Growing up I never had real ‘neighbors’ – people you lean on and hang out with and form a community with. There were a few children in our cul-de-sac that we played with on occasion or watched a movie with, but those times were few and far between. Continue reading “The Benefits Of Urban Neighbors”
This is a continuation of my monthly series that records what’s happening in my final stretch to early retirement. If you’re interested in previous posts, they’re here.
I’ve found myself slipping on my goals recently – specifically my food goals. I’ve been going over my calories, carbs and alcohol units and I started reflecting on why. At first, this reflection was actually more of an ambush with me berating myself for straying from the beaten path (which was dumb and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone). Continue reading “15 Months To Retirement: Exploring The Many Different Kinds Of Stress”
If you’re on the road to financial Independence, you’ve encountered this unfortunate, but undeniable truth: It’s mostly a long and tedious slog. While discovering you can save enough so you don’t need to work anymore is a battle won in and of itself, the length of the ‘war’ in front of you can be daunting. For some of us, we are working towards a goal 10, 15 or even 20 years in the future. Continue reading “How To Stay Motivated On The Path To Financial Independence”
As you might have noticed: I’m a stone cold weirdo. Some of this might just be my natural charm, but I suspect that my upbringing and specifically the unique variety of schools I attended had something to do with it. Continue reading “The Benefits of Alternative Schooling”
When I started working in ad agencies right out of college, I believed that their goal was to help get the word out about awesome products. How adorable. How naive. After attending my first focus group and seeing the kind of psychological information our clients wanted to incorporate into our campaigns, I learned 2 hard lessons: 1. the products aren’t always awesome and 2. the goal is to SELL, SELL, SELL (despite point #1). Continue reading “How Blogging Helped Me Appreciate My Profession”
I keep getting this question from people outside the FIRE community: “What have you sacrificed to try and achieve this goal?” It kept ribbing on me hours and days after I heard it and I couldn’t figure out why. Continue reading “I Haven’t Sacrificed Anything On The Road To Financial Independence”
A common response when hearing my early retirement plans is to ask why I don’t just insert the life I want to lead in retirement into NOW. I’ve explored how that doesn’t work for me from a work perspective, but I’d like to explain how it doesn’t work at its core. Continue reading “Testing My Early Retirement Schedule”
There is an idea in The Matrix that I find almost as interesting as the film’s main premise. It’s the idea of a “Residual Self Image.” If you haven’t seen the film, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Please go watch it now. It’s one of my favorites and it forever changed my 9 year old heart. Go on – I’ll wait… Continue reading “What Does “A Purple Life” Mean?”