Jim @ Route To Retire

For a Better Life, Turn Your "I Can’t" Into an "I Can"

For a Better Life, Turn Your “I Can’t” Into an “I Can”

8 Comments / Motivation, Education, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts / /

It’s a little surreal for me to reflect on my life and see how far we’ve come. By far, I feel we now have a better life than I could have ever imagined. We’re financially independent and no longer report to “the man.” We’ve taken advantage of our early retirement freedom to spend more time being a part of our daughter’s life as she grows up, We’ve all stepped out of our comfort zone and have been living in Panama […]

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3 Popular Panama Beach Resorts – Las Olas, Las Lajas, and Show Pony

3 Popular Panama Beach Resorts – Las Olas, Las Lajas, and Show Pony

4 Comments / Travel and Vacation, Life in Early Retirement, Panama / /

Beaches are prevalent throughout the country of Panama. Frommer’s notes that there are over 1,000 on the Pacific side and more than 500 on the Caribbean side. That’s a lot of beaches in general, but a heckuva lot considering that the entire country of Panama is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of South Carolina! And with that many beaches comes a lot of Panama beach resorts. In the province of Chiriquí where we live (that’s where the cities of

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Should I Get a Job Now as a Hedge for Tomorrow?

Should I Get a Job Now as a Hedge for Tomorrow?

26 Comments / Saving, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Self-Employment / /

Get a job???? Isn’t this a site focusing on financial independence and the option to retire early? Easy, tiger – no need to come out fighting right off the rip. Don’t get out your pitchforks to tell me that we didn’t retire with enough money. This is more of a hypothetical than anything. I’m confident that we have enough money to last us the rest of our lives. Our net worth has actually grown dramatically since I retired at the

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Is This Down Stock Market Problematic as an Early Retiree?

Is This Down Stock Market Problematic as an Early Retiree?

25 Comments / Investments, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Spending, Taxes and Financial Planning / /

A down stock market? Is that true? Yeah, unless you haven’t been paying attention, the market’s been on a not-so-fun ride lately in the direction that most folks tend to fear. Most of last week was a stressful week for investors. By the end of the day Wednesday, 02/23/2022, all gains in the S&P 500 since 06/21/2021 had been completely erased. Thursday and Friday produced a pretty big uptick but not enough to compensate for the downward spiral the beginning

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Companion Flies Free With the Southwest Credit Card for a Year!

Companion Flies Free With the Southwest Credit Card for a Year!

Leave a Comment / General Thoughts / /

A few months ago, I wrote a post titled The #1 Easy Way We’re Getting the Southwest Companion Pass. I detailed the strategy we’re in the process of going through using a Southwest credit card (or maybe two) to get the Southwest Companion Pass. If you’re not familiar, the Southwest Companion Pass is a benefit earned that then allows you to book a friend with you for free on every Southwest flight you book. You still have to pay a

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Alcohol Tracking – I Spent Hours Creating This Spreadsheet I Hope to Use Very Little

Alcohol Tracking – I Spent Hours Creating This Spreadsheet I Hope to Use Very Little

15 Comments / Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / /

I love beer. I do! And if you know me, alcohol tracking probably wouldn’t be something you would think I should waste my time with since I’m not a huge drinker. But it’s a fun little experiment I’ve decided to do regardless. Did I mention that I love beer? Even a glass of lemonade on a hot day just doesn’t quite have the same refreshingness that an ice-cold beer seems to provide. Nevertheless, I know it’s not good for me

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An Epic 2 Nights in the Jungle at Rambala Jungle Lodge

An Epic 2 Nights in the Jungle at Rambala Jungle Lodge

6 Comments / Travel and Vacation, Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Panama / /

Wow. I knew this was going to be something different. But who would have thought that a stay at the Rambala Jungle Lodge in the middle of the jungle would be so awesome?! My wife, Lisa, found out about this place and thought it would be something unique to do. A stay in an open-air bungalow in the middle of the jungle… sounds good to me! So she booked our stay at the Rambala Jungle Lodge a month or so

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Stop Counting Pennies and Focus on the Dollars

Stop Counting Pennies and Focus on the Dollars

33 Comments / Spending, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Saving / /

I have this problem where I’m always counting pennies in my head. Not literally, but rather that I’m always conscientious of all our spending… to a fault. Don’t get me wrong, being mindful of what you’re spending is a good thing. If you don’t know what you’re spending, it can become very difficult to get ahead. The problem, however, is that counting pennies isn’t as important as focusing on the bigger money. In other words, saving a few extra dollars

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Holy #$%*... I Just Hiked up Volcán Barú!

Holy #$%*… I Just Hiked up Volcán Barú!

32 Comments / Life in Early Retirement, Health and Fitness, Motivation, Panama / /

Volcán Barú, a volcano that stands 3,474 meters tall (that’s 11,398 feet!)… and I just hiked to the top and back in less than half a day. I’ve heard of people doing this since the day we moved to Boquete, Panama in August 2019. Even so, I just thought the idea was a little crazy. But then we did the 4×4 tour to the top with our friends, Steve and Courtney, back in October. On the drive down, our guide

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A Beautiful Hike, a Cemetery, and a Flower Festival…

A Beautiful Hike, a Cemetery, and a Flower Festival…

6 Comments / Panama, Life in Early Retirement / /

It’s crazy to think that we’re only going to be living in Panama for less than 3 more months before moving back to the U.S. (with a couple of weeks in Mexico first!). In the meantime though, we’re cramming everything from a cemetery to a flower festival into our plans. It’s been a wonderful adventure over the past 2 ½ years here so far – we definitely feel like this is home. But we have our reasons for heading back

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