Spendaholics

<br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQVbMo9G2OI/VQ06KLaCT3I/AAAAAAAADds/Yh1jbD3gTQQ/s1600/P1050116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQVbMo9G2OI/VQ06KLaCT3I/AAAAAAAADds/Yh1jbD3gTQQ/s1600/P1050116.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good investment?</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <b>The Tribe is currently going through a period of EXTREME spending</b>. <br /> <br /> First up this post is not about idiotic hedonistic spending. We have not been to Bali (ever), we do not have silly fuel guzling, flash cars, we do what we can ourselves and do not rely on expensive services. It is about:<br /> <ul> <li>What have we spent money on</li> <li>A case study on good spending</li> <li>Have a play with the free FISH timeline planner </li> </ul> <h2>   <br /><br /><br />THE.FuTuRe: "I did not think they would last long in financial independence - the spending bug has finally got them"</h2> Let's have a look at what we have spent (invested) money on and why we consider it useful in the pursuit of FISH.<br /> <ol> <li>We have installed a really cool eco heating system for new house: </li> <ol> <li>25kw wood gassification boiler with a 1000 litre water buffer tank</li> <li>300 litre solar water tank with heat exchange between the two tanks - new unpressurised design.</li> <li>3 chimneys </li> <li>two 4kW wood  burning stoves</li> <li>So much insulation we do not know what to do with it all other than double it up</li> <li><b>Very low running cost  - minimal electricity (pumps and controllers), Purchase of wood (currently free as we are using the wood we have available around the house (~15 dead trees).</b></li> <b> </b><ol><b> </b> <li><b>Electricity - break even</b></li> <b> </b> <li><b>Wood cost of £500 per year </b></li> <b> </b> </ol> </ol> <li> Grow some of our own food and medicine</li> <ol> <li> Tools and machines: vegetation mulcher (to fertilise and protect the fruit trees), chain saw and safety equipment (we have lots of dead trees), axes, shovels, well pump (this will halve our water bill as we can water the garden and vegetable patch with free water)</li> <li><b>Aim is to grow our own Fruit and Vegetables in the Summer \ Autumn. Initial aim is to save 30% of our grocery shop for 6 months of the year (we currently spend £321 on food and consumables per month so saving 30%*321*6 = ~£580 per year</b></li> <li><b>Have free wood for several years </b></li> <li><b>Free water for the garden</b></li> </ol> <li> Our second hand 1.5 Diesel Renault Clio consumes HALF of the fuel of my 1.6l petrol WV GOLF</li> <ol> <li>Re-negotiated the insurance and BOTH cares are less than our payments on ONE CAR in the UK</li> <li>No yearly road tax in France (was £180 in the UK)</li> <li>Bi Annual Car Check (Control Technique) in France versus Yearly in the UK<b> </b></li> <li><b>Saving 180(tax), 50(insurance) £700(Fuel), MOT £30  =£960 - Car Cost £5800 time to payback = 5800/960 = ~ 6 years</b></li> </ol> </ol> <b> </b><br /> <ol> <ol></ol> </ol> <b>Estimated total reduction in living costs per year £580 (food),  £240 (water), £700 (Heating), £960 (Car Costs) = £2,480 savings per year</b><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b>THE.FuTuRE - </b>"What a waste of time CoNTeNDeR all that work - why bother. New technologies are making everything CHEAPER - keep with the system."<br /> <b>CoNTeNDeR - </b>"It's an investment - the value of your investments may fall, blah blah blah. At least it is in my control not yours!"</blockquote> <h3> How much would we need to earn each year to pay for the savings?</h3> Consider this £2,480 having to be earned after tax. Tax at the lower rate of 20% and Social charges at 8%, you would need to earn £3,174<br /> <br /> Assuming a 5% return on investment you would need £3,174/.05 = ~ £63,500 working for you that needs to provide a return that increases at least in line with inflation.<br /> <h3> How much have spent / invested to get the savings?</h3> Compare that to the investments we made above to reach the same amount of "return", Car £5,800, Heating £19,000, Gardening Equipment £1,500, Insulation and shutters, £7,000 = £33,300 & we get some completely inflation proof protection with regards solar hot water, home grown food, well water and wood.<br /> <h2> Does it make sense to spend savings in this way?</h2> <ul> <li>£63,000 need to be invested to pay for living costs of £2,480 (£3,174 before tax)</li> <li>£33,300 need to be spent to reduce living costs by £2,480 </li> </ul> <b><i>It seems that this is a wise "investment" to spend the money to reduce our living costs. We will have less capital invested but can save more per month. Will compound interest work for or against us?</i></b><br /> <br /> Consider the following case: if you had 100,000 in savings, your earned income is 25,000 per year (post tax) and you are saving 30% of your income (living costs = 25,000 - 30% = 17,500)<br /> <br /> <u>Case 1 - You don't spend the money</u><br /> <br /> 100,000 <b>invested returns 5,000 per year</b> at 5%<br /> You can <b>save </b>30% of a salary of 25,000 = <b>7,500 per year</b><br /> Living <b>cost 17,500 per year </b><br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5841097566669291663" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>TOTAL SAVINGS = 12,500 per year   STARTING CAPITAL = 100,000<br /> <br /> <u>Case 2 - You spend the money</u><br /> <br /> 100,000 - 33,300 = 66,700 <b>invested returns 3,335 per year</b> at 5%<br /> You can <b>save </b>30% of a salary of 25,000 = 7,500 + the savings of 2,480 = <b>9,980 per year</b><br /> Living <b>cost </b>17,500 - 2,480 (reduction due to savings) = <b>15,020 per year</b><br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5841097566669291663" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>TOTAL SAVING =  13,315 per year    STARTING CAPITAL 66,700<br /> <ul></ul> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> In this case (*see parameters) this is what your investment capital <u>may</u> look like in 25 years time. It takes around <u><b>19  years for the "purchases" to reach the same capital balance if you just carried on saving</b></u> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tL8VG8izI4E/VQ54JDlsQeI/AAAAAAAADd8/O9BfdyUK8vE/s1600/SpendSave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tL8VG8izI4E/VQ54JDlsQeI/AAAAAAAADd8/O9BfdyUK8vE/s1600/SpendSave.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> *Income increases at 3% per year (25K starting point)</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> *Inflation increases at 4% per year</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> *Investments return <u>on average</u> 7% per year </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> *Living costs start at 17.5K (15K reduced living cost)</div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>THE.FuTuRe</b>: "19 years! to catch up and that is assuming just 7% return on invetment - aren't you just betting on your Eco system which will probably be obsolete before long! - Burn the hydrocarbons baby and smell the smoke of progress you tree hugging chimp."</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>CoNTeNDeR - </b>"Sure I should be one of the sheeple, go with the flow, listen to the mainstream media, <strike>indoctorate</strike> educate the kids to be good consumers, build reliance instead of resillience, be part of the team instead of an odball fanatic hiding in a eco hideout scared to go out"</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>MR.REaLiST</b> - "Sounds good to me <b>CoNTeNDeR</b> plan ahead a bit, why sit still and wait.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>MR.PeSSiMiST</b> - "What are you doing - ruining the lives of your kids - molly coddling them from the real world. </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>MR.OPTiMiST</b> - "Everything is awesome, chill, relax and have some fun man, thinking is so outdated. Everthing is Now Now Now and to your doorstep if you like!"  </div> </blockquote> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <b>What can we learn from this case study?</b></div> <ol style="text-align: left;"> <li><b>Spending is bad for very early financial independence (especially unproductive spending)</b></li> <li><b>A large starting point (inheritance) makes a massive difference</b></li> <li><b>Productive spending will pay off in the LONG term - if you need to move the investment in the house may be "lost"</b></li> </ol> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b>You need to SAVE and BUILD capital to benefit from the power of COMPOUND INTEREST instead of SPENDING to reduce your costs for very early retirement.</b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b>You should look at ways to reduce costs through lifestyle choices. For example, choosing not to buy something or some service and live in a cheaper place. </b></div> <br /> <h2> Why did the TRiBe do it then?</h2> Like any decision there are unique reasons and circumstances behind any decision. Arbitruary if you forego all spending it (saving and no spending) can have different outcomes. Some can be negative such as not moving (costs) for a higher paying job, failing to look after your health.<br /> <br /> In the Tribe's case the bucks have <b>really </b>been invested for the <b>long term </b>in our new life. This investment reduces our dependence on VARIBLE or DECLINING CASH FLOW, to some degree PROTECTS CAPITAL and increases our resilience \ self sustainability:<br /> <ol> <li>We get to live in a mortgage-freehouse</li> <li>The house had <u>no heating and minimal insulation</u> so we chose an energy efficient solution. </li> <li>My old car had already done 150,000 miles - a new car was needed for reliability and backup. </li> <li>We have a degree of self sufficiency (land, water and fruit trees)</li> <li>Our net worth is not <b>as exposed</b> to market crashes as we now have a wider asset allocation.</li> </ol> <h2> Why this case doesn't make sense for Financial Independence Seeking</h2> <ol> <li>House prices are at historical highs versus earnings. </li> <li>Renting can often be cheaper than buying and paying for a mortgage </li> <li>Buying a property generally means SPENDING your investment pot to INVEST in lower living costs - Think this through carefully.</li> <li>Owing a house can reduce your flexibility to move for a better job.</li> <li>A house is a liability. You have maintenance costs and property taxes. </li> <li>A larger capital investment pot can compound very fast in a bull market providing more capital to re-deploy in housing etc later. </li> <li>Cheaper heating systems (inital installation costs) are available. Personal choices such as live in only a couple of heated rooms in the winter (which is fairly short in the SW of France) would only require one 12kW stove.</li> <li>Live close to your work to avoid the car costs</li> </ol> Why not have a play with the free financial projection spreadsheet on this site? Play with the numbers for your personal situation and dream of <i>your</i> future.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/TimeLine_Financial.xls?attredirects=0&d=1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to load excel file" border="0" height="307" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHTJ4bB92B0/UuPg-X20IYI/AAAAAAAADGs/rtq-uZza1UM/s1600/25yrFI.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/TimeLine_Financial.xls?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">Financial Timeline Planner (click to download excel file)</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <i>Perhaps if we all conserve resources better we would actually have more as a society. We would leave more for the future and instead of just burning fuel (also known as money) the savings can be used to build a better world to live in. <b> </b></i><br /> <br /> <b>THE.FuTuRe</b><i> - "Wake up you muppet - that is <b>NOT </b>how we have been told the world works, don't think just do it" </i><br /> <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR</b><i> - "We will just do it... our way</i>"</blockquote> </div> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

Spendaholics

A good investment? The Tribe is currently going through a period of EXTREME spending . First up this post is not about idiotic hedon...

