In Celebration, Florida – not far from where we stay in Margaritaville resort – there is a great looking Italian restaurant. We have never eaten there. For me, Italian food is perfect for cold weather, not the Florida sunshine. I can think of a number of good comfort, food restaurants like that in Florida. Never been to any of them. For me, the four food … Continue reading Florida Four Food Groups
Our friends and us sometimes debate the “vibe” of snowbirding in Florida versus Arizona. I would guess that about 2/3rds of our friends opt for Florida and 1/3 opt for Arizona. We were undecided until a few years ago when my wife noted that although we’ve been to both many times, when we’ve chosen Florida over Arizona at about a 3:1 ratio for vacations over … Continue reading Sunshine State Snowbirding Vibe
The headlines are full of celebrities & athletes who blow through their millions and often end up broke. They live an indulgent & colorful lifestyle that quickly catches up with them. That’s why it’s great to see a colorful character like Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, who managed to save 80% of his NFL career earnings. To save money he even lived at the Cincinnati Bengals’ stadium … Continue reading Staying In The Pocket
My wife was appointed executor of her father’s Will after his passing earlier this month. It’s a daunting role that starts immediately and lasts until all bills are paid and assets distributed. For us, there is a lot to learn, but she is approaching it as her last opportunity to honor her father’s wishes. Here are seven key things we’ve learned that an executor of … Continue reading Executor Role Overview
Our January-March snowbirding trip was sadly interrupted by a family emergency two weeks ago. My wife’s father passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully. After the funeral, we decided to come back to Florida for a couple more weeks and flew back yesterday. In doing so, we found ourselves oddly packing for the same exact trip we packed for last month. I consider myself an expert packer, … Continue reading Packing – It’s Always Something
Mr. FireStation has been tied up with a family emergency over the last week. Coincidentally, regular reader, “Klaus” Wentzel offered to step in with a post, which was great. Klaus and I have never actually met in real life, but he often shares very insightful comments. This post is based on one of his observations from a couple years ago that is relevant today. Thanks, … Continue reading What is Your Household’s Largest Budget Item?
I never planned on making any money off of this blog or monetizing the traffic in any way. Still, if it had exploded into millions of readers and I received a 8-figure offer to buy it, this is the kind of place I would have wasted some of that money on … a real fire station! This one is for sale in the French Quarter … Continue reading The Real Mr. Fire Station
My oldest brother joined the ranks of retired goof-offs with his final day of work last Friday. Unlike me, he said he dutifully put in a full days work. Now that he’s done, he’s enjoying his first Sunday night that’s not a “school night” in quite some time. It’s still cold in Minnesota, but summer break is here! Related: Sunday Night Blues I know he … Continue reading Sunday Night Blues No More …
I was ordering a beer at the Margaritaville pool the other day and commenting on the run of great, sunny, +80-degree days we are having in Central Florida. (Far different than back in Minnesota where it was -14 degrees this morning). The waitress commented that her “off day” this week is Friday, and that “with my luck, it will probably rain that day.” (Perhaps she … Continue reading With “My Luck …”
The Big Tech companies have been in the news lately, after announcing record numbers of layoffs. The Chartr graph below shows the tens of thousands of layoffs at Facebook/Meta, Google/Alphabet, and Microsoft. Only Apple has kept their employee ranks whole. Google was heavily criticized for the way they handled their layoffs. They sent out “best wishes in your future endeavors” emails to 12K employees in … Continue reading Layoffs – There’s Gotta Be A Better Way …
