We had been striving to FI before we came across the notion of ERE (Jacob) then M's. For our FI plans we aggressively looked for ways to reduce monthly vendor fees:
- Cancelled Land Line in 2000
- Cancelled Car Collision & Comp once the book value dropped low enough
- Cancelled Cable in 2009 and replaced with Netflix, Prime
- Set thermostat Low in winter, use space heaters
- Installed 3 Ceiling Fans in the house and make sure to switch directions when needed - we invested in the remote so no excuses about having to climb
up on a ladder to switch the direction
- We almost never eat out. Not because we can't afford it but we decided long ago to become Vegan for heath reasons (it's worked for us, no GI
problems after the switch) and we want to control the food we eat. We just don't trust where the food has come from or what is in it/on it.
- Set our credit cards to pay off automatically each month, carrying no debt or paying no fees. Now, you still have to review your statments before
to catch fraudulent charges.
- Refi when the math works out - make sure you do all the math and understand the cost vs benefit over how much time you intend to live in the
in the house
- Got full time jobs that allowed us to work from home - this has saved thousands of dollars a year in:
- Commuting Costs for Gas, Wear and Tear on the car
- No more star bucks drive through, campus coffee at work, lunches out, silly B-Day "pitch in" parties for countless people I don't really know
- no more slippage from traveling. Although our employees cover the travel and hotel, meal costs there are always expenses not reimbursed
- no more annual budget to spend on uncomfortable costumes for work and forced fun
- no more political action networks coming at me for money around every corner
- My wife learned how to cut my hair/she stopped coloring hers
- we eat 30% less as the need for mindless stress chomping is gone
- we sold our house in a development that we should have never bought and learned the hardware that developments are very expensive, the
houses are often poor quality, and all the service fees attached are far more expensive than if you did not live in one - e.g. HOA Fees, Water, Sewer
that is tied to the house, not the number of people living in the house so if you have a small family and are conservative, you can really get
screwed
- Put a stop to all of the Holiday, consumerism madness The first thing we did was took back all of our time - we don't spend time on holidays with
those who are not our true friends/tribe or with angry relatives of any sort. When you go Vegan, thanksgiving is sooo much simpler, less expensive,
and clean up is a breeze so we spend the time gain hiking, playing with the kids, reading, etc. Christmas, we do by a small amount of thoughtful
gifts to show gratitude or provide something for someone doing their best who is really in need. We try very hard to not buy anything that could
wind up in a landfill vs. being reused, repaired, donated, etc.
- Cancelled almost all magazine and newspaper subscriptions except for a couple of investment newsletters that have served us well for many years.
- Signed up for Google Talk Years ago and we do not use our cell phones outside of work (paid for by work) so we have zero phone bill
- Been maxing out 401K's since we were in our 20's
- Plan to drive our cars until they die, then replace w/high quality used
- Learned how to do minor car repairs - e.g. change oil, lights, etc.
- We slowly stopped going on formal vacations where we used to spend between 3-5K per trip, once or twice a year. As we gained back more time and
control over our lives, the less need we felt to go anywhere. There is so much to see beyond our doorstep that we've been content to explore locally
and costs very little - e.g. if you live in the PNW, go see the whales, learn how endangered they are and what you can do to help.
After we found ERE/MMM inspiration, took a closer look at our portfolio pulled into personal capital and found we have a bit more than we realized. We now look to the community for inspiration and are very grateful for the movement. We are close and will most likely fire in 2018.