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Living in France, Are you Mad?

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1COl3QURLG4/VDwxE48JjjI/AAAAAAAADbY/cKkffVyizwY/s1600/P1040311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1COl3QURLG4/VDwxE48JjjI/AAAAAAAADbY/cKkffVyizwY/s1600/P1040311.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home (It looks great from this distance!)</td></tr> </tbody></table> Our planet is an amazing place. So many different environments, some are idyllic beach paradises, others are rough foreboding freezing landscape. All have their beauty and pros and cons for living in them.<br /> <br /> Human nature always leaves a yearning for the homestead where you brought up. Many people do not go further than the next state let alone country. Perhaps there is a better place to live.......<br /> <br /> <b>Below is our case study on where we live followed by several views on choosing where you currently live </b><br /> <br /> <b>Is it already great where you live, or is the grass greener elsewhere? How do you really know if that somewhere is the ultimate place to be for you?</b><br /> <br /> <b>To help consider options I have updated the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/WhereToLive.xlsx?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: red;">FREE where to live evaluation tool</span></u></a> where you can list and rank your desired living situation and compare different locations.<span class="bqQuoteLink"> </span></b><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b><span class="bqQuoteLink">Home is where one starts from - </span>T. S. Eliot</b></blockquote> <h2> The TRiBe moves to the South of France</h2> Our little Tribe LOVE where we live. We have loved EVERY PLACE we have lived. Each had is joys and challenges making them <u>perfect at the time</u>.<br /> <br /> Currently we are living in Gers, Gascony in the SW of France. It is beautiful and generally un-spoilt. The Gers has a population of approximately 188,000 ONLY. This swells to just under one million in the summer tourist season. It is famed for its beautiful rolling countryside often referred to as the French Tuscany.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXN1sZlJYnE/U_GwpIVKswI/AAAAAAAADaA/fBQ31Wh5z2c/s1600/P1030839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXN1sZlJYnE/U_GwpIVKswI/AAAAAAAADaA/fBQ31Wh5z2c/s1600/P1030839.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> <h2> <span style="font-size: small;">Living in FRANCE are you MAD?</span></h2> Many people often take the mickey out of the French due to their strong opinions, national protection, social system etc. yet France is the most visited country in the world. Perhaps the mickey taking is because they are onto something great?<br /> <br /> It is always great to go somewhere different. Like anything in life, living something first hand instead of through a magazine or TV is the best way to find out if you actually like it. So go travel, experience, taste, smell and enjoy all these fabulous places perhaps one of them will be your ideal place to live?<br /> <br /> Well we have chosen to live here because we believe we get the following (and more) that suit our preferences and what we deem desirable for our families needs:<br /> <ol> <li>Space and quiet</li> <li>Beautiful landscapes and views of the snow topped mountains, hot in the summer and a good winter</li> <li>A good education for the kids</li> <li>Unpolluted environment</li> <li>Stable government</li> <li>Locally grown food</li> </ol> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b><span class="bqQuoteLink">When it comes to developing character strength, inner security and unique personal and interpersonal talents and skills in a child, no institution can or ever will compare with, or effectively substitute for, the home's potential for positive influence - </span></b><b>Stephen Covey</b></blockquote> <ol> </ol> Sure there are some trade offs<br /> <ol> <li><b>Socialism </b>Aggghhhhh! (dashed with capitalism) has the government meddling taxing and spending is not creating but actually shedding jobs. The deficit and the national debt only look OK in the context of low interest rates..... Is this not unlike most western countries.....</li> <li><b>Contribute </b>or the tax man commeth to take it away - which he will most likely do anyway.....</li> <li><b>Paperwork</b>, form filling madness... can't get away from this one - a real bureaucratic, jobs for the boyz, pain, waste of time and money.</li> </ol> There is more good stuff:<br /> <ol> <li>France has a highly educated workforce</li> <li>The CO2 emissions per capita are half those of Germany as 80% of her electricity is derived from Nuclear Energy.</li> <li>Due to Nuclear energy the air is cleaner (no particulate matter released from burning the fuel) and drives an incredible train infrastructure.</li> <li>Healthcare is number 1 in the world and very affordable</li> <li>Well maintained public places</li> <li>People have nice homes (2nd largest in the world on average after the US)</li> <li>France is a country of luxury goods but I can't stand foie-gras</li> <li>Who can talk about France and not talk about its amazing fresh locally grown food!</li> <li>Mountains, beaches, countryside - tick</li> <li>Good weather in the South - tick</li> <li>Culture - people actually talk to each other where we live (a small community:-)</li> </ol>  That is why we love France, it is the right place for our TRiBe at this point in time.<br /> <h2> The grass is always greener somewhere else</h2> There will always be a better place to live. Perhaps the trick is finding a good place, love it and don't pine for somewhere else. Just picture there are many WORSE places to live.<br /> <br /> Money can buy a better place but what is the real cost of that place? An idyllic beach mansion in the middle of no where but lacking in real friends......A penthouse apartment protected by guards to name a couple are extreme wealth examples what about the average Joe?<br /> <br /> Perhaps a happy place to live is more about a paid-off house in a nice neighborhood with loads of friends, good education system and transport links. <b><span class="bqQuoteLink"></span></b><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b><span class="bqQuoteLink">Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security </span>- Suze Orman</b></blockquote> <div class="copy-paste-block"> I had posted a spreadsheet two years ago in Aug 2012 and have just re-visited and updated it with learning's our TriBe have come across in the last few years. I wanted to really challenge the idea that the grass is greener somewhere else.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/WhereToLive.xlsx?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">Here is the updated version</a> for consideration of a locality and type of property you want.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/WhereToLive.xlsx?attredirects=0&d=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9xXDzNm5w64/VIYcghUAxZI/AAAAAAAADcE/4CT3YJf9F-o/s1600/WhereToLive.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/WhereToLive.xlsx?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">Click on image to download the excel spreadsheet</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> </div> <h2> Taking responsibility for where we live</h2> First up a little rant - the part of London we lived in was dirty. Rubbish dropped next to bins. Minor vandalism. I am really perplexed by this sort of behavior. You live there and you want to live somewhere nice so why mess it up ??!!???? We would pick up the mess upside our house and keep the hedge cut and path clean. Keeping the garden clean only takes one hour or two every month. Respect where you live and it may actually rub off on the people around you and make the whole area nicer.....<br /> <br /> Like any of these tools it really requires one to be frank with oneself. Take responsibility for ones actions and ones life.<br /> <br /> An example of this was an inspiring recent documentary we have watched which was the opposite of the movie Super-size Me where Morgan Spurlock ate fast food and saw his health deteriorate. In this movie "Rich, Fat and Almost Dead" it was about being sick (from poor diet \ overweight) accepting that you did it to yourself and actually doing something about it. A great movie with a great sense of humor.<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b><span class="bqQuoteLink">A man's home is his wife's castle - </span></b><b>Alexander Chase</b></blockquote> <h2> Some Considerations for Financial Independence in France</h2> <ol> <li>Socialist France - Quelle Horreur! OK, France has a contributory system which does result in the possibility of high taxes.</li> <ol> <li>The social tax has to be paid regardless at 15.9%</li> <li>Income taxes are staggered and based on your ability to pay. France operates a "parts" system and a joint income tax return. Each parent is "1 Part" and each child adds an additional "0.5 part". You then sum up all of your income and divide by the number of parts.</li> </ol> <li> If you work you have health cover other wise you have to contribute at the time of writing 8% of your income to pay for health cover. This does not cover the full costs. Most procedure have a cost assigned by the health authority so cost should not get out of hand......We are still getting our heads around this topic.</li> <li>State education is free and you get a grant to help pay for school costs. Private education is substantially less expensive in relation to countries such as the US and UK, making it affordable for low-income families. As of writing university education is free.</li> <li>Housing taxes are based on the size and comfort of the property.  </li> <li>There is a wealth tax for assets worth more than 1.3 Million Euros</li> <li>France is a big country. </li> <ol> <li>Most of the motorways are toll roads and are quite expensive. </li> <li>There is no yearly tax to pay for use of local roads</li> <li>Cars have to have a "heath check" every two years</li> <li>Diesel is cheaper than petrol</li> </ol> </ol> The take away from this is that you contribute to society in France. Taxes are high but facilities are excellent as is the healthcare system and the country is one of the best kept and varied in the world. This accounts to it being the #1 tourist destination in the world.<br /> <br /> Wealth building is more challenging due to the high taxes and requires careful planning.  <br /> <br /> We all need a place to live. A hut, trailer, caravan, house, yurt or boat where will you live?<br /> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

Living in France, Are you Mad?

Home (It looks great from this distance!) Our planet is an amazing place. So many different environments, some are idyllic beach paradis...

