More than a year ago, I wrote this article contemplating whether or not I was more of an introvert or extrovert. Some people think that being an extrovert helps you in the business world and being an introvert helps you in retirement. The difference comes down to your need to be with other people to ‘find your energy’. Here is a link to that article: INtroverts … Continue reading Introvert or Extrovert?
The stock market is off to a nice clip so far this year with the S&P 500 and International EFEA up more than 5% in less than two months. Things are moving so fast that I am already losing my bet on where the market will be on the Fourth of July this year, as I wagered on less than 4.5% growth.. Our portfolio doesn’t … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Patient Profits
One of my team members told me today that they are now on their “final lap”. We were talking about great cities to visit – my favorite is Rome – and they shared their plans to start traveling more in early retirement. Next year! This person plans on retiring on 5/1/16 after 35 enjoyable years at our dear MegaCorp. They’ve been a company loyalist for … Continue reading Roman Holiday In Early Retirement
Recently a good ‘friend-in-law’ posted this interesting chart on where Americans spend their money. The chart is not just for this year, but for the past 75 years (all numbers adjusted for inflation) using a single data source. Take a look at how amazing this chart (from howmuch.net – a cost information web site. It really causes me to reflect on our lifestyle today. How the way … Continue reading Over 75 Years, Consumer Spending Starts At Home
I have had a couple of friends in the last week try to explain to me how ‘exciting’ their jobs are and how they ‘wouldn’t ever think of retiring’. Their explanations often come with an amazing picture of some far-flung location that they traveled to. Beyond the travel, they work hard to explain how the projects they are leading new breakthrough in their company or … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Passing Time
I find that regardless of your political leanings, people continually frustrated by wasted government spending and what it means for the national debt. The debt, which was a trillion dollars in Reagan’s time, is now about $20T (it has risen at a shocking 8.4% annual clip). Despite today’s quote, Reagan himself substantially overspent during his 8 years in office. Fast forward to today and our … Continue reading US Government’s Wasteful Spending Problem
Many people are familiar with the 2010 Princeton study that reported that there is a diminishing return to the impact of money on one’s happiness that tops out at about $75K a year. People were surprised that the threshold was very in line with the average household income in the USA at $73K. It is often cited as evidence that money doesn’t buy happiness. I … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Love Of Money
We just returned from our January trip to Cabo San Lucas Mexico. It is the fourth trip we’ve taken since early retiring last year and we would definitely return to this area. It was a perfect cold weather getaway in an unbusy low season. In this post, I will share the top activities we did in Cabo and some money saving strategies that allowed us … Continue reading FIRE Travel – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
I had lunch with a good friend this week who is just six weeks from her retirement date. I am very excited for her. She planned on retiring in a few more months, but moved up her date because she has “had enough”. Unfortunately, she is a little concerned about her retirement nest egg – which could probably benefit from the extra few months pay. … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun -Don’t Know, Don’t Buy
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