I am titling this post “Part 1” as I am expecting the challenge of organizing our health care coverage for 2017 to be a multi-part personal finance adventure. I explained how we were approaching health insurance in early retirement this past spring, but it seems that all of the cards are up in the air again and we are likely looking at a 33%-50% increase … Continue reading Early Retiree Health Insurance – Open Enrollment (Part 1)
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
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
The shower head in our bathroom is starting to drip. Our house is about seven years old and I’m sure there is some rubber washer that probably needs to be worn out. Now that I early retired, I guess I am going to have to figure out how to fix it. It’s not the only drip that happens at our house that probably needs tending … Continue reading Drip-Drip-Drip: Reoccurring Payment Schemes
I have friend who has been talking about retirement as an opportunity for ‘rewirement‘ – that is to rewire, “our minds, our bodies, and our plans for years of continued growth ahead.” I agree, and as I’ve said before, it is a big, wonderful world and my goal in early retirement is to soak in all of its wonderfulness. To that end, and on a … Continue reading Back To Campus in Early Retirement
For today’s Mr.FireStation post, I decided to turn the space over to my 18 year old son who starts his freshman year of college on Wednesday. Just as MRS FireStation posted her perspective on our early retirement a few weeks ago, I thought it would be interesting to hear from the other member of our nuclear family. “What does your Dad do for a living?” … Continue reading “What Does Your Dad Do For A Living?”
Today is the day that our only child leaves for his freshman year of college. It’s a big day that we’ve been looking toward since we brought him home as a newborn baby more than eighteen years ago. It is with deeply mixed feelings that we send him off – happy to see him growing and getting to do amazing things, but also sorry to … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Learning Independence
When I was in college, my girlfriend and I stopped into the bank one day on our way downtown. I explained to the future Mrs. FireStation that I needed to check my balance. She was puzzled by the fact that I often zipped into the bank every week or two. The bank teller was puzzled too. I had my checkbook in my hand, but didn’t … Continue reading Bank Registers & Budgets – I Don’t Waste My Time
MrFireStation 