These are all copied from: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/frequently-asked-questions
Below is a list of my favorite tidbits of info from ERE.
In permaculture, one tries to understand how different plant and animal species interrelate with the goal of creating an arrangement with the highest possible production using the least amount of effort. The idea is to replace doing with thinking. Permaculture is brain-intensive rather than pesticide and fertilizer intensitive. You locate one plant (your job) close to a second beneficial plant (your home) which automatically fertilizes the first so you save on fertilizer (transport). You arrange plants (things you do) to minimize evaporation (wasting) so you no longer have to water them (spend). Eventually, your life will be so optimally designed and arranged in such a way so as to get paid for participating in your hobbies, get free food (from the garden) and exercise and eliminate unhealthy sideeffects like illness and stress.
Conversely, a non-permaculture way of thinking focus on increasing yield (income) of a single crop (your job) by increasing the amount of fertilizer (effort), using genetically modified seeds (technology and gadgets). You see the analogy, right? Actually a lot of the comments I get about ERE being “too extreme” and “too much sacrifice” is from those who do not see the analogy. You can imagine how an industrial farmer sees permaculture before understanding it: “Wow, your production (standard-of-living) must be low (austere) given the amount of fertilizer (money) you use (spend).
Q: How can someone with children retire early?
A: The same way as people without children. By themselves, children actually spend very little money. The problem is parents spending money on their children without limits. If you adopt the same basic guidelines for your children as you do for yourself, the cost will be low. The fiscal or frugal problem happens when parents are willing to spend less on themselves but still want to create a consumer lifestyle for their children, usually with the goal to conform. I believe this is doing the children a disfavor. Unlike stuff which you can just put in your garage, children need attention which you can either provide yourself or pay someone else to provide for you. Early retirement is a great way to provide time and attention and if you’re smart you will wait the 5 years it takes to save enough money to be financially independent before having children.
Q: I think 30 is way too young to be retired!
A: Could it be that you’re stuck in the conventional “school-career-retire-die” way of thinking about life? If so, you need to read a bit more of this site because that’s NOT the kind of retirement ERE is about. Here retirement is used in the “becoming financially independent and using that freedom to pursue other interests”-sense. Incidentally, this is not a new idea. Rather it is an old and somewhat forgotten idea. If you read biographies of people like Ben Franklin or Joseph Conrad, you will often see that they “retired” from one profession to take up another interest. Being financially independent and also well-rounded and possessing more than one skill made that possible.
Q: Do you have a bucket list?
A: Not officially! My goal in life is simply to avoid boredom. However, here are some things that interest me and a few things I have done: Get a PhD. Publish a scientific paper. Become financially independent. Live in a second country. Live in a third country. Live in a fourth country? Visit more than 10 other countries. Become a millionaire. Live in an RV. Live on a boat. Work on Wall Street. Work on/in the space program. Work in a strategic role (security or politics, not business). Learn to sail. Get a HAM radio license. Build a radio. Get my own wiki page. Publish a bestseller. Be published in three separate fields. Build a house. Buy a house. Sell a house. Fix a car. Build a vehicle. Take a trip walking 1000+ miles. Take a trip cycling 2000+ miles. Take a trip sailing 4000+ miles. Climb a mountain (Mt. Fuji). Fly an airplane. Get a black belt in a martial arts. Develop enough skills to live well on less than $7500/year. Less than $5000/year. Less than $2500/year. Become completely self-reliant: $0/year. Live off freelance income. Live off investment income. Live off business income. Live off wage income. Patent an invention. Learn woodworking. Learn metalworking. Ride a motorcycle. Shoot a gun. Build a steam engine. Build an entire machine toolshop (Gingery style). Go to Alaska and build a cabin to live in Proenneke-style. Build a robot. Build a boat. Build a motorcycle. Live forever…