents, so I'm only keeping it for when I move out. This could take a couple more years (especially when you look at the prices of houses). A couple of years is a long time. A lot of things can happen during that time. New coffee tables can emerge at any time, other ideas or replacements can cross my mind, aliens can take over our planet... or the world can go up in smoke. Anything is possible. Anything can happen. So why hold on to this coffee table? I'll find another one if I ever need it.

Case closed.

I'm now another step closer to being able to live out of my car.

How taking action can make you successful

2010-05-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

Don't think, act

Did you ever feel like doing something, but you weren't sure about it. And because of those doubts, did you ever waited to long, thought about doing something for too long, so in the end nothing happened? I bet you did.

Some examples have been given on this blog before. When you try to declutter your place, it's somethimes hard to find a reason to get rid of something. And then you think about it for too long and several months later, the specific item is still there, taking up space, not being used at all...

But after those months, you can try again and get rid of it anyway. There are, however, situations where such a lack of determination or decisive power can result in failure that can never be retried. Some events in life only give you 1 chance. Just think about talking to a girl meet once, that you like. If you don't talk to her on the moment you see her, you may never see her again. Thus, you loose the chance of talking to her... perhaps forever.

Harsh decisions

To be successful in life (or love, for that matter), you need to take action. If you don't do it, it doesn't get done. That's how simple it is. And when in doubt, you need to take harsh decisions. That's how you can overcome your doubts. You shut down your brain for a couple of seconds, you stop thinking so hard. In fact, you stop thinking about what you're thinking. You simplify your decisions and become logical.

You ask yourself some questions: What do you want to do? What does this require?

And then you act accordingly, completely on autopilot.

Lucky

When you want something done, or you want to achieve something, nothing ever happens by itself. You'll see no progress if you don't take the appropriate actions. And because of that, people are prone to blame other peoples success on luck. They succeed (quicker), where you don't. Why blame it on the fact that they took the appropriate action, when it's easier to blame it on luck? I have done that too. But then I learnt something important...

Luck does not belong to 1 person. It is everywhere, flying around us. It's there for the taking. All you have to do, is set up receptors or traps, so some of that luck will fall into your hands.

Allow me to clarify this with some examples...

Lucky - example 1

If some strange person throws money at you, but you don't pick it up... what happens? People around you will jump at the money and pick it up for themselves. Are those people lucky to get that money? No more than you. The luck part was, that they where at the place, where someone threw money. You where there too, so they are no luckier than you.

Is this luck? Yes. How can you get this luck by taking action? Go outside. This increases your chances to meeting someone who'll just give you money. That strange person is there, independent of whether you are there or not. By going outside, you increased your chances of experiencing that event of him throwing money at you. You put yourself open to receive that luck. Why do they get it? They took even more action, by grabbing the money. Action will get you results. The more action you take, the better the results.

Lucky - example 2

I'll give a better example, more in line with the previous posts.

If you want to be successful in decluttering your place, you need to get rid of stuff. Not thinking about getting rid of stuff, but actually doing it. If you come across an item of which you are not sure to get rid of, you might put it in an 'undecided' box. So what happens? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The item will remain their until you take action.

If you do take action and decide to get rid of it, you gain space and become emotionally free of that item. But you also put yourself open to lucky events:

you might get a lot of money for it, if you sell it
you might be able to trade it for something you really needed
by getting rid of it, you might find an item that you lost, long ago, that was laying under it or behind it
...

Anything is possible, taking action activates a chain of events. Some of those events might be related to the luck that's flying around us.

Lucky - example 3

If you want to have a girlfriend, you need to talk to girls. You can't wait for some girl to miraculously appear in front of you, we don't live in a fantasy world. There are 6 billion+ people in the world. Half of them are female, so that makes 1 billion women that might like you (raw estimate of girls you can date, both legally and morally). But guess what? Almost none of them will come to you and tell you they like you, even if that's the case. To be able to find out if a girl is right for you, you need to take the appropriate action. You need to go to them and talk.

People who do that, can find out that either a girl is right for them or not. If they are, they might end up together. For those who don't take action, it looks like people with girlfriends where lucky to get the girl. No. They took action.

For someone who's really shy, this too can be a harsh decision. To stop thinking too much and actually talk to girls, it requires you to change your mentality and do something you don't do everyday (if you're really shy). But you accept and open up to girls, which improves your chances of finding the love of your life. Love is not luck, but if you want it, you can handle it the same way.

It starts with a plan

To become successful, you need a plan. Following this plan, will get you where you want to be. It's not luck that happens to come your way, it's taking action. Here's what you can do, to let luck come your way:

Find out what you want
Find out when you want it
Think about way to get what you want, write it all down
Break it down in little steps, going from small subgoal to the ultimate goal
Put it in a graph or on a piece of paper, to track your progress
Take action, according to your plan
Change the plan afterwards, when you feel it is absolutely necessary in order to be able to achieve your goals
Stick with it and let your progress motivate you

Conclusion

Luck is all around us. Changing our life, by taking appropriate actions, will make some of that luck come to us. This will make us successful in whatever it is we want to do.

Love works the same way, if you don't open up, nothing can come your way.

To be successful, you need to set up a plan and stick with it to the end and

let your short-term goal progress motivate you to reach your long-term goal(s).

Declutter my life - part 2b

2010-05-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

I got rid of the CD closet. I gave it to my parents. It's in the living room downstairs now. The funny thing is, that the wood of the closet seems to be the same as the wood of the speakers that are attached to the TV closet that's already there. So it fits nicely. And storing DVD's and my brothers games in there, in stead of in the TV closet, makes the TV closet look less messy.

And now my room has a little bit more space... it's a win win situation.

Declutter my life - part 2

2010-05-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

Expanding the territory

As soon as I started seeing the benefits that simpifying and decluttering brought, I found more places where I could apply the same techniques. I decluttered my mailbox, I reorganized all the files on my computer, etc. The results still amaze me. I can navigate my computer faster, it's easier to find files I need, my mails are easier to maintain...

It's challenging to find new ways to simplify. There's always some aspect of your life you can simplify, even if you haven't thought of it yet. And by doing so, your productivity level will increase and your emotional state will evolve in a positive way.

Living out of a car

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm a fan of the ERE principle. On that blog, Jacob has written an article about living out of a suitcase. I liked that article, it inspired me. He lists the most important items someone needs and I think he made a good list, a complete one. I would throw in a compass and a pocket knife, but other than that, it's a perfect list.

It is, however, a perfect list for those that move around a lot and that can only transport the absolute minimum required. I don't think it's suitable to live like that forever. It might be possible, but I need a couple of things more. That's why I have expanded on the idea and I'm now trying to get rid of as much clutter as possible, so I can live out of a car. And my car is a Daewoo Kalos, so it's a small car. I think this is perfectly possible and it's seems like a good goal to reach for.

Furniture

Furniture is big. It's the biggest problem in moving. I don't have a lot of furniture, but some items are very big. There's my bed, my big computer table and a low table. What you can do, when moving, is getting rid of the furniture and buying new ones when you get to your new place. I'd like to avoid that as much as possible though. So for the furniture, I have to find solutions.

Japanese style bed

I gain a lot of inspiration from the (older) Japanese homes. The Japanese have always lived in pretty simple homes, partly because most of the houses in Japan are small. If you look at the bedrooms, we can find a solution for 1 piece of furniture: the bed.

My current bed has a wooden frame. I don't need it. I can use a Japanese futon instead. It's basically a combination of sheets that you put on a collection of tatami mats. Those tatami mats can be stacked in the car and the futon itself will not occupy too much space, because it's just some sheets you can fold up.

There's more inspiration to be retrieved from Japanese homes. Most of their rooms don't have much in them. And yet, they have beautiful houses in my humble opinion.

I currently still live at home, in a small room upstairs. This has made me aware of the benefits of not having much clutter. If I can get op the biggest pieces of furniture, I know I can make this challenge. That would make it a lot easier to fit it all in a small car.

Small table

I have a coffee table. My parents wanted to get rid of it, so I kept it. A free coffe table, good quality. If you have to buy that, it will cost a lot of money. I was thinking about using it to eat on in my kitchen, when I move out. This is still under severe questioning though, because it doesn't fit in my car. I made it fit in my small room, withouth much trouble, but the room is still bigger than the car. A solution will hopefully follow in a later post...

Tiny table

I also have a tiny square table. This table was about to get thrown out too, but I took it. It's a very small table, 0.50 square meters or something like that. It has a square shape, so it fits practically everywhere. This fits in my car perfectly. It's a bit small to eat on though, but it's totally managable. And you can can put something under it too. to save even more space. This table is one thing I will keep.

