FISH | Financial Independence Seeking Happiness

FIRE Budget

Contender 1 Budget, financial independence, Happiness 08:50

<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnaa4sbo5vCGDnkNAifi1vlVCL3F-mx9HiBH5oOxe-wPFJexUmVVjusK_BmkrQRGs6bXzAAECgSoXWmQTd6xwrSb0H7ZdnazUSnCO-JVLlVRWuyyUPBYEPxjlhiw0tq8jFDa0Mtw2NQemmXvwVR4GS36OOOmcIK1vlc_ilPpTTxBYidHkuRUqnRE-2pEJ/s201/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="158" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnaa4sbo5vCGDnkNAifi1vlVCL3F-mx9HiBH5oOxe-wPFJexUmVVjusK_BmkrQRGs6bXzAAECgSoXWmQTd6xwrSb0H7ZdnazUSnCO-JVLlVRWuyyUPBYEPxjlhiw0tq8jFDa0Mtw2NQemmXvwVR4GS36OOOmcIK1vlc_ilPpTTxBYidHkuRUqnRE-2pEJ/s1600/Picture1.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><br /></div>This is a post asking the question what would a "balanced life" budget look like and a discussion <br />on that ultimate personal question of what makes someone happy.<br /><br />To give some context to this post I start with outlining our unique mindset and how it influenced the path we took - FIRE. Then how we have had to adapt.<br /><br />I finish with some questions anyone can ask themselves about their money psychology.<br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Our Money Psychology<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;">My wife and I started living together we setup a joint account and 
split the bills 50:50. We knew what each other earned and neither of us 
were extravagant spenders. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>I had modest car (bought new but used for 20 years) and student loans of 10K which I was just about to aggressively pay off even though the interest rates were low. I did not like debt. Both of us had avoided spending more than we earned and had no credit cards nor personal loans.<br /><br />What we did do is spend a lot of our income. We lived in London, went out a lot and enjoyed a holiday yet were disciplined to always pay for these activities in advance.<p>Our money psychology was aligned. What we did not know at the time was how fortunate we were to be this way.</p><p>Another trait was our approach to retirement. Both of us had maxed out our retirement contributions in work. </p><p>After a couple of years living together we started consider the dream of house ownership and started to understand how much of a commitment it would be. This pushed us into saving a proportion of our income towards a deposit. </p><p>At his point we started forming our values / vision and realising were we chasing the wrong goals. We valued time together and achievement over money not keeping up with our peer group which we believed had different values and associated costs. <br /></p><p>As we started to understand our combined income and growing wealth we created a joint income, spending, saving and investing budget.....then we stumbled upon FIRE. <a href="https://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2012/07/FIRE7YEARS.html" target="_blank">The full story can be found here</a>.<br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Our Current FIRE Budget <br /></h2><p>I was inspired to write on this blog again by my last post of the Netflix Series "I will Make you Rich" and have another look at our budget allocations. The main ones being:<br /></p><p>
 </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 308px;"><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 8163; mso-width-source: userset; width: 172pt;" width="230"></col>
 <col style="mso-width-alt: 2787; mso-width-source: userset; width: 59pt;" width="78"></col>
 </colgroup><tbody><tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt; width: 172pt;" width="230">Energy %
  (Heating, Elec & Transport)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left; width: 59pt;" width="78">12.8%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Food %<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">27.2%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Housing Costs %</td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">11.6%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Fun (hols etc.)</td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">19.5%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">Savings</td>
  <td class="xl92" style="text-align: left;">7.7%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">Education</td>
  <td class="xl92" style="text-align: left;">11.7%</td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table><p>We are a family of 4 so Food is the largest cost we have - teenagers! As everyone is aware this cost has increased a lot in the last year due to "inflation". </p><p>We pay for "private" education which is funded very differently in France where the state still pays for the staffing hence the costs are considerably lower than the UK / US for example. </p><p>Our housing and energy costs are low as we own our property and have energy efficient solutions for our heating (wood boiler and solar panels) and transport (natural gas car). </p><p>We make sure we do spend on fun / holidays and have allocated 19.5% to these areas.</p><p>The saving is what is left over each month - we don't mind if we spend it on activities.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Income</h2><p>All of the percentages are based on our income which is CASH income, some earned income from a side gig and the majority passive income. </p><p>We do not base our spending on our total assets including future pensions. We do not apply the 4% rule. We are very conservative in this sense.</p><p>We could use the 4% rule by selling some of our liquid assets each year while we wait for access to our pensions.