Last week was Thanksgiving in the United States. It’s my favorite holiday, if for no other reason than it’s the one day of the year when my normal gluttonous ways are not looked upon with horror and disgust (wholly warranted btw). Rather, they’re met with some measure of amusement, bordering on respect. Or so I…
I’m in the Wrong Line of Work
Since the time the albatross that was my law school loans were paid off (at a decently aggressive rate, but probably not the house-is-on-fire-throw-everything-you-can-at-them rate that a certain mustachioed blogger might have screamed at me), we’ve lived beneath our means and saved money. We could have saved more. A fair amount more. And we could…
Addition by Subtraction
I’m fond of saying “getting old isn’t for the young.” As someone who believes there’s not much new under the sun, I’m thinking I picked that up from somewhere. But I looked for the source and found nothing. So maybe there’s one new thing under the sun. I’m trademarking it. The point, of course, is…
Are a Lot of Personal Finance Blogs Really Philosophy Blogs? Is Mine?
Dear Reader, as you may know if you read the first post of this blog, Let There Be Light, I do not profess to be any genius when it comes to money. I don’t even pretend to be overly competent. Or underly competent. Look, the point is, I’m a dolt. My blog disclaimer, to which…
It’s Good to Be in the Driver’s Seat
Before discovering FIRE, I was a 98-lb. weakling in a lot of ways. . . . Let me clarify. Physically, I’m still a 98-lb. weakling. So weak. Sooooo verrrrry weak. But in several other ways, I’m now not quite as weak stronger. Strength training For one thing, our financial position and trajectory. As I’ve explained…
Is Your Drink Worth $50?
From all that I’ve read on the FIRE blogs, it seems I’m a bit of an outlier among bloggers in some areas. Dear Reader, if the first thought that came to mind was “Yeah, blogger guy. Most of them are bright, and you’re an idiot,” you would be correct. But, alas, that’s not what this…
The Pursuit of Happiness
We human beings are a confusing bunch. We might be altogether content, but yet when we see a new bright, shiny object, we start hopping about like a dog that hears its owner coming back into the house after being away for the day. In many cases, we then buy it. Mind you, these bright,…
Part-Time Lover
Fat. Coast. Lean. Barista. Fart. Wait, what?! Rhapsody on a theme I’m neither casting judgment on the physical attributes of shorelines or coffeeshop employees. Neither have I just passed gas. Rather, I’ve just listed variations of FIRE. Well, Fart FIRE as so styled I admit hasn’t taken off as its originator (and this fan-of-juvenile-humor open-minded…
Car Talk
If you watch any live/real-time television . . . Hey! Stop laughing! There are, too, people who still do that! No, I’m serious. They really do! OK, OK. You keep laughing. I’m just gonna move on now. Anyway, as I was saying, if you watch any live/real-time live television you’ll see what are called “commercials.”…
Good Day! Sunshine!
As I’ve mentioned on this here blog a few times, I moved from the Midwest to the Mountain West a few years ago. The city we lived in back east (Can I say “back east?” I mean, the Midwest is east of where I am now.) was in most respects great for us. Most. In…
