I fully admit that I did the wrong thing back in 2008 when the stock market got walloped. I had only been investing for about 10 years and I freaked out: I logged into my 401(k) account late one night and lowered my contributions so that I put in exactly enough to get the company […]
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Performance Update, April 2022: Zoom Out
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 […]
5 Years Of FIRE Life
I’m typing this early in the morning at the coworking space that I co-own. I like coming down here before anyone else has arrived. I begin my day by finding a quiet spot and meditating. Five years ago when I left work, I never would have anticipated what life would bring: Mindy and I moved […]
Tesla Cyber Rodeo (Extreme Nerd Debauchery!)
Reader note: While this post is about my recent visit to Austin, it’s mostly about the Tesla Cyber Rodeo. This was the party Tesla hosted to celebrate the opening of the Austin factory. I even made a YouTube video that I embedded later in the post. I bought Tesla stock in 2012 for silly reasons. […]
Performance Update, February 2022: Time To Pivot
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 […]
Seattle And Friday Harbor!
The girls are on spring break this week, so we got out of town. We flew into Seattle and spent time with friends near Alki Beach. We then headed north to Friday Harbor. Longtime readers of this blog know that I’m obsessed with Tesla. I don’t own a Tesla but have thought about buying one. […]
Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies When It All Goes To Hell
Before we begin, here are some ways you can help victims of the Russian invasion: Save The Children Unicef Doctors Without Borders care Red Cross IFAW Not Yet… Mindy and I are fortunate in that we still have income. Mindy’s day job at BiggerPockets and side-gig as a real estate agent pay all of our […]
Six Thoughts On Losing $1,000,000
Note: I wrote this post last week before war broke out. It’s silly and narcissistic to worry about money when others are fleeing for their lives and children are dying (<– WARNING! This links to a story about a child killed in the attack and is graphic, tragic, and all-around horrible.). #perspective My normal modus […]
Mad Fientist On Mile High FI!
I first met the Mad Fientist way back at a conference in 2013 in St. Louis. Since then, we’ve hung out in New Orleans, the mountains of Colorado, and Scotland: I didn’t know what to expect when starting a blog, but my favorite part has become meeting fun and interesting humans from all over the […]
A Fi By Any Other Name
Today’s guest post is from my friend Carla! Carla is a friend and all-around excellent human who happens to be another Longmont local. She has an excellent podcast with her husband Robert called Pennies and Popcorn. Check out the episode that Doug and I appeared on where we discuss Fight Club. Today, Carla guest posts […]
Performance Update, January 2022: Inflation Devaluation (-$358,195)!
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 […]
Mile High FI: Paula Pant, JL Collins, and MMM
My favorite part of having a podcast is that I get to interact with amazing humans. Doug and I have been fortunate to be able to talk to some of the founding members of the FI community recently. Paula Pant Talks Inflation Inflation has been in the news. Every. Single. *&^%ing. Day. In this interview, […]
It Was Never About Frugality
Last week, I was contemplating a purchase. The windshield washer pump in our old Honda Element had died. Here is what I did: Looked up the price of the part online. Yay, only $13! Looked up the repair process on YouTube. Opposite of yay; it looks like a pain in the ass. Called a local […]
Stock Picking Experiment With Dividend Growth Investor: Year 4 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? Buffett won as the hedge fund got clobbered by the S&P 500. But, I […]
New Video: DIY Update!
When I started my YouTube channel back in 2019, I had grand plans: I can’t wait to show the world our DIY live-in flip! Mindy and I will take movies of our work and then show the world what we’re doing on YouTube. I’ll publish at least once a month! -enthusiastic and silly me And […]
2021, 2022, VTSAX And Chill
Wait, 2021 is over already? What the heck happened? 2020 trudged along like a drunken sloth trying to scale Mt. Everest. 2021 seemed to fly by in seconds… 2021 was a pretty great year. I’m thankful for all of the adventures I got to experience: I’m even more thankful that my daily life was interesting, […]