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">FIRE Trade off </h2><p>So we VALUE TIME and decided to forego EARNED income. This is the basic premise of FIRE owning your TIME. It is then up to you how you want to spend it instead of someone else deciding for you.<br /></p><p></p><blockquote>TIME / LABOUR is given up for INCOME versus FIRE is giving up LABOUR for TIME.</blockquote><p></p><p>TIME is one of those things money cannot buy. I cannot buy the TIME back with the kids yet FIRE has given us TIME with the kids. As a family we have VALUED this more over SPENDING OUR TIME FOR MONEY / STUFF.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">So what is a RICH LIFE?<br /></h2><p>This is such an interesting question raised by the NETFLIX show Living a rich life. Does consumption / spending versus being a cheapskate impact happiness? Does SPENDING = HAPPINESS. What is a cheapskate? does that = UNHAPPINESS? <br /></p><p>There have been numerous studies on what income is required to be comfortable / happy after which point the returns diminish. Say for arguments sake that is a number like 40K. Does this mean if you hit this passive income you can stop?</p><p>Does stopping / FIRE take away purpose from you life / lack of meaning = less happiness?</p><p>If you have money should you spend it our should you wait for a reason to spend it?</p><p>Does spending and accumulating stuff make your life happier or more complicated, cluttered, expensive, what defines good spending?  </p><p>These are all very personal questions that are unique to each individual.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">After reaching FIRE did we change habits?</h2><div style="text-align: left;">So have we changed our habits from the FIRE accumulation stage?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>Quick Note: we did not miss out on life during the saving and investing years. We did not go full on save every penny, we just lived below our means and made what we consider smart choices with our spending and holidays... perhaps we sticked to that 40K spending happiness level.....</blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">To be fair we have had to make changes / force change in some way:<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>You cannot foresee what your future life will be and what is thrown in front of you - naturally our goals and habits evolved with our new FIRE lifestyle. Throughout our lives we were accustomed to change and have the natural tendency to embrace change.<br /></li><li>We make sure we allocate free money to happiness activities and spend it. </li><li>We have accumulated enough stuff to now repair and replace instead of add. </li><li>We now want to make sure we de-clutter / de-accumulate. </li><li>We still like to save a bit even though, based on the 4% rule, and our current budget we don't have to << FIRE hangover habit.</li><li>We still risk plan and keep a large emergency fund another FIRE hangover habit <br /></li></ol></div><p>Are we denying ourselves?</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>We can spend more<br /></li><li>We are time sensitive to spending - what I mean by this is we have projects which we WANT to do but will wait until we have the liquid funds available and they do not risk our safety pot.<br /></li><li> We have responsibilities as parents to raise capable adults so we spend on education instead of nicer holidays.</li></ol><p>I can easily justify our lifestyle, I can easily lie to myself, I can easily change the way I see my life philosophy - all unique and there is no right answer. Yes we are denying ourselves in some ways and are fully aware of that fact. Yet.... we have priorities and goals, we fully understand you can never have everything you want and must be grateful for what we do have. You have to align with your goals and life philosophy to be content. If you are not happy you have to do something about it.  <br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusions and Actions</h2><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It is important to have goals and a vision of what you WANT<br /></li><li>It is important to know what your NEEDS are this allows you to differentiate NEEDS vs WANT and vice versa. We do not want basics to turn into luxurious goods where for example:<br /><br /> We overspend on fashion for fashions sake out of WANT. Too big a house for our NEEDS. We NEED to spend on personal development. We WANT a fancy car when we REALLY WANT a nice holiday and no debt.<br /><br /></li><li>Do not snap purchase, always take your time and have some criteria for a purchase - ask oneself is this a WANT or a NEED. e.g. Do I need the fancy expensive car?<br /></li><li>Avoid LIFESTYLE INFLATION - if you are honestly happy (have a discussion with yourself 😃)  with you current lifestyle why inflate it yourself? Keeping up with the NEIGHBORS / PEER GROUP shows a lack of confidence in yourself.</li><li>Always run a budget. Know your incoming and outgoings - allocate a percentage of your income to saving and investing and some to fun. Many fun things are almost free - play time with the family, visiting friends and local trips / being in nature. </li><li>Be very careful when shopping. Know what you want and stick to your allocated spending budget - it is easy to be lulled into an expensive purchase. Impulse purchases are often a short term dopamine rush providing little long term happiness. <br /></li><li>LIVE THE DAY with an EYE ON THE FUTURE - we OWN OUR TIME because we avoided LIFESTYLE INFLATION the insecurities of not fitting in with our peer group. <br /><br />TIME CANNOT BE RE-PURCHASED <br /></li></ul><p> Peace, prosperity and happiness</p>
<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? <br /><br /></div></div>

