Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called LIFE.” Living in the Twin Cities since high school and through college in the 1980s, it is easy to say that Prince wrote a huge part of the musical soundtrack of my life. An amazingly prolific musician, unstoppably entertaining showman, and thoughtful but respectful activist, Prince was a true musical innovator for … Continue reading Friday Inspiration – Prince’s Independence
As I am out enjoying my third week of early retirement right now, I thought instead of writing a full post today I would share something that I found inspirational over the years, especially when I was looking for motivation or facing seemingly impossible odds. It is a poem from Edgar Albert Guest, an amazingly prolific writer who penned over 11K poems in his career. … Continue reading FIRE Inspiration – Edgar Guest Poem
This is the second cake photo that I have shared in just a few weeks. As you can see, last week was my 50th birthday and my wife was kind enough to organize an awesome birthday party for me on Saturday night, which came just 19 days after my early retirement party. It has been an embarrassment of riches for sure and I am so … Continue reading Another Cake? – The Five Phases of Retirement
Now that I am retired early and enjoying my first month without work, people are asking me for advice on how much THEY need to save to retire themselves. Many people don’t seem to know where exactly to start. Calculating the money needed for retirement feels like walking into a foreign casino to them – full of opportunity, but also fraught with risk. With that … Continue reading Calculating Retirement Odds – Using FIREcalc
Last week was my first week of early retirement. It was great fun, but at the same time quite strange to be home all week, while all of my (former) colleagues continued to work. As I wrote last week, it really felt like I was ‘skipping school’ – in full view of my classmates and the teachers. While my wife was out of town and … Continue reading Stepping Into Early Retirement – Initial Observations
As much as anything, “lifestyle inflation” drives many people to forgo the opportunity for early retirement. In the 1950s, the productivity of the information age promised less work and more leisure. Yet, people seem to be working the same or MORE hours rather than less. I expect we could quite easily have a 20-hour work week today – or all retire in our 40s – … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Time Is The Ultimate Luxury
Friday was my last day at WORK. My last day EVER. Just short of 10,000 days since I first started my professional career (about 6,300 work days). The day had a range of emotions and activities that spanned excitement & ordinary. The highlight was BLASTING out of the MegaCorp parking garage toward freedom! People have been quite interested on what specifically I am going to … Continue reading FIRE Milestone – Final Day: Blasting Into Retirement
I can’t begin to describe the almost dreamlike surrealness that comes with walking into a beautifully decorated restaurant and reading a BIG banner and cake that say “Congratulations on your Retirement!” YOUR retirement. This is IT. If you aren’t 1000% sure you are ready for early retirement, seeing the BIG cake at the YOUR farewell party certainly will seal the deal. As I wrote about … Continue reading FIRE Milestone – The Glorious Farewell Party
Entering the atomic age, T.S. Elliot remarked that the end of the world would likely come now come with “not a bang, but a whimper”. As I enter the final week of my almost 27 year professional world, I am not sure whether to expect a bang or a whimper myself. Will this be a boisterous, celebratory week or more of a low-key farewell? With … Continue reading Final Week of Work – A Bang or Whimper?
We are on the last day of spring break and enjoying beautiful 80-degree days in sunny Florida, while our home in Minnesota got hit hard with almost a foot of snow (Minne-snow-da). One of my brothers posted a picture of his long driveway freshly plowed after 11” of snow! It’s more than escaping the cold for warm weather that makes us love travel. It’s a … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Frivolous Travel
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