CD closet

I have a big standing closeth for storing cd's, but I've been using it to store other things. It has a glass door, so you can see what's in it. The advantage of a glass door is this: you see what's where, without opening the closet. This makes storing and retrieving items from the closeth, a quick and easy action. The disadvantage is, that you need to organize everything perfectly, otherwise it will look messy, even when you close the door.

I never glued it together, so if you pick it up, the bottom will fall off. But this also means that I can take it apart again, so it becomes easy to move around. That makes it worth holding on to, if I have interesting items to store in it. But then again, I'm trying to get rid of most items and I emptied it last week... so at the moment, I'm gonna keep it, but I might change my mind about it later.

The wooden box

I also have a big wooden box. I use it to store all my paperwork, degrees, martial arts information and plain paper I can use to write on. This is important, you need a place to store your paperwork. You could use a suitcase for it, or something else more portable. But I like to be able to take out my classifiers in an easy way, so everything stays organized. I don't want it to take too much time to put new papers in the classifiers. It's important to keep your papers in the correct place, well organized. It makes filling in your taxes easier.

I use a 2 year classifier system: 1 classifier contains 2 years worth of paperwork. When the biggest year on the classifier is more than 5 years ago, I can throw the content of that classifier away. It's a good system, though 5 years may be too much, if I want to be able to store it in my car.

If the wooden box can fit in my car, it's a keeper. It can be used as a container for items, but you can also sit on it. My dad made it, so it's quality material. He's good at making things. I'm gonna keep this, until I find out that it doesn't fit in my car.

Conclusion

So far, I have a wooden box with paperwork, a Japanese style futon with a couple of tatami mats and a tiny square table. This is what I can keep, so my items contain just the stuff that can fit in my car. There's still more though, so I'll make another post to come up with a solution for that.

This quest is not over yet... I still have a long way to go. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Declutter my life - part 1

2010-05-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

Decluttering

In the previous posts, I talked about how to declutter your life, material bonds with items, etc. I'm now going to tell you what I have done myself, to declutter my life.

The reason

Why did I suddenly feel the need to declutter my room? Well, over the course of many years, I gathered a lot of toys and gadgets that I wasn't using anyway. But I had a big room, and a small attic I could use to put most of that stuff. This was in our old house, however and we had to move because of renovations being done to the houses in my street. This meant that we had to move to a newer house.

That was good news, because our other house was getting old. But it also meant that I had to move to a room that was half the size of the room I had. Without getting rid of at least half of the items I had, it was impossible.

The first purging

It was a dreadful task. Just by gathering up everything I could review, I got discouraged by the sheer amount of toys I still had from when I was little. And the gadgets I never used or the junk no one ever uses... it was a discouraging sight to look at that big pile in the center of the room.

But it serves no purpose to just sit there, being discouraged. Nothing gets done by thinking alone. Action is the key to getting things done. So I just started getting rid of things I knew I never needed.

This made me invent the first method I explained, two posts ago. It was a rough version of it, but worked nonetheless. By getting rid of all the obvious things, I already got rid of 50% of what I had. Well, it wasn't gone yet. It was placed in a 'GET RID OF' pile.

After the first purging

When everything was reviewed, I still had too much items. But I first concentrated on getting rid of the 'GET RID OF' pile. That's a whole subject on it's own. There are many things you can try, to get rid of it: sell it, give it away to people you know, donate it to an orphanage, etc.

Selling it, is not an easy task. We put some items on the internet, but only certain items can be sold like that. There's also an indoor junkyard sale in our town, every wednesday and friday. It costs a bit money to stall your items there and unfortunately, you can't sell anything unless you ask for very little money. And the place is infested with foreigners, mostly Marrocans and Polish people.

So my solution is more mentally rewarding and satisfying: give it away. I've given toys and color pencils to a kindergarten teacher my mother knows. They have to buy that stuff if they don't have it. So I made her very happy, because she can definently use it. If someone is happy with something I don't use anyway, than the item in question is better of where it can make someone happy.

The second and third purging

I could not stop there, because I still had too much stuff lying around. A lot of items I had, where junk no one uses. That's easy to get rid of: you just throw it in the garbage. And I can guarantee you, I filled the garbage can many times. But slowly, I could see progress. I was gaining more space and loosing more junk. I was like a liberation.

I could feel my materially bonded mentality change to a more independent mindset. I loved the simplicity I gained and the freedom it gave me. Freedom in terms of space, but also emotional freedom. For every item you get rid of, you no longer have to think about what you should do with it. You no longer have to worry about possibly breaking it if you step on it or use it. You no longer have to worry about cleaning it. It can no longer make your room look messy. Getting rid of things became a real eye-opener. It showed me the benefits of living a simple life.

Conclusion

I purged my unused items 3 times already and it has changed my mental view on materialism.

Giving unused items to people who can use them, is a mentally rewarding way to get rid of things. Donating it, is an option I haven't tried yet.

But I still have too much items. The purging is not done yet. This just shows that the decluttering methods can be reused over and over, to make your clutter smaller and smaller.

Declutter your life - part 2

2010-05-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

No worries

Let's continue where we left off.

An important tip: Don't think about 'getting rid of clutter' as 'getting rid of items'. Instead, think of it as 'getting rid of worries'.

I might need to explain this better... The best thing I can do, is give you an example. Suppose you have a low closet, with nothing on top of it. You think it looks a bit empty, so you decide to buy something to put on the closet.

Suppose you buy an expensive crystal sculpture to put there. Now you have a beautiful sculpture, that looks very nice under the light. But you didn't gain 'just' a sculpture. Now you also have the worries that go with it: being affraid to accidently break it, wondering whether it was ok to buy something so expensive, etc. An emotional bond emerges between you and the sculpture. One that brings worries, that weren't there before.

You have such an emotional bond with all the items in your room/house. That's right, all of them! So the more items you get rid of, the more bonds you break. And the more bonds you break, the less worries remain.

The monk and the man

An extreme example, that might clarify this more is, the following: suppose there is a monk who has nothing but a small walking stick. Next to the monk, stands a man that has a frigde, a car, a big TV, etc. If they both get robbed and most of their possessions get stolen, who suffers most?

The monk will loose his walking stick, which is not much in terms of goods, but it's 100% of his possessions. If the man's fridge, car and TV get stolen, he'll loose 3 times as much items, items that are worth much more (in terms of money), but that may only account to 30% of his posessions. After all, he still has his house and his furniture (it's just an example).

So how I explained it, means that both of them could be the worst off after the robbery. It all depends on how you look at it. But the monk will probably be able to replace all his posessions very easily (he just needs to find a new walking stick), whereas the man needs to work hard and long to be able to replace his stolen possessions.

And if the monk has no emotional attachment to his walking stick (it's just a walking stick), he'll suffer no meaningful loss whatsoever. The man needs his car and his fridge. And he likes to watch his big TV. So emotionally, the man is way worse of, after the robbery.

Conclusion

Decluttering your room and/or house, actually means decluttering your life. We all have emotional attachments to our items. By getting rid of them, you don't just create more space, but you also break the material bonds you have and you get rid of worries that accompany those bonds. It's a win win situation.

So good luck decluttering your life. The more items you throw away, the better you'll feel...

Extra

One more tip: you can expand these ideas and declutter everything that needs decluttering. If your room is a mess, you can use these techniques, but your mailbox can be a mess too, your foto collection, your address book, your agenda, ... it can all be decluttered in practically the same way.

Declutter your life - part 1

2010-05-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Getting rid of clutter

If you're getting rid of clutter, you enter an emotional state. It's difficult to get rid of most things, because you become emotionally attached to it over the period you possess it. This results in going over all items, throwing some of it away and eventually being left with almost the same amount of items you had, before the decluttering.

It's not easy to get rid of the clutter, but there are several tricks to get through it easier. I'll try to explain some of those tricks here.

Assumptions

I'm gonna downscale this article into decluttering a room. If you're trying to declutter your entire house, I suggest you try to do it 1 room at a time. Otherwise, you'll be discouraged easily by the amount of items to sift through.

After all, why do it the hard way, when we can take it step by step? Every problem can be solved more easily, when you devide it into small parts. Solve each part seperately and the problem will be gone faster than you think it can.

Preparation

Empty everything, empty the drawers, the closets, the boxes... Put everything in the middle of the room. One big pile of stuff. This is the stuff we'll be sifting through. If you never decluttered your room before, chances are high that more than 50% of this stuff needs to go away. That may seem a lot to you now, but if you want space or if you want to live a simple lifestyle, it's a necessity.

For easy reference, I'll call the big pile of stuff, the 'STUFF pile'.

