A quick post on April Fool’s Day today. I saw this post in a FIRE group recently and thought I’d share the person’s question and my response … POST: I am very close to retiring. I am 56, married, and have four kids. Three are adults and one nearly out of high school. I have planned well and can retire and seek freedom and flexibility … Continue reading Feeling Guilty? Nah.
File this under “Things I’m Thankful For, But Have No Control Over”. The S&P 500 is off to a blazing start in 2024. Q1 is ending, and the index is already up double-digits (10.1%). It’s the U.S. equity market’s best start since 2019! I know, a quarter isn’t much to be excited for, but the U.S. market has really been rocking for a full decade … Continue reading Two Different Worlds
Our home state of Minnesota regularly shows up at the top of the list of states with the highest taxes in the USA. A few years ago, Kiplinger’s named Minnesota – not California or New York – as the country’s “Least Tax Friendly State”. As many Minnesotans have left the state for low taxes & warm weather in Florida, many have suggested we join them. … Continue reading Department of Residency
A few years ago, I wrote about my hobby of collecting antique Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments from the 1940s-1960s. Since I retired in 2016, I’ve probably collected upwards of 50 of them. Among all of the things you could collect, Shiny Brites were very affordable. I’d pick up a glass lantern, UFO, or a curvy tree for just $4-$6 on average. If I found a … Continue reading Inflationary Christmas Treasures
When I was a corporate officer at MegaCorp, you were expected to maintain a certain % of your annual salary in company stock. I forget the exact amount, but I think it was 2-3x your annual total compensation. It wasn’t too hard, given the company had been doing well and we all had stock grants and stock options. Still, as personal finance matriarch, Jane Bryant … Continue reading Looking At Returns Over Time
In the world of personal finance and saving for the future, there’s always a new trend that is said to be making waves. The latest one is called “soft saving” – I just heard about it. In “soft saving,” the traditional wisdom of working hard, saving diligently, and retiring early is being challenged by a generation that values experiences and personal growth over accumulating wealth. … Continue reading Soft Saving Approach
Debt is a four-letter word for anyone looking to retire early. In fact, it should be for everyone. Still, despite our relative prosperity, Americans are more in debt than ever. It looks like total consumer debt is 15% higher than it was before the pandemic. All of the stimulus money had only a temporary impact on debt levels … It’s one thing to be sitting … Continue reading Debt Getting Very Expensive
The media keep telling me that inflation is moderating, yet the 4 bags of groceries we bought at SuperTarget today cost $189. What’s going on with inflation?? I’m not the world’s savviest investor, but I’ve done all right. I’ve always looked to the 10 Year Treasury Yield as a decent indicator of what is expected with inflation over the longer term. As you can see … Continue reading What’s Really Going On With Inflation?
There’s increasing pressure on raising retirement ages in the world. Many countries are moving in the direction of raising the retirement age used for their national pensions. Other countries are pretending that their national programs are robust & funded appropriately just the way things are, but they math isn’t in their favor. In the USA, Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, is calling for Social Security reforms … Continue reading Where Are We Heading With National Retirement Ages?
One thing I don’t write a lot about in this blog is how I write this blog. I started it back in January 2015, when I was 15 months from executing my FIRE Escape. I began sharing since I didn’t see a lot of detailed, first-hand accounts of people that had reached financial independence & retired early and was craving information like that for myself. … Continue reading Blog Milestone …
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