I’m a little less than 14 months from my expected early retirement date on April 1, 2016. It’s far enough away that I’m not ready to start talking about my plans at work, especially with my boss. A lot can change in 14 months and I want to keep my options open for as long as I can. That made today especially difficult. My boss … Continue reading Early Retirement – Not Ready To Talk Yet
I’m not sure when my wife and I started using the expression. I imagine we were shopping at the mall and trying to decide whether or not to splurge on something that might or not prove useful. It started pretty innocently I’m sure, but quickly became a trusted decision rule that has saved us thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars over the years. … Continue reading Four Simple Words That Saved Us $$$ Thousands
I’ve always had this interesting thought about highly paid athletes that are financially independent and retire early from their careers: why don’t they work “one more year” and donate all of the money they earn their last season to charity? Wouldn’t that be a magnanimous gesture? Wouldn’t every fan and city they visited be excited by what the are doing? Obviously some athletes’ careers end … Continue reading Work “One More Year” – As A Gift To Charity?
I am a HUGE fan of Amazon Prime. If you aren’t yet familiar with this service, you should definitely check out what it has to offer. We have been members for about two years and it has saved us a lot of money and truly transformed the way we shop here at the FireStation. It is one click shopping at its best. Amazon prime has … Continue reading Thrifty Thursday – Amazon Prime
I had a great day at work this past Friday. There wasn’t anything especially amazing about it, but it was a truly enjoyable day. Good conversation, meaty strategic work, and a fair amount of horsing around. It was the kind of day that makes me say ‘this is fun – why do I really want to retire early from all of this?’ What am I … Continue reading 9 Reasons It’s Difficult To Retire Early
We had some friends over for dinner last weekend and my wife let it slip that I was planning to cash out next year. I wasn’t upset, but it was a little awkward because the husband works at the same Megacorp that I do and I’m not sharing my plan for retiring early with anyone at work right now. Our friends were a bit incredulous … Continue reading Early Retirement – How Soon To Give Notice?
When I first got married, my oldest brother gave me the advice to “over insure” yourself. It doesn’t cost that much and makes sure you have a good night’s sleep knowing that if you don’t wake up, no one has been left in a vulnerable place. Since I’m the key breadwinner in our family, I’ve always taken that advice seriously – but no longer. Two … Continue reading Thrifty Thursday – Life Insurance Independence
My son is a junior in high school and starting to look at colleges. He’s a smart, thoughtful kid who doesn’t seem to be stressing too much about where he goes off to school. At the same time, since my DW and I have been good savers in the 529 plan we set up for him when he was little, we’re not too stressed about … Continue reading The College Paradox
NBC’s Brian Williams has been my favorite evening news anchor for quite a while. He has a smart way of turning a phrase that brings a wry smile to the day’s events. To see all of the trouble he is in for perhaps fudging the truth on his telling of a helicopter ride more than a dozen years ago is painful to watch. You can’t … Continue reading Financial Fiction? – Suze Orman’s Background
My son goes to a parochial high school and we recently got a notice to sign him up for the next school year. The website & billing service that the school uses has pages questions at the start of the year for us to fill out in addition to the basic student name, address, and grade level. The website also asks about billing preferences – … Continue reading Thrifty Thursday – Outrageous Fees
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