Our Roth Regrets // The Roth IRA Strategy We Wish We’d Built
We didn’t contribute to Roth accounts when we were under the income limit, and for years didn’t think it was a big deal. But now we’re filled with Roth remorse. Here’s why.
What Early Retirement Has and Hasn’t “Fixed”
For a long time, I let myself go down the magical thinking rabbit hole, convincing myself that early retirement would cure everything in my life that needed fixing. And even after I recognized that magical thinking for what it was, I still assumed that early retirement would fix a lot for us, especially things related to work stress and limited time. So how has that actually turned out so far? Let’s take a look.
Thoughts On Early Retirement and Post-FIRE Life From the Non-Blogging Partner // Q&A With Mark, Part 1
Today we’ve got a special treat! For the first time ever, Mark is here on the blog to share his thoughts on a whole range of questions we’ve gotten, from his thoughts on life as an early retiree to topics on which he has a different perspective from mine.
Don’t Let the Impossibility of Achieving Perfection Hold You Back
If we know we can’t achieve something the way someone else did, or the way we might have originally have envisioned for ourselves, it’s easy to throw up our hands and decide that it’s not even worth trying. Here’s how I let go of the idea of perfection to get on a better financial path, and some tips for how you can stop letting notions of perfection and imperfection hold you back.
When Early Retirement Makes Your Dreams Possible // I’m Writing a Book!
The title of this one says it all. ;-) I’m writing a book, you guys! And I’m stoked to tell you all about it — where the dream originated, how it happened that it’s getting published and when you can get your hands on it.
Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Retire Even Earlier
It may seem like an odd thing to say, but as focused as I was on retiring early for so many years, I’m actually glad that I didn’t retire even earlier than I did. “Why’s that, you crazy person?” you might be wondering. Well read on, because there are a bunch of reasons that just might help others feel better about the work you do en route to early retirement.
In a Couple? Aim for Real Financial Independence, Not Financial Dependence
You might be surprised to know when I truly felt financially independent, and it had nothing to do with leaving behind my career or being able to sleep until noon every day if I feel like it. (Though those are pretty great, too.) Instead, it was when I knew that Mark and I would both be okay financially whether we stay together or not.
Getting Through the Middle Saving Years Slog
Nearly everyone who achieves financial independence feels some level of impatience at some point, and that’s normal. But it’s especially easy these days to cross the line from normal impatience to borderline obsession, which only magnifies and worsens that impatience. Here’s some of what we did — and what we WISH we’d done — to get through the middle saving years slog.
When An Expensive Mistake Is Really the Nudge You Need To Be Free
I recently screwed something up, in part because I went the cheap route instead of spending money to do it right. And it was expensive to fix. But in the end, it was exactly the nudge I needed to grab ahold of my freedom in a different way. Sounds deep, right? It’s not. Or is it? (It is.)
Hustling Hard for New Friends in Early Retirement
I’ve written a bunch of times over the years about how important it is to branch out socially and make new friends in early retirement, especially if your work was particularly social and its absence will leave a void. We wasted no time in our hustle for new friends. Come see the results.
What We’d Do Differently If We Were Just Starting to Save Now
Even though we’re not in the savings phase of our early retirement journey, we often talk about what we’d do differently if we were just now starting to save at this point in time. Here’s a rundown on what we’d change about our approach, and what we’d do the same.
The Social Good of Quitting Your Job
I get that there are plenty of folks who see early retirement as a selfish, lazy act that will ultimately make us drains on society. But those folks are ignoring the social good that each of us can do simply by quitting our jobs, as well as the incredible potential that early retirement offers each of us to do so much more.
Relearning How to Live Slowly
Building on the recent post on simple living, we’re working on going to the next level and living more slowly, which is as much a mindset as anything that anyone could see. The only problem? We don’t actually know how to live slowly, because we’ve never done it! But we’re not afraid to put in the effort to learn how. After all, we’ve never been retired before, so it’s bonkers to think we’d be great at every aspect of it right off the bat.
Using Gamification to Boost Your Progress to Financial Independence
We’re diving deep into the geekiness today, friends! We’re talking gaming (the video game kind, not gambling) and all the lessons we can apply from gaming to level up our finances on the epic quest to FIRE. Plus a giveaway of Kristin Wong’s new book Get Money, which is all about gamification!
Retirement Needs a Rebrand
My old career involved rebranding organizations, and that was one of my favorite parts of the job. Now, every time I hear someone debate what retirement is or isn’t, I think, “There is no one common understanding of retirement, so it’s definitely ripe for a rebrand.” Well, let’s do it. Let’s rebrand retirement. Come weigh in on what you want the new brand to reflect.
What FIRE Bloggers Owe Readers // A Blogging Manifesto
I love our financial independence/early retirement blog community like crazy, but there are some things we can all be doing to serve readers better. Some of them are simple, and some aren’t. But we owe it to our readers to be more transparent and to be more in touch with what our readers are up against.
Consider a Side Hustle Year to Begin Early Retirement
It’s easy to observe that a lot of people — not just bloggers — end up working more than they expect to in early retirement, in large part because work feels very different when it’s by choice than when it’s by necessity. So why not plan for that and make your first year of early retirement a side hustle year? The benefits of doing so are potentially huge.
Don’t Get Discouraged by Slow Initial Progress // A Blast from My Financial Past
Some recent home organizing brought me to a bit of an archaeological find: a snapshot of my finances almost exactly 10 years ago, before Mark and I got married. I’ll bet they’re not what you expect, but what’s more, they show why it’s so important not to get discouraged if your financial progress feels slow in the beginning, or even for years!
What Does It REALLY Take to Retire Early?
You know all the math. You’re saving at a high rate. You’re optimizing your spending and avoiding investments with high fees. But do you REALLY have what it takes to achieve early retirement? Come find out.
The Benefits of Building a Frugal (Real Life) Community
While the online financial independence community is fantastic for inspiration and support, having a real life circle of friends who are like-minded on money comes with enormous benefits. Let’s talk about what those benefits are, and how you can build or strengthen a frugal friend group in real life.
