General Thoughts

Early Retirement with Kids Is Wonderful... but Frustrating

Early Retirement with Kids Is Wonderful… but Frustrating

24 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts, Kids, Life in Early Retirement / /

Reaching early retirement in 2018 at 43 isn’t something that a lot of the population is interested in or trying to pull off.  But change that to being in early retirement with kids to raise and that puts us in even more of a niche. We have one child, our daughter Faith, who’s a great kid.  She’s 9 but acts like a really short adult most of the time.  That probably makes life a little easier for us and we […]

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41 Unforgettable Quotes from My Daughter - Part 1

41 Unforgettable Quotes from My Daughter [Part 1]

15 Comments / Kids, General Thoughts / /

Quotes from your daughter for your blog post, Jim?  Um, isn’t this a little bit of a weird post? So, yeah… about that.  Truth be told, I’ve been struggling to figure out what to write about today. Recently, I’ve given you my 2 cents about the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic.  I’ve also written about some random thoughts on how about how the pandemic is going in Panama and how we’re handling things.  I’ve even talked about whether the recession is going to

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Random Thoughts in These Unusual Times

Random Thoughts in These Unusual Times

20 Comments / General Thoughts, Life in Early Retirement, Panama / /

Random thoughts everyone… get ’em here while they’re hot!  I decided to make this week’s post a little different. Times are crazy right now.  With the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc, it’s surreal to think about how so many folks throughout the entire world are at home right now.  Some are self-isolating while others are being required to be in lockdown. Regardless, I don’t know of a time like this in this modern age.  This is something new to the world. 

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My 2¢ on the Coronavirus, Stock Market, and Other Fun

22 Comments / General Thoughts, Investments / /

Well, folks, between the fear of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the roller coaster of a stock market, life has really changed for us all in the blink of an eye.  For some, it may be some minor inconveniences and for others, it could be a real punch in the face. I initially wasn’t going to write a post on this because I figured that everyone and their brother are already on it.  However, sometimes it’s good to hear different perspectives. 

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What the FIRE Movement Means to Me

What the FIRE Movement Means to Me

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

I recently came across a question in the FinCon Community Facebook Group relating to the FIRE movement (financial independence / retire early).  It was asked by Jeff Rose, creator of the Good Financial Cents site. If you’re not a member of the FinCon Facebook group, you likely won’t be able to access this link.  However, the question asked was “Who disagrees with the FIRE movement and why?” The post drew quite a number of comments that spanned all sorts of

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Striving to Let Go and Be a Better Person

Striving to Let Go and Be a Better Person

14 Comments / Motivation, General Thoughts, Life in Early Retirement / /

Well, tomorrow is the big day… we’re finally flying out and moving to Panama!  And with that, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about change and my plans to be a better person. That’s right – who woulda thunk I could be any more of a better person than I already am?!  Well, guess what – even people like little old me have a little breathing room to improve on in our lives!   Striving to

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Retirement Problems: My 2 Biggest Fears Since Retiring

14 Comments / Life in Early Retirement, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts, Spending / /

Having retirement problems when you’re early retired can sometimes sound petty.  It’s like winning the lottery and then complaining about the amount you have to pay in taxes. So, don’t get me wrong – I’m having the time of my life since I left my job in 2018.  Gaining freedom and more time are two facets of life that only a small percentage of people can fully realize and I’m loving every minute of it. We’ve been enjoying time together

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8 Financial Tips I Wish I Knew When I Was in My 20’s

16 Comments / General Thoughts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Health and Fitness, Investments, Kids, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation, Real Estate, Saving, Self-Employment, Spending / /

My nephew recently started reading this blog and it got me thinking.  What would be valuable information for him as a reader?  What do I wish I knew when I was younger? He’s almost 20 years old and he just started a career in construction probably close to a couple of years ago.  At his age, I know I wasn’t very smart financially.  Don’t get me wrong – I thought I was, but looking back, I made some stupid decisions.

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We Thought We Could Just Pack Up and Go…

We Thought We Could Just Pack Up and Go…

26 Comments / General Thoughts, Travel and Vacation / /

When we first sought out our new adventure, we thought we could basically just pack up and go.  I mean, you just sell everything and move to Panama, right? Ha!  Wishful thinking!  There’s a tremendous amount of planning involved to make this a smooth transition. I’ve talked about some of the minutiae we’ve encountered in our planning, but now it’s time for more scoop. And considering we’re about to embark on a huge adventure, I thought it would make sense

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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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