Category Archives: Living in the Moment

The Longer In Early Retirement, The Easier It Gets

When I was first contemplating retiring young, the idea of funding my lifestyle over decades was of high concern. A lot has happened and changed over the nearly 13 years on this early retirement ride. Even in this high inflationary period, I do believe that the longer in early retirement, the easier it gets. Not that it was all that hard in the beginning. It’s just more comfortable and enjoyable with less worry, more coasting along. 

The Longer In Early Retirement, The Easier It Gets

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It Has Only Got Easier The Longer I’ve Lived Early Retirement Freedom

Of course, a major retiree worry is burning through our money before we leave the planet. As the years have stacked up, there have been a lot of ups and downs in our portfolio. We never started with hitting the magical million dollar number to begin with. What we did was maintain a reasonably frugal lifestyle while still being able to travel as much as we wanted to, help our kids and grandkids out when necessary, and have a blast doing it. As time passes, the easier it gets.  

The Easier It Gets Financially

Budgeting

We used to feel like we had to watch it like a hawk. Now it’s pretty much on autopilot. Our frugalish lifestyle and spending habits have stuck. There is little yearly budget deviation except for the occasional emergency or small planned indulgence.
When the first of the year healthcare or other insurance/tax cycles cause big increases, we make necessary adjustments without worrying about things as much as we used to do early on. 

Since retiring over a decade ago, we’ve seen how over a 12 month period it all smooths out in the end. Even when there were some high monthly hits that were encountered. 

Adapting To Rising Healthcare Costs

We were lucky. The first few years of early retirement only brought small yearly increases. It then went obscene and it was a huge pain in the assets. Over time we’ve been able to take it in stride. We still get ticked off, but with every year that passes we get closer to Medicare eligibility. We just automatically assume we will be adjusting the budget in spending and income to cover it with a lot less worry until age 65. 

Riding Out Market Swings

There are some things we just can’t control, even with a well diversified portfolio. Market volatility swings can cause a lot of early retiree sweating. It was something that caught my attention in the early years causing some worst case worrying. 

The longer I’ve been doing this early retirement thing and living off of my portfolio, the easier it gets to just roll with it and trust the plan. I do check balances and run numbers when it has taken negative hits like it has of late. 

A quick run of the FIREcalc retirement calculator using the new lower portfolio total along with any new income requirements and Social Security data is all it takes to remove any concerns. Well, including Social Security and you know…… that growing older reduced years circling the sun thing. It’s a simple equation:

Social Security income coming in sooner

+ Less years left to fund

= Enough even with a reduced portfolio number to cover current market loss in the overall retirement funding calculation. 

If the calculated success percentage came up poorly, I would calmly do what we now have a history of doing, make necessary adjustments. 

Aging Closer to Medicare and Social Security

As mentioned above, I do use our Social Security figures as part of our overall retirement planning. That and the big reduction in health insurance costs that Medicare will provide us. We will finally reap the promised benefit from paying into our nation’s retirement system for our entire working lives. The longer in early retirement, the closer we inch to retirement portfolio funding assistance. Ya, ya, I know there is talk among certain politicians that some people of politics are looking to kill it. If they do then I suppose this country will be dealing with an even bigger and more dangerous problem than any retirement budget adjustments or income shortcomings I will have. 

The Easier It Gets Non Financially 

What Work Identity?

Early in retirement, I did everything I could to prepare for leaving my career title behind. Even so, there were still some mental adjustments that took time to work through. The longer in early retirement, the easier it was to put it all in the past. In fact, I have trouble remembering many names of those I worked with over the 31 years of that career. It all seems like a previous life that matters about as much as if not less than my highschool portion of life.

Having A Better Social Life

The first issue I recognized as a big hole in my early retirement was my social life. It took no time to realize almost all of my social circle revolved around work. I had to make a concentrated effort to grow my social life in the first months and years of retirement. My social life is now broadly community and hobby based. I have only one person that I’m still in regular contact with from my first long-held career, and that is just fine.

Wanting Less Because I’ve Already Scratched My Itches

There was a lot of daydreaming about what early retirement would be like and what I wanted to do before pulling the trigger. Once I retired at the age of 51 I was still full of the same high energy and production based conditioning I had when I was a career engineer. I enjoyed down time to the fullest and entered into paid gigs of interest and passions. I see now that some of that was also driven by another necessary transition- trying to get over myself and invisibility. Scratching these itches were both necessary and extremely rewarding in many ways.