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4 Happiness paradoxes

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdCHTjPfdtk/VIQZRVsNmII/AAAAAAAADbs/6tH5clVO8QI/s1600/P1040209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdCHTjPfdtk/VIQZRVsNmII/AAAAAAAADbs/6tH5clVO8QI/s1600/P1040209.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning something new, making mistakes and having fun</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b></b><br /> <b>We all have the choice of happiness, it all depends what we choose happiness to be</b>. <br /> <br /> 1. Accepting who you are, the mistakes you have made, the hand you have been dealt then do something about it.<br /> 2. Finding time to be happy in a hectic life<br /> 3. Searching for personal happiness<br /> 4. What are some of the "costs" of seeking happiness<br />        <br /> <h2> Finding time to Reflect, Learn then Move on</h2> It has been a couple of months since I last posted. In this time our family has been learning a lot more about ourselves through the mistakes we are doing and new skills we are learning on a day to day basis on our house renovation.<br /> <br /> 1. This is definitely a challenge for us. At the same time we are having a great time learning lots of new skills while messing up and then correcting our mistakes.<br /> <br /> <i>I have accidentally knocked holes through walls whilst trying to lay electric cables and cut out the wrong duct for wiring. It did not stop there, outside I got with the chainsaw stuck (pinched) in tree trunks several times. On the roof I have probably broken as many tiles as I have fixed.</i><br /> <br /> 2. The wife and I are getting to know what makes us tick day to day activity to activity.<br /> <br /> <i>We have come to the same conclusion we can be both wrong at the same time ;) We respect that we both work differently and have learnt how to work around each other in this new lifestyle we have chosen. </i><br /> <br /> 3. We are taking our time making sure we enjoying our surroundings, still seeing our new friends and the choices we have made.<br /> <br /> <i>Our children adore the clearing we have made at the centre of a patch of bamboo. We have picnicked outside at every opportunity. Having a break on the roof to admire the view is priceless.</i><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b>“Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers... Choose DSY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away in the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself, choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that?” <br /> ― Irvine Welsh, <i> Trainspotting   </i></b></blockquote> <h3> Make mistakes but don't beat yourself up</h3> Yours truly has made many mistakes, I continue to make them. I am a continual pain to the family, teasing, demanding and being just me. I know this and consistently try to do something about it.<br /> <br /> It is the way I am. Thankfully I am not at the stage that I need go out and buy the new <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30182607" target="_blank">220V wrist strap electrocution habit changing device</a> that has been in the news. At least I haven't asked the wife and kids yet! <br /> <br /> The past has happy memories but constantly reminds you of past challenges. For instance from a stoic perspective, what was so bad?<br /> <br /> Making a fool of myself - sure I have been a fool but has it cost me a roof above my head? Even worse am I going without food or have a health problem?<br /> <br /> I may have compromised friendships in the distant past but I have time to correct the error of my ways. I move on with past reminders pointing me in a better direction.<br /> <br /> <i>For example everyone is different and has different ideas. Understanding that they have problems and concerns nudges us to try and understand why we have not been replied to our emails, why they are not free or even if we are not the right type of people.</i> <i>We have lost touch with so many friends - a natural result of changing our lives and not being close to theirs. </i><br /> <br /> <i>In effect we have opted out of the old way of life that we effectively ended those relationships.</i><br /> <br /> Making mistakes is part of life, you can look back on them laugh, take pride in what you learnt. <br /> So never be too hard on yourself, learn to move on, carry on making lots of mistakes, meeting new people and making new friends. <br /> <h2> Learning about personal happiness </h2> Happiness, life, peace and tranquillity are all helped by free time. Me time. Family Time. Friendship Time. Their Time.<br /> <br /> Without giving yourself and the people around you free time to reflect, think and relax, tranquillity will pass you by. An overly busy day schedule, massive to do list, or even procrastination of the big issues to be addressed distracts from the appreciation of what we have and the world around us. <br /> <br /> I find the need for free, quiet time, essential. It gives you time to think and understand who you really are, why you act the way you do, ponder how other people actually see you, what your real needs are and do something about it.<br /> <br /> After such a reflection free time becomes more precious as you can see the error of your ways or opportunities to be happier and help make the people around you happier.<br /> <br /> Seeking more free time can be the logical next step. Reducing material needs, increasing passive income allowing a change such as a new more enjoyable career, downshift, stop or just take time out takes on more meaning.<br /> <br /> <i>We do not have long commutes to work any more. The combined 3 hours of free time we have taken back is there for us to do as we wish. The other day we just stopped by the side of the road and admired the clouds over the chin of mountains between France and Spain. Yesterday we got lost in the aisles of the local big city bookstore - no need to check if we were late to go back to work! The time is being used for us, doing the things we need to do to look after our family (fixing the roof) or enjoying each other's company (drawing cats and lions with our toddler). It is happier time as we are not being told what to do or how to do it, we are doing it of our own free will.   </i><br /> <br /> Life is short, it can fly by so quickly so fill it with what you want not what your employer or your creditor wants.<br /> <h2> I can't afford to do that, can I?</h2> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bX36vGUOJzU/T_rM60aIVrI/AAAAAAAABhE/bbVLIqOC6UU/s1600/Maslow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bX36vGUOJzU/T_rM60aIVrI/AAAAAAAABhE/bbVLIqOC6UU/s1600/Maslow.jpg" width="320" /></a>Money, time, friendships, status? What is the cost of this tranquillity, friendship, and reflection?<br /> <br /> I have touched on <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2012/10/muff-what-does-early-retirement-lean.html" target="_blank">Maslow's pyramid</a> of needs in several posts.<br /> <br /> Materially we really need very little to live.  <br /> <br /> <i>We now live with a quarter of what our income was. We still live normal lives with a car and house. We recently took the kids to the theatre to see a play. We visited a beautiful vineyard where they went on a horse-led cart across the fields while we tasted the wines. We still take holidays. What we don't do is waste money on unimportant short term wants such as magazines, newspapers, eating out too often and the latest gadget or craze.</i><br /> <br /> <i>On the other hand we need to invest time wisely to be truly happy. I know that I need to see my friends several times a week and it makes me happy. I know that I need time to think and read a little. As a family we know we need to have balanced activities and look after ourselves.</i><br /> <br /> <i>We must always have a lot of respect for the people around us and make sure we continually strive to live a good life. We will keep trying to do better even if we do wander from time to time (the Armagnac here is great and I do enjoy a glass of red wine frequently) </i><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b>“We start off with high hopes, then we bottle it. We realise that we’re all going to die, without really finding out the big answers. We develop all those long-winded ideas which just interpret the reality of our lives in different ways, without really extending our body of worthwhile knowledge, about the big things, the real things. Basically, we live a short disappointing life; and then we die. We fill up our lives with shite, things like careers and relationships to delude ourselves that it isn’t all totally pointless.” <br /> ― Irvine Welsh, </b><i><b> Trainspotting </b> </i></blockquote> <h3> How much stuff and the right stuff</h3> Frugality can be misunderstood and has rather negative connotations to many people. Frugality is really living within your means and making the right choices in its use for the happiness of yourself and the people around you. Example<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <b>“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” <br /> ― Epicurus</b></blockquote> <br /> Having very little but being rich in time is wonderful gift. It is freedom, freedom from debt, freedom to do as you please, and freedom to please those you love.<br /> <br /> Having a middle class lifestyle whilst lots of free time can offer other benefits as some increased material benefits such as larger living spaces and increased mobility.<br /> <br /> <i>We have noticed we are now cooking and serving smaller portions of food than we used to when we lived in London. Was it comfort eating then? Now there is less waste (and less waist!). Our kids had been given too much stuff (toys sweets etc) - now they are learning to give the toys they don't play with anymore to good causes. We are prone to purchasing non seasonal products and using a bit too much heating on occasions.</i> <i> </i><br /> <br /> <i>We need to give more of our time to others and make sure what time we do have is used wisely instead of wastefully. </i><br /> <br /> <i>For example it is all to easy to catch a break from the kids by putting on a film. Now we have relaised that we just need to put the effort in to get them started on an activity (drawaing colouring painting jigsaw, lego, playmobil..) and they will carry on on their own.</i> <i>This is much better for them to learn something new through real play than pure entertainment. It has been amazing to see how inventive they can be with stuff lying around the house and garden. Our eldest makes robots or necklaces with sticks and eaves and the youngest still loves mud pies (mummy, less so).</i><br /> <br /> Being rich on the other hand requires a responsibility to use the wealth wisely.<u><b></b></u><br /> <h3> Happy time</h3> In all three of the above examples free time is available and in the middle class and rich class some "spare money" is available. So what is a good use of this time in the happiness stakes?<br /> <br /> Perhaps the answer to this (which is purely a personal preference) again revolves around balance. Spending too much time seeking shallow entertainment distracts from gaining wisdom. Seeking happiness too much can result in unhappiness when it is not found.<br /> <br /> It is nice to receive but better to give. Doing something new is stimulating and ultimately rewarding - you achieve something new. We had to unblock our sewerage system the other day - not a nice job but we did it ourselves. And felt so proud that we sorted the problem without having to call on any plumber and could look after our family ourselves.<br /> <br /> It has been proven that wealth helps towards human happiness probably because it gives you your time back to do what you want to do. <a href="http://www.voxeu.org/article/happy-peasants-and-miserable-millionaires" target="_blank">After a certain point more wealth has a substantially diminishing return on happiness</a>. At least put it to work in a constructive way.<br /> <br /> For example move money out of funds that invest in all sorts of destructive industries. Instead invest locally or only in ethical companies that provide for real needs instead of wants. You won't get super rich but you will make a real difference and set an example.  <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div class="copy-paste-block"> <b><span class="bqQuoteLink">"It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.</span>" Epicurus</b></div> </blockquote> Shop locally, employ local people, help out, make a difference and be happy. <br /> <br /> Until next time,<br /> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

4 Happiness paradoxes

Learning something new, making mistakes and having fun We all have the choice of happiness, it all depends what we choose happiness to ...

