New Here :)

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Hello all,

I've been occasionally browsing the boards here for about six months since being referred by somebody over at the Rich Dad forums.

Currently I'm 29, married with our first child due any day now, and net worth (not including home) is around $100k including retirement, taxable, and savings accounts. My goal is to be out of the rat race and still living comfortably by 40, and then FIRE around 45. We're a single income household as my wife will be schooling our child(ren) at home.

Anyway, just thought I'd say Hi!

-Chris

[Trek]

Hi, sounds great! Welcome

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Welcome, P_W.

I didn't know Rich Dad had a forum. Without knowing anything about it, I think you will find a lot better advice here. By a country mile.

Nords, got somethign to add?

Gypsy

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Nords, got somethign to add?

Nah, it's kinda ironic that I moderate this part of the board considering that you guys usually have the Welcome Wagon rolling long before the day starts over here. (Except for Bosco, who's almost at my longitude and a whole 'nother latitude...) Anyway it's 7:30 PM and except for a brief couple minutes this morning I'm starting even later than usual today. I got so interested in PenFed's CDs that I forgot all about an eBay auction on a 75-watt panel, and I could've had it for less than (*sob*) $3/watt. Ah well.

Welcome to the board, P_W. Sounds like you guys are well on your way. What homeschooling are you planning-- Saxon, unschooling, or something else?

And Ed raises a good point-- what's with all the traffic from Kiyosaki's board? There seem to be more posters coming here from there than from the WSJ or Forbes...

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Thanks! As for the schooling - specifically, unschooling. We're very excited about a lot of alternative parenting possibilities, so it should be interesting and fun to say the least. Did/do you homeschool?

As for the traffic from RD, I think a good amount of it comes from PsyopRanger -- he's a pretty big fan of the FIRE forums and mentions them here and there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Welcome to the board, P_W. Sounds like you guys are well on your way. What homeschooling are you planning-- Saxon, unschooling, or something else? And Ed raises a good point-- what's with all the traffic from Kiyosaki's board? There seem to be more posters coming here from there than from the WSJ or Forbes...

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior Did/do you homeschool?

No, I researched homeschooling quite a bit when our kid made us wonder if public school teachers would put up with her, but she hopped on the bus and never looked back.

There are enough homeschoolers in our neighborhood, though, to support two tae kwon do classes. The owner and his wife are homeschooling their three kids and they enjoy being able to teach in the middle of the day.

[Peaceful_Warrior]

That's awesome. I used to practice & teach TKD when I was younger... been thinking about pursuing another martial art, maybe Tai Chi. Something softer to balance out the hard style.

If our kids decide they want to go to school, we won't stop them. For now we plan unschooling, but we never can be too sure what lies ahead...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords No, I researched homeschooling quite a bit when our kid made us wonder if public school teachers would put up with her, but she hopped on the bus and never looked back. There are enough homeschoolers in our neighborhood, though, to support two tae kwon do classes. The owner and his wife are homeschooling their three kids and they enjoy being able to teach in the middle of the day.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior If our kids decide they want to go to school, we won't stop them. For now we plan unschooling, but we never can be too sure what lies ahead...

They'll let you know. But from what I've read, once they learn to be self-directed, they have a hard time putting up with teachers who want to study Egypt just because that's the schedule for Tuesday. So homeschooling is frequently an 18-year commitment.

When our kid comes home bitching about school I tell her that she can quit anytime she wants and transfer to "Dad's Homeschool". The kvetching stops instantly...

[Peaceful_Warrior]

That's what we figure as well. Amazing how the grass is always greener on the other side though...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords They'll let you know. But from what I've read, once they learn to be self-directed, they have a hard time putting up with teachers who want to study Egypt just because that's the schedule for Tuesday. So homeschooling is frequently an 18-year commitment. When our kid comes home bitching about school I tell her that she can quit anytime she wants and transfer to "Dad's Homeschool". The kvetching stops instantly...

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior the grass is always greener on the other side

obviously, you've never laid sod. welcome peaceful warrior. perused your website book list. are you & wife lucid dreamers?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior As for the traffic from RD, I think a good amount of it comes from PsyopRanger -- he's a pretty big fan of the FIRE forums and mentions them here and there.