 

A lot has changed over the 12+ years in early retirement. I scratched all my itches, transitioned away from work identity, grew my social circle, learned to fully trust my savvy personal finance skills/plan, and have relaxed over time into a comfortable energy level of retirement living. 

I still pursue new passions and ideas that I have interest in, but I’ve learned that I have nothing to prove to anyone, not even myself. 

Time, experience, and maturity has made me a better early retiree and made early retirement easier to enjoy to the fullest.

Celebrating My 11th Year Of Early Retirement, Although…

Wow, today is my 11th early retirement anniversary from when I walked away from a long telecom career. It has been quite a ride, although I would be fibbing to say year eleven was a stellar year of early retirement living. I hope to soon look back and say at least I survived the pandemic of 2020. Not just the virus, but also the numerous other assaults on reason and humanity over the year. I will also look back knowing we did what we could to help others so it might be a little better. No, my 11th year of early retirement has nothing to brag about. There was a lot given up even within our frugal early retirement lifestyle. But with all of that, there are still some 11th year blessings to celebrate.

Celebrating My 11th Year Of Early Retirement, Although...

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It Wasn’t Great But I’m Still Celebrating My 11th Year Of Early Retirement

There are things that were cancelled or I had to stop doing this year. 

Hiking – 

We would hike the trails near our home 5 days a week. Just pick a path and go out for an hour or two. Normally we would see a handful of other hikers. But with lockdowns and the fortunate who could work from home, the trails were packed with people. Many without masks huffing and puffing. We grew tired of trying to avoid being too close to people and gave it up. 

Library – 

I really enjoy spending a little time at our library once a week. I had a routine to browse the DVD section for new movie releases and score a few for the week’s entertainment. First they were shut down and then once opened under restrictions I decided not to go back until vaccination. 

Social life – 

I missed my daily trip to the local coffee shop for a cup and social interaction. Once socially distanced indoor service opened up during the summer I would mask up and have a seat when there were few inside. A small taste of pre-pandemic life. But many times that meant going when nobody else was there for a break out of the house but not so social. Still, I wanted to continue supporting the business and when crowded I would simply settle for take out. 

Events – 

Our community has many free events. Concerts, car shows, Oktoberfest, art festivals, county fair, etc. I attend many and volunteer at some of them. It is one of the special things that make early retirement fun and a bonus for living here. This year they were all cancelled and a couple that went ahead were heavily limited and restricted.

Travel –

All of our travel was cancelled. Our yearly travel includes seeing extended family to stay connected. That really hurt. We did a few day trips June through September. Mostly to the mountains or small town destinations where we could sightsee and avoid crowds. For the most part we avoided going out and about anywhere public on these outings. 

Sit down restaurant eating, movies, and shopping –

Our last sit down restaurant meal was Valentine’s Day. Although we don’t typically eat out or go to movies all that much, we miss being able to freely do it. Occasional takeout was a less eventful substitute. Although we aren’t big shoppers, being able to just drop into grocery without much thought was missed. We’ve relied on online order and pickup and every trip into grocery for small needs took crowd analysis and run-ins with the infectious undead, I mean unmasked.

Lost friends –

I did lose people I knew or who were friends through death or beliefs. There were a couple of people who couldn’t accept my mask. My thought is that they were free to believe what they believe and to risk it all by having-at-it. But somehow my decisions to mask in public and heavily limit my social interactions were an affront to their existence, worth verbal attack and shunning. They at least gesture that I’m number 1 when they see me in town. 

There are plenty of reasons for me to celebrate early retirement year number eleven

No forced dangerous work –

I can imagine how things would have been had I still been in my first long career. A dark corporate mindset that loved to pick winners and losers based on measures other than performance or even job responsibility. Seemed I was constantly chosen for all the dangerous or less savorable duties. Sometimes under threat when challenged. I felt fortunate that I didn’t have to endure what many had to during this past year. Deciding between risking their health or losing their income. I feel for anyone whose work wouldn’t or couldn’t protect them from this plague. 

No threats to shelter and food –

Because of FIRE I never had to worry about making ends meet, unlike far too many others. Being debt free, frugal living, and having a long-term sustainable early retirement budget aligned with my savings meant uninterrupted sufficient income. 