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12 Things to Get your S*** Together

<h2> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtctVWEmuBA/U-cwwixi1MI/AAAAAAAADWE/q-_GXje_vcU/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sunflowers at the end of our road in Gascony" border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtctVWEmuBA/U-cwwixi1MI/AAAAAAAADWE/q-_GXje_vcU/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" title="Simple Country Living" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simple Country Living</td></tr> </tbody></table> </h2> <br /> <ul> <li><b>In this post we going to consider what if the world worked differently from a personal idealistic standpoint (knowing that it won't happen)</b></li> <li><b>Based on the observations what can we do for ourselves. KISSI - K</b>eep<b> I</b>t<b> S</b>imple<b> S</b>tupid<b> I</b>deas</li> <li><b>Followed by a list of useful websites </b></li> </ul> <h2> I Deny Myself A Simple Life</h2> Are we programmed from birth to deny ourselves an easy happy life? Importantly, if we went down that route, where is the profit motive, drive and ambition that make us human. This may be one of the reasons that society is setup to guide us to "hard work".<br /> <br /> We have to "work hard" as we have been programed in two important ways to make sure this happens<br /> <br /> <ol> <li>To buy stuff we do not NEED. By buying the stuff we do not NEED we become DEPENDENT on the banks for the life blood of LIQUIDITY. We sell our PRECIOUS TIME for LOANS to fund a place in the sun today at the expense of the future.</li> <li>We are told the future is too far off and impossible to predict. Live for today! If you don't nuclear war is coming, environmental catastrophe will drown you, monsters from the deep are coming and aliens with ray guns are going to fry you. If you ever make it to the FuTuRe don't worry as each generation is better of than the last. "Inflation will erode the value of the loan". "Who knows what the future holds", everything will the s*** so why not LIVE FOR TODAY? Buy stuff it makes you happy and desirable!</li> </ol> IT is EASY to be sold down that road when you are young, your hormones are running wild and you have to prove yourself in the adult world.<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <i>My worst purchases were the designer shirts, aftershaves, expensive W I D E S C R E E N  TV new car, new PC (several times) and games console, what saved me was I lived within my means and was comitted to pay down debt but still spend what was left at the end of each month. It had to change and it did due to moving in with my wife to be.</i> <i>We started to think about what the world around us was all different - CoNTeNDer</i></blockquote> <h2> Lets Turn Our World on its Head - What if</h2> <ul> <li><b>On Media</b> - what if it was biased towards real life and real entertainment</li> <ul> <li>Positive stories of achievement and real world lives are the headline news</li> <li>Documentaries and educational entertainment are prioritized in TV programming</li> <li>The average Joe was the star instead of being bombarded by "beautiful people" </li> </ul> <li><b>On Fashion</b> - was personal from us and not dictated by the fashion house dreams</li> <ul> <li>What if the real answer is that someone will fancy you for who you are and not what you buy.</li> <li>Everyone looked different in the crowd and unique instead of being seen as an "odd ball" </li> </ul> <li><b>On Work</b></li> <ul> <li>What if you achieved in the job because you are spontaneous and talented instead of a great regurgitation of the company line and butt kisser?</li> <li>What if we did not waste so much human talent on mindless administration jobs and advertising a dream or an inadequacy and did something really useful?</li> <li>What if work was more financially fair with the difference in the high to low wages in society falling back to historical averages e.g. the guy at the top gets 40 times the guy at the bottom? Is this anti-capitalist or does it help to pull everyone's wages up? The guy at the bottom has more money to spend and invest and the wealth trickles back into the community, the community thrives and the business grows and the guy at the top makes more.....</li> </ul> <li><b>On Friendship</b></li> <ul> <li>You were happy because you had loads of positive balanced friends.</li> <li>You gave your time freely and cherished giving thanks in kind</li> </ul> <li><b>On Personal Development</b></li> <ul> <li>You worked out how to do things for yourself and were taught that failure is fine just learn a little from the experience.</li> </ul> <li><b>On Finance</b></li> <ul> <li>You were told to shun debt</li> <li>Taught to control your finances and invest</li> <li>Easily setup your own business</li> </ul> <li><b>On Health</b></li> <ul> <li>What if we were taught to grow our own food in School</li> <li>What if we were really taught to understand where our food comes from and its real cost to the body <span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">(see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Inc-HD-Robert-Kenner/dp/B009K86D86/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1408303705&sr=1-1&keywords=food+inc" target="_blank">FOOD INC</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Line-Ted-Danson/dp/B003F8OQUY" target="_blank">The End Of The Line</a> Documentaries)</span><b><u><br /></u></b></span></li> <li>What if you exercised naturally and regularly - walking to work and the shops, maintaining a garden</li> </ul> <li><b>On Family</b></li> <ul> <li>You had supportive family nearby</li> </ul> </ul> This personal list of observations our Little TRiBe has made down the last few years have really focused our attention on how we avoid DEBT, INVEST and LIVE OUR LIVES today and with THE.FuTuRe in mind. <br /> <ul><ul> </ul> </ul> <h2> It's not going to happen any time soon so it is up to you</h2> Idealism is great. You are philosophising on what things could be like and what deep down you want for your own TRiBe. This is the point that Mr.ReALiSM arrives, pulls your head out of the clouds and douses you with a bucket of cold water.<br /> <br /> There are too many interested parties to keep the status quo going. Maybe a butterfly flapping its wings in Connecticut does cause a Typhoon in the South China sea but the average Joe such as the CoNTeNDeR really has his work cut out to make any sort of noise.<br /> <br /> Institutions and systems are built up over generations and interested parties have set them up to protect their interests regardless of the odd dissenter in their ranks. Things are not going to change any time soon. <br /> <br /> For instance media will not change track any time soon due to its self interest in glamorising people and lifestyles, horror and tragedy - they sell.<br /> <br /> Education is provided for the good of the state. It is not providing a full rounded curriculum only what is needed to keep the country running smoothly. They need obedient workers to pay ever increasing taxes.  <br /> <br /> It is up to indviduals to use our gift to think for ourselves. It is a skill that needs to be mastered, some call it wisdom. (see the post on <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2014/02/FinancialIndependenceOptimism.html" target="_blank">Positivity, Realism and Pessimism</a> in relation to financial independence planning). So what can we do for ourselves to make our lives simpler, wealthy, challenging and rewarding: <br /> <h2> What can one do for ones self?</h2> <ol> <li><b>Learn how to debate, question and think clearly from a young age</b></li> <li><b>Find a mentor</b>, a wise worldly person to talk to and learn from</li> <li><b>Limit the amount of advertising and media you expose yourself</b> <b>to</b> - as always question it - is it for your benefit?</li> <li>Make goals that are <b>what you really want and really need</b>. </li> <ol> <li>If being the next Richard Branson is what you want, understand how he did it and work out how to get there. </li> <li>If you want to be financially independent, understand what type of lifestyle you are looking for and how much income will you need to fund it, then work out how you will obtain the income and how long it will take.  </li> </ol> <li><b>Do not be one of the herd</b> as you will always be average and risk-adverse. Being comfortable is not necessarily free or happy.</li> <li><b>Cultivate relationships with a wide range of people</b> - everyone has unique insights to the world around them you can learn from.</li> <li><b>Life is a set of challenges</b> for some reason 7 years is usually a good changing point. Get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis, make mistakes and learn from them you will be stronger for it in the future</li> <li><b>Read</b>. Books the internet etc. all of that world of knowledge as at our fingertips. There is too much so what do you need to learn at that point in time in your life. Get a book and have a go. Once the skill has been learnt file the skills away mentally (or in a library) for another day.</li> <li><b>Accept nothing less than happiness</b>! If you are un-happy move on and do something about it. You are the person in control of the majority of your happiness. You and only you can make a real change. Ditch the bad job if needs be, move, end the bad relationship, kick the bad habits. </li> <li><b>Do not accept perfection</b> - it is not possible and will lead to un-needed stress follow the 80:20 rule 80% of the results come from 20% of the work - delegate the rest!</li> <li><b>Ignore other people achievements and focus on your own</b>. Who knows how other people  achieved theirs or how they are funded so don't go there, they are not you. I do not mean ignore the greats such as Aristotle, Socrates, Jefferson et al. just the people next door and in work.</li> <li><b>KISSI - Keep it simple stupid ideas</b></li> <ol> <li>Spend less than you earn</li> <li>Do not accumulate complicated stuff - it is a mental and cost expense for you.</li> <li>Avoid the need for administration - too many cars / houses etc...TV license and mobile phone contracts.</li> <li>Keep organized - know where everything is and when it needs to be done (e.g. add your car test to your e-calendar with a reminder).</li> <li>Stay under the radar - don't gossip or get into trouble.</li> <li>Take stay-cations enjoy where you live - no cars, planes, passports, booking forms, hotels...</li> <li>De-clutter / sell stuff on a regular basis and your email subscriptions / junk mail!</li> </ol> </ol> This list could be very long to capture every different angle that is available. It cannot cater for each person's own dreams all it does is point out some of the pitfalls our little TRiBe HAS fallen into in THE.PaST.<br /> <br /> Our message is we had to learn to avoid the temptations and bull**** that are thrown at us in the modern world. We had to think long term and work backwards towards our goals. We have had to be adaptable and have changed directions and our aspirations. We have plans for the coming years and fully expect them to change albeit hopefully not as much as in out 20's and 30's!<br /> <br /> <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2012/10/10-career-skills-for-early-retirement.html">10 Career Skills for Early Retirement</a>,<u><span style="color: blue;"> </span></u><br /> <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2012/11/6-habits-for-very-early-retirement.html">6 Habits for Very Early Retirement </a></span></u>.<br /> <br /> So ask the question what do you really want. That end goal and that good set of goals. Aim for it. Get it.<br /> <br /> Here are some useful websites and links:<br /> <ol> <li><a href="http://briankim.net/" target="_blank">BrianKim.net</a> - great daily pick me up emails</li> <li><a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/" target="_blank">Steve Plavlina</a> - thoughtful personal development website</li> <li><a href="https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php" target="_blank">Steven Covey</a> - 7 Habits and the 8th Habit- they are even teaching the methods in schools</li> <li><a href="http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/" target="_blank">Change your thoughts</a> change your life</li> <li><a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/" target="_blank">Mr Money Mustache</a> - frugal living</li> <li><a href="http://retireby40.org/" target="_blank">Retire by 40</a> - Some great finacial models</li> <li><a href="http://simple-living-in-suffolk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Simple living in Suffolk</a> - Sound financial and life advice from old blighty</li> </ol> A couple of new(ish) financial independence sites from the UK<br /> <br /> <a href="http://mistersquirrel.com/" target="_blank">Mr Squirrel</a> <br /> <a href="http://theescapeartist.me/" target="_blank">The Escape Artist</a> <br /> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

12 Things to Get your S*** Together

Simple Country Living In this post we going to consider what if the world worked differently from a personal idealistic standpoint (...

