Mindy and I just sold our old home. It had been a rental, but the numbers didn’t work well. We earned less than $3,000/month on a $600,000 home. We weren’t close to the 1% Rule. Hell, we weren’t even at the .5% rule. If we had pursued our original plan to put the home on […]
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Home Sale: Mortgage Post-Mortem
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January 2021: Up $236,821
My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share […]
April 2022 Won’t Happen
Our lives have been pretty crazy lately. With the explosive housing market and the tenants moving out of our rental, Mindy and I thought it was a good idea to put the home on the market. We did that in January and had multiple offers within 48 hours. At the end of this week, we […]
The Ultimate Frugal Valentine’s Day Guide
The most romantic day of the year is upon us! Valentine’s Day! What’s more romantic than waiting 90 minutes for breadsticks at your local Olive Garden while risking exposure to a communicable disease? Pretty much everything! But I digress. V-Day isn’t easy. Expectations, hormones, and date budgets go into overdrive. But, don’t worry, I’m here […]
The Difficult Path To Wealth
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns a lesson he can learn in no other way. -Mark Twain Whenever the stock market takes a big dump, I feel a little giddy. Mindy and I are still in the saving part of our lives (she works, I don’t [Wife-FI? Spouse-FI??]), so corrections are […]
Tesla Test Drive: Butt Y?
If you’ve read this blog recently, you’ve noticed that I blabber on about Tesla a lot. I bought the stock back in 2012 and it has since gone to the moon. Yay! I didn’t buy the stock for any good reason. I just thought Elon Musk and electric cars were cool. Who needs an MBA […]
Stock Picking Experiment: Year 3 Update
In December of 2017, Dividend Growth Investor (DGI) asked me if I’d like to duplicate the famous Warren Buffett bet. For those unfamiliar, in 2008 Buffett famously challenged the hedge fund industry: Can you beat the S&P 500 over a 10 year period? Only one hedge fund accepted the bet and didn’t do well. Buffett, […]
2020 Review: Tesla Takes Off, Big Tech Dominates, And Friends
Yay, 2020 is over! We could all use a break from the drama. And the virus. But here in Colorado, life is still pretty good and I have much to look forward to in the new year. But, I’ll save that for another time. First, we must discuss 2020. Money This is supposed to be […]
December Performance Update, Day 2921: Up $156,573
My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share […]
November Performance Update, Day 2890: Up $284,823 (Short-Term Silliness)
My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share […]
Bad Bosses, Conniving Coworkers, And Team Buiding Terror
My career as a software developer lasted from 1998 to 2017. I enjoyed the part of my job where I wrote software. Solving problems with computer code was a rewarding challenge. However, I didn’t like all of the crap that went along with it including: Bad bosses. One was a scheming, paranoid, racist, control-freak of […]
The Joy Of Moving Rocks
I recently ordered 15 tons of rocks to spread over the yard. We have grass now, but it doesn’t do well in the high desert of our part of Colorado. It drives me nuts knowing that I’m wasting a valuable resource (freshwater) on a plant that shouldn’t be in my yard. So, my plan is […]
October Performance Update, Day 2860: Down $33,522
My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share […]
Is Early Retirement Selfish?
When you tell other humans that you’re going to retire early, you’ll get all sorts of pushback: What if you run out of money? You’ll be bored! Are you nuts?!?? One of the strange arguments that comes up every once in a while is this: Early retirement is selfish. I don’t think so… I’m A […]
Is Retirement Expensive?
The people over at TicTocLife tweeted this yesterday: In what ways do hedonic adaptation (and the hedonic treadmill) affect your path to financial independence? Is there a particular area of your spending that seems more vulnerable to it? I know ours is in foreign experiences as we crave increasingly niche travel. pic.twitter.com/wAKgUkRjZl — TicTocLife (@TicTocLifeStory) […]
September Performance, Day 2829: Down $140,847
My main goal* was to build an investment and cash portfolio of $1,120,000* ($1,000,000 to retire on and $120,000 to pay off the house) in 1500 days**, starting from 1/1/2013 and ending in February of 2017. I made my goal in 2016, my 1500 Days are over, and I’ve left my job. In the interest of openness, I’ll continue to share […]