Sometime this afternoon, my old Jeep might meet my new Jeep. I’d like to get that picture if the two of them end up parked next to each other at the same time. Since they are the same color, it really feels like my old Jeep is just morphing into the new one! The switcheroo came about quickly. Soon after selling the my 2-door Jeep … Continue reading Jeep Switcheroo …
As I mentioned last week, I put my Jeep Wrangler up for sale. It was the first time I’ve ever tried to sell a vehicle on the open market. I wasn’t prepared for what happened when my ads went live on Craig’s List and Facebook Marketplace. Nothing, that is. I was prepared for about everything, but not at all prepared for nothing. After more than … Continue reading Quiet Sale
In the world of personal finance and saving for the future, there’s always a new trend that is said to be making waves. The latest one is called “soft saving” – I just heard about it. In “soft saving,” the traditional wisdom of working hard, saving diligently, and retiring early is being challenged by a generation that values experiences and personal growth over accumulating wealth. … Continue reading Soft Saving Approach
Debt is a four-letter word for anyone looking to retire early. In fact, it should be for everyone. Still, despite our relative prosperity, Americans are more in debt than ever. It looks like total consumer debt is 15% higher than it was before the pandemic. All of the stimulus money had only a temporary impact on debt levels … It’s one thing to be sitting … Continue reading Debt Getting Very Expensive
I drove my Jeep home from a 1,700 mile ‘Circle Tour’ of Lake Superior yesterday. I took the little Jeep from Minnesota’s North Shore into Ontario, Canada, across the great locks in Sault St. Marie, west along Michigan’s ‘Yooperland’, and through a small corner of Northern Wisconsin that leads back to Minnesota. It was a charity road rally with 30+ vehicles cruising as a colorful … Continue reading Jeep Off To Market
How do you say “I’m retired” without saying it? Simply be patient when you are faced with a delay. Early retirement changes our relationship with time and people seem to notice right away. I made a couple stops the other day that proved this out. I was at the dental office and the hygienist said the dentist was going to be delayed a little bit. … Continue reading No Worries. No Hurry.
I ran across these two charts recently and couldn’t help but scratch my head at what is going on in this country. This first chart shows healthcare spending. It’s been steadily growing +5.8%/year on average over the last 20+ years. That’s a whopping 2.4x the rate of overall inflation. The steady growth in healthcare spending stands at odds with political promises that came with the … Continue reading Healthcare Woes
The media keep telling me that inflation is moderating, yet the 4 bags of groceries we bought at SuperTarget today cost $189. What’s going on with inflation?? I’m not the world’s savviest investor, but I’ve done all right. I’ve always looked to the 10 Year Treasury Yield as a decent indicator of what is expected with inflation over the longer term. As you can see … Continue reading What’s Really Going On With Inflation?
When we were in Italy last week, we stayed in a colorful little beach town just north of Venice. Caorle is a charming resort town of 12,000 that rarely sees American visitors. Our hotel on the beach said they had only one other American couple all summer. The town has a delightful little Old Town area with shopping and restaurants. At 12:30p each day most … Continue reading Pausa Pronzo
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