This blog has taken a lot of twists and turns over the years. However, it has served one semi-secret, self-serving purpose. And that purpose is to help me. The keyboard is where I go to sort out thoughts. Forcing myself to translate my thoughts into words forces my brain to slow down and think. I’ll […]
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Performance Update (Day 2708): Velociraptors And Viruses
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 […]
What I Wish I Knew
This week, I’m going to talk to University of Colorado Boulder students and this post is written for them. If you’re not a CU student, please click away now. Just kidding. Students! I know that your teacher has covered the basics of money management and investing, so I’ve gone light on those topics. And while […]
Guest Post: FI By Any Means Necessary
Today’s guest post comes from the SavingNinja. I met the Ninja in real life at the London premiere of Playing With FIRE and we had some fun conversation. The Ninja is aggressive, to say the least: 85% savings rate? FI targeted before 30? Holy hell! Very good. but there were scary parts too: I had […]
Performance Update (Day 2677): Tech On A Tear!
Two items before we begin: Thank you for all of the kind words concerning my dad’s situation. He has since had another surgery and will be moved to a hospital that focuses on rehabilitation very soon. He’s still on a ventilator and the road to recovery will be a long and arduous one. He may […]
When Life Goes Off The Rails
I’m a natural worrier. I’m also a natural planner. Two thoughts about worrying and planning: There is overlap: I’d guess that these two personality traits have strong Venn diagram overlap. In other words, if you’re a worrier, you’re probably a planner. It’s toxic: Both worrying and planning take you out of the present moment. Worrying […]
A New Mortgage With A Side Of Lucky Market Timing
Back in September, Mindy and I bought another home to live-in flip. Getting a good deal meant that we’d have to pay cash and close quickly. Here was our plan to come up with $350,000+ and what we’d do after: September 2019: Sell $100,000 in stocks, borrow $200,000 from our HELOC, sell the Acura NSX […]
Performance Update (Day 2647): COVID Crashes The Party
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 […]
Yet Another Lazy Photo Edition
I’m not feeing it. No time and no energy. But one quick thought: If you’re FI and quit your job, you’re going to find out who you are really quick. You don’t have to work for money anymore and you’re liberated to do whatever you want. What are you going to do when your decisions […]
How Are You Doing?
I promise that this won’t turn into a COVID blog, but I just have a little more to say… FIRE is more relevant than ever right now. The economy is shut down, but significant savings allow you to ride out the storm. Mindy and I don’t have to worry about losing our home or going […]
The Upside
Way back in 2013, Boulder County flooded. We had moved to Longmont only months before and now the police were knocking on our door ordering us to evacuate. The gentle stream near our new home normally looks like this: But in September of 2013, it looked like this: However, out of the chaos, something amazing […]
What We’re Doing With Money
First, let’s talk numbers. They’re not terrible. February 19: Our net-worth hit an all-time high of $2,585,214. March 16: Less than a month later, it was down to $2,280,151, a paper loss of $305,063. March 30: It has since recovered to $2,353,069, down $232,145 from that all-time high. If we were pure index investors, our […]
Frozen Dinosaurs, Axe Murderers, Murderous Multiples, Ignorance, Recession, And Depression
So, back in August, I wrote this: And 7 months later, here we are. (Side-note: I sandbagged it. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones are 30% and 35% off their all-time highs respectively.) I’m no clairvoyant. I could have predicted a downturn at just about any time in history and been correct. Markets go mostly […]
Backup Plans For Backup Plans
The world has become a strange, foreign place; unlike the one I’m accustomed to. I was at the grocery store a couple of days ago and it was packed. There was a line of people that ran the length of the store. The shoppers were waiting to get to the dairy section which was empty. […]
The Virus and Mr. Market’s Temporary Hiatus
Most things that are worthwhile are a struggle. If you want to become great at an instrument, you’re going to have to practice a lot. Yo-Yo Ma, the cello supervirtuoso, practices about 2,000 hours per year. If you want to become a great athlete, you’re going to have to put in lots of time training […]
10 Questions With EducatorFI
It’s not an understatement to say that a good teacher can change a child’s life. My older child had an exceptional teacher (Mrs. T) a couple of years ago. She’d come home from school every day beaming, eager to tell us about her day. She was a different person at the end of the school […]