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Messed Up, Clued Up, Wised Up

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Jvc_oIscg/UpJAPlru4gI/AAAAAAAADDA/5nPWD0NkMfA/s1600/Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Jvc_oIscg/UpJAPlru4gI/AAAAAAAADDA/5nPWD0NkMfA/s1600/Books.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As human beings we start off in life learning from our parents who generally protect us from the real world. We make mistakes, do and say things we shouldn't. All part of being a kid and the learning process. Later in life we act and talk bravado, drink and party too much, fun, fun, fun continuing the learning process. Eventually adolescence leaves us behind, the real world of work and personal responsibility beckons but we are still a long way from being wise.</span></span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>To be financially independent is to learn to be wise with our investments. We need to manage and adapt them to deal with the opportunities and uncertainties that we will be presented with in the 40+ years of living financially independent. </b></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Specifically this post considers how we gain wisdom to overcome some of the challenges to our financial independence and what we could do about them.</b> </span></span><br /> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Confidence (</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">A.K.A THE.PaST)</span></span></h2> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Confidence</b> is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective.<u><b>???</b></u></span></span></blockquote> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Before looking at some options for financial resilience, let's consider some of the major changes to our lives and what we can learn from them.</b></span><br /> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;"> Past Precedents</span></h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;">In the recent past mankind has overcome numerous challenges. The green revolution has fed the masses and enabled us to hugely increase the world population. Nuclear power came along at the right time to reduce our consumption of oil, coal and gas which in turn have been tapped with space age technology.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Companies have thrived, profits have flowed. Based on our past it is fair to believe that things will continue as they always have<b> </b> the status quo and invest accordingly based on long term trends. There are numerous investment approaches to manage investments in several of the websites linked from the front page of this site.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Investment opinions and approaches are just opinions albeit backed up with historical precedents. Should one run one's life and investments based on the opinions and ideas of others? Perhaps they should be used <u><b></b></u>as a way to build wisdom, take responsibility for ones decisions, think outside the box and get rich instead of market average?  </span><br /> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Arrogance (A.K.A THE.PReSeNT)</span></span></h2> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The act or habit of <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arrogate" title="arrogate">arrogating</a>, or making undue claims in an <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overbearing" title="overbearing">overbearing</a> manner; that species of pride which consists in exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, estimation, or power, or which exalts the worth or importance of the person to an undue degree; proud contempt of others; lordliness; haughtiness; self-assumption; presumption.</span></blockquote> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Seeking Wisdom from the Past</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></h2> Wisdom takes time. <span style="font-family: inherit;">For me THE.CoNTeNDeR the light bulb dimmer was adjusted up a little around the age of 36. I write my opinions here on this blog - are they wise, perhaps they are wiser for <u>me</u> but how would you know when you have wisdom or enlightenment?</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">As you grow older you tend to be more reflective instead of impulsive, learn to understand and accept risks, take responsibility for your actions, developed a greater depth of knowledge and skills, learnt how to keep your hand on the pulse and filter out the chaff from the important.</span><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">"Bloggers write s**** with exclamation marks and bad punctuation with no concrete evidence" - quoted in the film Contagion</span></blockquote> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Is it wisdom when you have learnt how to be objective, understand different points of view, listen to others and then critically analyse the information and make your decisions?</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Is giving no advice and just asking probing questions good advice? Is listening and asking relevant questions the right way to be happy with your family friends and colleagues?  Do what you believe is right. Don't take anyone else's advice for granted or blame someone for taking it.<b> </b>At the end of the day you are the person ultimately taking the action of your own free will. </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Listen, think, ignore and do what is right for you.</span><br /> <h2> </h2> <h2> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Delusion (A.K.A THE.FuTuRe)</span></h2> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">A <b>delusion</b> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief" title="Belief">belief</a> held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confabulation" title="Confabulation">confabulation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogma" title="Dogma">dogma</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusion" title="Illusion">illusion</a>, or other effects of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception" title="Perception">perception</a>.<u><b> </b></u></span></blockquote> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Present & Future Opportunities?<u></u></span></h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;">I thought it is worthwhile to consider a few things going on in the world today that definitely raise a few questions on the viability of financial independence.</span><br /> <ol> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cyprus Precedent</b> - Your money in a bank is not actually yours - you lend it to them and it is a liability for them. What stops a bank haircut across the board?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Negative interest rates</b>! Yes you pay the bank to look after your money which it may use in risky lending practises to make more money or the bank safe?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Money flows into stocks and especially dividend stocks.</b> These "investment" actually become risky in a high inflation environment under performing in real terms as margins are eroded.</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Real estate prices rise as money finds a home</b> - over inflating the price of a home. Worse still people buying a home with a mortgage have to take on more debt. Debt = time and lots of debt = debt slavery. If the property bubble bursts the debt remains and due to the inherent leverage in the system the buyer can be left with huge losses.</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Increase in the money supply / inflation increases living costs</b>. Just divide 72 by the inflation rate to get the time for prices to double. e.g. a 4% rate 72/4 = 18 years!</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Resource depletion</b> - why are we digging up huge swathes of Canada, fracking US plains and drilling miles under the sea? At the same time US gasoline usage has cratered by 60%+ and oil is hovering around $100</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Central bank / government intervention and herd</b> <b>mentality</b> - financial markets are just as emotionally driven as they are fundamentally valued. Central banks can completely change the rules of the game. Governments can force changes on the populous.</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Black swan events</b> - what about the nuclear fusion problem being solved in the next 5 years and "free" energy being available for everyone? </span></li> </ol> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Joining some of the dots together above highlight that time could be a changing.What about the FI enthusiast what does this mean to the 4% withdrawal guideline? Like everything in life it is a rule of thumb, guideline based on historical norms (how long has it been normal?)</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Guidelines are there to be broken, re-defined just as the current rules of the game in finance are being changed favouring different people and entities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Who knows? Perhaps the 4% rule becomes the 6% rule as we may be ushering in a new prosperity. Instead of saving 25 times your outgoing you only need to save 20 times instead? What if you invest in the right sectors?</span><br /> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;"> Opportunistic Investments?</span></h2> <ul> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oil is depleting - invest in oil companies with long life reserves and <b>buy a small car</b>?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Food costs more - <b>grow your own</b>?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Electricity is going up - get some <b>solar panels</b>, wind turbine our water wheel?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cash savings are loosing their value. Learn about fiat money and why we are told inflation is good and deflation is bad (to whom?) - <b>invest your spare cash </b>(always keep a cash buffer for opportunities and emergencies)  in perhaps productive farmland or forestry, perhaps a depleting resources such as platinum, copper or silver or rarity in artwork, first edition books, stamps?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have your <b>own business</b> so you can set the right prices for your needs. </span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have a strategy, a backup strategy and and backup backup strategy</b>. What if rental yields drop - should you exit?, Stock markets soar - should you sell some and buy rental properties? What happens if the misses is pregnant with triplets or you receive an inheritance windfall?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are the growing businesses of the world? What are the trends where are the opportunities? Perhaps take time twice a year to <b>read up on the future</b>. Trend forecast sites can be a good source of information, consider any of the new websites, buzz gadgets that are the new big thing. What are the key resources needed to provide our 21st lifestyle? (e.g. rare earths, silver, semi conductors, solar panels, new drugs etc.)</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are getting older - <b>look after yourself</b> as health costs are rising - avoid processed foods high in sugars and fat, eat fresh local produce, clean your teeth properly, look at alternative medicines and preventative treatments.  </span></li> </ul> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Wisdom (A.K.A .....Dalai Lama, Thomas Jefferson, Socrates.....)</span></span></h2> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Wisdom</b> is the ability to think and act using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience" title="Experience">experience</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding" title="Understanding">understanding</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">common sense</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight" title="Insight">insight</a>.</span></blockquote> <h2> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Muses on attaining wisdom</span></h2> <ul> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Listen</b> more than talking</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Read, observe, analyse, criticise, and <b>form your own opinions</b> </span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be idle and <b>have idle thoughts</b></span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ask questions</b> with no right or wrong answers - What is the meaning of life?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have friends that like a good <b>debate</b></span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Don't jump to conclusion</b>s, listen, ask and understand the other persons point of view</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wait - there is no real rush - <b>take your time</b> when making decisions and weigh up all options </span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Open your mind - <b>everything is interesting</b>, there is no right or wrong just choices with different outcomes. What are the outcomes you want?</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have a go</b> at anything and everything </span></li> </ul> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Why do we want to be at p</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">eace, prosperous and happy? ...</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>CoNTeNDeR</b></span>

Messed Up, Clued Up, Wised Up

As human beings we start off in life learning from our parents who generally protect us from the real world. We make mistakes, do and say ...

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The Joy of Gardening

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRSh8AYSQLc/U0LEa0BqztI/AAAAAAAADMM/dooqdq-mWU8/s1600/DSC_0297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRSh8AYSQLc/U0LEa0BqztI/AAAAAAAADMM/dooqdq-mWU8/s1600/DSC_0297.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A garden with a view</td></tr> </tbody></table> One key aspect of our downshifting plan has always been to have a nice garden. A garden is hard work, right? It is a pleasure to look at after hours of toil. How do full time workers have the time to invest in it though?<br> <br> On this note it is sad to see so many gardens being made "Low maintenance". Grass replaced with stones, borders are covered in that horrible black plastic to prevent the weeds from growing. As for growing your own veg. Forget it, too much work, and the supermarket is around the corner.<br> <br> Where is the joy in any of that - changing gardens into a sterilised form of the office?<br> <br>

The Joy of Gardening

A garden with a view One key aspect of our downshifting plan has always been to have a nice garden. A garden is hard work, right? It is ...

