The Two-Year Itch

Sssooo, it’s a new year. And this is my first post of 20234. I’m pretty sure that I’m legally required by the Internet Retirement Police (whose main responsibility is well documented by others, such as this fella) to post a recap of my and The Family’s 2023 what’sgoingons. As your faithful blogger considers this type of post an easy one to knock out don’t wanna make the IR po-po cross, I’m duly complying with said order.

Tl; dr: It was a good year. A very good year. First, because I and The Family are healthy, safe, housed, and food-secure. Also, because I/we did some fantastic things in 2023, and realized major accomplishments. I also gained some more clarity about my post-FIRE self. That’s been helpful. And last, our financial nut significantly recovered after the financial beatdown that was a somewhat challenging investing environment in 2022.

Some less-than-great things happened in 2023, too. I’ll get to those as well.

First Thing

First, the year’s main highlight (that is, after the fact that we’re all healthy, safe, housed, and food-secure). Thing One (The Elder) graduated high school and now is in college. Her graduating was never in question. The only unknown was how confident and well-adjusted she’d be by then. I’m happy to report that Thing One is mentally and emotionally in the best place I’ve seen her in years. What’s more, her first semester at college went about as perfectly as The Missus and I could have dared hope. That f’sho was no guarantee. Little else could have brought me more joy and gratitude. 

On a related note, Thing One and I took a pretty epic long trip abroad over the summer. It was the first time she and I had traveled alone together. And I’m not gonna lie, as Thing One is much closer with The Missus than me, and I can be a bit of a jerk much, I was nervous that the trip could go sideways. Maybe real sideways. 

Happily, things went almost perfectly. Sure, we had some moments. But I pivoted us, and those adjustments seemed to work well. In addition to the amazing things we saw and did, we got to know each other better and on a deeper level, and Thing One learned a lot. About the places we visited, the arts, travel, and herself. I’m beyond grateful that FIREing enabled me to take this trip and mold it in any way and length I desired. 

A Second Thing

Next, there’s Thing Two (The Younger). He continued navigating high school and, unlike most people (including me) at the same stage of life, has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do after graduating. He also realized some physical accomplishments that if you’d have asked me even a few years ago if he’d ever try, let alone reach, I’d have probably said, “no.” He’s an inspiration.

Missus in Action

Finally, The Missus. She loves her job and workplace and had a good year. I’m delighted that this employment enables her to get employer-subsidized health insurance and earn a paycheck that makes me partially Wife-FI for her, of course.

Also, not for nothing, I think that the seed that I’ve been trying to plant in The Missus’ head as to retiring early may finally in 2023 have penetrated the permafrost of resistance in her brain and is starting to germinate. I don’t see The Missus calling it a day on full-time, conventional employment in 2024. Or even within the next few years. But I can see the day, and it’s well before conventional retirement age. 

Me Time

As for yours truly, on the trip with Thing One I learned that I’m done with a certain spartan way of travel. On the one hand, I lament the loss of a small part of who I thought I was. On the other hand, I recognize that the only thing that’s constant in life is change. And this particular change is insignificant. It’s not like I’m adopting a baller travel lifestyle.

In addition to the trip with Thing One, I also did plenty of other travel, with The Family and with friends. The destinations and time with people were equally magnificent. As with the trip with Thing One, because I’ve FIRE’d, executing these other trips in whatever way I saw fit presented precisely zero problems. This is absolutely one of the best things about having FIREd.

I also decided that I’m definitely, kinda, pretty sure, maybe done with doing the type of work I did for the bulk of my full-time career. Sure, I basically already had said so a while back. But I equivocated. Good thing that equivocation. Because in 2023, I chucked my best intentions and reupped for more punishment.

Why? Mostly because of the financial beatdown that 2022 delivered and that reappeared at times in 2023, and, as I’ve detailed, made me all kinda anxious. Mostly irrational anxiety. Irrational because of our investment numbers, and, also, adjustments we made to blunt the beatdown. Because of that anxiety when well–paying opportunity to do the work I used to do came along, I took it. 

The pay sure as heck helped mitigate the financial impact of 2023, which turned out to be one of our most expensive years ever. Expensive for several reasons, both anticipated and unanticipated. 

The actual work I did, which was of a type I once liked a lot . . . did nothing for me. Worse, I came to dread it just like last year when I dipped my toes back into those waters. And while several of the lawyers I worked with were both nice and helpful, some were exasperating in the way that led me to want FIRE and to chuck my legal industry career in the first place. 

