At the beginning of the year – when we have our Financial Round-Up Day – I put down my assumptions for what I think the financial markets and economy will return for the year. I try to be conservative in my expectations, but use it to set investing goals and create a spending plan for the year. With autumn now in full bloom, I thought … Continue reading 2017 Market Predictions – Autumn Review
We are traveling in Scotland this morning, so just a quick post on the personal finance of traveling. Like most people, we charge almost everything we can when we travel. We keep a small amount of cash for small expenses, but otherwise charge away. One of the questions you inevitably get when you are paying for things with a card is “do you want to … Continue reading When In Rome, PAY As The Romans Do
We went to the Minnesota State Fair about a week ago and enjoyed all of the greasy food, unique exhibits, and saw Stevie Nicks in concert. Our State Fair, which lasts for 12 days, is the second biggest fair in the United States with attendance of almost 2 million people. One thing the fair excels at is getting those 2 million people to spend money. … Continue reading What’s In Your Wallet – Cash?
We dropped our son off at college yesterday to start his sophomore year. Naturally, I am reflective this morning about him and his adventures. He really had a productive summer. He worked part-time at a retail store and took three summer classes to get ahead on his Bachelor’s degree. My wife an I were astounded at how responsible he is. We met when we were … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Back To Campus
Before I left MegaCorp last year, I had the chance to speak with a room of 20 of our newest MBA recruits who were in a leadership development program for the company. While I was wrapping up my career, most of them were just a few years into their career. I was giving them an update on a digital marketing initiative taking place across the … Continue reading “50% Rule” To Retire In 20 Years
My closet has a big hole in it. Last weekend, while getting home from a weekend trip, I noticed how many dress shirts I have clogging my closet. I decided it was a good time to go through my former work attire and “declutter” my wardrobe. While I did some major decluttering immediately after I retired, I didn’t really touch my work clothes. … Continue reading FIRE Station FUN – Decluttering Work Clothes
The Economic Policy Institute recently published some charts focusing on the state of retirement savings among working families in the United States today. I’m not sure what they determine exactly constitutes a ‘working family’ – since most Americans live in 1 or 2 member households – but assuming the definition is reasonably broad, the data was interesting. It showed the amount of retirement savings that … Continue reading Millionaire Status in FIRE – How Does Your Savings Stack Up?
Today would have been the 28th Anniversary of the start of my career at The Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis, back in 1989. I loved working for Pillsbury and became good friends with the Pillsbury Doughboy over the years. Instead of starting the day at 7am with a sprinkled, chocolate donut (a Mr. FireStation favorite) like I did back in 1989, I will be sleeping in … Continue reading Work Anniversary – How Are Our Retirement Savings Holding Up?
Last year, when I was just early retired a few weeks, I wrote this article describing the ‘honeymoon’ period of leaving work behind. I even shared a ‘5 Stages of Retirement’ academic framework that many already-retired readers immediately called B.S. on – complaining that the sudden feeling of freedom does NOT grow old and that the honeymoon of early retirement NEVER ends! These comments came … Continue reading Still On Our FIRE Honeymoon
We are in the car market again after two years with our current fleet. Our SUV has reached the point when it is starting to require quite a few repairs and as I have written before, vehicles are a budget item that I confess to being a guilty pleasure splurge. The SUV we will sell is a 2011 model with 114K miles. We have really … Continue reading Car Shopping Framework – 7 Principles That Guide Us
MrFireStation 