“Every Day This Man Takes A Vacation”

After two posts this month assessing the tremendous cost of cars, their depreciating value, and ongoing repairs, I thought I would give partial time to acknowledging the incredible fun of cars.  After all, while the financials are negative, they do provide many, many intangible benefits that help make life a joy. Similar to cabin/cottage life, world travel, or owning a speedboat, driving a cool car … Continue reading “Every Day This Man Takes A Vacation”

FIRE Travel – Edinburgh, Royal Scotland

Today we are heading home from our trip to England & Scotland over the last few weeks.  It was a terrific trip that took us from the Roman Baths of Bath, to the halls of Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle, to Old Town York, and into Scotland for a full week – all the way up to Inverness.  My wife’s Dad’s family is from Scotland, so … Continue reading FIRE Travel – Edinburgh, Royal Scotland

When In Rome, PAY As The Romans Do

We are traveling in Scotland this morning, so just a quick post on the personal finance of traveling. Like most people, we charge almost everything we can when we travel. We keep a small amount of cash for small expenses, but otherwise charge away. One of the questions you inevitably get when you are paying for things with a card is “do you want to … Continue reading When In Rome, PAY As The Romans Do

FIRE Travel – Barcelona, Spain

This is the second post in our summer travel series and I thought I would feature one of my favorite cities in the whole world, Barcelona.  If a city every stood by the name ‘colorful’ – it would be Barcelona.  On a hot summer day & night, there is something truly magical about the Catalonian capital that give it a funky, laid-back, and romantic vibe. … Continue reading FIRE Travel – Barcelona, Spain

FIRE Travel – Prague, Czech Republic

Travel is a big part of our early retirement plans, so I thought I would start a Friday morning summer series on a number of places that we have enjoyed visiting and would recommend. We have good friends that are originally from the Czech Republic and they hosted us on our first overseas trip there about 12 years ago.  It was a fantastic visit and … Continue reading FIRE Travel – Prague, Czech Republic

FIRE Travel – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

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