Today is “Clean Up” Day at MegaCorp. It’s the annual office tradition when once a year the strange bedfellows of MegaCorp Facilities & Legal team up to get everyone to throw out old files. Legal loves this day because they are always worried that in some deep file cabinet there is an old memo that could somehow be damning in a lawsuit. As a result, … Continue reading Clean Sweep Friday @ MegaCorp
I heard some interesting factoids about America’s millionaires recently on the Zig Ziglar Podcast. This isn’t a podcast that I had listened to before (or are necessarily recommending), but I enjoyed the insight into where America’s millionaires come from and thought it might be instructional to many people who are thinking about financial independence. First, the podcasters said that there are actually a good number of … Continue reading The Foolish Route To Millionaire Status
Setting long term goals is one thing, but following through with them is another. When you first start thinking about playing with FIRE – being Financially Independent & Retired Early – the key question is are you tracking to a nest egg number, or a specific date? Like many people, I always figured we would quit the day we hit “The Number”. Achieving a nest … Continue reading FIRE Milestones – Picking Your Early Retirement Date
Yesterday my MegaCorp employer announced weak sales, record profits, and 1,500 job cuts. The rumors started about a week ago and proved true the old adage that 99% of organizational rumors are true. While no plans have been announced for how they are going to go about the layoffs, a couple things are understood: Continue reading “Blue Days @ MegaCorp / Financial Independence”
One of the executives at the MegaCorp where I first started my career once shared a story called “The Three Stonecutters”. It’s a vision & leadership parable, that I still remember 20+ years later. Continue reading “The Three Stonecutters”
I’m definitely going to need a bit of routine in early retirement.
I’ve always been too much of a born daydreamer to allow myself to live life completely unstructured. I worry I will absentmindedly dawdle my time away if I don’t create create some regular plans. Like Joe Walsh sang, “People say I’m lazy, but it takes all my time”. In fact, while I treasure unstructured time and often balk at too much regiment, Continue reading “Daily Routine versus Daydreaming”
Since we are now getting very close to the end of our early retirement journey (in less than six months), I thought I would reflect on some of the decisions we made in our twenties that set us up for early retirement success. I know a lot of people are talking about the stupid article “If You Are Saving Money In Your Twenties, You Are … Continue reading Seven Ideas To Save Big Money In Your Twenties
The Spanish word for “retiree” or “retired” is a lot more fun than the words we use in English. The word “jubilado” (or “jubilada” for women), based on the word “jubilee” is the term used by Spanish retirees. Jubilee connotes a season or occasion of joyful celebration. Spanish-speakers do seem more jubilant in the way they live their lives and the word is a lot more celebratory than the dreary connotations that come with “retirement” in English.
Its origins are deeply embedded in the Bible. Continue reading “Jubilant Retirement In Any Language”
A new thread on Early-Retirement.org caught my eye a couple of days ago. They original poster was asking early retirees if they regretted not working part-time (PT) to ease their transition into full retirement. Like a lot of early retirees, this person thought they might have an opportunity to carve out a PT role, before leaving the company. The complete thread is HERE. I was … Continue reading Part Time or Full Retirement?
I just noticed that my son’s spring break dates next March are just two weeks before I plan to start my early retirement. An awkward time to take a week off of work I guess, but that won’t stop me from taking my vacation time accrued and enjoying a sunny trip to a warm weather destination. Part of my motivation is to ‘protest’ the antiquated … Continue reading Goodbye Megacorp Vacation Policies – My Time Will Be Mine
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