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10 Reasons Why Financial Independence is Good for Society

<br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HNIdEQXagY/Uv_Ld6wX9YI/AAAAAAAADIg/954MUbjNB4Q/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Are financially independet people good for society" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HNIdEQXagY/Uv_Ld6wX9YI/AAAAAAAADIg/954MUbjNB4Q/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" title="The road to financial Independence" width="212"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Road to Freedom</td></tr> </tbody></table> Our little <b>TRiBe </b>is trying out the financially independent, idle life in France. Here are a couple of background posts: in <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2013/08/happiness-in-france.html" target="_blank"> Happiness in France</a> : finally landed in France and plan for the next 4 years & in <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2013/10/french-living-quelle-difference.html" target="_blank">French Living – Quelle Difference?</a> : this was a look at our expenditure in France compared to the UK.<br> <br> <b>In this post here is a reflection on our current arrangement of living off investments and savings. We are now business owners instead of the wage slaves and 10 reasons why this is a GOOD thing.</b><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;">Wage Slave Exploitation</span><br> <br> We were wage slaves to big business. We were the ones being exploited....<br> <br> <b>THE.PaST:</b> <i>"Hold on there you were were doing it willingly and being paid for it right?"</i><br> <br> Willingly not so sure on that one and were we paid enough. Admittedly that is a matter of opinion. WILLING SLAVE BOOK? What can be said about it was that the companies that we worked for made large profits off our backs. Fine when you are the owner of the business receiving part of the profit (most likely through dividends) but what if the company is not listed and you are not a managing partner or the private equity firm.<br> <br> Sure wage slave is a harsh word it was not real slavery was it, chained to the desk and all that. Let's consider that further. We there are other ways of chaining on to his/her desk. Check out the book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005PROO5K/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B005PROO5K&linkCode=as2&tag=thecontfinain-21" id="static_txt_preview" target="_blank">Willing Slaves: How the Overwork Culture is Ruling Our Lives</a> on this topic. <br> <br> We really had to do exactly as we were told, do what the boss wanted and make him/her look good. We had to follow the company line and bend over backwards when needed or else there is the door! OR We are not making enough profits so there is the door anyway. The sword of Damocles was there and you sure knew about it.<br> <br> We were brought up to believe work is good for us. Sure there is some truth in it (a little). It can provide an identity - what do you do (<strike>engineer</strike> loafer!). It gives you a purpose (damn alarm clock). You get to learn new stuff (invoice processing, making toilet holders) and meet new people in places you would normally not go (or want to go).<br> <br> In the West we dedicate a large part of our prime years to work. To make matters worse we start work really late after getting the pass to work - University Debt. All of those years that could have been spent actually doing something productive and being paid for it - gaining financial independence could be so much earlier.<br> <br> I digress - back to the point, we allow ourselves to be exploited as a wage slaves to a business and we have been brainwashed into thinking it should be this way until retirement age at 70.  Now let's flip this on its head and become the business owners.<br> <span style="font-size: small;"></span><br>

10 Reasons Why Financial Independence is Good for Society

A Road to Freedom Our little TRiBe is trying out the financially independent, idle life in France. Here are a couple of background post...

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56 Ways to Be Free, Financially Independent and Happy

<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eo1YdyKv81Q/Uv-wLNLqaVI/AAAAAAAADIM/P1ZoVEsBDwY/s1600/WordCloud.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="197" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eo1YdyKv81Q/Uv-wLNLqaVI/AAAAAAAADIM/P1ZoVEsBDwY/s1600/WordCloud.JPG" title="Be Free, Financialy Independent and Happy" width="320" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Live free from debt</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Have fun with the kids</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Climb trees</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Dig the garden</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Own the house outright</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Cancel the contracts</div> <div style="text-align: center;">  Consolidate the insurance</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Freecycle</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Play with the cat</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Walk in the hills</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Make cakes</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Cut up the credit card</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Bin the TV</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Avoid plastic junk</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Setup direct payments </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Listen to music </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Spend less than you earn</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Burn something</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Drink some wine and dance</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Delete online shopping accounts </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Shop local</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Stand away from the herd and observe</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Grow some veg</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Start your own business</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Walk and cycle</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Mend your clothes</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Invest</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Cuddle and kiss</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Delete email subscription spam </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Put the kids in the garden</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Vote for the outsider</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Have a party</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Know your neighbors</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Delete social media</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Do you really need to buy it?</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Read a book</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Cook fresh food</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Install an internet ad blocker </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Sit in the dark</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Doodle on a piece of paper</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Turn everything off at night</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Get a job you actually like</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Wear <i>weird</i> clothes </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Resign</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Keep calm and opt out</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Be free from the State</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Stay away from the mainstream media </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Be naked</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Why being Angry? </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Get lost in the countryside</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Laugh out loud in public </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Is it really that bad - frame it</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Enjoy today, plan for tomorrow</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Exercise naturally ;)</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> #FinancialIndependence </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Seek #Happiness </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> FISH!</div> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>THE.CONTENDER</b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New CONTENDER Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Here you can find out about </a>THE.CONTENDER and the purpose of the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, have a <a href="http://pinterest.com/gitrwm/contender-vs-the-future/" target="_blank">look at the pictures on the notice board</a><u><a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html#random" rel="13"></a></u>. Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>.<br /> <br /> Kindly share this post >>

56 Ways to Be Free, Financially Independent and Happy

Live free from debt Have fun with the kids Climb trees Dig the garden Own the house outright Cancel the contracts  Consolida...

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Financial Independence Options

<br> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BG85piBTkus/UuU-niALSnI/AAAAAAAADHY/88GfwH9Hgn0/s1600/TeddyFamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BG85piBTkus/UuU-niALSnI/AAAAAAAADHY/88GfwH9Hgn0/s1600/TeddyFamily.jpg" width="320"></a><i><b>Mr Teddy Bear</b>: "Time to review our family finances and consider where are we going. Let's get the facts and run the cold hard numbers.<b>"</b></i><br> <br> <i><b>Mummy Bear: </b>"Oh daddy bear you are so cuddly when you talk tough"</i><br> <br> <i><b>Baby Bear: </b>"I want a games station, mobile computer, princess bike and trust fund...Now!" </i><b></b><br> <br> <b><br></b> <b></b><br> <b><br><br><br><br>This post is about a few hypothetical scenarios entered into the NEWLY UPDATED financial time line planner.</b><br> <br> The financial time line planner has received a little bit of tender and loving care in the last week. The following has been changed / added:<br> <ul> <li>Mortgage calculations</li> <li>Debt repayments</li> <li>Improved graphics</li> <li>Financial scenarios</li> </ul> Here<u><b></b></u> we are going to look at three different type of people and see how the timeline works for them:<br> <ol> <li>A fun loving/carpe diem 25-year old on a professional career who loves #selfies</li> <li>A 35-year old looking to #downshift as fast a possible</li> <li>A clued up 25-year old who is going for #ExtremeEarlyRetirement</li> </ol> <span style="font-size: large;">Party on! CEO, Playboy, Sports car, Mansion, Hawaii </span><br> <br> Our first example is the one <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR</b> started out in life believing would make him happy... This was soon dashed by the property boom in the UK effectively resigning him to having to rent for teh rest of his life. This caused a huge shift in <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR's </b>financial mindset.<br> <br> So here is a representation of an ambitious life and fun loving 25 year old looking to climb the corporate ladder. He is going to enjoy the high life and all the consumer goods on offer. The result shows the need for an ever increasing income to pay for the increasingly high life living costs. Although cash flow rich and materially wealthy on the outside he needs to keep the hamster wheel turning to avoid a nasty shock. <br> <br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-74UIXtw9txg/UuPiBkUZPtI/AAAAAAAADG4/U19n5TSyFBs/s1600/25yrPartyOn.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-74UIXtw9txg/UuPiBkUZPtI/AAAAAAAADG4/U19n5TSyFBs/s1600/25yrPartyOn.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CLICK ON PICTURE !</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br>

Financial Independence Options

Mr Teddy Bear : "Time to review our family finances and consider where are we going. Let's get the facts and run the cold hard num...

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Phi, Hero and Forecast

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QxaOmSUDwkw/UtfLHcaX2nI/AAAAAAAADF0/ObYH9dyGPew/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QxaOmSUDwkw/UtfLHcaX2nI/AAAAAAAADF0/ObYH9dyGPew/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>What's THE.FuTuRe Forecast?</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br> <b>THE.FuTuRe: <i>"</i></b><i>I took you to the cleaners last year. I ran circles around you, give up, give in. It's a slaves life for you my lad. Live for today your past is gone and forget about tomorrow."<br><br><b>THE.PReSeNT</b> "Just let me look after you!"</i><br> <br> <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR</b>: "<i>You're a happy bunch aren't you? Bog off! I can learn from the past to prevent mistakes in the future.</i><i><i> I actually know of a few useful guys that can help me out.</i>"</i><br> <br> Forecasting is an inherently difficult and thankless task. Accepting that you will be wrong to a degree is the first step. Secondly you need to refer to the past to help to predict the future. Finally add in knowledge you know today and plans for THE.FuTuRe.<br> <br> Being partially right is better than being completely wrong.<br> <br> <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR</b> had a go at product sales #forecasting and can attest to the fact, through the use of clever mathematics and experience you can gain superior results. We want to think bigger though - what could happen in real life? Thankfully there are some people out there that specialise in the big picture in particular investment cycles and geopolitical events.<br> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>“Plan too far ahead and nature will seem to resist.” <br>- </b><b>Ancient Chinese proverb<br> </b></i></span></span></blockquote> <b>We live in a mind boggling, complex, constantly changing world and our understanding of it is still in its infancy. In this post we are going to look at </b><br> <ul> <li><b>How we humans are using patterns and cycles to forecast THE.FuTuRe. In particular Martin Armstrong's Confidence, Model, Nicolai </b><b>Krondratieff's inter-generational cycles and Gerald Celente's Trend Journal.</b></li> <li><b>Contemplate inter-generational impacts for the Boomer, Nomad, Hero and Artist generations. </b></li> <li><b>A look at an investing approach, for the aspiring Financial Independent Person that is built to ride the waves of time....Harry Brownes Permanent Portfolio. </b></li> </ul> <span style="font-size: large;">Phi, Cycles and the Nano Second Investing World we Live in</span><br> <br> Phi is represented throughout nature and is very evident in the cycle of time, plant structures and even human nature. Number patterns are everywhere have a look at the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/190426347X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=190426347X&linkCode=as2&tag=thecontfinain-21" id="static_txt_preview" target="_blank">Golden Section</a> for instance. We cannot ultimately fight nature - fundamentals win out eventually. We still believe we can geo-engineer our climate yet we cannot even get a weather forecast right!<br> <br> If nature does not have enough on its plate here comes MAN. We have introduced our logic to the real world which has huge implications on how we interact with the world.<br> <br> Just have a look at technical trading and the adornment of <a href="http://moneyweek.com/spread-betting-video-tutorial-elliott-wave-theory-13701/" target="_blank">Fibonacci levels Tramline analysis and Elliot Wave Theory</a>. With so many people using these "tools" the herd follow numerical trends against all reality for the underlining investment. Wall street has the power to wipe out entire industries. Often shipping them abroad where human rights and environmental controls are less strict. These beliefs are powerful forces that cannot be overlooked.<br> <br> We now have added HFT algorithms into the mix. Computers bash the price up or down based on more man logic to make huge profits on the smallest differences in price. MAN LOGIC is prone to herd mentality and emotions so these HFT can all feed on each other and cause ridiculous price distortions.<br> <br> How long until we introduce artificial intelligence to the computers to make the situation even worse. What common sense we do have will be removed. Perhaps we will have a Terminator Esq Financial Judgement Day. Computers deciding that destroying the entire financial system will lead to the most profit taking the real world with it? It is very strange that HFT is allowed......<br>

Phi, Hero and Forecast

What's THE.FuTuRe Forecast? THE.FuTuRe: " I took you to the cleaners last year. I ran circles around you, give up, give in. It...

