Jim @ Route To Retire

Guest Appearance on the Marriage, Kids and Money Podcast

Leave a Comment / Podcasts and Other Appearances / /

I like Andy Hill from the Marriage, Kids and Money site a lot.  He’s a genuinely nice guy and I love that he focuses on finances as a family. I would guess that the majority of the folks we hear from in the personal finance community don’t have kids.  That doesn’t necessarily represent everyone tuning in, but the voices tend to be less. Enter Andy Hill.  Not only does he focus on improving family finances, but he loves to show […]

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Using Google Voice to Stay in Touch While Living Abroad

Using Google Voice to Stay in Touch While Living Abroad

105 Comments / Geoarbitrage, Panama, Travel and Vacation / /

Ever heard of Google Voice?  If not, know that this could be one of the best ways of staying in touch with family and friends while you’re living abroad. One of the small concerns we had was how to keep communication simple with everyone while we’re living in Panama.  When we get there, we’re going to get Panamanian cell service for our phones. The problem is that gives us a Panamanian phone number.  So if we call anyone in the

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An Interview with My Daughter about Our Crazy Plans

18 Comments / Guest Posts, Kids, Travel and Vacation / /

We all know that everyone loves to hear from my daughter on here more than me.  So I thought that this time I’d bring her back as an interviewee. Most of you think that our plans to move out of the country later this year are pretty bold but cool (albeit, a little crazy). But the problem is that you’re only getting my perspective on our upcoming plans.  And I know a lot of you want to know what the

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It Takes More than Money – My Interview on Retire By 40

3 Comments / Guest Posts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement / /

A lot of you already know that Joe from Retire By 40 was my inspiration for heading down the path to FIRE.  He gave me the kick in the pants I needed to realize that early retirement was possible. I took a week off of work when my daughter was born in 2010.  When I had to go back to work after that and couldn’t be with her throughout the days after, it crushed me.  I struggled, but I thought

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Early Retirement = Healthier Lifestyle

15 Comments / Health and Fitness, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Living a healthier lifestyle is something we all want.  We know we’ll feel better.  We know we’ll likely live longer.  Heck, we’ll probably even look better! And it’s not like reaching a healthier lifestyle is some complex formula that we just can’t understand.  It’s a simple process and we’re all familiar with the gist of what needs to be done: Eat foods that are better for you Get off your butt and exercise more Drink less beer (it hurts just to

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My Credit Score Dropped – Should I Worry?

12 Comments / Debt, Consumer Protection / /

Should I be concerned that my credit score dropped recently? I mean, after all, your credit score helps financial institutions define your reliability in the world of finance.  It’s like your report card to see how you’re doing. A great score likely means you’ll get better rates when applying for a loan.  A bad credit score usually equates to a higher rate – if you’re able to get approved at all. I’ve always maintained a good score, even when I

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Some Honest Thoughts about Running a Blog

36 Comments / Blogging, General Thoughts / /

I’ve been running a blog now for almost 4 years and I have a few thoughts on the subject that have been rattling around in my head lately. I probably should be saving this post for my “blogiversary” in a couple of months.  But since this was on my mind, I figured I’d be a rule-breaker… yeah, I’m a rebel like that! Running a blog is a unique endeavor.  Some folks do it as a hobby and some as a

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My Gamble with $691k in Retirement Money

20 Comments / Investments, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Retirement money is definitely something you shouldn’t be gambling with.  But hey, it’s only your future on the line… what could go wrong? I admit it – I love gambling.  That’s not something you’d expect to hear from a blogger in the personal finance community, but it’s true. I’m not an avid gambler – I just enjoy some table games or video poker at a casino every now and again.  Sometimes I’ll even throw a little bit at a periodic

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Holy Schnikes! Another Change of Plans for Us!

Holy Schnikes! Another Change of Plans for Us!

19 Comments / General Thoughts, Travel and Vacation / /

Another day, another change of plans!  This slight change is going to add to our already exciting adventure! As most of you already know, we’re moving to Panama this summer.  I retired from my job at the end of 2018 and we’re getting closer to making this happen. In the meantime, we have two reasons we’re waiting so long to leave: We need to wait for our daughter to finish out her school year. We have a vacation planned with

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After 20 Years on Quicken, I'm All-In on Personal Capital

After 20 Years on Quicken, I’m All-In on Empower (formerly Personal Capital)

42 Comments / Product and Service Reviews, Debt, Saving / /

I’ve been using the Empower (formerly Personal Capital) financial software now for the past few years.  However, I’ve only been dipping my toes in with it… until now. Quicken’s been my go-to software for just over 20 years.  I stumbled on it back in 1999 when I first started at the career I just retired from.  I was hired in as an engineer to fight the scary Y2K bug and Intuit was giving away their Quicken 98 software for free as

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