We just finished a fantastic long weekend at our Florida place enjoying all of the America 250 festivities. The celebrations & fireworks at Walt Disney World – and our own small-town Independence Day parade (no politicians!) were terrific. Seeing the tall ships in NYC, the time capsule in Philadelphia, and midnight fireworks in Washington DV were also highlights. We visited all of those places this … Continue reading Where Are We At USA?
Since I don’t work, I probably follow the news more than the average bear. When you do that, you start to think you know more than most other people. Violating one of my own guidelines to buy index funds for the long-term and not play individual investments for the short-term, I bought $5K of the oil fund BNO a few weeks ago. Every few days … Continue reading A Lousy War Profiteer
The economy is either strong, or very weak, it seems. Like many things in America, it just depends on your political perspective. According to Gallup, Republicans are +22 points positive about the economy, while Democrats are -80 points negative. If you go back to Biden’s time in office the viewpoints were switched almost perfectly. In Trump’s first term they were flipped again. I consider myself … Continue reading How’s The Economy? It Depends …
The new “Trump Accounts” 530A program is now officially rolling out, and millions are taking notice. The app is suddenly the top download on the Apple & Google app stores – again proving the popularity of “free” government money from politicians in an election year. At its core, the program is simple. Children born between 1/1/25, and 12/31/2028, are eligible to receive a $1,000 contribution … Continue reading Free Government Money?
My son and I were talking about saving & investing and I’m proud that he is a good saver. I know that definitively because I ran across this chart in a news story (I forget where). It gives a good look at net worth by age with 5 year age brackets. I think it’s good for young people to see what others are saving. We … Continue reading Net Worth By Age
An online thread recently asked “What luxury, purchases end up being a money pit?” I think we’ve all had the experience of buying something we thought would be great, but end up costing us much more than we thought. Here’s a summary of the top responses … Boats seem like the quintessential money pit for people. The old saw is that “a boat is a … Continue reading Trophy Purchase Money Pits
Wednesday was Tax Day in the United States as everyone was rushing to get their Federal & State Tax Returns submitted by that date. Ours were finished last Friday and we paid less in taxes than ever – as we lived off cash in 2025 and didn’t sell any investments for a gain. A couple of our investments, including our rental townhouse, had losses. We … Continue reading Pass the SALT on Tax Day
Early Retirement 10th Anniversary reflections from Mrs. Fire Station … It’s been 10 years since I piped in on this blog of my husband’s. When we were having lunch in Washington DC a few weeks ago, he asked me to reflect on my thoughts on the 10 years since we both retired. Related: The Better Half / Thoughts From Mrs. Fire Station I’ll admit … Continue reading Cheers to 10 Years – Mrs. Fire Station
When I left the office 10 years ago this month, I never could have imagined the incredible good fortune our equity investments would benefit from over the full decade of our early retirement. As you can see below, S&P 500 returns over that period of time have average a hefty 14.1% with dividends reinvested! Our portfolio also includes bonds, real estate, and cash – but … Continue reading Cheers to 10 Years of Good Fortune
Today’s the day. 10 years. No April Fool’s Day. It’s been a full decade since I stopped working on April 1, 2016. Related: Blasting Out of MegaCorp Naturally, such a foolish anniversary has gotten me wondering what I have done with all of that extra time. If you take 60 hours/week of working & commuting time and multiply it over 48 work weeks/year across … Continue reading Cheers to 10 Years!
MrFireStation 