If It Weren’t For
If It Weren’t For A neighbor of my mother’s. Who upon accompanying her to her first party as a freshman at the University of Michigan introduced her to a boy. A boy who was...
Category: Financial Independence
Half Retirement Day Zero
Half Retirement Day Zero I woke up this morning, for the first time in a while, in absolutely no rush. The alarm still went off at 4:45am but somehow felt different. Instead of going...
Creation Is My Why
Creation Is My Why Why do we do what we do? Why do we spend so much time in the personal finance blogosphere talking about financial independence and retiring early? The answers abound in...
Going Negative
Going Negative I like to think of myself as a relatively optimistic person. If you have ever met me in person, you might think that I have a pretty sunny disposition on life. And...
What’s Up Next Podcast?: Episode 4
What’s Up Next? Paul Thompson and I are proud to release our fourth episode of the The What’s Up Next Podcast. This podcast is an exploration of financial independence and taking the conversation to...
Is Control An Illusion?
Is Control an Illusion? I have been talking a lot lately on the blog about control. Between black swan and white swan events it is easy to feel at a total loss at times....
Lack of Control
Lack of Control Amidst worrying about white swan events and giving myself permission to suck, I have come to some conclusions about the way I work. Struggles with retirement and work life balance should...
White Swan Events
White Swan Events We spend a lot of time worrying about black swan events. Per Wikipedia these are events that comes as a surprise, have a major effect, and are often inappropriately rationalized after the...
Loss of Status
Loss of Status Retirement, or half retirement in my case, is a major life change. Transitioning from the accumulation phase, to the maintenance stage, and eventually to the de accumulation phase can be daunting....
Permission to Suck
Permission to Suck We all know that perfect is the enemy of good. In so many parts of our lives, good is good enough. This can be hard to remember when your stuck on...