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Learning from THE.PaST

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ytau1k6mQS0/UslPUjxXEMI/AAAAAAAADFM/6FHndx0bVks/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ytau1k6mQS0/UslPUjxXEMI/AAAAAAAADFM/6FHndx0bVks/s320/DSC_0037.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cold start to the year?</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>THE.FuTuRe</b>: <i>"CHUMP you still there? Learn from me and <b>THE.NoW</b> forget<b> THE.PaST</b> he is a has been, now look forward he can't teach you anything. <b>THE.FuTuRe</b> is mine all mine and it WILL be different than <b>THE.PaST</b>"</i><br> <br> <b>CoNTeNDeR: </b><i>"You are preaching to the converted, mate, but you forget one thing <b>THE.FuTuRE</b> may be different but it rhymes with <b>THE.PaST</b> and.....we are not having you mess up our enjoyment in <b>THE.NoW</b><b>"<br></b></i><br> <span style="color: red; font-size: xx-small;"><b>*CHUMP - Fool, loser, muppet, victim of THE.FuTuRe, loner, weirdo, odd, strange, picked on OR WINNER - Happy, healthy and challenged.</b></span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;">TRiBe 2013 - Happiness and Investing...!</span><br> <br> We understand that money isn't everything but it alows us to do things that we want that give us..... happiness. It is damn nice but what is it how do we know? To help appreciate it (happiness) don't you need to experience its opposite as well? Can being rich in money mask real happiness by shielding you from real life experiences.<br> <br> So did the TRiBE have a rounded year.....with rich experiences both good and bad - even if we did not set out on that course - lets take a look:  <br> <br> We really did have a roller coaster of a year. The sadness of a bereavement in the family. Lots of family illness in the form of all kinds of nasty bugs. Scarlet Fever, Schingles, Bronchitis, Chicken Pox and topped off with a nice bout of Gastro. That sure made us un-happy. Can we just mark that one down as couldn't do anything about due to the joys of having young kids and living in a large city.<br> <br> MRS.C left work followed with the normal withdrawal symptoms. From personal experience I actually think it is nicer to be sacked / made redundant than resign. It gets rid of the what in the hell am I resigning for / doing question.<br> <br> Bang! Suddenly the lack of work (job) = an empty void that you feel the need to fill back up OR was it too filled in the first place?<br> <br> We were very fortunate to be able to make these choices. At least our actions left a job behind for someone else to take up the financial independence mantra.<br> <br> So we packed up our belongings and gave away the rest then moved to another country. Fun, exciting and exhausting.<br> <br> This place is so different. How do you settle into a completely different culture as well as adapting to a complete change to family life (both parents at home and we have managed not to divorce yet).<br> <br> Yes family life. No more "shift family member from A to B refill on the way then into bed to recharge the batteries". <b>THE.FuTuRe</b>: "<i>Fill the void! Do it now you must be busy all that free time together would drive you mad</i>"<br> <br> <b>Is he right what are we doing to fill the void - please read on for an investment review and some key learning's around our downshifting move to France from the year that was 2013</b><br>

Learning from THE.PaST

A cold start to the year? THE.FuTuRe : "CHUMP you still there? Learn from me and THE.NoW forget THE.PaST he is a has been, now l...

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Financial Independence and Happiness Books

<b>SPEND.IT.NOW: </b><i>"You say Read Read Read - I haven't got time to read! TLTM (too long too much?). I've been fed snippets all my life. The news in 10 minutes is all you need don't you know? That's what I want concise, short, to the point, none of this 300 page novel stuff. Crikey, even your blog posts are too long CoNTeNDeR. I've gotta do other stuff you know. </i><br> <br> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Jvc_oIscg/UpJAPlru4gI/AAAAAAAADC8/WHpH97fVVxk/s1600/Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Jvc_oIscg/UpJAPlru4gI/AAAAAAAADC8/WHpH97fVVxk/s400/Books.jpg" width="400"></a><i>Short is all I want! Let's start by sorting this blog out.</i><br> <br> <i>Change it to "</i><i><i><b>SMBH</b>"<b> </b></i><b>S</b>ave <b>M</b>oney, <b>B</b>e <b>H</b>appy" -  that's it nice, simple and quick to read! Genius! </i><br> <br> <i>Delete everything on the blog and replace </i><i><i><i>the front page</i></i> with "</i><i><i><b>SMBH</b>". Job done. You will thank me </i>CoNTeNDer you can pack up the website as you have done your bit and have all that spare time to fill with fun"</i><br> <i><br></i> <b>CoNTeNDeR:</b><i> "<b>SMBH </b>to you too!"</i><br> <br> <b>Books are great, something to get lost in for a few hours, something to debate, something new to learn. A lot of what is discussed on this site has its starting point in a book or article. This post is all about the books we have relied upon for our financial independence and downshifting planning. </b><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;">Reading, Why Bother?</span><br> <br> Books, Books, and More Books, so many to read and so long. When will one ever the the time to read them all?<br> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate" target="_blank"><br></a></div> Aren't a lot of books just fiction such as graphic crime stories and romantic slush. Yes they may be great to retreat into a fantasy world unfortunately they will not help with gaining financial independence (although they may help on the happiness side).<br> <br> What we are really looking for are reference and how to books and essays.<br> <br> It is all too easy to say "<i>Come on, I had my share of serious books at university</i>" unfortunately the books in university were generally just on topic. Too specific and not everyday real world challenges. <br> <br> For example <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141038225/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0141038225&linkCode=as2&tag=thecontfinain-21" id="static_txt_preview" target="_blank">Antifragile</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141034599/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0141034599&linkCode=as2&tag=thecontfinain-21" id="static_txt_preview" target="_blank">The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable</a> by Nassim Taleb are the opposite of  "Don't worry about challenges, society will look after you, go to the pub, watch a movie or go to the shops instead. It is more fun". Taleb highlights how fragile some of our support systems actually are how unforeseen events will always exist and what we as individuals can do about it.<br> <br> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/WorldMapLiteracy2011.png/400px-WorldMapLiteracy2011.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/WorldMapLiteracy2011.png/400px-WorldMapLiteracy2011.png" width="400"></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;">  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate" target="_blank">List of countries by literacy rate source: Wikipedia</a></div> <br>

Financial Independence and Happiness Books

SPEND.IT.NOW: "You say Read Read Read - I haven't got time to read! TLTM (too long too much?). I've been fed snippets all my li...

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French Living – Quelle Difference?