FIRE Budget

This is a post asking the question what would a "balanced life" budget look like and a discussion on that ultimate personal ques...

Rich Times

Contender 0 book, financial independence, FIRE 08:32

<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></p><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img class="image-stretch-vertical" height="200" id="igImage" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71G1koXSoiL.jpg" style="max-height: 2560px; max-width: 1674px;" width="131" /></p>Ramit Sethi - "I will Teach You to be Rich" can be found on his youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ramitsethi/videos">https://www.youtube.com/@ramitsethi/videos</a> and has been featured on a Netflix series raises lots of great psychological money questions and addresses all types of people.<br /><br />He has evaluated the FIRE approach to money and highlighted how you can get sucked into a way of living / create a set of habits that are hard to change.  <br /><br />As discussed on this blog the FIRE approach has a large amount of focus on the reduction of living costs. This makes reaching financial independence much easier as a rule of thumb you need 25 times your living costs to have a good go at being financially independent. 25 times 20K is much easier to save and invest than 25 times 100K. <u>Reducing costs can become an ingrained habit.</u><br /><p></p></div><p>The second aspect to FIRE is increasing your income. Again this can become a habit. Invest more for more income, work longer hours for more pay, start a business or have a side gig. When you hit your FIRE number why stop? <br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My / Our experience</h2><p>We reached our form of financial independence 10 years ago. Settling in the South West of France with at the time your young children. We have maintained our standard of living in a number of what can be considered FIRE / frugal ways (not minimalist). This has been done by:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Invested to reducing living costs - we bought what would be considered a small farm giving us options to add hot water solar panels, wood heating and grow some of our own food.</li><li>Continue to invest in different asset classes.</li><li>Continue to track our spending </li><li>Continue to maintain a spending budget <br /></li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">Is this a Rich Life?</h2><p>Are we living what Ramit would consider a Rich Life? Are we enjoying our freedom, do we use our time in a way that makes us happy or are we denying ourselves a Rich Life?</p><p>This has sparked a bit of a debate in our household - thanks Ramit! </p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Have we denied ourselves anything?</li><li>Do we live in undesirable circumstances?</li><li>To we consciously scrimp and save on everything?</li><li>Are we using financial freedom in the right way - to have happiness?</li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">Self Denial</h2><p>This psychology of money is also a psychology of life and one of those intangible questions - "The pursuit of Happiness" - what is it? What is it to us / you and other people? What are your values, what makes you happy, what is important to you?</p><p>Throughout our FIRE journey we learnt a few things about ourselves:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Perfection makes us unhappy - it is unattainable</li><li>More stuff = clutter</li><li>Cheap stuff = broken / waste</li><li>Experiences are had with people not technology - spend on people experiences freely</li><li>Financial security does limit some of the projects we would LIKE to do yet we know we do not HAVE to do them and we can WAIT to do them.