Method 1: The think fast approach

I developed my own system, which I like to call "the think fast approach". The concept is very simple. You look at each item individually and you give it a quick review. The item will stay or go away immediately. No questions asked.

I'll explain it in some basic steps.

Step 1:

Take out everything from the big pile, of which you know immediately (withouth thinking!), that you have to keep it. Put this in a 'TO KEEP' pile.

Step 2:

Take out everything from the big pile, of which you know immediately (withouth thinking!), that you don't want to keep it. Put this in a 'GET RID OF' pile.

Step 3:

Use the 30 second interval: Review each item from the 'STUFF' pile and try to think of why you would want to keep it or whether you still need it. You can only think for 30 seconds. If those 30 seconds are over, PUT IT IN THE 'GET RID OF' PILE!

If it was important, you would've found a reason by now. You still don't now, so it's not an important item.

Review all your items this way.

Step 4:

Look at the 'TO KEEP' pile and see how big it is. In 99% of the cases, it's still way to big. Yes, yours could be smaller too. You need to realize that you still keep too much items.

Step 5:

Our 'STUFF' pile, became a smaller 'TO KEEP' pile. But since it's still to big, we review the 'TO KEEP' pile.

Thus, our 'TO KEEP' pile is now our 'STUFF' pile and we no longer have a 'TO KEEP' pile.

Step 6:

Use the 10 second interval: Review each item from the 'STUFF' pile and try to think of why you would want to keep it or whether you still need it. You can only think for 10 seconds. If those 10 seconds are over, PUT IT IN THE 'GET RID OF' PILE!

By giving yourself less time to think, you'll be able to filter out more items.

Review all items in the 'STUFF' pile this way.

Step 7:

Look at the result. A smaller 'TO KEEP' pile. You need to ask yourself the question: 'Is this pile still to big?'. In most cases, it still is. If it is: STOP. Stop decluttering any longer. Leave everything in it's respective piles and go do something else. Take your mind of decluttering. Even if it's for a couple of days or perhaps even a week.

Step 8:

Repeat steps 5 to 7, until you are satisfied.

Method 2: Yes, no and maybe.

This is a different method, that might work better for people who just can't seem to manage being harsh in their decisions to get rid of things. You basically give yourself more time to think about it.

Here are the steps to take:

Step 1:

Take out everything from the big pile, of which you know immediately (withouth thinking!), that you have to keep it. Put this in a 'TO KEEP' pile.

Step 2:

Take out everything from the big pile, of which you know immediately (withouth thinking!), that you don't want to keep it. Put this in a 'GET RID OF' pile.

Step 3:

You can now review each item from the 'STUFF' pile and put it in one of the following 3 piles: the 'GET RID OF' pile, the 'TO KEEP' pile or the 'UNDECIDED' pile. Basically, you end up with 3 piles: a yes/keep pile, a no/get rid of pile and a maybe/I don't know yet pile.

Go over all items, until you reviewed them all.

Step 4:

Look at the 'UNDECIDED' pile and see how big it is. This will now be your 'STUFF' pile and you have to review everything in it, again.

Step 5:

Repiet steps 3 to 5, until your 'UNDECIDED' pile is completely gone.

Take as much time as you need to review everything.

Notes

Some notes and tips...

If you can't seem to decide whether to get rid of some items in the 'UNDECIDED' pile (see Method 2) or not, leave it in that pile for a couple of days, perhaps even a week.
If you use method 1, it might be possible that you get rid of something that you could've used at a later date. Thinking fast, means you are more prone to making mistakes. Don't feel bad about it. There was once a time where you didn't have that specific item and life was great. If it's gone now, it's gone. If you need it and it's gone, try using your imagination to come up with another solution.

In the next post, I have something more to say about the emotional bonds that come with items.

Extreme Early Retirement

2010-05-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Extreme Early Retirement

I talked about Early Retirement, in one of my previous posts and about the reasons why I want it. But there is a more extreme approach out there, called Early Retirement Extreme. It's basically retiring before you're 40 years old. This is a whole different approach. You can not use the power of compound interest, because that requires time. And add that time to your age and you will be above 40 years. But it's possible to retire this early.

Source of inspiration

I'm a fan of the early retirement extreme blog. A lot of inspiration I need, comes from that website. But I must say that there are other people, who follow the same thought pattern, who do things differently. They are just as good of a source of inspiration...

Extreme early retirement... is it something I can achieve? Retiring before 25 is not possible, because I'm already past that age, but could I retire in my 30's. This is a question I asked myself, and I'll give you the answer. It's in my blog... with every post I make, I'm slowly, but certainly answering that question. I'm not there yet, but it has inspired me to try it.

If you see something you like, but you don't know if it will work for you, try it. Don't keep dreaming about it. I live a simple life now. It could even be simpler, but I'm working towards it. I had clutter, removed some of it, but I'm still getting rid of things. I save money, but I try to save even more, when I can, wherever I can. Unless the money is used on something that improves me, only if it's not too expensive.

Every year, I look at my financial status and I can see some improvement. I let this drive me. It becomes a hobby... no, a passion to try to improve my situation. I will get to that point. And even if I can't retire before 40, I'll make it in my forties for sure, due to the power of compound interest. No effort you make, in trying to retire extremely early, is wasted. It's all beneficial and it's all worth it.

What to do

Some people think it's crazy to retire that early. They simply wouldn't know what to do. I think it all comes down to your imagination and your interests. If you don't have anything that you're interested in, that can fill your days at retirement, then by all means, continue working. Perhaps you even like working. But for me, there's too much to do in this lifetime, to not be able to do it because of work. I want to do most of it in this lifetime and I'll try anything to be able to do it.

Would you honestly, want to work for the rest of your life at your current job? If so, why?

Living a simple life

2010-05-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

Keep it simple

In my still short career as a software developer and my life experiences, I figured out that mankind makes everything too difficult. I did the same thing, when writing software. I learnt that I make work easier for myself, when I keep it simple. But that got me thinking... wouldn't life be a lot easier too, if I kept everything simple?

Dedication and simplicity

Living a simple life, can take on extreme forms. One of them, can be seen throughout history, if you look at monks. They have almost nothing and dedicate their lifes to their religion. Simplicity does not have to go that far though, but a dedication to something can help you achieve true simplicity.

What dedications are there, other than religion? Well, it could be anything, from a hobby to a certain goal you which to achieve. Anything that relates to and results in, you living a simpler life.

Examples

1. The goal to get out of debt

By trying to cut back on luxury and enjoying the simple things in life, it will become much easier to save money and pay of your debt.

2. Early retirement

To retire early, you'll need to save money. The more frugal you live, the faster you can save, thus the faster you can retire.

3. Small housing

Many people have small houses. If they don't live a simple life, without much clutter, they will have trouble living well. The same goes for small appartments in big cities. They'll have too much stuff, which makes a small appartment seem messy, even when you organize everything.

On the other end, you also have people who choose to live in small houses. Why? Because either they want to save money on the purchase of a house or they just don't like to maintain a big house. Less clutter = less to clean.

4. Martial arts

You could dedicate your life to martial arts. The martial arts monks do it in China... if you train all the time, there is no need for a tv etc.

I bet there's more you can think of...

Why living simple?

The less stuff you have, the more space you get in return. More space, can make a small house seem big. But it does more than that. The less you have, the less you have to worry about. If you have a brand new tv and it stops working, you're annoyed and angry it doesn't work. If you try to fix it and you see smoke comming out of it, you'll be afraid... afraid you're not gonna get your money back. All these emotions would not exist, if you didn't have that tv.

Another example of why living simple, is a good idea, is appreciation. If you eat out a lot in fancy restaurants, you won't like regular food anymore. Because the food in the restaurant tastes better. And this is something that happens a lot in our society. People complain about little things. People complain about food. If they didn't have food for a week and you would give them the same meal they complained about, it would probably taste delicious. So living a simple life, also makes you appriciate the regular things in life.

Money does not make you happy

It doesn't... we all know that, although it's darn convenient to have it. But most people who do have it, spend it on items and luxury. Keep in mind that a tv or a mobile phone is also considered luxury. I wonder what they actually want? Money? Or items? Because if they had a lot of money, they would probably buy more items or a bigger house. Those things cost money, causing your money to dissappear again.

I have a dream

I started dreaming about freedom, once I learnt about early retirement. With this goal in mind, the goal of freedom, I try to live a simple life. It has helped me gain a good perspective on my life and it has already brought me closer to my goal. Freedom is my dedication, freedom to do what I want. Freedom to do useful stuff (to me), that no company will pay you for if you did it during work hours.

What's your dedication? What drives you to live a simple life?

