One Week on the Carnivore Diet

One of my stated goals for 2023 is to get serious about my health. Early in the year someone I worked with died suddenly, and three people in my life received cancer diagnosis’. It was a bit of a wakeup call for me to really look at the way I’m treating my body. Yes, I… Continue reading One Week on the Carnivore Diet

Three Case Studies – And They’re All Wrong!

I’ve talked before about my parents influence on my views of money and how I’ve strived to live differently than they have. Today, as many of the older generation of my family are in their mid-70’s, I was reflecting on where they’ve gone with their lives, and how they’ve influenced me. I’m going to look… Continue reading Three Case Studies – And They’re All Wrong!

Please Stop Citing the Average 401k Balance

Dear Financial Community, Please, for the love of God, stop pointing out the average 401k balance by age. Without fail this is a number that looks and sounds extremely low, especially for older folks, and it’s usually in an effort to show how easy it would be to catch or outpace that number. You all… Continue reading Please Stop Citing the Average 401k Balance

2022 in Review

As the saying goes, “If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.” Early in the year I posted my (mostly) financial goals for 2022. Looking back on those goals makes me realize how optimistic I was coming into this year…and what a shit-show 2022 turned out to be! So without much preamble, lets… Continue reading 2022 in Review

I Was Worse than Broke When People Started Calling me Successful

On the fifteenth of every month I put all of my account information into a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet calculates my current bills, my current balances, and my time to FI at current rates. It also plots my net worth on a chart. I’ve only been doing this for about three years, and I’m not inclined… Continue reading I Was Worse than Broke When People Started Calling me Successful

Good Idea, Bad Idea

It’s about RSU’s again. I’m facing what some would call an equity cliff at the end of 2023. Three years ago I was granted a fairly large amount of RSUs (restricted stock units) which would vest quarterly over four years. While I’ll still have RSUs for the next six years, the difference between 2023 and… Continue reading Good Idea, Bad Idea

The Importance of Moonshot Investments

As someone who is firmly entrenched in “the boring middle” I can attest to the fact that it is a well named stage of FIRE. I am incredibly bored. My debts are paid, my investments are automatic, my mortgage balance is slowly and steadily coming down, and despite the recent market fluctuations, my investment accounts… Continue reading The Importance of Moonshot Investments

Well, this is Embarrassing

Confession time: I forgot about a loan I had outstanding. In my defense, I didn’t exactly forget about it. I knew it was there and I’ve been paying it all along, but the interest rate was so low, and it was on my existing power bill, so I just let it ride. Time to pay… Continue reading Well, this is Embarrassing

Good Times, Bad Times

We’re five and a half months into 2022 and I think I can count the amount of green stock market days on my fingers. If you’re the type to check your 401k balance regularly or to watch the stock market daily (I am) it’s been super depressing. My overall investment accounts are down $300k from… Continue reading Good Times, Bad Times