I often say that the less I work, the less interested I am in working. I really enjoyed working, but I don’t miss it too much day-to-day. That said, when I do put on a business suit and ‘go to work’, I still find it very enjoyable. I recently got back from our quarterly board of directors meeting at ‘SmallCorp’ in Michigan. I call it … Continue reading Board Trip To SmallCorp
We just got back from our Florida snowbird experiment and we really enjoyed ourselves. We stayed at a terrific villa in a sprawling Orlando resort complex. The weather was great for the most part, we met up with a lot of friends, and we enjoyed many of the fun things to do. While the villa is just a fraction of the size of our home … Continue reading Downsizing Day Coming?
I written a lot about early retirement feeling like a second childhood. Living in ‘kidulthood’ – without the obligations of work – means enjoying childish activities with the resources and smarts of a grown-up. Related: Living In Kidulthood One area that it is important for me to grow up is in my eating habits. Though I worked for a food company for 24 years, I … Continue reading Suddenly … Salads
We had a frosty beverage with an old friend recently that we had not seen since before I stopped working 4 years ago. He was astounded that I had retired early and asked if we had made any lucrative investments to make it happen. I told him that our investment strategy had been pretty vanilla – simple index funds in our 401ks and after-tax brokerage … Continue reading Keep Savings Simple
We’re about halfway through our Florida Snowbirding experiment and so far it has been wonderful. It is quite a bit different than any other trip that we have taken for a few reasons, but most all of them have been pleasant surprises …. STAYING PUT – Unlike most trips of a week or more, we aren’t packing up and moving at all. We moved into … Continue reading Snowbirding Surprises
Anyone who has read this blog for a while, knows that I’m pretty tenacious about hitting my fitness ‘step goal’ each month. I hit my goal of averaging 12K steps a day 42 out of 43 months since I early retired in early 2016. Then I had my heart attack on 12/26. I hardly moved for a couple days and missed my mark for December. … Continue reading FIRE Fitness Goals Evolving
Since folks know that I write this personal finance blog, people have been interested in the financial side of the sudden surprise of my heart attack. While not all of the numbers are in yet, it looks to be less expensive than I thought. It seems like I often read about people racking up tens of thousands of dollars of medical bills when something serious … Continue reading How Much Did That Heart Attack Cost?
Every four years is a ‘quadrennium’. I’m not sure if there is something special about a four year cycle, but universities, leap years, Olympics, Presidential elections, and many other things are set up on the cycle of a quadrennium. Unlike Picasso, I can’t imagine learning to paint like Raphael in just four years, but I guess a lot can be accomplished. This week is special … Continue reading Four Years Is A ‘Quadrennium’
A survey in a recent online group asked early retirees if they work with a professional financial advisor. I was surprised to see that the great majority (about two-thirds) of folks did not. While I always tell people you need to be knowledgeable enough to be your own primary financial advisor, it’s nice to have a professional financial advisor as a secondary resource. That is, … Continue reading Do You Have A Financial Advisor?
We had a corporate doctor at MegaCorp who politely reminded people that if they are over 35 years old, you are much more likely to pass away from a heart attack than anything else. You can see it on this infographic form the UK’s National Health Service (2015): Still, I was surprised by my heart attack the day after Christmas. Many people have asked me … Continue reading Have Some Heart
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