How to save money - part 2

2010-04-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

The best way to save

In the last post, I talked about personal finances and how to keep track of them. Now it's time to talk about ways to save money. As a bonus, I'll give some information about what you could do, when you're in debt and want to get out of it as soon as possible.

Saving Method 1: The Piggy Banks

There are many ways you can save money. I will start with the most obvious one: putting coins in a piggy bank. I used to do this when I was little. It's a good way for children to learn how to save money. But there is a problem with this approach: the money in the piggy bank, is not doing anything. It sits there, waiting to be spend. And if you don't spend it, nothing else will happen.

Actually, this is not true. Money devaluates. The money you have now, isn't worth as much within several years. The reason for this is inflation. Everything gets more expensive. That's why they give you index adjustments in your salary. To cope with inflation. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind all of that, that's beside the scope of this article.

But what you should remember is this: the money you have now, will not be worth as much within several years. Money devaluates.

So we need a way to keep our money up to date with inflation. Or better yet, we need to overcome the inflation rate.

We can solve this in 2 ways:

Make sure we have enough money, so when inflation eats part of our money, the amount that's left is still enough.
Make sure the money we aren't using is still growing, by gaining interest.

For the piggy bank, the only thing we can do, is to add to the pile. This means that if you want to have more money and/or save more money, you need to put more of the money you get from working into the piggy bank. Your salary is automatically adjusted to inflation, so in this case inflation is not a problem. As long as you keep working.

If you want to save more, you need to be resourceful. Look at your financial data, look at the categories you made in the last post and see where you can cut back on your expenses. It'll fill your piggy bank faster.

Saving Method 2: the bank

When you put your money in the bank, you get some interest. But you also have to pay for basic services and inflation takes part of the money. So in the end, keeping your money in the bank levels out and thus it becomes comparable to the piggy bank method.

There is an added difficulty, however: extra services. You can get extra services, like credit cards, phone banking, etc. It's important to take only the basic package. Every extra service you take, will cause the bank method to cost you money. If you don't need e.g. a visa card, don't get it. It'll cost you a yearly fee. No matter how small those fees may be, with the basic package you almost level out. This means that the bank method does not really cost you money, but you don't gain extra money either. Expenses compensate for the low interest rates.

If you take the basic package, all you need to do to save money is work and add to the pile, just like with the piggy bank method.

Note: A savings account, gives a bit more interest. So when using this method, it's a good idea

to put the money you don't need to pay the bills, into the savings account. It might give you a small advantage.

Saving Method 3: funds

The stock market is a dangerous and scary place to put your money, if you know nothing about it. You can also put the money you don't use, in funds. Funds are basically a collection of stocks, managed by an employee at the bank. They guarantee you an approximate value in interest and your money back, if you keep the money in the fund for a predefined period.

This is interesting, because the interest rates are higher than those of the savings account. So you'll be saving even more money if you put your money in there. So what's the catch? It's simple: they promise you e.g. approximately 10% on your investment, while in reality, they try to make 20%. The remaining 10% goes directly into their pocket.

To get that remaining 10%, you'd have to look at method 4.

Saving Method 4: the stock market

There's a lot to say about this, but I'm gonna keep this simple. If you buy and sell stocks, you can earn money. You can also loose money. If you study enough and know what you are doing, you can earn money money than you loose. This method can give you the highest possible interest rates, but that is entirely dependent on your actions, your knowledge and your mentality.

The stock market is not for everybody, especially not those that let their emotions interfere with their money making. But it's a good way to make a lot of money.

Other saving methods

There are more ways to save money. I don't even know them all. But it all comes down to the same basic principle: spend less than you earn. The last methods above, are for maximizing your interest. But this is just the icing on the cake. It's not a necessity for saving money.

Look at your budget, try to follow it. Adjust it when needed and finally: spend less than your budget says. The less you spent, the more you are saving.

Keep it simple. If it's too difficult, it can get out of control. If it's simple, you know exactly what's going on and then you know where you are going.

Bonus: How to get out of debt

I said a lot about saving and I kept it simple. But some people may think that it's not simple at all. Those people might have debts. Sometimes, those debts will get out of control.

The same basic principles still apply, you just have to look at it differently. The less you spend, the quicker you'll be out of debt.

There are two methods of getting out of debt, that I recommend:

debt snowball and debt avalanche.

Debt snowball

This is a method for paying off your debt, where you take the smallest loan first, pay that off and work your way up.

Steps:

make a detailed list for all the debts you have
add the amount of interest you have to pay for each debt
put the list in ascending order
pay the biggest amount possible (according to your budget) for the debt with the lowest interest, pay the minimum for all others!
when the smallest debt is paid off: repeat

Pros:

it's the fastest method for paying off debts
it goes faster in the beginning, so the impatient are less discouraged, because they see the changes quicker

Cons:

it's not the cheapest way to pay off debt

Debt avalanche

Even though I have no debts to pay off, this is my favourite method. It's almost identical to the previous one.

Steps:

make a detailed list for all the debts you have
add the amount of interest you have to pay for each debt
put the list in descending order
pay the biggest amount possible (according to your budget) for the debt with the biggest interest, pay the minimum for all others!
when the biggest interest debt is paid off, go on to the next one and repeat

Pros:

the longer you are paying off debts, the faster the debts will dissappear
it's the cheapest method for paying of your debt

Cons:

it takes longer for debts to dissappear in the beginning, which may be discouraging for the impatient
it takes longer in total, to get rid of all debt

To me, cheapest > fastest, that's why I prefer this method.

Conclusion

You can now manage your personal finances, you know several ways to save money and you know how to pay of our debt. You also know the basic principle that always helps to save money: spend less than you earn.

Remember to keep it simple and save well... good luck.

How to save money - part 1

2010-04-29T00:39:00.001-07:00

Saving money

In the previous post, we talked about saving money and it's importance in creating wealth. I would like to talk some more about it and explain how I save money.

Where do you start?

For people who are just to spend a lot of money, it might be difficult to figure out how to start saving. People who are in debt, will probably have trouble changing the habits that got them into debt in the first place.

I'm here to tell you that you can not change your behaviour overnight. It will cause you to rebound faster than a bouncingball bounces back, when thrown with force to the ground. It's comparable to loosing weight. You need to slowly change your habits, so you feel a gradual improvement. And the first thing you need to do, is answer the following question:
'Where do I stand?'

Where do you stand?

An easy answer would be: "I'm in debt" or "I'm doing fine". Those answers may be true, but they are not detailed enough to help fix or improve your current situation. You need to find out exactly how much money your spending and how much money is coming in. If you're in debt, there will be more money going out, so we need to find out where that money is going to.

Consider your money as a barrel. All debt is like a hole in the barrel, causing the water to flow out. You need to find the holes, so you can close them up.

Personal Finance Method 1: The Piggy Banks

If you have no knowlegde of computers and personal finance applications, a good way to determine your current budget, is to categorize everything and make a jar or a piggy bank for each category. For EVERYTHING you spend, you need to put the amount on a piece of paper and deposit it in the correct jar.

You have to start doing this from the first of the month and stop at the end of the month. Try to take a month without too much special occasions going on, an avarage month. If you have a month with a lot of birthdays, for example, you'll spend a bit more. This does not count right now. Try picking an avarage month.

At the beginning of the new month, you can then revise every category (jar) and count all the numbers of everything you spent to that particular category. Write it all down on a sheet of paper.

Make sure you have 3 columns: old expenses, goal and new expenses.
The numbers in the jars, go in the old expenses column. In the goal column, we will put a realistic budget, that will allow us to save money. In the 3rd column, we will be able to see if we can do it.

After we set a budget and put it in the 2nd column, it's time to try to live by that budget. You have to check whether you're doing this, in the same way as you determined the old budget. Empty the jars at the beginning of the new month and again, you write down everything you spent for each category. At the end of the new month, you count all the numbers in each category again. These values go on your sheet of paper in the 3rd column.

Now you can compare the 3rd and the 2nd column and see how well you did. If you count the totals of those columns, you have another interesting number to compare. This will tell you, whether you live within your budget. If total new expenses < size="4">Personal Finance Method 2: Personal Finance Applications

These days, computers can be used for anything. Managing your budget and keeping an eye on your personal finances, is no exception. It works in the same way as method 1, but you don't use jars and paper. Everything can be entered in the application, both the categories and the numbers.

This has an added benefit: most personal finance applications can generate small reports, so you can see in graphs how well you are doing. This can make your situation more clear.

If your somewhat of a computer geek or you like a simple and solid application, I recommend the clipf application. It's a free, open source python application that allows you to do everything you need to manage your personal finances and it's even capable of doing some basic reporting. Your data will be stored in a text-file. It works on the command line though, so this might not be the right application for everyone.

