Fitter or Fatter in Early Retirement?

Like many folks looking forward to early retirement, Captain Sparky is thinking about how he can become more fit.   Retirement goals are predicated on good health, and a lot of early retirees make it a priority. My health has always been good. I had my appendix out once, but that’s about it. I’m 49 years old, 6’ 2” and weigh about 215 pounds, which is down … Continue reading Fitter or Fatter in Early Retirement?

Early Retirement – Don’t Steal The Pencils!

I always joke when someone is leaving from my team at MegaCorp that they shouldn’t “steal our pencils!”  It’s just a funny way to acknowledge an ugly side of the workplace – that people sometimes take more than their last paycheck with them when they go. This article from a radio station in Texas (KNIN Radio) says that office supply theft is about $3.2B a … Continue reading Early Retirement – Don’t Steal The Pencils!

Thrifty Thursday – Auto Repair Savings

Daily Finance recently published a good article on thinking through where you get your car repaired.  Finding a good garage has been a challenge for me.  My old company had a company-owned automotive service center.  It was fantastic to have a place that you could go to that you would trust implicitly.  The mechanics that worked their were company employees, so they had no profit … Continue reading Thrifty Thursday – Auto Repair Savings

Ten Worst States To Retire To

  I like the magazine articles that list the top 10 this or that. I’m always a sucker to click on the link and see if my state, or my city are listed. Unfortunately, my state is on the Kiplinger’s List of worst states to retire to.    Kiplinger’s article on Huffington Post Relatively high taxes for state income are a key to determiner of being … Continue reading Ten Worst States To Retire To

Early Retirement FIRE Escape – 11 Month Countdown

This post marks the 11 month point in my countdown to FIRE – being financially independent and retired early. My FIRE escape date is planned for April 1, 2016 – just a few weeks before my 50th birthday. Each month I’ve been counting down the activities that are getting me prepared. This month’s headline is that our nest egg held the terrific gains that we … Continue reading Early Retirement FIRE Escape – 11 Month Countdown

Poll Results – Savings At The Time Of Early Retirement

The MrMoneyMustache.com forum recently had a poll on how much money people saved before the retired early.  People have different definitions of early retirement (for some it’s 40 or 50 or 60).  Additionally, the MMM website has a significant focus on ‘frugal living’, so I’m not sure how representative it is overall.  Nonetheless, the poll did have over 150 early retirees weighing in … so … Continue reading Poll Results – Savings At The Time Of Early Retirement