I recently read a blog post by Perpetual Money Machine titled, “The Curse of a High Income.” The post presents a case study of Bill and Bob (not to be confused with Bill and Ted. or Bob and Doug or, I suppose, Bill and Bob). Bill’s a baller. He makes a lot of money and…
Fanfare for the Common Man/Woman
If you could be anyone, whom might you choose to be? Warren Buffet? Beyonce? Banksy? Ellen Johnson Sirleaf? That mega-rich Nigerian prince who keeps emailing you? Or maybe someone no longer (or never truly) with us, like Ghandi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Spider-Man, or Hildy Johnson (a main character from one of my favorite movies, His Girl…
Please Don’t Feed the Bear
So rumor has it that there’s a little bit of stuff happening in the world these days. A battle on the most massive of scales. Against an enemy that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Or even the clothed eye. Yes, Dear Reader, I’m talking about bad puns. Foul beasts they! Alas, the world…
COVID-19 vs. FIRE vs. YOLO
Just a few months ago, if you’d have asked someone what “self-isolating” meant, you’d likely have gotten a blank stare. Maybe a few people would have said something silly like “hurting yourself.” Not correct according to the dictionary. But at a more philosophical level maybe not wholly inaccurate. Fast-forward a bit, and billions around the…
Making Fun of Lawyers: Ooooooh! Look at the Shiny Object!
Welcome to another edition of my Making Fun of Lawyers series. In this edition, Dear Reader, we will discuss attorneys’ and law firms’ penchant for chasing the au courant issue of the moment (which might bring in some money to the lawyers’ pockets) and generally failing to see the big picture (which can bring in…
Should Friends Tell Their Friends to Play With FIRE?
After discovering FIRE, I gained more practical wisdom about personal finance in a few short months than I’d amassed in the preceding 40-some-odd years. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t previously read about personal finance. I had. A lot. Probably Maybe an unhealthy amount. Come on baby, light my FIRE Having lapped up the Kool-Aid,…
This Time Is Different . . . and Not Different
Well, this COVID-19 crisis is another fine mess we humans find ourselves in. Whenever a major crisis happens — whether something like the Great Depression, the Great Recession, or COVID-19 — lotsa people think the sky is falling and see no way out. In short, “this time is different.” Others find security in telling themselves…
Are You Entertaining?
As I write the words in this and the next paragraph, it is April 1, 2020. What follows is a post that I drafted in The Long, Long Time Ago. Which is to say, in February. I was about to finish it up and post it, but then COVID-19 got all up in our faces….
SureReal Times
Say what you will about the coronavirus Corona Fires crisis, but I think we can all agree that stuff got real. And quickly. Up is down, and down is up Not long ago, if I’d have said that in a few weeks tens or hundreds of millions of Americans including libertarians and hard-core Republicans would…
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of FIRE
At the time I’m writing this blog post, the coronavirus Corona Fires has caused massive damage and disruption across the globe. It’s turning worlds upside down everywhere. Uncertainty reigns, and the long bull run that America’s stock market was on has come to a swift and grisly end. Pain points Logic — or at least…
