Health and Fitness

There Shouldn't Be Boredom in Retirement or You're Doing It Wrong

There Shouldn’t Be Boredom in Retirement or You’re Doing It Wrong

18 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation, Spending, Travel and Vacation / /

I recently went out with some good friends of mine – one I’ve been friends with since high school and two since college. They’re great guys and it’s always fun when the stars align and the four of us can get together. As always, we reminisced and laughed about all the hijinx and fun from the old days, talked about what’s currently been going on in each other’s lives, and delved into plans for the future. And of course, we […]

There Shouldn’t Be Boredom in Retirement or You’re Doing It Wrong Read More »

The Art of Self-Improvement: My Journey to Living a Healthier Lifestyle

The Art of Self-Improvement: My Journey to Living a Healthier Lifestyle

18 Comments / Health and Fitness, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / /

Living a healthier lifestyle is something I think almost all of us want to make happen. Whether it’s exercising more, eating better, or aiming for better mental health, we all know that living a healthier lifestyle helps put us on track for a longer and happier life. But… @#$% happens. And by that, I mean life tends to get in the way. Things like lack of time or energy, stress at work, or even social pressure tend to make us

The Art of Self-Improvement: My Journey to Living a Healthier Lifestyle Read More »

Atomic Habits – The Powerful Keys to Making Changes That Stick

Atomic Habits – The Powerful Keys to Making Changes That Stick

14 Comments / Motivation, Education, Health and Fitness, Here's Why I'm Liking..., Life in Early Retirement, Product and Service Reviews / /

When I reached early retirement at the end of 2018, I gained the one big gift I was looking for in life… more time and freedom. That’s a true blessing, my friends, and I try not to squander it. I strive to use some of that “super power” to push myself to become a better person – both physically and mentally. Change is hard, but I like it. It’s easy just to continue rolling forward while doing the same old

Atomic Habits – The Powerful Keys to Making Changes That Stick Read More »

7 Cool Resources for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet

7 Cool Resources for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet

14 Comments / Motivation, General Thoughts, Health and Fitness, Investments, Travel and Vacation / /

I love reading articles that have something tangible to present. It doesn’t matter if it’s books, documentaries, software, or some kind of hack to improve your life that’s good for your mind, body, or wallet. Make me a better person! Sometimes folks ask me questions about how I accomplished something or why I do things in a particular way. The questions usually revolve around anything from finances to technology to health or anything else that might be on someone’s mind.

7 Cool Resources for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet Read More »

This Set of Dumbbells Is So Good That My Cheap @#$ Just Spent $300 on Them!

This Set of Dumbbells Is So Good That My Cheap @#$ Just Spent $300 on Them!

20 Comments / Health and Fitness, Here's Why I'm Liking..., Life in Early Retirement, Motivation, Product and Service Reviews, Spending / /

Working out is something I’ve made a priority in my life since reaching early retirement at the end of 2018. I’ve worked out at home, done different gyms, and even bought an over-priced set of dumbbells in the U.S. while we were living in Panama just so I’d have something to use when visiting. Now that we’re back in the U.S. to live, I needed to figure out what I’d use for my workouts here. I initially planned to use

This Set of Dumbbells Is So Good That My Cheap @#$ Just Spent $300 on Them! Read More »

Why Not One More? Transform Your Life!

Why Not One More? Transform Your Life!

12 Comments / Motivation, Debt, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts, Health and Fitness, Investments / /

I realized something while working out recently – something important to understand. There’s one thing that keeps many of us from achieving extraordinary things in life. It’s the difference between average and exceptional – just two simple words… One more. Imagine lifting a set of dumbbells and you plan to do 12 in your set. When you get to 12, what’s stopping you from doing one more? It might not sound like much, but if you consistently raise the reps

Why Not One More? Transform Your Life! Read More »

ACA Subsidies Mean We Only Pay $227.34/Mo for Our Family of 3

ACA Subsidies Mean We Only Pay $227.34/Mo for Our Family of 3

22 Comments / Health and Fitness, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Insurance, Life in Early Retirement / /

I talked last year about how we planned to keep our health insurance costs low once we moved back to the U.S. from Panama. Well, that time is now and I wanted to share how ACA subsidies have enabled us to keep our costs even lower than anticipated. One of the toughest areas to plan for in early retirement is health insurance. Finding quality health care coverage at an affordable price to tide you over until Medicare eligibility at 65

ACA Subsidies Mean We Only Pay $227.34/Mo for Our Family of 3 Read More »

I Need a Mental Break

I Need a Mental Break

30 Comments / Health and Fitness, Blogging, General Thoughts, Life in Early Retirement, Travel and Vacation / /

I’m exhausted and I need a mental break. There’s this weird dynamic in the blogging (and social media) world where the more you’re out doing “stuff”, the more it looks like you’re out living the dream. I’ve never really cared much about all that but I do put my life out there for everyone (both good and bad). And this year, we’ve been insanely busy doing more stuff than I could have ever imagined. Most of you know that we’ve

I Need a Mental Break Read More »

Our Summer Road Trip So Far Includes a Flood, Wildfires, Freezing Temps, Blistering Heat, Strong Winds, and a Thrown-Out Back!

Our Summer Road Trip So Far… Mother Nature’s Vengeance!

8 Comments / Travel and Vacation, Health and Fitness, Kids, Life in Early Retirement, Road Trip, Spending / /

Yeah, there’s a lot going on there, right? Looking at a title like this, you might feel convinced that our summer road trip has been a bust. I can’t argue with that line of thinking. There’s not one thing on this list that sounds positive at all. So you might be surprised to know that the first two weeks of our summer road trip have actually been a ton of fun. And two of Mother Nature’s natural disasters made us

Our Summer Road Trip So Far… Mother Nature’s Vengeance! Read More »

3 Attainable Characteristics That Drastically Improved My Quality of Life

3 Attainable Characteristics That Drastically Improved My Quality of Life

14 Comments / Motivation, Education, General Thoughts, Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Panama, Travel and Vacation / /

None of us are perfect. That’s life and we all know it. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve our quality of life. That applies to us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Doing so can make you healthier, stronger, smarter, and happier. I have this innate tendency to not become complacent. I want to continually work on bettering my quality of life. I want to become the best person I can be. I know that I’ll never be able

3 Attainable Characteristics That Drastically Improved My Quality of Life Read More »