Saved a lot in spending that allowed us to help our kids – 

Without travel or recreation this year we had extra room in our budget to help our kid’s families. They took income reductions and had added expenses when food and some service needs costs went up.

A couple of months working at my daughter’s new place –

My youngest daughter spent the lockdown with a teenager and two hounds in a 2 bedroom rented condo. That was enough for her to decide she wanted a home of her own. She was fortunate her lease was up and she jumped early after restrictions were eased to find a house. She scored an older home that needed some maintenance for a price within her budget. I was able to spend 2 or 3 days a week during August and September getting reacquainted with my tools, ladder, and old guy homeowner skills. It broke up the mononanty of pandemic life and helped her get to a good place. I also won the approval of her neighbors who were happy to see the place being fixed up. 

The ability to donate –

With so many in need we were able to up our donations for the socially oppressed and needy this year beyond our normal church and supported charities. We feel the unfairness of the power dynamics and the pandemic’s impacts. I’m still trying to grasp this crazy situation where those that work for a living get hit worse than the stock market. I get that the market looks ahead, but that doesn’t help those in the now. I don’t celebrate the situation but that we had the ability to do what we could. 

Freedom to believe in God, medical professionals, science, and decency –

This 11th year taught me a lot in how much freedom is within our own minds. I consider myself financially free but it means nothing without health, love, and life. How different my 11th year would have been had I been mentally imprisoned by conspiracy theories and idol worship. I’ve the freedom to not worry about what others do or believe, nor feel I’m a victim of “the others”. I’m the master of my own domain and don’t require anyone’s approval, acceptance, or membership. 

My 12th year early retirement planning

I don’t know what the future will bring. There is a lot quickly changing both near and far. I do know what I plan on doing at the most basic level. The rest will be a let’s see what happens first. If I’ve learned anything in these 11 years of retirement it’s the importance of embracing flexibility.

Vaccine –

I will freely choose to get the vaccine as soon as my number is called. I believe the rest of my year will bank on accomplishing that first. 

Masks –

Even after being vaccinated I plan that I will be wearing a mask until the 4th quarter when enough people have been vaccinated and COVID-19 trends look good. I’m hopeful events will start up again and I will happily attend them while being masked. The same goes with hiking, going to the library, shopping, and all the other little things that I enjoy doing. 

Limited travel to see extended family –

I am hopeful that I and my family will be vaccinated by this summer so that we can get together once again. Other than that I think we will wait for any other travel plans. I suspect as things safely open up that the overwhelming pent up travel demand will make things tough to get a decent deal anywhere. If I’m wrong about that then I will reconsider.

Hair –

I haven’t had a haircut since last February. It has gone far beyond shaggy to long and I’m reintroduced to my mid-1970s teenage long hair life. I fully embraced the bandanna headband, channeling my inner Tommy Chong while open top convertible cruising all summer. I see this next year going with more of a Viking look. Half up ponytail and maybe some micro braids. That is as long as my wife keeps her sense of humor. 

4th quarter normalcy – 

I am hoping for, thus planning for, pandemic numbers and facts to be great by 4th quarter 2021. Then full maskless life can once again safely make sense.

Continue my same asset allocation –

My portfolio asset allocation has been maintained through rebalancing and will continue doing so as needed. The market has escalated in hopes of a rebounding post vaccine economy, pent up demand, and a new presidential administration. Let’s hope it’s right.

 

Yes, my 11th year of early retirement was nothing fantastic. But I still feel blessed. I’m not planning on a fantastic 12th year either because of Rona and its damaging impacts are far from over. When I look back at this 11th year I will think about a mentality parallel between people ignoring pandemic safety recommendations and the basic FIRE principles that would better their lives. Basically you just can’t save everyone. And that’s OK. We all should have the freedom to choose our own path as long as we don’t drag others down with us if things don’t go our way or later cry about it. 

My early retirement journey was born of both crucible and hope. Something that this past year offered in abundance. Perhaps this pandemic and everything that has happened will cause us all to rethink our future and plan for a better life. Then do something to make it happen.

Retiring In Style

Many lives are lived in vain and these are the lives that tend to be followed by regret. When asked about what they wished they had done earlier in life, people in their deathbeds said they wished they hadn’t worked so hard and wished they had had the courage to live a life that felt truer to them.