</li><li>We will always have priorities and different goals<br /></li></ol><p> So what questionable / negative habits have we had - related to the FIRE building years:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>We purchased some cheap tools that have not lasted a long time. We have now switched to purchasing expensive tools. </li><li>Due to extra free time we had our head turned by technology - all too easy to look at the news / repetition which impacted our mental health / happiness.</li><li>We have been too cheap with our food shop - the local market food is far superior to the supermarket food.</li><li>We have not splashed out on fancy holidays... yet we have lots of small holidays as the South of France is full of "holidays"</li><li>FIRE has made us stand out - the question "what do you do for a living" leaves many people confused and un-interested in us.... this has led to us avoiding who we are sometimes. I still find it odd how people are not interested in what FIRE is and what you can do with parts of it.</li><li>We have not made our property a perfect show home.</li><li>We have lost lots of old friends by moving to another country.</li></ol><p>Are these things denying ourselves a Rich Life? Are we in self denial in some ways? <br /></p><p>There are always trade offs in life - as the list above highlights - yes we could have done things differently. We have had to attack and change some habits. We have to undertake self reflection and embrace change. We must stand back look at ourselves and ask - "I really am like that, I don't like it and have to change"</p><p>Keeping an open mind, listening to other peoples points of view, taking criticism and evaluating it then considering the trade offs is key to personal development. </p><p>Seeking perfection is a pipe dream in our opinion and striving for perfection brings other negative traits / habits. Acceptance, gratitude, truth and transparency help reach what the stoics call tranquility.</p><p>Are we practicing self denial? Sometimes you need someone to point it out to you! <br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">We do have a Rich Life?</h2><div style="text-align: left;">We have had to make trade-offs. We continue to adjust the way we live and spend. We know perfection does not exist. As per the stoics we just want a tranquil life one where we are in control of our own lives, do not endure financial hardship / owe other people money. We want to pay our own way and not be a burden on anyone.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />There is no doubt to us we have a rich life. We are incredibly grateful for the time we get to spend as a family - time is spent we cannot buy it back. </div><p>We live in a fun place with a rich history of the good life, alfresco living, great food. We are approximately 2 hours from the Mediterranean, Atlantic ocean and Pyrenees Mountains for the ski season. We have a comfortable house with no neighbors which provides some of the resources we consume. <br /></p><p>Ramit's reminder to live a Rich Life is a very good point - you only live once make the most of it!</p><p>We need to accept FIRE is a tool, one of many, to take control of your life escape debt serfdom and wage slavery - it is a "short term fix" in a long haul game. The tables can be turned against us at any point - but we cannot be fearful. We have to find a balance but accept change will always be with us.</p><p>Peace, prosperity and happiness</p><div><div>
<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? The information in this blog is distributed on an "As Is'' basis, without warranty of any kind. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. Information might not be completely comprehensive and some readers may want to consult additional sources. This blog does not contain professional advice. For professional advice, consult a professional. By reading this blog you acknowledge full responsibility for your actions with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly in connection with the blog.

