Spending

Solving the World’s Problems… Starting with Mine!

20 Comments / Panama, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

When it comes to solving the world’s problems, I’m the man.  I’ve got it all handled.  Call me “Mr. Fix-It”! Ok, maybe that’s far from true.  I’m not solving the world’s problems at all.  In fact, I sometimes struggle to handle my own problems. But, I’m good at adapting and actually enjoy change.  I have an engineer’s/programmer’s mindset and like to logically find an optimal solution to problems. And now that we’re living in Panama, I get to push my …

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What the Hell Is Going On with Our Living Expenses?!

26 Comments / Spending / By / March 9, 2020

Boy, this has been one helluva rollercoaster lately.  Our living expenses have been all over the map this year. We’ve had a ton of abnormal spending (both more and less) throughout the year.  The biggest factors for this were: Preparing for our big move Enjoying our July adventure Living in Texas with family for most of August Now living in Panama For a guy with control issues, this is throwing me off a little.  The roller coaster ride we’ve been …

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Flexible Travel Can Yield Huge Benefits

Flexible Travel Can Yield Huge Benefits

16 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Spending, Travel and Vacation / By / September 26, 2019

One of the facets of early retirement I was looking forward to the most was flexible travel.  I knew that we’d be able to save some money by not having to be so rigid in our plans. I didn’t realize the extent of how beneficial it could be though.  We’ve been retired for less than eight months now and what we’re already experiencing is awesome! Between cheaper flights, hotels, and cruises, the price is definitely right. Then you throw in …

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Were We Spending Too Much in July? You Tell Me…

Were We Spending Too Much in July? You Tell Me…

18 Comments / Spending, Travel and Vacation / By / August 14, 2019

Our July adventure is officially over and now I’m wondering if we were spending too much throughout the month. As most of you already know, we’re moving to Panama later this month.  When we booked our flight earlier this year, my wife, Lisa, wanted to wait until the end of summer to fly out so we could go on vacation with her side of the family first. Because of that, we were running a month-to-month lease on our apartment for …

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Did These Flip-Flops Lead Us to Financial Freedom?

Did These Flip-Flops Lead Us to Financial Freedom?

18 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Saving, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

People hear that my flip-flops are now over 12 years old and love to say, “No wonder you were able to retire!”  But are my old shoes the reason we were able to reach financial freedom? You might decisively be thinking that’s silly, but let’s talk about this a little more before you jump to a conclusion. I think we all know that my shoes aren’t going to be the reason we were able to retire early. But, I can …

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Retirement Problems: My 2 Biggest Fears Since Retiring

14 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts, Life in Early Retirement, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

Having retirement problems when you’re early retired can sometimes sound petty.  It’s like winning the lottery and then complaining about the amount you have to pay in taxes. So, don’t get me wrong – I’m having the time of my life since I left my job in 2018.  Gaining freedom and more time are two facets of life that only a small percentage of people can fully realize and I’m loving every minute of it. We’ve been enjoying time together …

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Why Not Keep Working and Saving? Are You Stupid?

42 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Investments, Life in Early Retirement, Saving, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

I’m only 43 years old right now (Ok, fine – I’m pushing 44!).  But this is still prime time to continue on with my career.  If I were to keep working, I could build up an even bigger and more secure nest egg. So why don’t you do that?  Why did you leave your job and retire early?  Are you stupid or just lazy? Haha, talk about cutting to the chase! I actually love when others ask me questions about …

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8 Financial Tips I Wish I Knew When I Was in My 20’s

16 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts, Health and Fitness, Investments, Kids, Life in Early Retirement, Motivation, Real Estate, Saving, Self-Employment, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

My nephew recently started reading this blog and it got me thinking.  What would be valuable information for him as a reader?  What do I wish I knew when I was younger? He’s almost 20 years old and he just started a career in construction probably close to a couple of years ago.  At his age, I know I wasn’t very smart financially.  Don’t get me wrong – I thought I was, but looking back, I made some stupid decisions. …

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FOMO is the Cancer of FIRE

FOMO is the Cancer of FIRE

14 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Motivation, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

Scary title, right?  Using a word like “cancer” is not something to take lightly and saying that FOMO is the cancer of FIRE is something that should make you raise an eyebrow. But here’s the thing… that’s exactly what it is.  And it has the power to destroy your journey to FIRE. Today I’m going to explain why this and how to avoid it. But first, let’s define a couple of words:   FOMO (or FoMO) FOMO stands for Fear …

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The Importance of Balance - Frugality vs. Overspending

The Importance of Balance – Frugality vs. Overspending

10 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Guest Posts, Saving, Spending / By / September 24, 2019

Saving every penny and pushing frugality to its limit or spending every penny to live for today.  How does the Route to Retire family handle their spending? Good news!  After a lot of prodding, I think I might have been able to convince Mrs. R2R to do some occasional guest posting. Hopefully, you’ll see some more of these in the mix.  She told me she’s hoping to write a post on the process she’s gone through in figuring out homeschooling …

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