Luckily, it is never too late to change our habits and still early to start living a more meaningful life. With the below information and a bit of determination, you could also build that courage to make sure every step you take from now will lead to the life you always dreamt of.

retiring in style
Retire in style and spend your life’s third act doing what you have always dreamt of

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Some Ideas For Retiring In Style

Plan the trip of your lifetime

Travelling expands the mind and makes you connect with the inner self you had buried a while ago. Whilst you might think that travelling is something people in their mid twenties to early forties do, it is never too late to dream of sailing seas or hiking trails. Here is Lonely Planet’s Older Traveller Forum to provide you with the inspiration you need!

Invest in your dreamed holiday home

A pad that allows you to be closer to the sea? A second home in Venice? Perhaps an apartment in the sun? If you never thought of looking into these but have always wanted to escape to a faraway destination and make this your second home, now is the time to do some research into it. If you don’t know where to start, Ally Invest Review will help you better inform your financial decisions so you can finally own your home in the sun.

Take an online course

You used to sit and doodle whilst the news at five o’clock were playing in the background. Your family mentioned you could have been a Picasso or a Mondrian but you never had the time to dust off those brushes and sketch. With the thousands of online painting courses now available, this could be the time for you to shine! The Virtual Art Academy offers an online painting course you could take, and like them, there are many more organizations who do so. Get exploring!

Write your story (and share it with the world)

Being a writer is not easy, but it has also never been easier. With thousands of online tutorials on how to write, you too could tell your story. With years of experience behind you, all you need is some time aside and a word processor through which to share your world views and life anecdotes.

Take dancing lessons

George Bernard Shaw famously wrote “we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”. How you spend your time in retirement is entirely up to you, but dancing might be the perfect option if you wish to introduce a new routine to your life. Even if this is done past your forties, there is still time to learn new steps, so go on, put on your dancing shoes. Who knows? You might even find your perfect dancing partner!

 

These are only a few ideas to think about. There are all kinds of ways to engage your creativity, your inner explorer, and commitment to personal growth. Retiring in style can also include strengthening relationships and giving back through volunteering.

Retirement should be a time of passion, purpose, and interests. Not one of retreat and withdrawal. Be courageous and a little daring  by striving to live a retirement lifestyle that has no chance of regret. Make retiring in style part of your retirement plan.

Proudly Just Another Corporate Has-Been: It Takes More Than Money

Let me explain why I am proudly just another Corporate Has-Been and share the overlooked aspect. It’s beyond financial. A conversation with an ex-coworker reminded me of that. “You were at the top of your game, traveling the country, influencing national standards and the go-to engineer for the company’s multi-billion dollar revenue stream. Now you just casually stroll through life. What happened to you?”

Ouch… I had to think, is that really what he and some others are thinking?

Sadly yes but it’s what I think that matters.

Proudly Just Another Corporate Has-Been? What is there to be proud about?

Think about the definition of Has-Been: A person or thing that is no longer effective, successful, popular, etc.

Why should I be proud of that?

You see, I am now powerful. OK, in the eyes of the unaware corporate enslaved there is nothing for me to be proud about. In fact I may be seen as a loser from anyone still in that corporate world where title and salary is seen as the true measure of a person.

For too many people this is a world where you measure your accomplishments and success by the amount of revenue you can produce or retain, the amount of data that can be processed without defect or loss, the number of billable clients you can land, the size of the department and employee count that are under your control, the number of deals you can close, etc. It’s the all too common career mindset view of what a real winner is.

You get to also be measured by consumer measurements. The size of your home, the snob-status of your automobile, your exotic vacation factor. Then there are all the little trappings of life. Like your cell phone and plan; your Cable or Satellite TV package, fashion choices, the bicycle you ride, etc.

For those in the world’s consumerist and career minded track, people are measured by how well they keep up with the Jones’s to satisfy their social class peer acceptance and all of its perceived view of success.

I am proudly just another Corporate Has-Been because I know that is all horse crap

Proudly Just Another Corporate Has-Been: It Takes More Than MoneyThere is pride for my successfully living a frugal lifestyle beyond the reach and concern of what others think and my becoming a super saver. Thus earning my freedom from the rat race. But there is something else that must be done to proudly go where few go.