The value of investments can fall as well as rise and any income from them is not guaranteed. You should be prepared to lose your investment. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Never base any investment decision from information contained in this website. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, or as a recommendation to purchase anything. I take no responsibility for any decisions you make based on the information in this site. If you are in any doubt as to the risk or suitability of an investment or product you should seek advice from an independent financial adviser \ professional.

No infringement of copyright is intended from any of the images and links to videos on this site.</div></div>

Rich Times

Ramit Sethi - "I will Teach You to be Rich" can be found on his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ramitsethi/videos and ...

Permaculture, Resilience and Financial Independence

Contender 1 financial independence, FIRE, permaculture, Saving 09:23

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79XNcaH3DNdzNtUNf6VjfVXoL8iatsxV_m299borSXc1EFhVymkt4_fIFOOKBeXea0LQTgkOoV9WmReL1zM0yGbbsTvuobS38tEhdPbeRnNB635GNNBoh6IdTRQ9NjwpE-Waq8vbCzI8y/s1600/P1090636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79XNcaH3DNdzNtUNf6VjfVXoL8iatsxV_m299borSXc1EFhVymkt4_fIFOOKBeXea0LQTgkOoV9WmReL1zM0yGbbsTvuobS38tEhdPbeRnNB635GNNBoh6IdTRQ9NjwpE-Waq8vbCzI8y/s280/P1090636.JPG" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>We have been financially independent for four years now. In that time we have not rested on our laurels. We have changed country and renovated an old farmhouse.</b><br />
<br />
<b>We continue to use our financial independence free time for multiple challenging projects. The main ones being:</b><br />
<br />
<b>- Make our farmhouse as resilient as possible. </b><br />
<b>- Setup our own businesses</b><br />
<b>- Continue our family education on diverse topics.</b><br />
<br />
<b>I touched on a few of the things we have been working on in my last post <a href="https://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2017/06/building-resilience.html" target="_blank">Fragiliska Part 2. </a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In this post (and subsequent posts) I am going to talk about Permaculture - living as local and sustainability as possible. I am going to relate this back to financial independence and its resilience. I will cover why I believe the two should go hand in hand. </b><br />
<h2>
<b>Why Permaculture? </b></h2>
As part of our financial independence journey we drove down our cost of living relentlessly. We really enjoyed it. It helped us realise how wasteful we actually were..... and still continue to be.<br />
<br />
These cost savings have freed up our cash to have more fun, Able to buy useful items and entertainment, invest more, set up a business, education and our house. We have split our money between these areas and are currently focusing on one in particular - Permaculture.<br />
<br />
Why? Permaculture aligns with our values of healthy living, an outdoor lifestyle, driving down our cost of living and reducing the waste we produce.<br />
<h2>
What is Permaculture?</h2>
Permanent - culture is a way of observing our surroundings and using them to provide for our selves with little to no waste. There is no right or wrong way just how you personally want to implement it.<br />
<br />
For the purists it may be living off the land with little to no external goods and services. For us it is respecting and using the resources we have available to us.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Permaculture: meeting human needs while preserving and increasing ecosystem health - <b>Rafter Sass-Ferguson</b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating plant and animal species useful to man" <b>Bill Mollison and David Holmgren </b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs" - <b>David Holmgren "Permaculture Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability"</b></blockquote>
I have included a book list at the end of this article.<br />
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Permaculture and Financial Independence </h2>
Thankfully a lot of work 
and research has been carried out to help us understand and implement 
sustainability changes in our lives.<br />
<br />
Permaculture is a 
way of maximising, whilst using responsibly and sustainably, the resources around us. It encourages trial and error. It is one thing reading about something to actually trying. It takes practise and perseverance to learn how to do it effectively.  <br />
<br />
This is the same as striving for financial independence. There are plenty of blogs and personal finance websites out there that give ideas on how to do it - 
what works for you is a bit of trial and error and lots of perseverance. <br />
<br />
The financial independence community can
 learn lots from the permaculture movement. Permaculture has principles covered later in this post that align with good financial management, communication, observation and putting it into practise. Permacultures way of looking at what we have really helps to put in perspective what we actually need to be happy, healthy and sustainable over the long term.<br />
<br />
Permaculture is a reflection that our
 current society is all about material things and energy intensive experiences which we are all aware is unsustainable in the long term. We as human beings are better than the next sugar high, flashy gizmo.<br />
<br />
 is our personal skills, our thinking 
processes and our own definitions of happiness. Permaculture teaches us 
that we already live in abundance in the West so why do we over do it to
 no real benefit to ourselves. Taking on debt for stuff and never being 
able to "retire" or have significant free time to ourselves.<br />
