My former boss at MegaCorp announced his pending retirement last week. It was big news with a number of people calling me and telling me about it from the office. He was immediately moved out of his role and put into ‘special projects’ until his final day on April Fool’s 2017. It’s exactly one year from when I departed, although I didn’t come close to … Continue reading From The Office Door To Door County
We are heading to Green Bay to see a Packer game this weekend and spend a few nights in Wisconsin’s Door County. In preparation, I’ve been reading a book about Packer great Bart Starr and the glory days of the team in the 1960s. Coach Vince Lombardi led the team to five NFL championships in seven years and was famous for his quote on winning … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Winning Attitude
More than 15 years ago, some colleagues and I were talking about how effective we were in building our savings. We were all making a good living, but some were more successful in building their net worth than others. One colleague – a single guy with a snappy car – mentioned that he started out being a good saver, but had recently been spending too much … Continue reading Stop Saving, Start Spending In Retirement?
I read an interesting white paper recently from the American Enterprise Institute that looked at “What Is Happening In Retirement Planning Today?” The paper was well-researched and stands as a bit of a contrast to the tangle of dark personal finance headlines that you often see in the in the paper and online. While the media seems intent on frightening working-age Americans and many analysts … Continue reading Eight Retirement Myths Thoroughly Debunked
This past Saturday (10/1) marked the six month anniversary of the day I walked out of MegaCorp for early retirement. It was April Fool’s Day, which seemed liked the most appropriate day of the year to do something so foolish. How’s it been so far? – terrific, I’d say. A friend who retired a few months early has been thinking the same thing. To mark … Continue reading Early Retirement – Six Month Anniversary
Today’s quote is absolutely true. People probably waste more money on cars than almost any other depreciating assets in their lives. I worked at a car dealer when I was in college and I still remember with shock how ‘upside down’ people would get in their cars and then rollover their debt to even newer cars on 60 and 72 month loans. That said, I … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Ridiculous Cars
Having enough money to support the lifestyle you planned for early retirement is the key concern for many people on their path to financial independence and retiring early (FIRE). The awesome website early-retirement.org had an interesting discussion recently over how much people are spending in early retirement: more, less,or about what they expected to spend before they left their jobs. For us, our spending has … Continue reading Unexpected Expenses In Early Retirement?
Several weeks ago I wrote about being back on campus and auditing a Sociology class at our local university, where my son is a freshman this year. The school has a ‘Parents on Campus’ program that allows parents to take up to two classes each semester for free. Before starting the class, I realized that it probably would be awkward to be a fifty year … Continue reading Old Guy On Campus – Early Reflections
I picked today’s quote – not because I am a big fan of budgeting – but because I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey. I wrote about my reluctance to spend my time budgeting a few weeks ago, but I realize it is an important bridge to financial independence for many people. These are the folks that Dave Ramsey focuses on in his daily … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Bridge To The Future
Summer is over and I’m reflecting today on how quickly it seemed to go by. I thought time might slow down in early retirement, but it turns out that it feels about as quick as when I was working full time. While I certainly have more time, it still cruises by unexpectedly fast. The change of seasons seems to heighten the speed of life. I … Continue reading Time Cruises In Early Retirement