It is important to get this right and become our own rock. We have to be confident and with purpose. Don’t think for a second that everyone we know is going to celebrate our decision or understand retiring early to a free but frugal lifestyle.

When it comes to those close to me who are confused about my pitching the big-time I get it. I was once the unaware corporate slave who didn’t realize I was climbing farther and farther into the rat race trap. Always climbing and volunteering for more responsibility or accepting my corporate masters dumping it on me. All for some promised or falsely perceived corporate status and career mindset prize.

The cruel truth is until you reach the point in the trap where you are no longer able to move, of which I mean have a life outside of and free from the pay-check source, you don’t even know you are in a trap.

An all-consuming trap of both job status and possessions with its associated debt. All geared towards some false feeling of success and approval from our social class peer group. It is all taught to us as being the normal way of life. Make money, spend money. Make more money, spend more money. A vicious cycle of dependency. Job, paycheck, debt, stuff.

So I understand why my unenlightened ex-coworker pal sees my early retired lifestyle as a wasteful casual stroll through life.

I can also see why my early retirement lifestyle looks like nothing for me to be proud about in the eyes of the trapped. Even though they can’t understand me I can empathize and understand them. I was once them.

The Overlooked Aspect to Proudly Being a Corporate Has-Been: Our Ego

Every occupation has its trappings and meaningless life measurements of success. They are either self-applied through years of working with career mindset conditioning and/or by our close circle of influences.

Certainly it takes financial independence to proudly just be another corporate has-been. But to win at this game it also takes letting go of our ego. It takes both. Having one covered without the other isn’t going to cut it.

There are all kinds of people sharing tips on the financial side of things. This site has plenty written about it. But the overlooked side is all in our heads.

Think about it. There are a lot of people who make a lot of money and are set financially for life. Enough to be financially independent even if they are irresponsible consumerist. But if they lost their job, title and career based identity they would be miserable. That career title and all they felt important would be gone and their ego will hammer them. Money is no problem but their head is a mess. This can happen to anyone at any income level and often does.

This is especially a problem when the corporate world is finished with people who are still clinging to it. I have seen many who were financially secure discharged with every business and economic bump. Some never really recovering from a depressed self-worth.

Even people who successfully planned their retirement can and do suffer a loss of self-worth if their ego hasn’t been addressed. A conversation like the one I had with his shared negative perception could have anyone questioning their reason for retiring early. Certainly it could challenge retirement happiness.

How to Tackle your Ego in Early Retirement and Proudly Embrace being a Corporate Has-Been

Here is how you can proudly be another Corporate Has-Been.

It takes time to reinvent your self-identity. It is easy to link our identity with our jobs. I have turned down some great opportunities to come back and do what I have retired from.

Early in my retirement I would think how I could easily do a job similar to my long career and my ego would push me to investigate it further or at least question myself until my gut told me otherwise. It took time for my ego to let go of who I used to be and the false need to reprove myself.

I purposely retired early while on the top of my game. Sure I took some hits but I won the big game and walked away. I knew I didn’t want to continue serving the soul damaging corporate system and that there was a more meaningful way to live. Yet I still had my ego telling me I could still play the game at the same level.

Fortunately I was able to quiet and now control my ego. My ex-coworker’s comments didn’t rock my world or early retirement lifestyle. It reaffirmed the reasons I am on the journey that I am on.

When I started my encore career it was all within a passion driven mindset. When it no longer met my interests and desires I quickly retired again. Ego did not have me walk into another career mindset trap and stay longer than I wanted to.

Ego Management Tips

Forget about approval from others

Concerning ourselves with what others think allows ego to mess with us. Our ego loves being told we are popular or admired. This human need to feel accepted by our peer group does nothing but misdirect us down wrong paths. It leads to irresponsible behavior.

How many have been financially ruined by keeping up with the Jones’s or wasted their lives and relationships chasing an all-consuming career? The answer is too many.  By retiring early we are responsible for our own self-worth and new life with purpose. Don’t allow ego to have you treat that irresponsibly.

Stop Greed to starve Ego

Greed is Ego’s super food. Know when enough is enough and start living life on your terms. Ego loves to drive us farther into situations that we don’t enjoy or even hate being in. If you feel the need for more stuff and more money than you really need then ego is alive and well.

When I was looking at starting my encore career I took money off of the table and only viewed the opportunity from a passion driven mindset. Then once the perfect match came my way I negotiated salary appropriately for the position. Our time is finite. Trading our time for money shouldn’t be ego driven.