I find that moderately hysterical, considering that PSyOp got a somewhat prickly reception here at first, and many of us dump all over Kiyoassclown every chance we get.

Anyway, welcome PW. What exactly does "unschooling" mean?

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum obviously, you've never laid sod. welcome peaceful warrior. perused your website book list. are you & wife lucid dreamers?

That's a very astute observation -- indeed, I've never laid sod. Not sure I want to, either....

As for the lucid dreaming, I can't say that we are (at least not at this point). Though I am guessing that it may very well be in our future. Are you familiar with any of the Bob Monroe stuff?

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I find that moderately hysterical, considering that PSyOp got a somewhat prickly reception here at first, and many of us dump all over Kiyoassclown every chance we get. Anyway, welcome PW. What exactly does "unschooling" mean?

Understandably so with RK. I just check his ego at the door, get what I want/need to out of his books, and interweave it with where I'm at and going.

Unschooling is basically a way of raising children with the belief that they learn best through the school of life. So rather than teach them math with worksheets, they learn it through every day interactions (toys, shopping, etc). Rather than teach them history through books, we might find a subject our child is interested in and then take them to a museum that corresponds with that interest. Children learn as they need to.

One way to look at it is that we don't teach children how to walk or talk, they just observe and then learn do it. The same is true of anything they will need to learn in life.

In the end, unschoolers will openly admit that they have knowledge gaps. However, they also say that they learn the right tools in this world that if they need a certain piece of knowledge, then they know how to go about getting it and have the confidence to do so.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior Unschooling is basically a way of raising children with the belief that they learn best through the school of life. So rather than teach them math with worksheets, they learn it through every day interactions (toys, shopping, etc). Rather than teach them history through books, we might find a subject our child is interested in and then take them to a museum that corresponds with that interest. Children learn as they need to.

It's also a good way to teach kids what they need to know without spending gazillions on homeschooling curriculum.

It was started by John Holt, who's probably whirling in his grave at what's happened over the last 20 years. Homeschooling has evolved from the legendary isolated lifestyle of fundamental Christians or perpetual travelers to become a mainstream (and highly profitable) industry.

I like the idea of using it whenever our kid has one of those open-ended questions. Before long she's learning to do tipping percentages in her head, whether she should take a hit at sixteen, or going to a bon dance. The Disney Channel and Nick at Night have been especially good for starting history discussions, and VH1's "I Love the ##s" or "Behind the Music" series are my favorites for pop culture. She's finally stopped asking us questions like "Who's Eartha Kitt?" and just goes straight to Google...

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords It's also a good way to teach kids what they need to know without spending gazillions on homeschooling curriculum.

Very true. It's quite interesting to see how well many alternative lifestyle choices can complement FIRE without sacrificing quality of life. Though I will say that eating more healthy has been quite costly, but the flip-side of that is that the better health I am in, the more I enjoy life now and when I FIRE. So no sense in FIRE if I can't enjoy it.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior Are you familiar with any of the Bob Monroe stuff?

skimmed some of his works long ago. struck me as part engineer reinventing the wheel and part innovator utilizing a radio background to play with hemisync all with a dash of bravery or maybe just profit motive to out lucid dreaming into western society. sort of a sober castanada but just as taken in by himself, selling his interpretted version of glimpses of the esoteric as treatise.

you might enjoy the writings of some of the dream yogis of tibet where dreaming has been studied in systematic fashion for more than 1000 years. just skip over the dogma & ceremony or read it all as metaphor. for a more contemporary western approach you might consider studying works by stephen laberge.

“those who know do not say; those who say do not know. close the senses, shut the doors; blunt the sharpness, resolve the complications; harmonize the light, assimilate to the world. this is called mysterious sameness. it cannot be made familiar, yet cannot be estranged; it cannot be profited, yet cannot be harmed; it cannot be valued, yet cannot be demeaned. therefore it is precious for the world.”~~tao te ching, thomas cleary translation