Roman Holiday In Early Retirement

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

FIRE Milestones – Dollar Number or Date?

How do you decide when you are ready to retire?  For some, it is when you reach a certain number of dollars – your ‘F-Off’ number that represents financial independence.  For others, it is a specific date,  Come hell-or-high water, they are going to walk off the job on the date they’ve always planned – age 55, age 60, or any age they want, regardless … Continue reading FIRE Milestones – Dollar Number or Date?

FIRE Milestone – The Glorious Farewell Party

I can’t begin to describe the almost dreamlike surrealness that comes with walking into a beautifully decorated restaurant and reading a BIG banner and cake that say “Congratulations on your Retirement!”  YOUR retirement.  This is IT.  If you aren’t 1000% sure you are ready for early retirement, seeing the BIG cake at the YOUR farewell party certainly will seal the deal. As I wrote about … Continue reading FIRE Milestone – The Glorious Farewell Party

FIRE Milestones – Taking Stuff Home From Work

With just a few weeks to go before early retirement, I’ve started the process of taking things home from my MegaCorp office.  My plan is to take home bits & pieces until April Fool’s Day, when I turn in my badge & laptop on my final day.  It’s a small but meaningful milestone in my path to early retirement on April 1st. Related Milestones: Giving … Continue reading FIRE Milestones – Taking Stuff Home From Work

Early Retirement FIRE Escape – Final Month!

Well, here we are: my last month of work.   Last month of work?  How did that come so fast? The truth is it did not come fast – although things have accelerated in a HUGE way since I announced I was leaving MegaCorp. I wrote just a few months ago about how slow things were progressing as I worked my way through my last year before early … Continue reading Early Retirement FIRE Escape – Final Month!

Long Shadows At MegaCorp – 5 Weeks To Early Retirement

As this post is published, I am getting up for another work week at MegaCorp.  I’ve gotten up for work on about 1,400 Monday mornings since I started working almost 27 years ago. That said, the last couple of weeks have been quite different, as the shadows of my career are starting to get longer since I announced my pending early retirement two weeks ago … Continue reading Long Shadows At MegaCorp – 5 Weeks To Early Retirement