I’ll be honest – I was scared for this flight from Seattle to Singapore. It would be my first 13.5 hour flight in economy (I know, princess much?) and it was also basically double the length of my previous longest economy flight: 7 hours. I was worried and thought this flight would convince me to dive even deeper into travel hacking and never ride long-haul economy again. I shouldn’t have worried. This flight on EVA Air was great and solidified my place as an international economy passenger.
Continue reading “Review: EVA Air”
The Opposite Problem
So I started my weight loss journey over a year ago because I wasn’t able to fit into a lot of my clothing and I refuse to waste money buying the same clothes in a larger size. So I dove into keto and lost 50 lbs. Now I’m being faced with a different problem: A lot of my clothes don’t fit now because they’re too big! Continue reading “The Opposite Problem”
What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?
My Mom recently told me a story about myself that I completely don’t remember, but SPOILER ALERT: I’ve always been this way y’all. Apparently my dreams of retirement were not born out of frustration after job hopping once a year and finding more ways that traditional work is incompatible with the life I want to lead. Here’s the proof. This is an interaction between 10 year old me and my uncle: Continue reading “What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?”
Simple Living Like A Princess
I’ve always been fairly frugal. I’ve always bought generic brand everything – maybe it’s because I was in advertising, but I knew that the only difference was the label. I didn’t see the point. When I cracked down on my budget at the end of 2014 and started paying attention to what I was spending and trying to reduce it I discovered that the one place that wasn’t out of control was my grocery budget…possibly because I didn’t cook 🙂 . Continue reading “Simple Living Like A Princess”
That Burst of ‘Purpose’
At times I feel a strange burst of energy flow through my body at work. This energy compels me to complete the latest task, optimize the latest project and plan my strategy for the next meeting. I’m not sure purpose is the correct word – maybe it’s motivation? Inspiration? I’m not sure. Productivity seems so generic. Continue reading “That Burst of ‘Purpose’”
Time Distortion
2 years, 4 months until I retire. That timeframe at once sounds short because I began this journey thinking this goal was 10 years away. And it is at once long: multiple years – almost two and a half more years of this. This stress, this tiredness, this sense of ineffective wastefulness. I know I have the cushiest job situation I’ve ever had, but 2.4 years still feels like a long time. However, looking back at what I was doing 2.4 years ago I remember it vividly like it was not that long ago.
Time is strange. My partner asked what my current timing is and his response to “2 years, 4 months” was “WOW that’s soon!” I found this interesting since I had the opposite reaction. “Goodness that’s far away.” I guess that’s the weirdness of time distortion. Let’s see how it feels when I get there.
A Retirement Prequel
My recent trip to Singapore was the first vacation in years that was more than a week chilling on the beach. The last similar trip I had was exploring Europe – mostly alone – for 2.5 weeks. Usually my Mom is interested in being in a luxury bubble and not actually learning about or exploring the local area. Singapore was different and it gave me an unexpected and unique insight into my life in retirement. Continue reading “A Retirement Prequel”
Projected Retirement Budget
As an exercise I wanted to make sure that my retirement budget of $20,000 could include my current spending and items I need to add in retirement, which I’ll detail below. I’m happy to report that it’s looking really good! Let’s see what’s inside: Continue reading “Projected Retirement Budget”