I like the magazine articles that list the top 10 this or that. I’m always a sucker to click on the link and see if my state, or my city are listed. Unfortunately, my state is on the Kiplinger’s List of worst states to retire to. Kiplinger’s article on Huffington Post Relatively high taxes for state income are a key to determiner of being … Continue reading Ten Worst States To Retire To
I wrote recently about our family’s plan to save my final year’s salary in a bank account and donate it to charity in the first few years of our retirement. Here’s a link to that post. It’s generated a lot of discussion, but no one I’ve talked to has any examples of anyone else who had done anything similar. Until recently … It turns out … Continue reading Working One More Year For Charity – Ben Franklin Style
I’m not sure where this parable originates from, but I have seen it a few places online … Two close boyhood friends grow up and go their separate ways. One becomes a humble monk, the other a rich and powerful minister to the king. Years later they meet. As they catch up, the minister (in his fine robes) takes pity on the thin, shabbily dressed … Continue reading The Monk & The Minister – Parable for Life
The EarlyRetireent.org forum recently had a post called “Early Retirement Inspiring Quotes“. Some of the quotes were really outstanding, so I wanted to post some of them here (along with some other favorites) … “The goal isn’t more money. The goal is living life on your own terms.” Chris Brogan “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t … Continue reading Time To Retire Early? – 12 Quotes That Inspire Action
It is with true sadness that I read that Dr. Thomas Stanley, co-author of the Millionaire Next Door, was killed recently in an unfortunate car accident. Reuters wrote that “Stanley was killed Saturday afternoon when a car slammed into his vehicle near his home in Marietta, Georgia.” Stanley researched the lives of American “high net worth individuals” – millionaires – and found that they … Continue reading Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley RIP
I enjoy “living the good life” parables like this that help put put the concept of “Life > Money” in perspective … it’s featured in most Jimmy John’s sandwich shops … HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? “The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large … Continue reading How Much Is Enough? – Jimmy John’s
One of the things I’ve started to do is to meet with people I know who retired early themselves. Many of them are old coworkers or folks that I have met along life’s journey and it is good to tap into their wisdom and to catch up with some old friends. I will post a bit about these meetings I’ve had. Today I met up … Continue reading Early Retirement – Getting Advice One Cup At A Time
I’ve always had this interesting thought about highly paid athletes that are financially independent and retire early from their careers: why don’t they work “one more year” and donate all of the money they earn their last season to charity? Wouldn’t that be a magnanimous gesture? Wouldn’t every fan and city they visited be excited by what the are doing? Obviously some athletes’ careers end … Continue reading Work “One More Year” – As A Gift To Charity?
Since this is the FIRST post of this new blog, I thought it would only make sense to outline a little of my life-view and financial philosophies. We are what we believe and you can’t understand someone’s behavior if you don’t understand how they view the world. Judging from other people’s actions, the value that I place on financial independence & retiring early (FIRE) isn’t … Continue reading Chief Sparky’s Blog
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