FIRE Escape – Early Retirement 13 Month Countdown

I started this blog in January and have been counting down the time to my expected early retirement on April 1, 2016. With February now complete, I have just 13 months more to go.  I am capturing my thoughts and creating a countdown checklist each month, so that others can follow along and perhaps learn from my approach. I am sure like a lot of … Continue reading FIRE Escape – Early Retirement 13 Month Countdown

9 Reasons It’s Difficult To Retire Early

I had a great day at work this past Friday.  There wasn’t anything especially amazing about it, but it was a truly enjoyable day.  Good conversation, meaty strategic work, and a fair amount of horsing around.  It was the kind of day that makes me say ‘this is fun – why do I really want to retire early from all of this?’  What am I … Continue reading 9 Reasons It’s Difficult To Retire Early

Early Retirement – How Soon To Give Notice?

We had some friends over for dinner last weekend and my wife let it slip that I was planning to cash out next year.  I wasn’t upset, but it was a little awkward because the husband works at the same Megacorp that I do and I’m not sharing my plan for retiring early with anyone at work right now.  Our friends were a bit incredulous … Continue reading Early Retirement – How Soon To Give Notice?

FIRE Escape – Early Retirement 14 Months Countdown

Tomorrow is February 1st, which is fourteen months from the day that I expect to leave my job financially independent & retired early (FIRE by Fifty).  I thought I would close out each month between now and then with an update on my plans and the key activities I am focused on in my preparation. First, I will note that the stock market has been … Continue reading FIRE Escape – Early Retirement 14 Months Countdown

Early Retirement Checklist – Jane Bryant Quinn

If you look at the books on my Links tab, you’ll notice that I included Jane Bryant Quinn’s Making The Most of Your Money on the list.   I’ve been relying on this book as a key gospel for our household financial planning for many years.  She is very complete, keeps money matters simple, and has a nice conversational writing quality.  Here’s a link to her … Continue reading Early Retirement Checklist – Jane Bryant Quinn

FIRE Announcement – A Conversation I Look Forward To

As I’ve written before, I have been fortunate to have a great career that has made saving for FIRE easier than many. Not that I didn’t still work very hard and make strategic choices along the way. One company move I made at age 46, basically made my DW & I financially independent (reached FI) within a year of taking it. I’ve now been at … Continue reading FIRE Announcement – A Conversation I Look Forward To

How Early Is Early Retirement?

About 10 years ago, when I was in my late thirties, one of my first bosses announced his retirement from the Megacorp we both worked for. Bob is a quiet, intelligent – truly thoughtful guy – who seemed better than most at understanding how to balance the stresses of work and home. I was quite surprised to hear that he was retiring because I didn’t … Continue reading How Early Is Early Retirement?