I am always paranoid about recurring, subscription fees that are like the little leaks that Ben Franklin warned us about. Â These kinds of fees are certainly much more common today than they were in Ben’s time. Â Some are big and easy to understand – utilities, internet access, or a boat club with monthly dues. Others are quite insidious in their nature. Â They hide in our … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – The Little Things
Starting on May 1, my wife and I began a project that a friend suggested called the “30-Day Decluttering Challenge”. The concept is simple – on the first day of the month, get rid of one item. On the second day of the month, get rid of two items. Continue to do so until the 30th day of the challenge, when you get rid of … Continue reading 30 Day Post-Retirement Decluttering Challenge
Today we have an extra special guest – for the first time ever we are joined by the wonderful MrsFireStation – who will share her own thoughts on Captain Sparky’s escape from corporate life and our new life of leisure in early retirement … My background … I’ve been a stay-at-home Mom for 18 years and our son is a senior in high school and … Continue reading The Better Half – Thoughts From MrsFireStation
Last week I published a post that discussed the ‘honeymoon’ phase of retirement and included a chart on the phases of retirement (from Forbes.com, sourced to Dr. Sara Yogev). While I certainly feel like I’m in the honeymoon phase now –  after just a few weeks away from the office – I went to the forums on Early-Retirement.org to see what some more ‘experienced’ early … Continue reading Never Ending Honeymoon?
While I am only starting my third day of early retirement, I can already feel that my fundamental relationship with TIME and SLEEP is changing. First off, I am starting to understand what freedom from everyday work feels like. Simply put, it feels like I am SKIPPING SCHOOL – but EVERYONE knows. Even the principal (my old boss) knows. For the last few weeks, even though … Continue reading A Wrinkle In Time
This week we are on Spring Break – enjoying the sunny weather in Florida. When I get back, I only have one week left in the office before I leave for early retirement, so I’m kind of feeling retired already. Kind of like the ‘practice early retirement’ I imagined when I was home for the holidays. This time, I decided I would NOT pay … Continue reading Magical Escape From Work Email
With just a few weeks to go before early retirement, I’ve started the process of taking things home from my MegaCorp office. Â My plan is to take home bits & pieces until April Fool’s Day, when I turn in my badge & laptop on my final day. Â It’s a small but meaningful milestone in my path to early retirement on April 1st. Related Milestones: Giving … Continue reading FIRE Milestones – Taking Stuff Home From Work
By global standards, almost all of us have more than we NEED, quite a few of us are fortunate to have more than we EXPECTED, and so all of should be focused on what we really WANT. Â Do we want more stuff, or do we want more time? If we don’t have a plan to reach financial independence and retire early, we are really saying … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Value Your Time
Healthy living and corporate life don’t always go together. Some people do a great job of balancing the two, but others (like me) find the many hours spent at the office are terrific excuse to not work out. And I am absolutely GREAT at finding excuses to avoid exercise. 🙂 Combine this with the appealing social opportunity of escaping work to go out to eat … Continue reading 12K Steps to Early Retirement Fitness
As this post is published, I am getting up for another work week at MegaCorp. Â I’ve gotten up for work on about 1,400 Monday mornings since I started working almost 27 years ago. That said, the last couple of weeks have been quite different, as the shadows of my career are starting to get longer since I announced my pending early retirement two weeks ago … Continue reading Long Shadows At MegaCorp – 5 Weeks To Early Retirement
MrFireStation 