If you don't really know a lot about computers, you can always use a spreadsheet to keep a record of your spending. I would recommend openoffice for this, because it works well and it's free. There's a lot of information to be found on the internet, about openoffice and how to use it.
There are even templates you can use, so most of the work is already done for you.

What categories do I need to use?

This depends from person to person, from family to individual, etc. But there are a few categories that can and must be used by everyone. These include: house (rent/mortgage), house (repairs), clothes, food, hobbies, car/transportation, vacation.

You count the amount of money you pay for everything, on a monthly basis, and compare this to your monthly income. If you have one time costs, for example in the vacation category, you should take the yearly cost and divide it by 12.

This way, you can see all your expenses per month and you can compare it to your monthly income. The more categories you make like this, the more detailed you can start saving. The goal is to get each categories expense, as low as possible.

To save, you need to adhere to this formula:
(Total income per month - Total costs per month) > 0

The categories give you ideas as to where you spend too much money. Those are the places you can save, in order to meet the requirements of the formula.

But too many categories, means that you'll have too much work to do, to keep track of your finances. This will discourage you to continue keeping track of your money. So it's best to find the right amount of categories, so there's a good trade-off between entering enough data and having to put too much effort in entering financial data.

If you're unsure, just use the basic categories I mentioned above. Also note that smokers, should enter smoking as a seperate categorie. Just because it costs so much. And who knows, it might even persuade you to quit smoking, if you see how much money is lost to it?

Conclusion

You know some ways to keep track of your spending, you know how to compare the data, but what about actually saving the money? How can we go from being in debt each month, to putting money aside each month? I'll explain this in detail in the next post.

Early retirement - part 2

2010-04-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

Retiring early

As I explained in the previous post, retiring early is something that got my attention. The most obvious way to accomplish this, would be to gather a lot of money. If you have enough money, you could live of that pile, for the rest of your life.
I explained a lot of options already, on how to get a lot of money. There is another way I would like to talk about: saving.

Saving money

In stead of trying to get more money, you could also go the opposite way. Keep the income you have now, but try to make sure there's as little money going to payments as possible. Cutting expenses is the best way I know, to save money. The less you spend, the more money will be available to put in investments. Combine this, with the magic of compound interest and your money will grow steadily over time.

This means that for every amount of money you save, you gain interest. That interest will have to be reinvested too. This causes you to gain even more interest. This will have to be reinvested too. This causes you to gain even more interest, etc. It's like an avalanche effect. Or like a snowball you roll down the mountain. The longer you roll the ball, the bigger it's going to get. And in the beginning, the new snow does not have a lot of place to stick to, but the bigger the snowball gets, the easier it will be for snow to find a new place to stick too. So the longer you roll the ball, the easier it will become to make it bigger.

The same thing is true for money. That's why they say that the rich keep getting richer and the poor don't. So the more you save, the more you can make your nest egg grow. It's very difficult to gain interest at first, that's why many people give up on this method, even though it's easy to do. But patience, will be rewarded.

Creating wealth

Saving money, is withouth a doubt the most important aspect of creating wealth. The more you're a cheapskate, the more money you will attract. But wealth without friends and family, is not a good thing... you need to find the point to which you can go, in order to save as much as possible, without jeopardizing your social life.

It's an exciting occupation, that could turn into an hobby. You save a bit here and there, at first, but after a while, you're finding new and ingenious ways to save money. And the more you save, the better you'll feel. This goes together with trying to live a modest lifestyle. Why want more, when you can settle for less and be just as happy?

It's also basic logic: you can only save money, if you gain more money than you spend.

dollar-in > dollar-out
or
euro-in > euro-out

So if you try to apply and optimise this formula, you will be creating wealth.

Conclusion

There's a lot to say about saving money, I'll dedicate an extra post about how to do it, later. But the important thing we need to remember is this: the best way to create wealth, is by not spending money. If we combine this with investing the money we save, we put ourselves in a situation, where 'becoming rich overnight' is possible. And because we change our lifestyle, so we can optimize our savings, we also put ourselves in a situation, where we will become wealthy, no matter what... even if it doesn't happen overnight.
So if you want to retire early, save that money! Change your lifestyle! You will get there!

Early retirement - part 1

2010-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

The thought of early retirement

As I explained in the very first post, the reality of life and work in particular, made me find a way to escape this 'rat race', as it is called. I don't want to keep working for someone else, making their dreams come true. I want all my efforts to benefit my own life, in stead. I want to spend my days doing something I love to do.

You could take a different approach and accept the fact that it's just this job you don't like. In that case, finding other and more meaningful work, would be beneficial. But finding work you love is difficult and sometimes even impossible, depending on what you like to do in your free time. Not all hobbies can be turned into jobs.
One of my hobbies, for example, is martial arts. The only way, that I know, that allows you to earn money with martial arts, is by opening a dojo and instructing martial arts. I don't want to teach it, I want to keep learning.

Anyway, to get back to the point: I want to be free to do whatever I want. Another thing I always liked doing, was saving money. I never spent much money, so all the excess money went into 'piggy banks'. I had a lot of them, when I was a kid. So when I thought about those piggy banks, I made me think about money. I wouldn't have to work for someone else, if I had enough money.

So how do I get a lot of money?

I could marry a rich woman and throw her of a cliff at one of our trips to the sea-side. There are 2 problems with this idea: first, the Belgian coast doesn't really have cliffs that are high enough to make sure she's dead and second, it's not exactly legal. Such activities usually come back to bite you in the butt. On to the next idea...

I could marry a rich woman and keep her. But marrying for money? Nah, that's a relation that's doomed to fail. No rich woman for me.

I could win big with the lottery. But I don't play the lottery. Why not? I learnt statistics in school, which made me find out that you only have 0.00002 % to win the jackpot.
To clarify this: it's a form you fill in, where you can pick 6 numbers, going from 1 to 42. To win the jackpot, you need all 6 of them to be correct. This gives you (42 x 41 x 40 x 39 x 38 x 37 ) / ( 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1) = 5245786 possibilities. That makes our chance (1/5245786)*100 = 0.00002 %. Or rounded that gives: 0%. The lottery? No thanks.

Robbing a bank, another great option. I once made actual plans to rob a bank, so I have really considered this option. I was only 14 at that time, so the plans weren't really that good, but I was playing with the idea. The problem with this, is that bank security has gone way up since then. It becomes more difficult to rob a bank and you would need special material. That material can cost a lot of money. It would also be illegal and like I said before, those activities usually come back to bite you in the butt. And even if you succeed, you could not live in the same country where you robbed the bank. Wait a minute... I could rob a bank in a country where the bank security is still somewhat low? No, it's still not a good idea. With international cooperation, it would not take long before they found you. You'd have to live in fear (of being caught) all the time. No thanks.

Gambling is another option. If you use the proper techniques, like flatbetting for example, you can steadily gain some money. It's all about money management. Spent little amounts, so you can loose a lot on the short term and still be a winner in the long run. That's how poker players can make a living playing poker. But I'm currently trying this with sports betting and I haven't had much success yet. I'm gonna keep trying this every NHL ice hockey season, but more as a hobby on a small scale. It's nothing that will make me enough money to become financially independent.

One of the best ideas to become rich, is by starting your own business. You'd have to work hard, but all the work you put into it, makes you money... makes YOU money. It's an option that I'm still considering, but I wouldn't have a clue as to what I would do for a living. I'm very bad at selling things. At the moment, I'm trying to get rid of clutter, by letting my brother sell it. He gets 50% of all things that get sold. I don't even like selling things. And another problem you get with starting your own business, is the social security you have to pay. It's at least 600 euro every quarter. That would be at least 2400 euro each year. You'd have to be able to make a decent living in order to pay for that and be able to pay the bills.
But it's not impossible, in fact, many people tried and many even succeeded. It's an option I'm leaving open for now.

The stock market provides opportunities to earn money too. I have some long term funds going, because I had money on my bank account that wasn't doing anything. I always wanted to buy real stocks myself, but I was a little affraid to do so. Many people lost money on the stock market and I didn't understand completely how it worked. But then this awesome thing happened: the economic crisis. It's not so awesome that many people lost their jobs because of it, but on the stock market, it means that most stocks go down in value. Waaaay down.

So when everybody started freaking out, I started gathering some information about stocks and the stock market. I sold one of my funds to free money for buying stocks and I bought my first stocks. You can make simulations, trying it out before actually doing it. But it's not the same, different emotions are involved. So I jumped right in and now I'm still doing it. It made me some money and I lost some money, but the most important thing is that I learnt a lot about it. I'm still learning, but this is a good way to make money and I'm going to utilize it to it's fullest potential. I actually love trading stocks. It excites me. So maybe I found something here... a hobby that could turn into a job perhaps?