<h2>
Permaculture and us</h2>
My main interpretation of Permaculture is that we can be better guardians of the land around us. We stop wasting so many valuable materials by throwing away and buying new. We reduce our reliance on piped in utilities (nuclear, water and gas in our case)<br />
<br />
Our family are lucky to have resources to hand which would be irresponsible to ignore. We have good farmland by the house, a water source, fruit trees and hot summers.<br />
<br />
We have the local culture of SW France which has been kind enough to take us in. We help neighbours and they help us. We have been given plants, fruit, vegetables and eggs. We have had socialised with them at home and at community events.<br />
<br />
The culture is one of market towns and quality fresh produce. Celebration of the harvest. Protection of its heritage (buildings and museums). Love for its language spoken on all of the cafe terraces.  <br />
<br />
We are in constant trial and error mode. Constantly learning how to re-generate our commercially farmed land. Understanding how to integrate in the local community and be accepted as its members. <br />
<br />
<h3>
What Permaculture is doing for us</h3>
Permaculture principles are beginning to enrich our lives. From financial, health to mental well being positive changes are happening<br />
<h4>
Financially </h4>
<ol>
<li>Our base living costs continue to drop </li>
<li>We are growing quite a bit of our own food and the food miles are just from garden to door. </li>
<li>We are generating some of our own energy (fire wood,  solar water and electricity)</li>
<li>We are paying less tax (VAT on food and energy) </li>
<li>We are insulating ourselves from price and tax rises </li>
<li>We have learnt how to do household repairs ourselves.</li>
<li>We have spare time to pursue paid work \ our own business ideas aligned with our values</li>
</ol>
<h4>
Health</h4>
<ol>
<li>A large amount of our vegetables and fruit are being grown organically in the garden. They travel all of 10 meters to our table keeping their freshness and nutrients intact. </li>
<li>Our diet mainly consists of vegetables, pulses, grains, beans and fruit now - there is no cholesterol in vegetables!</li>
<li>We have to work outdoors a lot. This is regular exercise. I get much more vitamin D from the sun in the process.</li>
</ol>
<h4>
Mental Well Being </h4>
<ol>
<li>The whole family are learning new skills </li>
<li>We are far more resilient to external shocks (we could quite easily fend for ourselves for 6-12 months).</li>
<li>We are are far less stressed. We no longer have firm commitments to be at a place of work at a specific time each day or have to do business trips or appraisals.</li>
<li>Being able to live on less, do a little bit of paid work and continue to save we can be confident in our financial independence. </li>
<li>We have much more spare time to get our heads in order. Appreciate the world around us and play. </li>
</ol>
After starting on this Permaculture journey last year we can see how this is a very valuable tool in our financial independent life. <br />
<br />
Reducing our living costs is prosperity. It reduces complexity in our lives. It reduces our need for money and a large "pension pot" to buy stuff and services that we can provide for ourselves at little monetary cost.<br />
<h3>
It is not all about the money. </h3>
Money makes your life comfortable but after a point it introduces opulence into your life. Opulence is not a good thing for yourself and especially when raising kids.<br />
<br />
From a personal standpoint opulence can be about showing off, living beyond your means, having negative traits and thoughts. Engaging in non productive activities.<br />
<br />
As for the impact on kids - being brought up with everything on a plate is a huge dis-service to them. Core skills such as having grit and determination, inquisitiveness, creativity and thoughtfulness are not nurtured. Ignoring the importance of these skills will keep them dependent on the system and will reduce their ability to achieve their dreams.<br />
<br />
I have unfortunately seen this with several people I have met down the years where they have been mollycoddled all their lives. As a result, in my opinion, lacked any sort of drive or questioning of the way the world works. They live average lives, in debt, servitude to a job and the bank instilling the same traits in their children, surrounding them by "entertainment" junk. Engaging them in "entertainment activities". Hardly developing skills to excel in life that are valued by others.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Instead of buying junk or thrills we are using our ability so save and re-invest 40% of our passive income in our projects and our kids. Our goal is to be productive everyday - not wasting our valuable and limited time on trivial 
activities. </b></i><br />
<br />
Engaging in productive activities is far more challenging, beneficial and satisfying - "I did that!". This approach is providing a real world education to our kids and skills that are valued by others such as honesty, grit \ perseverance, problem solving, manners and inquisitiveness.  <br />
<br />We are protecting them from passivity, being beholden to technology, false opinions, the out of date  education system and the media 
scaremongering. They are being taught to be free standing individuals capable of achieving their dreams and.... Permaculture Principles fit nicely with this outlook on life.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">"When I was a boy of
14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.
But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned
in seven years."</span></i> </blockquote>
<h2>
Permaculture Principles </h2>
