Guest Appearance on the Everyday Money Show Podcast

Guest Appearance on the Everyday Money Show Podcast

Leave a Comment / Podcasts and Other Appearances, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Jason from the site The Wealth Hound also hosts the Everyday Money Show podcast. The first time I heard the show, I knew I wanted to be a guest.  He’s a natural at talking to people and you’d think he’s been doing this for years. We had chatted a little bit over Twitter and email and we finally had the opportunity to meet at FinCon this past year.  But believe it or not, we didn’t even have time to squeeze in a […]

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What I’ve Learned Throughout My Final Year of Work

36 Comments / General Thoughts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement / /

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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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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The 4 Worst Words for Your Financial Future

The 4 Worst Words for Your Financial Future

12 Comments / Spending, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Saving / /

I’m about to share something important with you.  Four words that might be the worst in the English language and can crush your financial future. We’re all at different points in our financial lives and we all have different goals.  However, I think it’s safe to say that we’re all here for the same reason – we want to be sure that our future is financially stable. In my own life, I started to recognize a common theme that has

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Why Less Is More and Bigger Isn’t Better

Why Less Is More and Bigger Isn’t Better

12 Comments / Saving, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Geoarbitrage, Spending / /

I’ll leave the “bigger is better” jokes up to you guys.  But, if you’ve been around the personal finance blogosphere long enough, you’re bound to hear things like that or “less is more” or some other variations of the phrase. To me that just seemed obvious – sure, if you want to cut your costs, eliminate your cable or drive a used car and **poof** you’ve saved a few bucks.  Frugality at its best. However, I’ve learned that spending less

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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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Meet My Daughter on Women Who Money

Meet My Daughter on Women Who Money

Leave a Comment / Guest Posts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Kids / /

You’re probably bored with me rambling all the time (who isn’t?!).  Well, I’ve got good news for you!  This post is intended to let you hear what my daughter has to say instead! Although she’s only eight, she’s got a good head on her shoulders.  She’s always been a good kid and she’s a thinker.  Her smarts make me raise an eyebrow sometimes with the things she says. You’d think that with a brain like hers that she’d be no

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Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On?

Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On?

23 Comments / Life in Early Retirement, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Investments, Saving / /

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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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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Expat Health Insurance – Our Plans for Panama

27 Comments / Insurance, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Geoarbitrage, Panama, Travel and Vacation / /

Expat health insurance – the one piece of retirement unique to those living in another country. One of the biggest struggles for folks wanting to pull the trigger on early retirement in the U.S. tends to revolve around healthcare.  Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that one except to say to plan for the worse.  You have to build the unknown into your FIRE number because it can be the one wildcard that can throw off anyone’s plans. That sucks,

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