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 […]
No One’s Asked – Here’s Why You Should… Read More »
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
Meet My Daughter on Women Who Money Read More »
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
Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On? Read More »
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
You Get What You Get, So Don’t Throw a Fit Read More »
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,
Expat Health Insurance – Our Plans for Panama Read More »
Well, we’re finally over the hump. We actually had a moment to exhale. We sold the house and moved into an apartment. Everything should start to get easier and easier as we get closer to the big move to Panama next summer. I started this post while at the airport on our way to Miami to get our cruise kicked off. We booked this trip at the beginning of the year thinking we’d have nothing going on at this time.
A Moment to Exhale… So Now What? Read More »
Last week, I talked about money throughout my life. I’ve had my ups and downs with it just like most folks. What I didn’t talk about though is my hate for budgeting. I’m probably one of the most organized people with a good old case of OCD you’d love to know. I need structure in order to operate. For me, everything has its place and making a plan is always the smartest way to do something. It’s actually soothing for
For Those Who Hate Budgeting, Try Reverse Budgeting Read More »
What kind of person actually wants a stock market crash just two months before retirement? This guy, that’s who! That might sound like a weird sentiment especially considering I’ve been worried about this exact thing over the past couple of years. After all, a down market would kill my net worth at the same time I plan to start withdrawing my money. This discussion is specific to the mindset of getting closer to retirement. If you’re in the accumulation phase of
Why I Want a Stock Market Crash This Close to FIRE Read More »
Money. We all know its importance or you wouldn’t be reading this post. Whether you like it or not, it’s what the world runs on. You could opt out of playing the game and become a hobo, but there are very few of us that can live happily ever after in that position. You can’t let money rule your life, but it’s important to understand its role. Once you can control your capital instead of it controlling you, you’re one
Money Throughout My Life Read More »
Selling a house. Selling our house. It sounded easy enough and we needed to consider doing that as part of our plan to move to Panama next summer. We thought about keeping it and renting it out, but after discussing the options with our financial advisor, it actually made more sense to sell it. We have a lot of equity in it and we’ll need that money to cover our first five years during our Roth IRA conversion ladder. That said,
Selling a House… It’s the Reason I’ll Never Buy Another Read More »
