Motivation

Strength Training – One of a Few Big Workout Changes I’ve Made

Strength Training – One of a Few Big Workout Changes I’ve Made

2 Comments / Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / By /

That’s right, baby – I’ve now switched my workouts from bodybuilding to strength training. That’s just one of the changes that have come up for me in my fitness track this past year. Welcome to another workout update! Over the past few years, I’ve tried to provide you with status reports and some other facets of working out that have been helpful to me that I thought were worth sharing: Although I post about fitness a few times a year, …

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Why Early Retirement Isn’t Just About Escaping a Sh*tty Job

Why Early Retirement Isn’t Just About Escaping a Sh*tty Job

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

It seems that more and more folks in the FIRE (financial independence / retire early) community are jumping on the bandwagon of bashing the idea of early retirement… because early retirement now somehow conveys a negative connotation. I even heard some of my favorite hosts talking about this recently on a very popular podcast. The message was basically that early retirement is bad and if you don’t like your job, early retirement isn’t the answer – find a job you …

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Selling Everything We Owned Has Been Truly Liberating

Selling Everything We Owned Has Been Truly Liberating

24 Comments / Life in Early Retirement, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Geoarbitrage, Motivation, Panama, Travel and Vacation / By /

Selling everything and just taking off and leaving is a dream a lot of folks have… even if it’s just a fleeting thought. To actually do it though sounds crazy. Who would do something like that?! Yeah, we were those people. We got rid of just about everything we owned and headed to Panama in the summer of 2019. At the time, we were just going through the checklist of moving preparation to make it happen. One of the biggest …

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Looking Back From Your Deathbed… Be Alive Now!

Looking Back From Your Deathbed… Be Alive Now!

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

Picture yourself on your deathbed looking back on your life… A few fun vacations, some great nights out with friends, or maybe some great memories with a loved one or kids. Whatever comes to mind, I’m sure there will be some great memories that’ll make you smile. But now dig a little and try to think about what you’ve regretted not trying or doing more of in life. Maybe it’s the simpler things like sitting back and watching a couple …

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Aren’t You Bored in Retirement? The Truth Comes Out!

Aren’t You Bored in Retirement? The Truth Comes Out!

20 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / By /

Bored in retirement. For some reason, that seems to be a concern many folks have with retirement, particularly early retirement. The “easy” part’s done. You’ve saved up enough money that you’re able to leave work on your terms. You’ve hopefully used a free retirement planner like the one in Empower (formerly Personal Capital) to give you the confidence you need on that front. With the money equation out of the way and retirement here, you’ve gained the freedom of choice. …

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I’ve Decided to Hike up an Active Volcano...

I’ve Decided to Hike up an Active Volcano…

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

The thought of hiking up an active volcano might seem out of sorts for me, but it’s now something that’s going to happen in a few months. First off, I skipped another week of writing (I’m getting pretty good at this!). But I do have a good excuse – we had guests for 8 days. Our friends Steve and Courtney Adcock visited us for about a week in Boquete, Panama and we had a rocking good time! As I write …

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Money Growing Up – I’m Not Taking a Paycheck This Month

Money Growing Up – I’m Not Taking a Paycheck This Month

24 Comments / Motivation, General Thoughts, Self-Employment / By /

Every family is different. And every family’s financial situation is different. Growing up in my family was unique as well. “I’m not taking a paycheck this month” were confusing words we’d hear periodically from my mom. We never fully understood what that meant or why at the time but we knew we’d be tighter on money for a little while. We weren’t poor but we were far from rich as well. Looking back, I would have thought we were lower-middle …

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Play the Hand You’re Dealt To Live the Life You Dream

Play the Hand You’re Dealt To Live the Life You Dream

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

If you sit on the sidelines and continue to fold instead of playing the hand you’re dealt, you’re never going to get ahead. This is true in poker, but it’s also true in life. It’s time to stop just going through the motions and work on making your dreams come true. I reflect on how much we’ve progressed the last decade or two and I’m amazed and proud of us. Seriously. I retired a couple of years ago at the …

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Finding Happiness Once You Leave the Rat Race

Finding Happiness Once You Leave the Rat Race

28 Comments / Motivation, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement / By /

I remember thinking that finding happiness would be instantaneous once I left my career behind. After all, work was the time-suck in my life that was holding me back. Back in 2010, I was crushed when I had to go back to work after the short vacation I took once my daughter was born. My 9-5 was in the way of everything and I wanted out. Fast forward to my first day of early retirement on January 1, 2019, and …

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More Topless Photos for Your Enjoyment!

More Topless Photos for Your Enjoyment!

16 Comments / Health and Fitness, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / By /

Topless photos on a blog that tends to focus on Panama, personal finance, and life in early retirement?! Jim, what the @#$% are you thinking? You should be ashamed of yourself! I know, I know… but it needs to be done. You can close your eyes if you want, but it’s not going to stop it from it happening! It’s that time of the year when many folks have made a decision, a resolution if you will, to get in …

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