Health and Fitness

Atomic Habits – The Powerful Keys to Making Changes That Stick

Atomic Habits – The Powerful Keys to Making Changes That Stick

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 […]

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7 Cool Resources for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet

7 Cool Resources for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet

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.

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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!

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

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Why Not One More? Transform Your Life!

Why Not One More? Transform Your Life!

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

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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

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

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I Need a Mental Break

I Need a Mental Break

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

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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!

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

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3 Attainable Characteristics That Drastically Improved My Quality of Life

3 Attainable Characteristics That Drastically Improved My Quality of Life

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

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41 Fun Activities We Did in Panama

41 Fun Activities We Did in Panama

In just a few days, our time of living in Panama for over 2 ½ years will be coming to an end. It’s bittersweet in so many ways, but today I thought it would be fun to look back at so many of the fun activities we did during our time here. Whether it was sleeping in a lodge in the jungle, spending time at nearby beaches, or just walking around the town of Boquete and admiring the beauty around

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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

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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