Investing in Vacationland Paradise

We met some fellow Minnesotans down here in Florida yesterday. Unlike us, they jumped into investing in a Florida vacation cottage a couple years ago when they first got the urge. They snapped one up when the Margaritaville Orlando resort was relatively new and said they have already seen a couple hundred thousand dollars of appreciation. The colorful cottages are bright, nicely designed, and well-furnished. … Continue reading Investing in Vacationland Paradise

MrFireStation02.07.202202.06.202211 Comments

Terrific Travel

Homeless in Florida?

Our Florida ‘Winter Summerland’ escape took a strange twist this weekend. I was at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona auto race and saw a random text from someone named ‘Andy’. I looked at it and realized it had something to do with our February month-long AirBNB rental outside of Orlando. Andy was the AirBNB ‘host’ and he said our reservation was immediately CANCELLED “due … Continue reading Homeless in Florida?

MrFireStation01.31.202201.30.202220 Comments

Have A Purpose

Leaving A Legacy …

I met a wonderful, inspirational gentleman at Walt Disney World last month. It might be the thing that I remember most when I reflect back on that trip. Daniel said I could share his name and story, so here it is … Daniel was serving us at the restaurant in the lobby of the luxurious Wilderness Lodge and getting trained-in by another employee. My wife … Continue reading Leaving A Legacy …

MrFireStation01.28.202212 Comments

Invest Effectively

Bears Starting To Run?

The bears are running through the financial media, with the 5% drop in the S&P 500 over the last week. I saw a headline on Friday that one of JP Morgan’s top analysts was predicting a 20% stock market sell-off. Another Wall Street ‘expert’ – John Hussman – believes that we could see a 70% market crash, led by sky-high tech stocks. The issues are … Continue reading Bears Starting To Run?

MrFireStation01.24.202201.23.202217 Comments

FIRE Observations

Secret of Success?

No story or insights to tell this Friday morning. I just have this simple post (from Reddit) that sums up the real secret of success … that there is no secret! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! Image Credit: Pixabay Continue reading Secret of Success?

MrFireStation01.20.20225 Comments

Terrific Travel

Winter Is Over Already?

Living in Minnesota, I love the annual ‘Theater of Seasons’. We are really treated to some epic changes throughout the year, with the temperature hitting 100 degrees F in the summer and -25 degrees in the wintertime. We are home to 10,000 lakes & the headwaters of the Mississippi, but they are all frozen like a rock for at least 3 months of the year. … Continue reading Winter Is Over Already?

MrFireStation01.17.202201.16.202210 Comments

Tax Strategies

Capital Gains Wrinkle

We didn’t cash in any stock or appreciated assets in 2021, which kept our income pretty low. We just had some dividend income and I earned some pay from board work. Mostly, we just lived off of savings. Our accountant pointed out that married couples with income less than $80K pay 0% long-term capital gains tax. I hadn’t paid attention to that before, so we … Continue reading Capital Gains Wrinkle

MrFireStation01.14.202201.13.20229 Comments

Real Estate

Townhouse Lark

Like most places, the residential real estate market is moving really fast in our area. Yesterday, we jumped in at lightning speed! My wife saw a snazzy townhouse in our neighborhood she thought would be nice for our adult son. We talked about it with him on Sunday morning just before 11a, connected with our friendly neighborhood agent 5 minutes later, scheduled/did a quick showing, … Continue reading Townhouse Lark

MrFireStation01.10.202201.09.20226 Comments

Have A Purpose

Quirky Cold Night

Last Saturday night I did something really silly – I attended the coldest NHL hockey game in league history. Our Minnesota Wild played outside at the Minnesota Twins ballpark on New Year’s Day and it was -8F at the puck drop. With wind chill, the temperature felt like a mind-numbing -24F. You might think I just got unlucky with the bad weather the day of … Continue reading Quirky Cold Night

MrFireStation01.07.202201.06.20224 Comments

Invest Effectively

New Year’s Assessment

I complained a lot about the economy in 2021. I didn’t like the trillions in debt-driven government spending and the ensuing inflation. Still, I acknowledged that the markets continued to rise – as the ‘Trump Bump’ became the ‘Biden Bump’. Yesterday, I tallied up how we finished the year with our portfolio. Our retirement savings were up an impressive +15%. Our gains were led by … Continue reading New Year’s Assessment

MrFireStation01.03.202201.02.202215 Comments

MrFireStation

Financial / Lifestyle Help to Achieve "FIRE" – Financially Independent & Retired Early

Author: MrFireStation