An online thread recently asked “What luxury, purchases end up being a money pit?” I think we’ve all had the experience of buying something we thought would be great, but end up costing us much more than we thought. Here’s a summary of the top responses … Boats seem like the quintessential money pit for people. The old saw is that “a boat is a … Continue reading Trophy Purchase Money Pits
We had a lovely Mother’s Day yesterday with my Mom and 2 of my 3 brothers. Our son & his girlfriend also came over, so there was 8 of us for a nice brunch. The flowering crabapple trees in our neighborhood were in full bloom to mark the occasion. It is so nice to get family together. In addition to Mother’s Day, we went on … Continue reading Keep Your Friends & Family Close
I finally pulled the trigger on upgrading my sports car for some 2026 summer fun. It’s funny how car deals sometimes come together – this one was especially fast & favorable! A friend and I were at the PGA Golf Super Store looking at golf clubs a couple nights ago. He noticed that I had driven my BMW Z4 over to the store and then … Continue reading Sudden Stingray Summer …
“Learning New Things” has been a theme in these pages over the last month. Over the last week, I decided to add something else to the list … hitting a golf ball effectively. I used to golf a couple times a month when I was working. I golfed the last Friday of the month with my brothers and our Dad – and usually another day … Continue reading Driving Into 2026
A few years ago, I went golfing with the Retired Men’s Club members of our church. Since I was a relatively new retiree – and much younger than the average club member – I asked them to share with me one piece of retirement wisdom on each hole. Related: Life After FIRE – Fitting In The only two pieces of advice that I still remember … Continue reading “Find A Young Doctor”
Thoughtful reader, Klaus, suggested adding “learn something new” to the list of Cyber Advice for Sixty, that I posted last week. I think that’s a terrific idea, so I wondered what kinds of things do people want to learn at this age? It’s obviously a very personal choice, but there must be some commonalities. With the modern miracle of AI, it’s easy to query every … Continue reading What Do Retirees Want to Learn?
I’m having a milestone birthday this month – 60 years old. Turning 60 – after enjoying a full decade of early retirement – feels like a bigger milestone than other birthdays. After all, 60 is the age that many people retire, including my Father and Father-In-Law. It feels like the “early” part of our retirement is now over, but I still have a lot of … Continue reading Cyber Advice at Sixty
Wednesday was Tax Day in the United States as everyone was rushing to get their Federal & State Tax Returns submitted by that date. Ours were finished last Friday and we paid less in taxes than ever – as we lived off cash in 2025 and didn’t sell any investments for a gain. A couple of our investments, including our rental townhouse, had losses. We … Continue reading Pass the SALT on Tax Day
Early Retirement 10th Anniversary reflections from Mrs. Fire Station … It’s been 10 years since I piped in on this blog of my husband’s. When we were having lunch in Washington DC a few weeks ago, he asked me to reflect on my thoughts on the 10 years since we both retired. Related: The Better Half / Thoughts From Mrs. Fire Station I’ll admit … Continue reading Cheers to 10 Years – Mrs. Fire Station
I try to share the good and bad of our early retirement lifestyle in these posts and here’s another bad one. One of my goals in retirement was to learn to play the electric guitar that I bought 6 years before I retired. That was 10 years ago. So, I’m 16 years behind. This reminder popped up on my Facebook “Memories” tab today. I still … Continue reading Out of Tune Goals
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