A set of permaculture principles has been laid out in the book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Principles-Pathways-beyond-Sustainability/dp/0646418440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504690829&sr=8-1&keywords=Permaculture+Principles+and+Pathways+Beyond+Sustainability" target="_blank">Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability</a>” by <b>David Holmgren</b> co-originator of the Permaculture Concept. I highly recommend the book as it is a high level thinking approach to living and observing the world around us. The overview of the principles are as follow: <br />
<ol>
<li><b>Observe and Interact</b> – Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder </li>
<li><b>Catch and Store Energy</b> – Make hay while the sun shines </li>
<li><b>Obtain a yield</b> – You can’t work on an empty stomach </li>
<li><b>Apply Self-regulation and accept Feedback</b> – The sins of the fathers are visited on the children unto the seventh generation </li>
<li><b>Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services</b> – Let nature take its course </li>
<li><b>Produce No Waste</b> – A stitch in time saves nine. Waste not, want not </li>
<li><b>Design from Patterns to Details</b> – Can’t see the wood from the trees </li>
<li><b>Integrate Rather than Segregate</b> – Many hands make light work </li>
<li><b>Use Small and Slow Solutions</b> – The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Slow and steady win the race. </li>
<li><b>Use and Value Diversity</b> – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket </li>
<li><b>Use Edges and Value the Marginal</b> – Don’t think you are on the right track just because it is well beaten </li>
<li><b>Creatively Use and Respond to Change</b> – Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be </li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0mwRAf3z9ag/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="210" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0mwRAf3z9ag?feature=player_embedded" width="280"></iframe> </div>
<ol>
</ol>
<h2>
Most of these principles can easily be retrofitted to financial independence principles:</h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Observe and Interact</b> – Collect information about your spending habits and learn about finance </li>
<li><b>Catch and Store Energy</b> – Have a high savings rate and invest in resilience</li>
<li><b>Obtain a yield</b> – Put you hard earned cash to work to create a CASH FLOW. This can be an income investment or something that eliminates your spending. </li>
<li><b>Apply Self-regulation and accept Feedback</b> – Track all spending and saving and review on a regular basis. Discuss plans and finances as a family - agree spending plans and the investments you want to make. </li>
<li><b>Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services</b> – Continuous personal development information is freely available on the internet, at the library etc. Buy second hand, Freecycle etc. </li>
<li><b>Produce No Waste</b> – Ditch wasteful spending (items that will only be used infrequently and are unlikely to be resellable), buy quality, re-usable items such as shopping bags. </li>
<li><b>Design from Patterns to Details</b> – What is the detail of your spending, why do you do it and when? Do you need to build new habits (e.g. shopping only once a week) to eradicate bad habits? How do you save and invest? Do you automatically pay your savings account each month. How is the money being invested is it the most cost effective way? </li>
<li><b>Integrate Rather than Segregate</b> – be a team player and get involved in as many things as possible, you do not know where they will lead you. </li>
<li><b>Use Small and Slow Solutions</b> – invest regularly and do not put your capital at risk (invest in solid companies) </li>
<li><b>Use and Value Diversity</b> – Spread your assets around. Different currencies \ countries. Alternative investments (forestry, art, stamps, jewelry, antiques etc.)</li>
<li><b>Creatively Use and Respond to Change</b> – What do you think the future will look like? Does this impact your thinking about where and how you should live? What do you think the opportunities for a business are in the future? </li>
</ul>
I do hope this raises your interest in permaculture and resilience. For someone looking to retire early there are so many unknowns that can impact your cash flow and rapidly change a dream into a nightmare. Being resilient in early retirement is a must. Whether it is a paying hobby, continuous reduction of unnecessary waste and continuous learning and investing. Whatever you do I do not recommend sitting on your laurels in early retirement. Life is for living and experiencing. These need to be challenging to be fulfilling. Don't settle for less.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Learning about Permaculture</h2>
We have been 
reading up about permaculture for several years and are now in good 
place to have a really good go at it. I have read the following books:<br />
<br />
<b>"Permaculture Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability"</b> - David Holmgren<br />
<b>"Permaculture Two" </b>- Bill Mollison<br />
<b>"The Permaculture Way"</b> - Graham Bell<br />
<b>"Permaculture Design - A step-by-step guide"</b> - Aranya<br />
<b>"The Resilient Farm and Homestead"</b> - Ben Falk<br />
<b>"The Market Gardener"</b> - Jean-Martin Fortier <br />
<br />
<b>"The Transition Handbook"</b> - Rob Hoskins <br />
<b>"Zen in the Art of Permaculture"</b> - Stefan Geyer<br />
<b>"The new complete book of self-sufficiency"</b> John Seymour<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?

Permaculture, Resilience and Financial Independence

We have been financially independent for four years now. In that time we have not rested on our laurels. We have changed country and reno...