There's still one more way to make money, that I have not mentioned. But I have a lot to say about it, so I'll leave that for the next post.

Secure your life

2010-04-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

A safety margin

I talked about getting fired in the previous post, and how you should react if such an event occurs. One thing I mentioned, is important for what I'm about to explain: the difference between workers and 9-5'ers. In Belgium, when 9-5'ers get fired, they get 3 months to look for another job. This is only true, in case the company has no actual valid reason to fire someone other than 'cutting expenses' (restructuring). During those 3 months, you are allowed to take 1 day off each weak (in 2 half days), so you can look for another job during that day off or update your resume, go to job interviews, etc.
But what about workers? They only get 7 days? Is that fair? Does it matter?
I'm here to tell you that those free days are extra's, and whether you get them or not, you should always be prepared for when you don't have them. How? By building a safety margin in your bank account.

The importance of a safety margin

If you only have 7 days to look for another job or if you are fired on the spot, you can get unemployment. But it takes a while to get the paperwork in order (remember I talked about paperwork in the previous post about getting fired?). During that time, you have no income!
And for people who don't earn a lot of money or have almost empty bank account (those who live paycheck to paycheck), this can be a serious problem.
I wouldn't advise living paycheck to paycheck anyway, but that's beyond the scope of this post.
You could be in that situation at any time, so why not be prepared for it?
Build a safety margin that covers 6 months of living expenses. Why 6 months? Because you should be able to find a new job within 6 months. If you try and you want to, 6 months should be sufficient. If you disagree, change this number to whatever you think is appropriate. Every situation is different, but in general, 6 months should be sufficient.

How to save the money

You can do that by saving as much money as possible, until you reach the specific amount. Cut back on everything you don't really need and save to get that money first.
It's very important to have such a safety margin for several reasons:

You can get fired for a lot of reasons these days.
It might be difficult to find a new job right away, so you need a way to keep paying the bills.
There might be problems with the paperwork, so it might take a while to get unemployment compensation.
Other unexpected expenses may occur.
Having such a safetymargin, makes you feel less affraid of getting fired.

Number 1 is obvious. Especially with the economic crisis that has been happening. The crisis is over now, but many companies still use it as an excuse to fire employees. It's business, nothing more. If they fire people, the share holders know that they save money, it might bring their dividend up, which will make them happy.
Number 2 is also obvious. Especially when a lot of people get fired. They all look for a new job, so the competition for jobhunters can be big. That's why many people couldn't find a job right away in the economic crisis. Also know that it's a good idea to take some time to find a job that suits you. If you take the first job you can get, you might end up in the wrong environment and get fired again. A safety margin gives you the time to be picky.
Number 3 happens to a lot of people. I once had to get unemployment too. The woman I had to talk to, could barely understand Flemish (Dutch) and she misunderstood everything I said. It's also important to stay calm when that happens. Even if they don't know what they're doing, you getting mad at them will only make things worse. Eventually I got the money though.
Number 4 requires some extra explanation. When you have a car and you use it to drive to work, it's a vital investment for your 'income through labour'. If it brakes down, you need to be able to fix it or replace it as soon as possible. This requires a safety margin too.
I do not advocate using a seperate safety margin for this though. Chances of you getting fired and breaking down your car, are small. And if you make sure that the total cost of your car is smaller than your safety margin, you should be alright. The most important thing you need to do is to make sure the safety margin is maxed all the time. If you use some of it during unemployment (to pay the bills and survive, nothing else), you need to save money again as soon as you find a job. If you break your car and need to buy a new one, no problem. But refill that safety margin right after the purchase! Stay safe. Safety is good. Safety makes you feel... safe.
Number 5 is also a good one. If you need to pay the bills, live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to get fired, you're gonna jump for your boss to satisfy him. Because you can't be fired right now or you wouldn't know what to do. The problem with this mentality is, that you don't stand out anymore. You are not innovative, you don't 'dare'. And that is precisely what's good for your career or for keeping your job. If you are predictable, you are boring. If you are boring, your boss might not see anything in you. He can not expect something radical and improving from you. He can not expect brilliant ideas from you, that will make him rich(er). Be unpredictable, dare to do, dare to stand up to your bosses decisions. How? By not caring whether you get fired!
How? By trusting in your safety margin and your ability to find a new job anyway.

Conclusion

A safety margin is important. If you don't have one right now, make sure you do. Save that money. Build that safety margin and cover those 6 months of living expenses! It will make you feel safe and it might be good for your career.

Getting fired - part 4

2010-04-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Actually getting fired

You have done all you can, maybe you're too blame and maybe you're not. Maybe no one is to be blamed. But the time has finally arrived. The manager wants you to come to his desk, he may or may not be accompanied by a project leader or not... you already know what's coming, before you enter his desk.

There may be a lot of emotions going through your mind, but I'm here to tell you how you should react.

They will ask you to sit down and they will tell you they have to 'let you go' (they can not say something like "Welcome to dumpsville, population: You!", can they?).
It will come as a shock. Especially for people who didn't expect it, but even if you did sense something, there will still be a bit of a shock.

Whatever is going through your mind: Stay calm!
It's best to let it sink in for a minute or so, before saying anything.
Perhaps you're sad or angry and that's normal, but keep that to yourself. It doesn't matter if you get angry anyway, it will only make things worse. You have to realize that, once the verdict has been said, you are out. There's nothing that can be done about it anymore.
Let your emotions out in your free time, but this is not the right time! Suck it up, try to be as calm as possible and once it sunk in, it's time to find out the reason why they fire you.
The world does not end when you are fired, it's just your contract with this one company. There are a lot of companies in the world, in your region even... you can make a pick later and join another company. It seems harsh to immediately start thinking about your next job, but you'll have to do it. It's time to get answers.

Gathering information

It's time to find out why they fire you. Remember that companies are out to make money. In many cases, getting fired, does not mean you are a bad employer. And even if they think you are, they might still be wrong. But to them, it's all about making money. It's all business.

So why shouldn't you, being an employee, be considered as a business? They sell products or services and make a lot of money in the process. You sell your time (the time you work for the company) in order to get a paycheck. It's all business, the only difference is that they make tons of money and you get a miserable paycheck. But you being an employee is still a business!

Once you realize that, you are actually seeing that your business is taking a downturn. It happens to all businesses. Time to study, do some research and reinvest, to improve your business. Let me translate: time to find out why they fire you, so you can work on that at your next job.

This is the time to ask why they fire you, if they didn't mention it already. It's important to be understanding, calm (I keep repeating this, because it might be a problem for many people) and ask your questions in a calm and respectful manner. Even if they disrespect(ed) you (before), stay calm and supress your emotions. Remember, you are gathering information to be secure your next job.

If anything remains unclear, ask questions. But be short and to the point. Don't ask obvious questions. Actually, here's a list of questions you can ask:

'And what would be the reason that you fire me?' (after they give a reason, say 'ok' or 'I understand')
'And what happens now? Do I have to leave immediately or...?'
'Do you have any remarks or tips that could help me with my next job?'
'Is their any paperwork I need to fill in?'

I don't think there's anything more you could ask. For the paperwork, they'll probably redirect you to the HR department or payroll dept. or whatever it's called in your company. Once you are there, you can ask more questions about the paperwork.

In Belgium, you get a C4. You need that to be able to get money during unemployment. But your only unemployed after a safety period. For workers that would be 7 days, for people with a 9-5 job it's usually 3 months. (I know, that difference is not fair...)
You also get 2 half days/week holiday, which you can use to update your resume and for job interviews. They are called Sollicitation Holidays in Belgium. Use them.

It's also important to note, that they still have a lot of paperwork to arrange. If they see you take it well and respect their decision, they will respect you back and try to take care of that paperwork as soon as possible. This depends on the company off course, but you only know this when it's too late, so you better don't take any chances.
The good thing about 'getting fired' is, that you get an extra salary bonus and the holidays you have left, you can take with you. So at your next job, during the first year, you'll have extra holidays.

Conlusion

You got fired. Time to think about what to do next. Take the time to think about what to do next. Don't try to pick the same job if you didn't like it. A different experience or career will be good for you.
And remember: working is business too! A new job, means new experiences that could help you, either in your search for the ultimate job or in enrichening yourself personally.
Take a chance, don't be affraid to dare... your contract has been terminated, but you gained experience and it made you grow. Time to let another employer know this, so he can give you new experience.
Good luck finding a new job, if you're looking for one!

Getting fired - part 3

2010-04-19T01:33:00.000-07:00

How to fix the problem: another job?

