Motivation

FIRE Gives You the Freedom to Fail Miserably

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

Who creates a headline to talk about the “freedom” to fail miserably?  That’s depressing! This guy does – that’s who! Most of you likely read this blog for one of two reasons – you’re striving to reach financial independence or you’re already there. And the reasons you aim for that goal will vary… maybe you want to quit your job because you can’t stand your career anymore.  Or maybe you just want financial security to give you more choices in […]

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The Path Is Simple, but It’s Not Necessarily Easy

The Path Is Simple, but It’s Not Necessarily Easy

22 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Motivation / /

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately… dangerous, right?  Hindsight has me realizing that if you’re hoping to reach financial independence, the path is simple, but it’s not necessarily an easy journey to get there. As I’m typing this, I’m down to four working days until I’m done working at a career I’ve been at for 19½ years – a job I started right after my 24th birthday. At the time, I had just bailed out of retail management. 

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No One's Asked - Here's Why You Should...

No One’s Asked – Here’s Why You Should…

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

No one’s asked.  Not a one.  Not one single person in my entire office. I’m now just days out from my retirement – December 31, 2018, is my last day of work.  I gave my notice in early summer and we kept it low-key in the office for a little bit while we worked out the game plan. However, I officially made the announcement to my engineers in a meeting on August 13.  And as many of you know, the

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You Get What You Get, So Don't Throw a Fit

You Get What You Get, So Don’t Throw a Fit

16 Comments / Travel and Vacation, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Motivation / /

You get what you get, so don’t throw a fit. This might be a little bit of an off-topic post, but since cruises are my favorite vacation and that’s the banner on my site, I’m hoping you’ll hang with me on it.  Plus, the point is actually more than the cruise itself – it’s about enjoying life and aiming for more. I started this post while on a cruise ship.  We’ve been on a number of cruises with lines like

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Only You Can Change Your Circumstances

Only You Can Change Your Circumstances

10 Comments / Motivation, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Some guys have all the luck.  Things just seem to work out for some people and not for others.  Such is life.  After all, you can’t change your circumstances… can you? Hmm, that’s a question worth digging into – can you change your circumstances in life? I’ve always had this weird fascination about how cool it would be to take someone from the past (like from the 1700’s or 1800’s) and bring them to the present. Yeah, I’m a weirdo –

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Working Toward FIRE is Not About Sacrifice

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

Recently, I was taking a walk with a coworker (something I do on a regular basis now).  While we were walking, we were talking about my plans to retire at the end of the year.  He then said something I thought was interesting… “You guys deserve it – you’ve sacrificed a lot to get where you are.”  Sacrifice? Obviously, his intent was good (he’s a great guy!), but it’s a bit shortsighted.  And unfortunately, it’s a common mindset that many

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There is a Secret Formula to FI, But It Ain’t No Secret!

18 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Blogging, Debt, Investments, Motivation, Saving, Spending / /

Everyone likes a secret, but a secret formula?  Even better! Now that we’re only a few months out from me quitting my job, we’re starting to share the news more with friends and family. A lot of them seem to be a little confused, but then we talk about our planned move to Panama and it takes most folks to a level beyond comprehension. Eventually, though, we tend to get past that initial shock.  And then the “bold” ones out there

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If You're Not Happy Now, FIRE Can't Fix That... Baloney!

If You’re Not Happy Now, FIRE Can’t Fix That… Baloney!

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

Much of what I’ve read lately seems to revolve around the idea that if you’re not happy today, you won’t be happy once you reach FIRE (financial independence / retire early). After all, happiness is more than just whether or not you’re stuck in the rat race.  If you’re not content with your life now, how will quitting your job make any difference? Hmm, yeah, I’m sorry… I’m not buying it. Now before you jump to lashing out at me in

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Are Your Posts Worthy of Rockstar Finance?

Are Your Posts Worthy of Rockstar Finance?

26 Comments / Blogging, Motivation / /

Recently, I was given the opportunity to serve as the guest curator for Rockstar Finance. What’s Rockstar Finance you may ask? Only one of the coolest sites in the personal finance space. Rockstar Finance was started in 2013 by J. Money from Budgets are Sexy and then bought by John from ESI Money in 2017. Every weekday, the site features three of the best posts from the personal finance blogging realm.  An email is also sent out with the featured posts

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How FIOR Can Save You From the FIRE

16 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Motivation / /

In 2017, Lisa at Mad Money Monster coined the term FIOR in her blog post, F.I.O.R. – Financial Independence Optional Retirement.  And you know what… she nailed it. The premise of her post was that a lot of folks become excited about what the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community stands for and they head down a similar path. However, not everyone needs to jump ship and retire early. Lisa and her husband, for example, are on the road to financial

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