For someone that writes a personal finance blog and loves driving, you would think I would be more attuned to gasoline prices than I am. My wife can always tell you what the current gas prices are, but I seldom even notice how much I’ve paid to fill the tank. If you also haven’t been paying attention, gas prices are up almost a full dollar … Continue reading Concerned About Gas Prices Yet?
I am so old, I can remember the day that Dow Jones Industrial Average permanently broke the milestone value of 1,000. It was in December 1982 – when I was still in high school. I was enough of a business & investing geek even then to recall reading about it in the newspaper. Now, with the DJIA pushing almost 35x that landmark, I’m astounded to … Continue reading Stock Market Volatility
Anyone that has tried to make a major purchase recently – a home, remodel, new vehicle, or electronic purchase – knows how tight supply is for everything after the pandemic. At the same time, investors are wringing their hands over rising inflation. With that in mind, I was surprised to see this JP Morgan chart on the US personal savings rate. People are doing a … Continue reading Sudden Savings Surprise
Thinking about retirement? Friends of mine are. I enjoyed a frosty refreshment with an old friend recently and he said, “I never thought about retirement until you retired. Since then, I think about it almost every single day”. Another friend recently called and commented, “we haven’t talked in a while, but I have to tell you – your early retirement is never far from my … Continue reading Very Visible Early Retiree
I’m am more than a little perplexed at how the media reports on early retirees. Most articles do their best to talk people OUT of saving up to be financially independent and enjoy the rest of their life in retirement. This article from AARP is no exception. You would think that an organization seeking to represent people in retirement (politically and otherwise) would be a … Continue reading WTF AARP?
It was soon after my first MegaCorp pension check arrived in the mailbox that the latest CPI report was released with the most price inflation we’ve seen in more than a decade. My new pension payment is fixed – no cost of living adjustment – so I immediately had visions of it being quickly consumed by this monetary beast that has been lying in wait … Continue reading Inflation On The Way?
I might have mentioned before that my wife and I don’t really keep a household budget. We used to be very, very diligent about it, but over the years we just stopped. I could tell you what we roughly spend each month, but not without actually adding it up. I only really know if we are spending too much by looking at our long-term net … Continue reading Budgets & Big Purchases
I’ve often said that if I hadn’t had a job that required me to go into the MegaCorp office every day, I might have worked much longer. As everyone has learned during the CV19 pandemic, people are happier when pretending to work from home. 🙂 Related: The Onion: Working From Home With the CDC announcement yesterday that vaccinated people can now safely go back to … Continue reading Return-To-The-Office?
I turned 55 last week and to celebrate the milestone, my friend treated me to my first Senior Discounted meal at breakfast. We went to Denny’s and my 55+ eggs, pancakes, and extra crispy bacon (burn the hell out of them!) cost $8.49. That’s a savings of $1.00 even, or 16% off the regular menu. I guess that’s worth it, although Im not a big … Continue reading Double Nickel Discount
Reaching financial independence requires a combination of good choices and good fortune. Even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, but if you aren’t making smart decisions along the way, it won’t matter. Recently a post on the early-retirement.org forum asked “what changes/sacrifices did you make to reach financial independence?” In general, the folks responding are a very successful group of early retirees and their … Continue reading 25 Proven Moves To Reach Financial Independence