In the previous part, we discussed that working just hard enough, accompanied with looking like you are working hard, can prevent you from getting fired as long as the reason for being fired is specifically addressed to your achievements. But what if that reason is something else?

Companies can fire you for whatever reason they want, I'm not talking about that right now. I want to go into detail about those cases where you're stuck in a job that's slowly pulling you down. Those cases where you made a wrong career choice, that has a negative effect on your life.

It can happen to all of us. The job market is saturated with fancy job descriptions and most people don't understand what they mean anymore. I think they do this deliberately, to hide the fact that the jobs they offer might not be so interesting. As long as it sounds awesome or as long as it has a good title associated with it, people will respond to the job-opening.

I'm here to tell you, that you might have taken one of those jobs and you might have been wrong. Yes, we are still human beings and we can make mistakes. It's not very difficult to admit a mistake like that, the problem lies in understanding and seeing that you made a mistake. After all, they didn't fire you yet, so you must be doing something right.
Other excuses that cloud your judgement, might be:

As long as I have work, I don't have to worry...
I'll get to like this job, once I get better at it...
As long as I get paid, I'll do anything...
I need to support my family, I can't afford to be unemployed right now. I better work harder to keep my job, whether I like it or not.
<Insert anything here>, whether I like it or not.
There are no jobs available like this right now... I better wait.
It'll be better once I get that promotion.
I studied <X>, so I can't do <Y> as a job...
... (I bet you can think of more valid excuses, maybe you use a good one yourself?)

Are you in the wrong career?

If some of the excuses in the previous paragraph sound familiar or if you use another one yourself, than that's a good indication for knowing you're in the wrong career or job.

Another indication is how you go to work every morning. If you have to drag yourself out of bed every day, to get ready for work... that's another clear indication that you're in the wrong job. If you keep doing something you don't like or something you're not good at and can't or don't want to become good at, then you'll be tired every day. You'll know what crappy project awaits at work, so it takes a lot of effort to get out of bed in the morning. You worked hard trying to understand a difficult assignment, only to be progressing at a slow pace. That will in turn make you very tired in the evening.

Another way of looking at jobs

This brings me to the following: 'Don't get good at something you don't want to do'.

Remember that, it's important.
If you keep with your job, even if you don't like it, you might become good at it. This is a bad thing, because then you'll always have to do a job like that. Even if you get good at it, it will keep making you tired. You'll still feel like you are not where you're supposed to be and it will still bother you.
The way I see it, you have 2 options:

Find a job you actually love or at least like, so it's negative impact on your life is as minimal as possible or find a job that gives you benefits that cancel out the bad things associated with a job.
Find a job where you can learn stuff you could use if you ever wanted to start your own bussiness or where you can learn stuff that enriches you or gives you knowledge you can use in other aspects of your life.

Why should we look at jobs like working for someone else? Why not change our view and look at jobs like they are tools that enrichen our minds or get us closer to our personal goals. Those personal goals can be to start your own business or perhaps to retire early? Or maybe you would like to travel and see the world? You could do that, for example, by getting a job as a reporter or a wildlife photographer? All it takes is determination and the willingness to look at your career from another angle.

I do have to mention that, people who want to start their own business, are always in the wrong career, no matter what job they choose. They will never belong, except in their own business. If you dream about your own shop, you'll feel great when you have it. You'll never feel great if you don't have it. But in order to get it, you need money. That money can be obtained through a regular job, working for someone else. There might be other ways, but this is the most commen and easiest way.
But even though the job you have to do isn't what you want to do for the rest of your life, you can turn it into a positive experience. Look at it from another angle. Become one of category 2!

How? Choose a job that resembles what you want to do as an enterpreneur. That way, you can learn from their mistakes, in stead of making your own.

Taking action

If by now, you still don't know whether you're in the right career or not, I can tell you that you aren't! Every job has it's bad moments, don't let that fool you. But if you want to belong to 1 of the 2 categories in the previous paragraph, you need to take action and find the new job of your dreams or the new job you need.

This is what I have done:

writing down the positive parts about my current job
writing down the negative parts about my current job
find all jobs available for my degree and try to match as much positive parts as possible to that job <- This is where I could improve, by looking beyond my degree.
ask a lot of questions in the job interview, to find out whether those positive parts are there
turn the conversation in the employers favour and take the job anyway <- You should not do this! It's where I fail so far.

So this is what I should be doing(*) for my next job search:

write down the positive parts
write down what experience I could use to improve myself
match those values to ANY job available in my region
deny a job that doesn't meet the requirements

If you do that, you'll have a harder time to find a job, but an easier time to like and keep a job. It's the long and difficult road to finding the job you love.

(*) I did say 'should', because I kind of belong tho the second category and I have other plans now, which I will explain some day in another post.

Conclusion

So now you know that you could be in the wrong career and that this is what makes you feel bad at your current job. It makes you perform under your personal standards and will either get you fired some day or keep you miserable for the rest of your lives if you adapt to the situation every time.
I also talked about finding a job you like or looking at jobs in terms of tools. In the next part, I'll tell you all about actually getting fired and how you should react.

Blog header redesign

2010-04-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

I'm currently making a new header image for the blog and I'm experimenting with it.

Sorry for the inconvenience this might cause.

I also created some other artwork.

Getting fired - part 2

2010-04-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

Look like a hard worker

As I explained in the previous part, it might be possible that you are a hard worker and still your boss seems to think you don't work hard enough. It's all a matter of perception. What your boss thinks is much more important than the reality.
A lousy worker can get a promotion, while a hard worker may not.
All that matters are 2 things:

There have to be results.
You need to look like you're working hard, regardless of the fact that you are working hard or not.

The first thing is obvious: if you don't work, there are no results. If you don't work hard enough, the results are poor. And results show up after a certain amount of time and it's the results that matter to your boss. Good results mean your boss makes more money. More money makes your boss happy.
The key here, is to make sure you get the work done in an acceptable period of time. But do not overextend your limits to impress the higher-ups. Do not let a promotion interfere with your private life or your health. After all, isn't your private life the very thing you are trying to support, by working?
So get things done within a reasonable amount of time, but let that be it.

The second one is very important for employees. I never thought about this myself, until I read an article about it (on http://www.vacature.com, but unfortunately I can't find the exact article anymore). But here's what I rememebered from it: what you can do to appear busy.

Start your computer up immediately and spread some papers over your desk. Do this before getting your first coffee/glas of water.
When thinking about a solution for a problem, it looks like you're not doing anything. Always have a piece of paper with you and write something down or pretend do be writing something down, whenever you're stuck. It gives you extra time to think, while still appearing busy.
Always have your mail client open. Switch to the mail client and write a mail if you need to appear busy, but can't for some reason.
Walk around. A lot. Go get a glass of water, don't print all information at once, do it in several times so you need to go to the printer a lot.
When getting a drink or going to the toilet, always walk with a fast pace and with your shoulders slightly forward. It makes it look like your upper body is moving faster than your feet. Kinda like you're thinking fast and your body can't seem to keep up.

I'm sure you can invent more ways like this. It's an important part of work. That's something I learnt in school: it doesn't matter how well you know something, all that matters is that you can convince the teacher that you know it. That's why I really don't like exams in school. They put too much stress on you, let you work in conditions that are more difficult than in real life work situations. The result of this is, that some talented or hardworking people get bad grades, all because the stress or unrealistic conditions makes them underperform. Or they may know the theory, but have a hard time appearing like they know the answers.
It's all about perception. They say: 'Nothing is as it seems' or 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', but what manager will take the time to look under each employers cover? On a per project basis, I mean? They don't have the time for that. So it's all a matter of appearance. You need to look like someone who knows what he's doing, even though some projects might be a bit beyond your knowledge.

Be a team player

Also don't be affraid to ask questions. Don't do it by mail, but walk to the persons desk. It will make you look like a real team player and you get some help, which will improve your performance.

Don't overdo it though, you may end up looking like someone who doesn't know what he's doing. It's all a matter of balance. There's balance between work and your private life, balance between giving in on your employers wishes and those of your own, respecting the clients opinion versus respecting your own knowledge, being lazy and being a workaholic, ...
Try to find the point where you are just bearly on the positive side of the balance. It won't make you advance faster in your career, but it will keep you in your job long enough, without putting too much stress on your shoulders.

Conclusion

We have talked about being fired and the fact that you can see it coming and about what you can do to avoid it. I have also given you tips on how to look like a hard worker. But it looks like I'm gonna have to make a part 3 and probably more, because in the next post, I'll talk about another way to fix the problem and I still need to talk about how you should react in case you actually get fired.

Getting fired - part 1

2010-04-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

What do you do when they fire you?

