I met a friend of my wife’s at the garden center this past Monday morning who retired a few years ago after 30+ years at a local MegaCorp. We were talking about the negative fortunes both our former employers have shown in their stock price. Both companies have seen much better days – down 25-40% from their peak a few years ago. He knew a … Continue reading MegaCorp Stock – Trading on the Familiar
We had a chilly and wet weekend here in Minnesota. Since our seasons are so extreme, we count on nice summer weather June through August before weather slides into fall and winter. With rain almost all day yesterday and temperatures in the 50s when we went to the garden center today, quite a few people were grumbling. Last night, the ‘weather elf’ on our local … Continue reading ‘Unfortunate Work Week’ – For Who?
This past week, I had the chance to host a table at a ‘New Alumni Breakfast’ with 170 graduating seniors at the same high school I graduated from back in the 1980s. My son also graduated from there a couple years ago and I got asked to be involved in the Alumni Association when I stopped working. One of the ‘table questions’ the students were … Continue reading FIRE Advice for New Graduates
With Memorial Day over, we are now officially into summer travel season. We have a couple of fun trips planned for this summer – to the Holy Land & Petra in July and Toronto, Canada in August. We generally plan our trips out 3-9 months in advance depending on how adventurous the trip is. Like last summer, I’ll post some additional destination guides to places … Continue reading Summer Travel – Rudy Maxa Thoughts
Mortgage rates are in the news again as the average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage reached 4.6% this week. It was the highest the rate has reached in the last 7 years – up 0.7 percentage points from where they were at last year. Fifteen year rates are also up – reaching 4.15%. These rates are still incredibly low relative to what they … Continue reading Paying Off Your Mortgage As Rates Rise
My friend that snowbirds in Florida during the Winter came back to MN a few weeks ago. We are now three tennis matches and three softball games into early summer. The activities we enjoy each week are inevitably capped with a cold refreshment and often with a visit to a new restaurant/pub. We’ve been to 30+ different places over the past few years! We were … Continue reading Hazy Recollection of MegaCorp
I got an email from a friend from high school recently asking how our early retirement financials are holding up since it has been two years since our FIRE escape. He wanted to know if we were trending over or under our projections. Stated another way, he said “I want to know if I can retire!” 🙂 After reading his note, I realized that I … Continue reading Second FIRE Anniversary – Financial Tracking Update
It’s finally looking like Spring in Minnesota, although we haven’t had any rain yet. Folks on a journey to FIRE know to set aside money for a rainy day, but the great majority of people do not carry a big enough umbrella insurance. That is, an umbrella policy that pays for liability judgements above the limits of your existing auto & home insurance policies. Umbrella … Continue reading Umbrella Coverage – Protect Your Nest Egg
Its hard to believe that I’ve been writing this blog 2-3x a week for over 3 years. I started it more than a year before I retired and now that milestone is two years in the rear view mirror. I’ve enjoyed sharing this journey and appreciated all of the recent positive comments, messages, tweets, and emails readers passed on during the ‘Two Year FIRE Anniversary’ … Continue reading Birthday From From MegaCorp Past
Many people worry about losing connections with people as they they make their FIRE escape into early retirement. Social connections are necessary in the workplace and people sometimes fear that they will be sitting home alone watching cable news when they stop working. That might have been the case at one time, but social media has undoubtedly been a game changer for millions. I’ve long … Continue reading Social Media & FIRE Lifestyle
