What’s the temperature down to just 10° F the other morning, I decided to try out mall walking. It seemed like the quintessential retiree activity on a cold winter morning. A friend was supposed to join me, but he texted me that morning to say that 9:30a was “too early” for him. 🙂 When I arrived at 9:30, the mall was still closed. It was … Continue reading Deck The Malls …
I’m so very happy when Black Friday & Cyber Monday arrive. It’s like homecoming weekend in my Gmail account. Companies I haven’t heard from in years – sometimes only ever interacted with once – send me AMAZING deals that I need to respond to NOW! > The island resort that my wife & I stayed at for one night, 6 years ago. > Software I … Continue reading Black Friday / Cyber Monday Emails
I had my first experience living with an electric vehicle last week when my son and I were in Los Angeles to fly on the Goodyear Blimp. It was a Jeep Wrangler 4Xe that we rented through Avis for the same price as a regular rental car. My friend Jeff has been ‘mentoring’ me through the dollars & sense of going electric, but it was … Continue reading The Dollar & Sense of Driving A Hybrid EV
“You have maximized your retirement activities better than anyone I’ve ever met! It’s inspiring!” I shared pictures from my latest adventure online last week and a former MegaCorp colleague posted the nice response above. I do try to make the most of my early retirement time and share out my latest escapades – if for no other reason than to evangelize the benefits of FIRE. … Continue reading Quirky Up & Away
What kind of retiree doesn’t play golf? Me, I guess! Despite being the quintessential retiree sport, I’ve been playing less and less. I was in the garage yesterday and putting things away for winter. When I got to my golf clubs, I realized I hadn’t played at all this year. Not once! So many people retire to play golf, it’s surprising I am pulling the … Continue reading Out Of The Swing …
When I was a kid, if you were fortunate enough to spend the night with your parents at a motel, you made sure to clean the room out of little bars of soap, mini shampoo bottles, or matchbooks before you left. That was a big score when I was in grade school, but over the years we all came to realize how worthless that stuff … Continue reading The New Hotel Soap …
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