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm currently at my second job. I got fired from the first job I got and I would like to take this opportunity to explain how you should react in such a situation, should it occur to you.
Being fired can have many different reasons. These days, the economic crisis gets used a lot by companies to 'let people go' or to 'restructure'. But there are also other reasons to get fired. It's not always easy to know why.
I will try to give some tips that might help you avoid this scenario as good as possible, at least for the part where it could be prevented by you.
But it's not always possible to avoid it and it's not always the employee's fault. That's why I'll try to give some examples and give you some ideas of me, that might help you through the difficult period that emerges in case of you loosing your job.

Can you see it coming?

In some cases, where you have (some) influence on the situation, you can see it coming. They usually give you warnings in advance, tell you to work harder, etc. They usually do this, by taking you somewhere private to talk about the way you work or about your results. When this happens the first time, take it as a clear sign that something is wrong.
This is the time to investigate what is wrong. They usually tell you this, but if something is not clear or you do not agree with something, ask questions. Use this time to find out what they think is wrong, what they expect and whether you might be doing something wrong.
Always stay calm and NEVER get angry. Do not try to go into the offensive. Don't do this at all during the entire conversation! Not even after. If they think something is wrong, then something is wrong. I'm not saying it's your fault, but something is wrong and now is the time to find out what and to try to fix it.

Fixing the problem: work harder?

Suppose they want you to work harder. This is a classic. Why? They always want you to work harder. Owning a company is strictly bussiness. Employees are not friends, they are what make the boss rich. The harder employees work, the more money the boss makes. That's how simple it is.
So when they want you to work harder, it either means that:
a. They know you can do more then you are doing now.
b. You aren't working hard enough.
c. It doesn't look like you're working hard enough.

I'll explain these in detail.

a. They know you can do more then you are doing now:
Sometimes, you might work extra hard to impress some of the higher-ups. It's not a good idea to do this. The reason is simple: if you show you can work extra hard, they will expect this behaviour forever. They saw you could do it before, so why don't you do it all the time?
This is also a problem with the standards that companies require from employees. They expect too much... because somewhere along the line, many have worked too hard, just too impress higher-ups. Maybe at the expence of their own health, causing them to have a burnout or causing them to quit their jobs to escape the stress they brought on themselves. But the damage is already done, the standards have been raised for other employees. The standards can be raised easily, but they can not go down easily at all. This is probably because of the greed in the corporate world, though that's just my opinion.
In any case, the message is clear: Never force anything. It's not healty. If you allow things to come naturally, everything will go smoother.

b. You aren't working hard enough:
Here's a thought. It's not easy to accept this, but maybe you're just not working hard enough? Look at other employees. How are they working? Remember the previous point: some are working too hard. But they can never keep it up. Keep looking at other employees for a long period and try to see how hard they work on avarage. Try to work just as hard.
Perhaps you're a worker who needs to maintain an avarage through elektronic registration. In this situation, you don't have to look at other employees. Try keeping a score of your avarage and try to beat your own score every time, until you get to the point where they are happy enough.
Don't force anything, but work for your money. Nobody likes freeloaders and all employees are in it together.

c. It doesn't look like you're working hard enough:
Now this is the tricky part. Perhaps you work very hard. You're at max speed. But then they tell you, they are not happy with your performance, because you don't seem to be working as hard as the others. But you know you work hard, you go home tired every day from trying your best. Why do they say you don't work hard enough?
I can only speak from personal experience here, so I'll be giving an explanation based on a desk job (standard 9-5).
If you're sitting behind a computer all day, what do you do an entire day? You might say: "I wrote 2 reports, checked my e-mail, responded to several mails, wrote an application, tested it, etc.". Ask a construction worker what he thinks you did and he might think: "He/she sat behind a computer all day, fumbeling with the keyboard.". They have jobs where you can see them being active, doing something... if you have to solve problems to make a living, you need to think. Thinking is nothing more than sitting and using your brainpower. It doesn't look like you're doing something!
And that's precisely the point. Your boss sees the exact same thing as the construction worker. He might know, in general, what projects are being worked on, but he does not know what you are doing exactly. He only cares about results and those results only show up after projects are completed. So you need to look busy in order to make it look like your working hard, regardless of wether you're working hard or not!
In the next post, I will tell you how you can do that.

Another journey to follow

2010-04-15T05:09:00.000-07:00

Are you interested?

I'm starting a blog that will document my road to financial independence. Feel free to look around and who knows, you might find something interesting here. I'm not trying to sell anything, there is no scam. I'm just keeping a journal to document my journey.

The reasons behind the journey: school

I never really thought this hard about personal finance until was in college. The more I went to college, the more I disliked it. The problem lies in the fact that all teachers want you to do assignments for their own subject, without thinking about the other work we need to do. You need to prepare exercises for every subject you get on Monday, which may or may not compomise your weekend if you have a lot of classes on Monday.
The result? No more free time. All you do is study and work, just to get your degree.
I was determined to get that degree, mostly because I already spent several years studying and I did not want to waste those years (and for other personal reasons too, but I'm not gonna go into that). But when I started my last year, I wanted it to be over as soon as possible, so I could start to work for money. Many others didn't want to work yet and after 4-5 years of studying, they still wanted to study more. I didn't understand then and I still don't understand.
It's not just the loss of free time, but also the exams that make studying a bad thing. You work hard during the year, to satisfy the teachers only to be stressed out for more than 3 weeks during exams in order to learn it all again, in a very short amount of time. Humans where not build to have that much knowlegde in their head, that's why we invented databases, elektronic documents and the internet. Exams are just not healty.
And the longer we live, the more information students need to remember... so it just gets worse.
And do you think that's the worst? No! You don't get paid for it... worse, it costs a lot of money to get through that. And all that, just to get a better chance to find a job that pays more?

The reasons behind the journey: work

School has been tough, but I was glad when I got my masters degree. Not because of the degree itself, but because I could finally quit school and start earning money.
By now I already knew that the way our society works, did not compute with me. Something was wrong. I just hadn't figured it out yet.
And then came my first work experience. It was a real eye-opener.
For my first job, I was a software engineer for a big animal nutrition company. A standard 9-5 job, sitting behind a computer all day. Seems logical, because I studied ICT in school. I did my best to do well, but I never got a lot of good comments. It seemed like nothing was ever good enough. Sure, I had to develop applications on a system that was different then every other system I knew (AS400), which made me a little less productive, but still...
Add to that, the fact that my boss and his boss where fighting a lot... it made the atmosphere over there a bit unpleasant. I kept wondering if this is what my life was gonna look like from now on. Studying 5 years, to end up here?

Finding work you love

During that time, I started to look up stuff about "finding a job you love" and related information. It turns out that only 10% of all people have a job they love. The others either don't or they're lying (to you or themselves). That's information I gathered from studying many different articles I found by searching the web.
But I started following some of the advice I found and did the following:
* list everything about your current job that you like
* try to find out what you want from a job
* try to match what you want, with your skills

Especially the second one was difficult. I like programming, but it appears that I don't like it when I have to do it 8 hours/day on software I have no interest in. This is still a problem for me today.

So now I'm at my second job, working for a smaller and more modern software company. It's a different atmosphere, which is an improvement over my previous job. But I still have the same feeling. The switching jobs has learnt me a lot, however, and it got me thinking even more.
I'm no longer tied to a particular job, I use jobs as a tool to get to where I want to go. (I'll explain this in detail later.)
And during the last period of my previous job, I started to read articles and blogs about financial independence. I got inspired and wanted to learn more about this.

Financial independence and early retirement

It was more of a dream at first though, but maybe it could become reality? I needed to do a lot of investigating, which led me to several interesting articles.
The most notable where:
* HowStuffWorks: How to make a Million Dollars
* HowStuffWorks: How to Retire Early

They thought me the secret of compound interest. Because I used to like saving and I was never one to spend much money, I already had money in a higher interest saving fund. But I knew I had to do more then that to make compounding interest work. So I started to find ways to maximize my returns and gain money faster, while spending little money.

Conclusion

There are some of the conclusions I made while starting my journey to financial independence:
* School prepares you for a job where you are stuck working for the man.
* Working a regular 9-5 job means making other people money.
* It's very difficult, finding a job you love. My main interests and hobbies will not get me a job.
* It's possible to become financial independent.

This article was a quick summary of a whole heap of information. I made it to let you know a bit why I started the journey to become financially independent. There's a lot more to it off course and I haven't touched all subjects yet, but I hope you get an idea now what my blog is about. The road to financial independence is long and difficult, especially when most people around you think differently or don't believe you. If you want to take the journey, I'm here to explain what I go through, so you can now that you are not alone. After all, if you read this all the way to this point, you must be interested in this journey too, right?