Not long ago I had lunch with my recently early retired friend Russ, who gave me the inside scoop on snowbirding from wintery Minnesota to sunny Florida. Russ and his wife, Tracey, are new to the lifestyle, having bought a condominium on the gulf coast of Florida last year, which they can enjoy now that he retired from MegaCorp at the end of January. They … Continue reading Early Retirement “Snowbirding 101”
Today is the last day of my son’s Senior year in high school. School ends at noon on Friday, and he is off for the summer before leaving for college in the fall. He is a terrific kid and it has been a great joy to watch him grow up. Last night, we had a wonderful time attending a an event in the park to open … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Aging Richly
One of the benefits of early retirement is that you have extra time to look back and reflect on your life. I have already an intense habit of this and have always spent a fair amount of time researching and remembering “days gone by”. It’s a curious trait. I have read that in the early 1900s, ‘nostalgia’ was actually classified as a form of depression. … Continue reading Retirement Reminiscing – My Old School
It has been more than a month now since I early retired from MegaCorp and adopted my new life of leisure. It feels like I am still “skipping school” and am expected to go back to work at some point. The good news is that I’m not going back to anything and enjoying my time immensely. It is wonderful to have all of the time … Continue reading Milestone: First 50 Days of Early Retirement
I am always paranoid about recurring, subscription fees that are like the little leaks that Ben Franklin warned us about. These kinds of fees are certainly much more common today than they were in Ben’s time. Some are big and easy to understand – utilities, internet access, or a boat club with monthly dues. Others are quite insidious in their nature. They hide in our … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – The Little Things
Starting on May 1, my wife and I began a project that a friend suggested called the “30-Day Decluttering Challenge”. The concept is simple – on the first day of the month, get rid of one item. On the second day of the month, get rid of two items. Continue to do so until the 30th day of the challenge, when you get rid of … Continue reading 30 Day Post-Retirement Decluttering Challenge
Today we have an extra special guest – for the first time ever we are joined by the wonderful MrsFireStation – who will share her own thoughts on Captain Sparky’s escape from corporate life and our new life of leisure in early retirement … My background … I’ve been a stay-at-home Mom for 18 years and our son is a senior in high school and … Continue reading The Better Half – Thoughts From MrsFireStation
Like many people on the journey to early retirement, I spent a lot of time tracking the performance of our investments and growth of our nest egg. I was anxious to see the numbers grow and ultimately tested our financial wherewithal through eight different lenses to ensure we were ready to take the leap into early retirement. Many times I would check my phone or … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Enjoy Every Day
People hate Monday mornings. Today is the first day in more than a month – since I left MegaCorp for early retirement – that I am getting up for some kind of work. I’m heading out of town for a one day meeting with a company for which i serve on the board of directors. It’s a paid gig once every 90 days – but … Continue reading Monday Morning We Hate You
Yes – Mr & Mrs. FIRE Station have been very blessed to be able to retire more than a decade earlier than the average person, but it does come with an opportunity cost of 10+ years of income. While we are not living a “frugal” lifestyle, we are still making a choice to forgo the material benefits of working. Why do so? At this point … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Happiness Is Made, Not Bought
MrFireStation 