Product and Service Reviews Archives

How We’re Streaming Movies, TV, and Music for Free

The past decade has substantially transformed how we watch movies and TV and listen to music. Streaming movies, TV, and music is a great avenue of entertainment and the technology continues to mature and become better and better. All this cord-cutting has made the cable companies cringe, but I’m happy to see it. They’ve been gouging customers for years now as what I’d say are essentially monopolies across the U.S. Right now, they can still crush you on Internet prices, …

How We’re Streaming Movies, TV, and Music for Free Read More »

A Better Life for Half the Price… Sound Appealing?

14 Comments / Geoarbitrage, Panama, Podcasts and Other Appearances, Product and Service Reviews, Spending, Travel and Vacation / By Jim @ Route To Retire / January 12, 2021 January 12, 2021

I recently finished reading the book “A Better Life for Half the Price” by Tim Leffel. This is the second edition of the book and it was just released this past November. Why was I reading this book when I’m already living that kind of life? Two reasons: 1) It’s intriguing to read about living in different areas of the world and compare my experiences from the U.S. and Panama. 2) I’m quoted in it a few times (how cool …

A Better Life for Half the Price… Sound Appealing? Read More »

Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Courage to Be Disliked

18 Comments / Here's Why I'm Liking..., Motivation, Product and Service Reviews / By Jim @ Route To Retire / December 1, 2020 December 1, 2020

I’m not sure why I had the book “The Courage to Be Disliked” on my Amazon wish list. Someone either told me it was a good read or I had read about it somewhere. I use different wish lists on Amazon for myself so I don’t lose track of the books I’m interested in reading. Since I only get a chance to read a little each night, it takes me a while to get through each book. I’ve got probably …

Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Courage to Be Disliked Read More »

The Best Chrome Extensions for Online Shopping $$$

8 Comments / Product and Service Reviews, Saving, Spending / By Jim @ Route To Retire / November 17, 2020 November 13, 2020

Last week, I dished out a post of over 6,800 words: Moving to Boquete or Visiting? The Ultimate List of Tips!! This week, I thought I’d keep things a little simpler and let you know about some of the best Google Chrome extensions for online shopping. It’s time to save some money, folks! With the holidays around the corner and the pandemic continuing to do its thing, shopping online should be even more widespread than ever this year. Sometimes I …

The Best Chrome Extensions for Online Shopping $$$ Read More »

Here’s Why I’m Liking… RV Parky

6 Comments / Here's Why I'm Liking..., Product and Service Reviews, Travel and Vacation / By Jim @ Route To Retire / September 25, 2020 February 21, 2021

I recently started a new series called “Here’s Why I’m Liking…” to help showcase awesome products, services, and apps I come across. Today I’m going to tell you about a cool website/app I started using called RV Parky. For those of you following along, we recently completed a big ol’ road trip. When done, it ended up covering 5,863 miles over 40 days. It was a wonderful time and we’re blessed to be able to just pick up and go …

Here’s Why I’m Liking… RV Parky Read More »

A Couple of Good Fiction Books to Read

8 Comments / Product and Service Reviews / By Jim @ Route To Retire / July 21, 2020 July 22, 2020

I’m constantly reading non-fiction books to continue learning – personal finance, biographies, business books, etc. But sometimes, I just need a couple of really good fiction books to read to free up my mind and get my imagination going. With the amount of traveling we had to do recently to get from Panama to the U.S. and then all the unknowns pushing up my anxiety, some good fiction books to read are just what the doctor ordered! I don’t have …

A Couple of Good Fiction Books to Read Read More »

Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Fitbod App

Leave a Comment / Health and Fitness, Here's Why I'm Liking..., Life in Early Retirement, Product and Service Reviews / By Jim @ Route To Retire / June 12, 2020 June 11, 2020

Hey, everyone – I thought it would be fun to start a new series called “Here’s Why I’m Liking…” I’m guessing that the title of this one should be a pretty good giveaway that I’m talking about the Fitbod app today. I keep running into awesome products, services, apps, and just other fun stuff that I think you would enjoy as well. This series will showcase those cool things. Sometimes there are just some great products and services out there …

Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Fitbod App Read More »

Personal Finance for Kids… Here’s a Way to Teach ‘Em!

8 Comments / Education, Kids, Product and Service Reviews, Saving, Spending / By Jim @ Route To Retire / May 19, 2020 May 19, 2020

lt seems to be a relatively common discussion in the community here that we need some better education when it comes to personal finance for kids. The problem is that most schools don’t build this into the curriculum. Kids end up graduating from school more academically prepared but not financially prepared. That’s a huge problem. Personal finance for kids needs to be a pillar in our educational system. Not knowing even the basics such as the magic of compound interest …

Personal Finance for Kids… Here’s a Way to Teach ‘Em! Read More »

How We Use a VPN for Streaming & More While Abroad

6 Comments / Life in Early Retirement, Panama, Product and Service Reviews, Travel and Vacation / By Jim @ Route To Retire / May 8, 2020 May 8, 2020

If you’re like many of us, you’ve been spending a heckuva lot more time at home during this pandemic. And right now, streaming services are busy providing entertainment to folks at home. But living outside the U.S. generally warrants a VPN to access that same entertainment. I’m sure you’ve heard that term “VPN” before, but even if you’re not very technical, I’m going to get you on the right page with what you need to know. Today I’ll talk about …

How We Use a VPN for Streaming & More While Abroad Read More »

Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence

2 Comments / Debt, Education, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Geoarbitrage, Investments, Product and Service Reviews, Real Estate, Saving, Self-Employment, Spending, Taxes and Financial Planning / By Jim @ Route To Retire / October 1, 2019 October 1, 2019

I don’t normally write book reviews on this blog, but I’m making an exception for the new Choose FI book. I was expecting my opinion to sway one way with the book but my impression after reading it went in a completely different direction. Chris Mamula is the author of Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence (along with coauthors Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa). If you’re not familiar with Chris, he retired in 2017 at the young age of …

Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Read More »