Life in Early Retirement

Guest Post on the FIRE Stories Site

Interview on the FIRE Stories Site

Hey everyone – just wanted to let you know about an interview I just did for Tim Pittman at FIRE Stories. FIRE Stories is a newer site that Tim started just this past January.  He interviews folks who have achieved financial independence and retired early.  His aim is to determine how they got to where they are today, what mistakes they’ve made along the way, and garner advice on how to start adopting the FIRE mindset. I didn’t know Tim when […]

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My First FIRE Presentation on Geoarbitrage

Yup, you read that right… I did a FIRE presentation regarding geoarbitrage and our plans to move to Panama. Deanna (aka Ms. Fiology) asked me to do a talk for the ChooseFI local group in Northeast Ohio.  I’m a reasonably outgoing guy, but public speaking is a whole different ball game. I had never done a presentation like this before, but I decided why not push my comfort level and give it a shot?  So I agreed. Although my stipulation was

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Being a FIRE Millionaire Doesn’t Mean You’re Rich

There’s an interesting mentality that I notice creeps up periodically.  It’s the idea that some people think that being a millionaire makes you filthy rich with plenty of money to throw around. Folks who aren’t as entrenched in the personal finance world tend to think that if you’re a millionaire, you actually have $1 million ready to spend.  In other words, if you’ve hit that mark, you must be sitting on bushels of cash just ready to be spent. This

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Finding Balance in Early Retirement with Kids

Finding balance in life is tough.  Between your regular job, chores, time with spouses or people you’re dating, and going out to play with friends and family, time is limited. The fact is that we all only have 24 hours per day… 168 hours each week. Then you throw a kid into the mix… ha!  Good luck!  It’s like a turbulent hurricane of confusion every day.  And the frenzied mess doesn’t scale well either.  With each additional child you have,

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FIRE Gives You the Freedom to Fail Miserably

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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What Did We Just Do?!! Thoughts from a New Retiree

So, I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I wanted to talk about for my first post as a new retiree.  I have all these things on my mind, but I’ve been struggling to figure out just the right topic. And that’s when it hit me… why not just talk about some of the random thoughts that have been floating around my head this week? Maybe some of what’s going on in this noggin of mine could

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What I’ve Learned Throughout My Final Year of Work

Well, that does it… I’m officially FIRE (financially independent / retired early).  12/31/18 was my last day of “working for the man” hopefully for the rest of my life. Whoa.  Hang on – I just need a second to process that. Damn, that feels good to think about!  Woo-hoo!!!! Ok, thanks for that – I really needed to get it out of my system.  The idea is still a little surreal and will probably take a while to make it

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Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On?

Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On?

One million dollars.  It’s the coveted goal for many. Maybe it’s something you think is way out of reach.  Or maybe you’re on the other side of the spectrum and close to it or even long surpassed that number. Regardless, one million dollars just seems to be a good round number in our heads to strive for reaching.  In fact, it’s a number that many folks have had as their target number for financial independence or retirement for decades. You

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Guest Post on ESI Money: How to Get Up the Nerve to Retire

Guest Post on ESI Money: How to Get Up the Nerve to Retire

Hey, regular readers – just thought I’d drop a quick note to let you know about a guest post that I recently did on getting the nerve to retire early. John at ESI Money reached out to me recently to let me know that a number of his readers had a concern.  The problem they were having is that they were close to early retirement but have been unable to pull the trigger. Since he knew that I’m close to

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Strategies We’re Using in Our Early Retirement Planning

Early retirement planning.  You’d think the closer we get to our FIRE date, the simpler things would become. I mean really – I’m leaving my job in just a few months so as I continue to train my replacement, my workload should start to diminish over time.  Plus, we’re downsizing to an apartment soon (if we could ever sell our house!). What else could there be, Jim?  How much early retirement planning do you really need?  Didn’t you already get these

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