Bottom line, given that our financial nut has recovered a lot, that our fatal sequence of returns risk has abated yet further, that my part-time job and side hustle are bringing in even more income, and that I’m even more willing to admit to myself that I don’t wanna ever do the type of work I used to do, I think I’m done doing that work forever. No, not “I think.” “I am.” . . . Maybe. 

On another front, tho I’ve not dedicated an entire post to it, much of my FIRE life time is spent consuming written and audio content. I watch stuff on the interwebs and TV, too. But far more of my time is focused on blogs, magazines, books, and podcasts. 

These are solitary activities, of course. So, I spend a lot of time alone. Part of me chafes at that. But I think that chafing largely is due to what others say about how being social is better than being alone, rather than what I think about it all myself. 

I get that. But you know what? I’m an introvert. I like being alone. And as I’m now all but completely comfortable in my own skin, and I love consuming the content I take in, my response to those pushing being social on me now is a full-throated . . . “meh.” Don’t get me wrong. I like being social. And I get out and about. But when it’s just me, alone, consuming content. I’m pretty happy. 

Speaking of content that I consumed, 2023 delivered plenty of highlights. First, I read a buncha books, just as I did last year. As reading more books was a post-FIRE goal of mine, I’m delighted to still be making good on this. The book of the year for me was/is Viktor Frankl’s 1946 masterpiece, Man’s Search for Meaning. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’d never heard of the book or author before a friend mentioned them to me recently and gave me his copy of the book. It’s equally powerful and insightful. 

I also watched/listened to maybe the best podcast episode I’ve ever heard: Ramit Sethi’s grilling interview of Carl and Mindy Jensen. Wow. Just, wow. I’m so impressed by, and indebted to, the Jensens for their vulnerability, transparency, and bravery exhibited in that episode. 

On the blog front, fantastic content abounded as always. I discovered and am especially impressed by Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense. But the highlight for me was discovering (via Dave, of Accidental FIRE), the Escaping Avalon blog, written by Just Some Dude (JSD). I giddily binge read the blog over the course of just a few days. Why do I love the blog you ask? Whelp, lemme tell you. First, he and I share a lot in common (tho, notably, not our careers; his requiring toughness and sacrifice and being of great benefit to humanity, and mine having been one leaving me with embarrassingly soft hands and of no little use to humanity), including having FIRE’d around the same time and having a spouse who continues to work and loves her job. 

But also because his writing style and content remind me a lot of LAF (aka Dr. Doom), the blogger behind the Living a FI blog, which I also binge read after finding it, and which has my all-time favorite line in any blog I’ve read: “And as I leave the doors of my building for the final time, and I feel the eyes upon me, it occurs to me that my co-workers don’t have a clue what they’re seeing.” Doesn’t make sense, Dear Reader? Read the series as to which that line is the capstone. Do it! Now! It’s the line and series that inspired my Money, Man! series of posts. Then read the rest of the blog. Full disclosure: said reading will take you hours to do. Many hours. Days, even. It’s worth it. 

Anywhoooo . . . The reason I love this writing style and content so much is for the honesty, transparency, and sincerity of it all. Good stories told well, without sugarcoating. Bravo.

As for other notable things on my front from 2023, I’m still checking what the markets are doing wwwaaayyy too often. Happily, there were more good days in 2023 than in 2022. And while I’m still irrationally anxious about our finances, I can see a possible end point. That’ll come when we rocket past our original FIRE number, which I know will happen sometime. I’m pretty confident that at that point, I’ll be content that the all-but-impenetrable financial suit of armor I’ve sought for decades is complete. We’ll see, and fingers crossed. But I’m confident.

I’m also enjoying my part-time job and gig work. That said, there’s an itch in the deepest recesses of my flea-addled brain that I’ve started noticing. I think it’s an itch to do something a little more challenging. But because stress can’t be part of any such gig, what activity would fit the bill isn’t something I currently can’t pinpoint. Stay tuned to this space for more on this in the future. 

And in the end . . . 

Well, Dear Reader, there you have it. All in all a great 2023. Oh, except for that I forgot to report that I had an accident during the year in which I easily could have died or been seriously injured had luck been on my side (tl; dr, I got super lucky and made a full recovery from the injuries that I did sustain). So, there was that.

Aaannyyyway, aside from this, still room for improvement in a lot of areas of my life. At some point, I’ll reach a point where I’ll know I’m good enough and smart enough and that, doggonit, people like me.