Why Spider-Man's Path is Like the Journey to FIRE

Why Spider-Man’s Path is Like the Journey to FIRE

8 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Thought we’d try something a little different in this post for those of you interested in the journey to FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early). It’s time for a little analogy on how a hero’s journey is similar to the path to FIRE! You might notice that in a good number of the hero stories and movies out there a pattern seems to take place.  Well, that’s because there’s actually a twelve-step plan they like to follow. Don’t believe me?  […]

Why Spider-Man’s Path is Like the Journey to FIRE Read More »

Adjusting My Asset Allocation... Tastes Great, Less Filling

Adjusting My Asset Allocation… Tastes Great, Less Filling

16 Comments / Investments, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

This might be sacrilegious to say in a personal finance blog, but I’ve never really paid that much attention to my asset allocation. Yeah, yeah, quit your mumblings about what a terrible personal finance blogger I am. What it really comes down to is that I just kept saving and investing.  It was as if I just kept shoveling dirt into a pile and never looked up. Then one day I looked at the pile and went, “Huh?  Oh, hey,

Adjusting My Asset Allocation… Tastes Great, Less Filling Read More »

Guest Appearance on the Retire Hoppy Podcast

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

A podcast with a beer theme?!  That’s music to my ears and exactly what the guys at Retire Hoppy are aiming for! If you’re not familiar with the Retire Hoppy site, that’s because it’s a little newer.  It’s run by Ted Carr and Roy Weinberg and is a spinoff of the Retirement Journeys blog and podcast. This was a really fun podcast to be on.  You can’t get anymore laid back than these guys. Ted and Roy are both retired

Guest Appearance on the Retire Hoppy Podcast Read More »

Are Your Posts Worthy of Rockstar Finance?

Are Your Posts Worthy of Rockstar Finance?

26 Comments / Blogging, Motivation / /

Recently, I was given the opportunity to serve as the guest curator for Rockstar Finance. What’s Rockstar Finance you may ask? Only one of the coolest sites in the personal finance space. Rockstar Finance was started in 2013 by J. Money from Budgets are Sexy and then bought by John from ESI Money in 2017. Every weekday, the site features three of the best posts from the personal finance blogging realm.  An email is also sent out with the featured posts

Are Your Posts Worthy of Rockstar Finance? Read More »

How FIOR Can Save You From the FIRE

16 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Motivation / /

In 2017, Lisa at Mad Money Monster coined the term FIOR in her blog post, F.I.O.R. – Financial Independence Optional Retirement.  And you know what… she nailed it. The premise of her post was that a lot of folks become excited about what the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community stands for and they head down a similar path. However, not everyone needs to jump ship and retire early. Lisa and her husband, for example, are on the road to financial

How FIOR Can Save You From the FIRE Read More »

The #1 Question We’re Asked About Moving to Panama…

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

My loyal readers know that we’re planning on moving to Panama in 2020. We’re quitting our jobs at the end of 2019.  We’ll then let our daughter finish out her school year (fourth grade).  And then, yeah, we’re moving to Panama. Sounds crazy, right?  You can say it – you won’t hurt my feelings. What’s funny is that most of our friends don’t have the heart to tell us what they’re really thinking.  We know what they’re really thinking is

The #1 Question We’re Asked About Moving to Panama… Read More »

If I Die, Here’s What to Do…

28 Comments / Estate Planning, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Don’t die.  But if you do, hook your loved ones up beforehand. FIRE isn’t just about your numbers – it’s also about planning for your health and well-being in general.  You go through life expecting to live happily ever after… but I’m sorry to break it to you, #$%^happens. No one really wants to think about this, but it will happen to you.  That’s right, you’re going to die at some point.  It might be decades from now or it

If I Die, Here’s What to Do… Read More »

Guest Appearance on the 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast

Guest Appearance on the 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast

2 Comments / Podcasts and Other Appearances, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

It feels like just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling you about my first ever podcast appearance… oh, yeah, I was!  Well, it’s time for my second guest appearance on a show.  This time around I joined the 2 Frugal Dudes as a guest on their podcast. If you’re not familiar, the 2 Frugal Dudes are Sean Merron and Kevin Griffin.  These are two great guys that aim to help their listeners in the personal finance realm. I

Guest Appearance on the 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast Read More »

Why a $5,000 Tax Return Refund is Actually Good News

Why a $5,000 Tax Return Refund is Actually Good News

22 Comments / Taxes and Financial Planning, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

There are some folks out there who are enthralled by the idea of taxes.  The idea of working on their tax return actually excites them every year. I’m far from being one of those people. Taxes… borrrrring! Unfortunately, love ’em or hate ’em, if you’re in the U.S., you’re stuck with doing a tax return every year. There’s a part of taxes though that I don’t really get.  It’s the idea that if you get money back on your tax

Why a $5,000 Tax Return Refund is Actually Good News Read More »

Is Retiring Early Really the Best Thing for Our Family?

Is Retiring Early Really the Best Thing for Our Family?

27 Comments / Guest Posts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Life in Early Retirement, Motivation / /

Is retiring early really the best thing for our family?  That’s the question Mrs. R2R sought to answer. Since the Route to Retire blog started in May of 2015, I’ve been hoping to get the other side of the R2R equation (Mrs. R2R) to be a part of the conversation here. It’s easy to get the opinion of one person on the subject of financial independence and retiring early.  However, it’s a completely different story to hear what that person’s

Is Retiring Early Really the Best Thing for Our Family? Read More »