Tag: early retirement

Spend Less Than You Make

The Price of Work – Everyday Expenses

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Early retirees talk about the pleasure & independence that comes with walking away from the workplace and living their lives to the fullest.  At the same time, they also talk about the shift in mindset that comes from no longer actively accumulating their savings, but continuing to actively spend it.

One opportunity to spend less comes from the costs that are solely work-related.  For me those expenses fall in two key categories: lunches at work and dry cleaning bills.  I recently went on Mint.com, where I track our spending to see how much these expenses add up to annually.   Continue reading “The Price of Work – Everyday Expenses”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation5 Comments
Have A Plan, Have A Purpose

Our Early Retirement Travel Planning Framework & Free Download

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I like to always have a big, interesting trip booked about a year in advance, but we have nothing yet planned for 2016. I’ve written about our love of travel before, my goal to get to all fifty states (two left!) and trips we’ve taken overseas. The challenge we face (for the first time ever) is too many opportunities to decide between next year. With early retirement arriving next April Fool’s Day, we’ll have the whole rest of the year to go wherever we wish. Continue reading “Our Early Retirement Travel Planning Framework & Free Download”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation18 Comments
FIRE Countdown

Time Moving Slowly to Early Retirement Date

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We are still 6+ months from our planned early retirement date and I have to report that time is moving a bit slowly.  I thought when I was within one year of my secret plan to escape Megacorp for a life of FIRE (financial independence & retiring early), that things would start to feel accelerated, but that hasn’t really been the case.  

One of the factors that I thought would make this final year move fast was the idea that I would be doing certain things for the ‘last time’ as I moved through each of the last 12 months.   Continue reading “Time Moving Slowly to Early Retirement Date”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation10 Comments
Have A Plan

Mrs. FireStation – My Wife’s Early Retirement

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Yesterday, Mrs. Fire Station left on a ‘girls trip’ to Florida with four friends of hers.  She is looking forward to some fun in the sun as the days are already turning a bit crisp & cool here at home.  In fact, I know she would love to spend the winter months someplace sunny when we retire.  I am sure she will bring back some information on the resort she is staying at in Sarasota, with some pictures like the one above (although it is raining today). Continue reading “Mrs. FireStation – My Wife’s Early Retirement”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation2 Comments
Have A Plan, Have A Purpose

Six Ways To Prepare For Our Early Retirement Lifestyle

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DW and I are now just 7 months from early retirement. I recently posed a question to a group of early retirees about the adjustment that takes place between the full-time working world and a life of early retirement.  During my many cups of coffee with friends over the last year, I regularly heard about a need to take the first full year of early retirement to adjust to the new lifestyle.  I have even heard it described as like the adjustment that comes from “leaving a bad relationship” or divorcing one’s longtime spouse.

I asked specifically about how long it took to adjust to not working? Continue reading “Six Ways To Prepare For Our Early Retirement Lifestyle”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation10 Comments
Have A Plan, Have A Purpose

Change Stress & Early Retirement

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Will early retirement be a stressful life event?

Sure enough, the website VisualMD.com has a list of stressful life events shows retirement in the top ten causes of negative life stress (see above).  It’s not on the top of the list, but it is interesting to see it rated at about the same score as losing your job (getting married is the only other positive on the list).  

Where’s the joy in one’s new found freedom?? Continue reading “Change Stress & Early Retirement”

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation6 Comments
Have A Purpose, health

Fitter or Fatter in Early Retirement?

Like many folks looking forward to early retirement, Captain Sparky is thinking about how he can become more fit.   Retirement goals are predicated on good health, and a lot of early retirees make it a priority. My health has always been good. I had my appendix out once, but that’s about it. I’m 49 years old, 6’ 2” and weigh about 215 pounds, which is down … Continue reading Fitter or Fatter in Early Retirement?

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation4 Comments
Know Your Number

Poll Results – Savings At The Time Of Early Retirement

The MrMoneyMustache.com forum recently had a poll on how much money people saved before the retired early.  People have different definitions of early retirement (for some it’s 40 or 50 or 60).  Additionally, the MMM website has a significant focus on ‘frugal living’, so I’m not sure how representative it is overall.  Nonetheless, the poll did have over 150 early retirees weighing in … so … Continue reading Poll Results – Savings At The Time Of Early Retirement

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation1 Comment
Have A Purpose, Overall Philosophy, philanthropy

Working One More Year For Charity – Ben Franklin Style

I wrote recently about our family’s plan to save my final year’s salary in a bank account and donate it to charity in the first few years of our retirement.  Here’s a link to that post.  It’s generated a lot of discussion, but no one I’ve talked to has any examples of anyone else who had done anything similar. Until recently … It turns out … Continue reading Working One More Year For Charity – Ben Franklin Style

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation7 Comments
FIRE Countdown

Countdown to Early Retirement – Post-it Flags

I recently wrote about possible ways to countdown my last year to early retirement.  I had gotten a lot of great ideas online and shared them in this post.  Since it’s a couple of weeks later, I thought I would share a couple of the approaches I adopted. First, I made 52 tags out of Post-it Flags and hung them up in a colorful way … Continue reading Countdown to Early Retirement – Post-it Flags

Unknown's avatarMrFireStation15 Comments