I came across this Japanese concept of ‘Ikigai’ when I was watching the Olympics last month from Tokyo. It’s a term to discussing the key dimensions of your ‘reason for being’. This graphic from the Toronto Star is a good look at it, although you will find many others on the internet as well. You can see that Ikigai represents the intersection of 4 overlapping … Continue reading Ikigai in FIRE
I will be 68 years old in 2034. That’s the year that the latest Social Security budget forecast says it will start to run out of money and be unable to pay its full benefits. I will only have been receiving the benefits for 1 year at that point. Related: Social Security Running Out Sooner Than Expected It may not seem like an urgent matter, … Continue reading Social Security Waning
The Minnesota State Fair – is the traditional end to Summer in our state. The 12-day event started last Thursday and will end on Labor Day Monday. In our family, we mark the exact moment the summer ends by saying that it happens when one of us sips a glass of cold apple cider at the Minnesota Apple Growers booth at the State Fair. Sorry, … Continue reading Which Season?
Our puppy chewed up the corner of one of our bath mats this week. He doesn’t do that too often anymore. We’re not sure why he suddenly gnawed it up. It wasn’t a big loss as it gave us a chance to look for a new one. We went to Macy’s at the mall yesterday because they seemed to have a big selection. It’s hard … Continue reading Pricing Too Good To Last
I enjoyed watching the Tokyo Summer Olympics 🇯🇵 earlier this month and seeing athletes from countries around the world. With my ‘50 States’ challenge complete, it’s time to focus on my next travel goal: visiting 50 countries. I’ve been to between 32-35 countries already. Why a range? Because it is seemingly difficult to assess what actually constitutes a ‘country’. There is no broadly agreed to … Continue reading Counting Countries – How Many?
In investing, it is often better to be lucky than right. I was very lucky with some predictions that I made this exact week last year and doubly lucky that the market didn’t behave the way I thought it would! Simply put, I predicted that Biden would win the Presidency, that there was a good chance the Democrats would take Congress, and they would work … Continue reading Great Timing (Accidentally)
Not a lot of time to write today – we’re heading to California this week to see our son. I thought I would just relay this short story about our restaurant bill this weekend that borders on fraudulent – but is becoming more & more common. Our tab came to a little over $50 – with tax – on Saturday night and we noticed a … Continue reading A Good Meal Spoiled …
I went to buy a Coke at a convenience store this week and the clerk accidentally said “good morning” when it was already pushing 1pm. When she realized her mistake, she happily said, “I guess time is going by fast … which is good for me!” Such is the nature of selling your time to your employer (or your clients). Time going by fast should … Continue reading Don’t Wish Your Time Away
That’s a picture of the pool house in our neighborhood. Our development is a great place for raising kids, although we are out of that business now. Other people our age are starting to move to smaller places. Sometimes we feel like we should downsize too, but I don’t think the benefits play out very well for us in today’s housing market. We’ve looked around. … Continue reading No Benefit To Downsize
Every few months, my wife will have me transfer money into our main ‘household’ checking account. It’s the account that groceries, utilities, and everyday expenses get paid out of, so it’s always running dry. I have a few accounts to pull $$$ from, including our one big money market savings account. Our smaller accounts have gotten so small over our first five years of retirement … Continue reading Sweep Up Loose Accounts
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