With tomorrow being Election Day, what’s your likely exposure to a new administration in Washington DC in January? I know we all have our favorites and we are often breathlessly told that “it is the most important election of our lifetimes!” Still, I’m struggling to think how my wife & I will be directly impacted by any of the changes that have been discussed. Please … Continue reading Election Impacts?
A friend of mine was surprised when I shared this table adjusting the return of 401k balances for inflation over the last 4 years. It shows that despite the relative strength in the stock market, real returns for 401k balances are DOWN about 9%. “That’s not right!” he said – “the S&P 500 is an an all-time high. It’s up almost 50% since the … Continue reading 401k Returns – Not As Good As You Think
We just got back from a week at our vacation place near Walt Disney World and had an odd vibe about early retirement that hadn’t hit me before. It made me doubly appreciative for the FIRE lifestyle we were able to achieve. We had our Florida handyman working on a few projects – at the same time our Minnesota handyman (and painter) were doing projects … Continue reading Double Incongruity of FIRE Lifestyle
I met up with an old friend this week on a visit to my hometown of Racine WI. He had retired four years ago and said he “wasn’t happy without something to do” and went back to work at his old job half-time. I wondered how common that feeling was among early retirees and found an online thread where people addressed the question, “Are you … Continue reading Are You Happier In Retirement?
Since this is the week of the Vice Presidential Debate, our Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, will be in the media spotlight. While he was just picked by the Harris campaign in July, it has seemed as if he was campaigning for a bigger office for some time. He and Florida Governor & former-GOP Presidential Candidate, Ron DeSantis – who we also have a first-hand view … Continue reading Sparring States
Fall is definitely in the air this morning, with the temperature in the mid-40s. Trees in Minnesota are starting to change color, pumpkins are appearing on doorsteps, and geese are gathering for their long flight south. One thing that is not happening for me this fall is a return to campus. Over the last few years, I have taken a number of classes at one … Continue reading No Campus This Autumn
This is the first full summer that we have played pickleball regularly. We first played a couple years ago, but had only done it a half-dozen times until 2024. This year, we joined a park recreational group. They have open, pick-up games every morning. They play on new courts built within one of our city’s many outdoor hockey rinks. We also just joined leagues at … Continue reading Pickleball & Tennis
I recently Googled the term ‘early retirement’ to see how the media is chattering about this topic. Since I’ve been boring readers with this topic for more than 9 years, I felt I had a responsibility to keep up-to-date with how early retirement is being discussed in the media. As usual, the headlines were confusing and at odds with each other: “My Dad Sacrificed Everything … Continue reading Early Retirement: Searching For Answers?
We’re off to Florida this morning. It’s been 3 months since we visited our new vacation condo. I’ve never traveled so carefree before. We drove our SUV down on Memorial Day weekend – with a big load of things. This time, I don’t have anything to bring. We went to the airport without a suitcase. We’ll only be down there a few nights. The purpose … Continue reading Fly The Carefree Skies
File this under “Healthful Habits” in retirement … We went to another big concert on Friday night – ZZ Top & Lynyrd Skynyrd in a double-header event outside at a nearby casino. It was a great show and we had great seats – very close to the main stage and the booming speakers. For the second straight concert, I brought some foam earplugs that I … Continue reading Wait, What?