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1u8qIAHiY9A/UkvN6RBalNI/AAAAAAAAC5A/-EuBRcYVxq0/s1600/ViewFromTheGarden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1u8qIAHiY9A/UkvN6RBalNI/AAAAAAAAC5A/-EuBRcYVxq0/s400/ViewFromTheGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>View of the local Cathedral from our Garden</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"> <b>Monsieur l'ail</b>: <i>"Bienvenue la France!"</i></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"> <b>CoNTeNDeR</b>: <i>"ail ail ail what is this guy saying? Can I get some garlic, cheese, a baguette and </i><strike><i>beer</i></strike><i> une bouteille de vin please? </i> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <b>In this post we are going to have a look at the short term implications </b><b><b>our downshifting: </b></b></div> <ol> <li><b><b>Media Blackout - being offline for several weeks.</b></b></li> <li><b><b>Settling in our new house and surroundings</b></b></li> <li><b>Financial Independence Implications - French budget vs London Budget</b></li> <li><b>A look at the garden and some of the wildlife - saving money by growing some of our own food?</b></li> </ol> <span style="font-size: large;">Media Blackout</span><br /> <br /> Our little tribe is now settled in our rental property in France and have Internet access.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;">Having been offline for several weeks we have avoided all the mass media's doom, gloom, death, celebrity behaving badly and sport related distractions. This has been refreshing to really focus our minds on what is important and real in our lives. What is within our circle of influence - home, family, community and friends.</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;">It may be nice to disconnect however this could be dangerous - being ignorant of the wider world around us. There are BIG world problems that can easily come knocking (for instance a US default on its debt and the European austerity drive causing large unemployment in its youth population) on our door that we need to pay attention to. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;">Now we are able to keep tags on the 'real' news from the blogs and websites we follow the 'blackout' we have had is a reminder that taking everything in moderation is important to us. Perhaps less time reading (read browsing not real reading of a novel for instance) and more time spent doing is the order of the day. </span><br /> <br /> <i>Why not trying to turn off the TV and internet for a whole week (we have now ditched our TV completely).</i> <i>What important information and from what source was really missed over this time? </i><br /> <br /> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Settling in</span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br /> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Our rental property is much bigger than the terraced box we had in London. In addition it has a massive garden with lots and lots of fruit and nut trees, two rows of vines and a large vegetable patch.<br /> <br /> We have some very nice neighbours. All very polite, keen to make friends. All hard working Gascon families that have to survive the high taxation French system whilst enjoying the benefits of excellent facilities and health care. </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> We have already participated in Rugby training. Our eldest daughter took a little while to get going but we could not hold back our just turned two year old. She was awesome. </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> As ever in France the facilities are exceptional.</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RB2-aw9fZDA/UkvOE9rQWFI/AAAAAAAAC5I/0MhOSuUvOnk/s1600/RugbyTraining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RB2-aw9fZDA/UkvOE9rQWFI/AAAAAAAAC5I/0MhOSuUvOnk/s400/RugbyTraining.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The French Countryside Budget vs The London Budget</span></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.25cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Over the past couple of weeks we have been updating our French budget based on real utility costs, food and fuel bills. Here a a few initial observations:</div> <ul> <li><div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> The house only needs wood heating in the winter months as it has double glazing throughout.</div> </li> <li><div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> It will have a utility bill that is comparable to London. We are hoping it will be less. The numbers below are an estimation based on previous tennants who apparently used alot of electricity (perhaps using the electric heating). We also have some 'free' wood from the garden and are cutting a deal with a local farmer for some more.</div> </li> <li>We can easily grow a lot of food to reduce our shopping bill further. French food is generally fresher as you get it from the local market instead of the food that is transported over vast distances to the supermarket</li> <li>The rent is half the price from what we paid in London </li> </ul> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="5"> <colgroup width="120"></colgroup> <colgroup span="2" width="85"></colgroup> <colgroup width="95"></colgroup> <colgroup width="101"></colgroup> <tbody> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="49"><br /></td> <td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" valign="MIDDLE"><b><span style="font-size: small;">UK</span></b></td> <td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" valign="MIDDLE"><b><span style="font-size: small;">France</span></b></td> <td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" valign="MIDDLE"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Diff To UK</span></b></td> <td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" valign="MIDDLE"><b><span style="font-size: small;">% Diff to UK Total</span></b></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Electricity</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$48</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$79</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$31</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">0.91%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Gas / Wood</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$88</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$84</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$4</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-0.11%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Water</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$51</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$27</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$23</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-0.69%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Local Tax</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$181</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$136</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$45</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-1.32%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Rent</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2,160</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$917</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$1,243</td> <td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#FFFF00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-36.59%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Internet</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$40</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$37</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$3</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-0.10%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Education Fees</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$87</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$87</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">2.56%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Car Insurance</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$53</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$54</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$1</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">0.03%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Fuel / Train</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$138</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$239</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$102</td> <td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#FFFF00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">2.99%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Food</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$592</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$544</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$48</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-1.41%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Miscellaneous</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$48</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$41</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$7</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-0.21%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b><br /></b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><b>Totals</b></td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$3,398</td> <td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2,245</td> <td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#FFFF00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$1,153</td> <td align="LEFT"><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <b>Note 1</b>: The difference in the cost of housing from the city to the countryside is astounding considering the country house is bigger and more comfortable. We will be spending more on transport and education.<br /> <br /> <b>Note 2</b>: This is a look at the spending side of living in France. What has not been looked at is the taxation side when we have had a chance to get our head around it. Social tax payable on income is 15.5%. Income tax is paid above certain thresholds. This will be looked at in more detail in a later post to consider the full picture of expenditure and taxation.<br /> <br /> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;">So far so good – any downsides?</span></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N0iG0Q1kKxI/UkvOXGdsz_I/AAAAAAAAC5Q/sJTWiLIcopc/s1600/VegGarden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N0iG0Q1kKxI/UkvOXGdsz_I/AAAAAAAAC5Q/sJTWiLIcopc/s400/VegGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <ul> <li>The significant cost of changing country has reduced our savings by $7,880. One off costs are: </li> <ul> <li>Removals </li> <li>New Washing Machine</li> <li>Garden Tools  </li> <li>New Utility Contracts</li> <li>New plugs, water filters etc</li> </ul> <li>We no longer have a salary to rely on - time will tell if this is freedom or a dumb idea :) </li> <li>More work to maintain the garden – fortunately for us we perceive this as a good thing as we will have work hard outdoors.</li> <li>Driving to the shops and the school. These used to be on foot and now we have a short car ride (3 km) to the supermarket and local town. </li> <li>Our outgoings are higher than our current income <u>due to the rent</u>! We are on the lookout for a property to buy in the next 6-12 months which will tilt the monthly budget in our favour. </li> </ul> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Renting the house </span></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> We are still renting. This is still a significant cost compared to owning our own home outright. $916 per month is flowing out of our bank account. We don't like this but it is a necessary step.<br /> <br /> It is easy to gather from this blog that our little Tribe is not big fan of renting.<br /> <br /> We believe house prices have been manipulated higher than "normal" historical levels of affordability. We again believe this is an aberration of our times because of the monetarisation of the western economies. We used to make stuff and people were workers and producers now we rely on financial services AKA theft. This is truly for the benefit of the few real 'owners' of the financial system.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sophismata.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/median-house-price-median-income.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://sophismata.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/median-house-price-median-income.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Financial Liberation? Source: <a href="http://sophismata.files.wordpress.com/">http://sophismata.files.wordpress.com</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> Would the average man want to be able to by the average house for two times his earnings to leave lots of disposable income or just hand it over to the banks? They are the entities that really gain from  from high house prices.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://monevator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/house-price-earnings-graph.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://monevator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/house-price-earnings-graph.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Source Nationwide - Note the long run average includes the bubbles!<br /> Taken From <a href="http://monevator.com/house-price-to-earnings-ratio-2012/" target="_blank">2012 Monevator Article</a> </td></tr> </tbody></table> Sure if you own your house it goes up in value. What about the next generation? Will our generation have to take out home equity loans to help them become mortgage slaves because house prices are kept artificially high? THE.CoNTeNDeR is not happy!<br /> <br /> He does not want his children to be come one of the millions of mortgage slaves paying for the excessive living costs of the 'owners'. </div> <br /> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Here are a couple of spreadsheets from this blog to look at the costs of buying a property and the effects it can have on Financial Independence goals:</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <a href="http://www.getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/round-5-157s-mortgage-or-rent-and-save.html">Early Retirement with a Mortgage?</a> Analysis of buying versus renting - Free Tool!</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/you-cant-take-it-with-you.html">You Can't Take It With You</a> - Free Tool! – Financial time line planner</span> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> To whit we are still caught with the problem of "overpriced housing" or "renting". Although we are dealing with the pain of renting we are hoping it will give us more leverage for a better price when buying a property.</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Working the garden</b></span></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Hornets and Wasps in the Fig Trees and two big nests to boot! Us poor city folk who do not have to contend with hornets. These flying battle ships are something to marvel at and definitely something we do not want to annoy.</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f8f-VfhE_dU/UkvOyMkxgFI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/UAL-47WjaYI/s1600/WaspOnFig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f8f-VfhE_dU/UkvOyMkxgFI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/UAL-47WjaYI/s400/WaspOnFig.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> The great thing about renting is that we are getting free guidance and demonstrations by the landlord on how to deal with these pests. Something new every day.</div> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWe9cX4Dj6A/UkvPA7H6z5I/AAAAAAAAC5g/Qvq4aJCZppo/s1600/WaspClearance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWe9cX4Dj6A/UkvPA7H6z5I/AAAAAAAAC5g/Qvq4aJCZppo/s400/WaspClearance.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearing Those Pesky Wasps</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jIVHB84exM/UkvPG0IlvHI/AAAAAAAAC5o/YuCzqdkIIgE/s1600/HappyCat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jIVHB84exM/UkvPG0IlvHI/AAAAAAAAC5o/YuCzqdkIIgE/s400/HappyCat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Our Happy Cat - Space!</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div> <span style="font-size: large;">Our Downshifting Challenge</span><br /> <br /> We did not need all the the consumer products to be happy. Sure we had fun down the years but the distractions were expensive. They were creating consumer habits and guiding us away from producer habits, locking us into an expensive way of life that kept us on the treadmill.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i>If we all downshift a little we would still be able to have fun and have more time to enjoy the fun. Work a little and live a lot. We are less rushed as we would have time to complete day to day activities.</i></div> <br /> We now use a manual lawnmower - harder work, slower but some exercise, time to reflect and not wasting the world precious energy resources and polluting the environment.<br /> <br /> We can enjoy more long sociable lunches instead of re-fuelling at the sandwich and coffee bar.<br /> <br /> Time and slowing down, simplifying our lives - will this make us happier? <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR </b>would like to think so ;)<br /> <br /> Peace, prosperity and happiness<br /> <br /> <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR </b><br /> <br /> <b>Welcome New CONTENDER Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Here you can find out about </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">THE.CONTENDER</a> and the purpose of the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, have a <a href="http://pinterest.com/gitrwm/contender-vs-the-future/" target="_blank">look at the pictures on the notice board</a><u><a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html#random" rel="13"></a></u>. Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>.<br /> <br /> <b>Keep in Touch:</b>  <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MuffFreeLifeAndExtremeFinancialFreedomPlanningTools" target="_new">RSS Feed</a>, follow <b>THE.CONTENDER</b> on <a href="https://twitter.com/The__Contender" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or<b> </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Contender/368729006562792" target="_blank">Facebook </a>or subscribe to posts by email:<br /> <form action="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify" method="post" onsubmit="window.open('http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=MuffFreeLifeAndExtremeFinancialFreedomPlanningTools', 'popupwindow', 'scrollbars=yes,width=550,height=520');return true" style="border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 3px; text-align: center;" target="popupwindow"> <input name="email" style="width: 140px;" type="text" /><br /> <input name="uri" type="hidden" value="MuffFreeLifeAndExtremeFinancialFreedomPlanningTools" /><input name="loc" type="hidden" value="en_US" /><input type="submit" value="Subscribe" /></form> <br />

French Living – Quelle Difference?

View of the local Cathedral from our Garden Monsieur l'ail : "Bienvenue la France!" CoNTeNDeR : "ail ail ail wha...

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