Do you even retire? In truth, I don’t consider myself an early retiree for a number of reasons.  However, I have been observing how I spend my time during the last 4 years and I thought this topic might relate to those who are either taking some time off by choice or if you’re on furlough or unemployment.   Life before taking a break When working full time, we always sought balance. However, it’s not that we failed at “balance”, there just never felt like there was enough time.  Looking back, now I ask:  “To do what?” We would rush around and get out the door, to get our jo ..read more

Don’t be a baby Ok…this post is really about being focused around your own personal responsibility for taking care of your health. If you haven’t done that in the past, or are not used to it, then you should really try to get used to it, and figure out what that’s going to take. As we age, our bodies obviously start to change, and we might not have our parents around any longer for advice. For Men, especially, I think we’re used to having others help us with this topic, or make appointments for us, or nudge us to go to the doctor and the dentist.  If you want to live a long and healthy li ..read more

    Social Media Marketing I’ve always said that I wish my Twitter stats could be my blog page view stats.  Well, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.  If you’re reading this, you’re probably curious about figuring out “what works and what doesn’t”.   I might actually make this a regular feature of my blog to help other bloggers. Twitter is a very curious animal regarding engagement and driving traffic to a blog or another area of the internet. In broad terms, people like a variety in their feed.  I hate it when people (or organizations) get “overly robot ..read more

You’ve heard it all before I left FT employment in January 2016 and have been in-between several things and various projects.  One of the main things I’ve struggled with is figuring out “what’s next?”. I don’t think that’s such a big surprise for most people, because people warn about this pitfall in any type of retirement…but I’m living it. My wife has continued to maintain a full time job, working from home, but has been on furlough for the last 6 months because of the pandemic.   Is that all there is? Here are the biggest struggles with any kind of partial retirement or when only ..read more

It’s all in how you see it Ok….so I’m not “poor poor”, but I’ve been feeling poor lately.  That is largely because of my wife’s furloughed job, with small prospects of coming back, and the increased competition in the job market, should either of us want to earn a salary again. These kind of changes make me look at money and specifically OUR money, in an entirely different light.   Long term views on money I’ve had the luxury of watching others make mistakes.  I’m the youngest of 8 kids and that has afford me an opportunity to both watch people gain success and fall from grace ..read more

What a long strange trip it’s been I’ve had this blog, in one form or another for 4 years this coming Fall.  FOUR YEARS people!! Frankly, it hasn’t been a wild success.  I’m not saying I haven’t had my moments, but I do think I’ve reached a turning point recently, regarding effort. A big part of those revelations are listed below, and are meant to save others a LOT of time and effort if you’re “all of sudden” raising your finger to the sky and pronouncing to your partner  “I SHALL START A COMPREHENSIVE BLOG RESOURCE ON THIS TOPIC!!”. (que the eye roll and the low mumble of “Oh G ..read more

What have I been waiting for? Since I’ve been taking some extended time off still, and one year has turned into four, I’m still searching for meaningful work and increased productivity, I’m thinking that a lot of people will be experiencing that now. Granted, I’ve had some things going on…bone marrow donation, hip replacement…you know, small stuff. However, with all that being said, I tell people that are trying to get used to this time “in flux”… “Welcome to what early retirement feels like”. When I left the full time work force, I was frustrated with the necessity to schlepp on a long commut ..read more

I know it’s morbid… It’s not the easiest topic to discuss, especially during times like this, but this also relates to how a realization like that can change your relationship with money.  This blog is also meant to be journal for myself that friends and family might look back on years from now. I’ve only gradually become ok with spending what I’ve saved over the years.  People try to do this magic “timing” where they’ll either have money left over when they die or they’ll spend their last dollar on the day they die. It might not work out that way, so you might want to think about enjoying wha ..read more

One true friend What does friendship in the 21st century look like? My Dad used to say to me, “If you have one true friend in your life, then you really have something.” Honestly, I don’t think he had any and I think that was part of the message he was sending. I’m at a bit of a disadvantage (or advantage) because I’m the youngest of 8 kids.  I always had a house full of “friends” that could beat me up or that I could play with. I also came from a very small town of 10,000 people, so generations of people were familiar with your family, siblings and parents.  As each generation came up through ..read more

A ..read more