Let go of what we were

I think anyone who was successful in their career, even if they grew to dislike it, will have thoughts of returning to prove they are still a top performer.

Let go and be thankful of what we were and tell ego not again. Time for something new and more meaningful to dedicate our finite time to. Refocus all of our energy and drive that gets us to early retirement to passion driven pursuits.

If it’s a return to a prior position then at least do it differently and more aligned with your values. Not what you decide it was time to retire from.

End the comparing and competitive urges

Ego’s sibling is envy. It can happen to anyone. Together these two sibs can be very powerful. Seeing others accomplishments or possessions may make our ego want to have it too at all costs. That’s the problem with this. It WILL COST TOO MUCH. Wasted time chasing the wind. There is no top in this kind of ego driven endeavor.

It is nothing more than chasing your tail. There will always be someone better and you will always be looking over your shoulder at who is coming up behind you. Allowing ego to make your life a competition with others will only lead to unhappiness and frustration.

A better strategy: Count our blessings and stick to our plan.

Conclusion

To my misguided ex-coworker I may be wasting a productive life. However instead of letting him lay a downer on me I just told him

“I am proudly just another Corporate Has-Been. How happy are you in the trap?”

“Happy? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything.”

What makes me proud is that I did it. Putting the rat race behind me with my early retirement has been the most enjoyable adventure of my life. I don’t care if from a corporate world perspective that I am now no longer effective, successful, or popular. Their point of view is a false measurement of success.

If I could describe the way early retirement freedom feels it’s like being a kid again but without having anyone telling me what to do all the time. When someone THINKS they can tell me what I need to do I get to laugh, mock, blow a kiss, agree only with any good advice, or silently ignore and mentally dismiss them. Try doing that as a corporate slave.

In all honesty and full disclosure, I do still have to submit to any law enforcement and the rules of the universe even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. Oh, also my wife which may fall under the rules of the universe.

If you have the financial side of early retirement and escaping the rat race figured out make sure you also get your head straight and tame your ego. I say tame because aside from Gurus, you can never conquer it.

It will be a process and it will surprise you. I feel that after leaving the corporate world I will always be in recovery. Were ego and career mindset trappings will always raise its head and tempt temporary wrong thinking. The trick is to be aware of it and stay focused on what really matters. That being the rest of my life on my passion driven terms.

Have you ever found that your ego is pushing you in the wrong direction or leading to unhappiness?

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid

There is no question I enjoy the heck out of early retirement. Each and every single day. But when it comes to vacations you could say I am Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid. We (my wife and I) love to just take off on a vacation from the freedom life at home and say goodbye to all obligations.

I heard that. Some of you mocking me because I take vacations from my permanent vacation. It’s hard to explain but I look forward to vacations as much if not more than before I retired. Maybe my retirement vacations are so much better because there was always the vacation penalty waiting for me when I returned to work after a vacation. You know. 5000 emails and requests for project status or request to look into broken crap. No more!

We took a road trip from Colorado to the Beaches of Southern California over 10 days. We did make an overnight stop in St George Utah on the way to and from where we were able to visit family for dinner. We even extended the trip one day longer to stay a full day there on the way home. Certainly one of the beauties of having no job demanding our return.

There is something about hitting the road with no hard deadlines or itinerary holding a gun to our heads. Only our room reservations needed to be honored unless there was cancellation notice. We even did two days in Disneyland and California Adventure amusement parks. Just because we wanted to. Just like a couple of 57 year old kids. No grand-kids as a reason to go. It was just us and we had a blast.

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid- Observations

Being Early Retired Playing like a Wiser Kid means that some things are done differently than we did them when we were younger.

  • We are so much smarter about how things work and how we work.
  • We have a budget and have a habit of always trying to beat it by seeking value.
  • Most notably we now can appreciate slowing down and smelling the coffee. There is a lot more to life than always pushing forward full speed ahead and ignoring the little things that occur all around us in life.

Here are some of my observations that make good considerations for anyone following in our early retirement vacationing ways.

On The Road

While traveling down the interstate pay attention to the scenery. There was a time when I just flew down the road trying to just get there. Now we take the time to try to enjoy everything we pass that looks interesting.

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 2Have your camera available and take pictures of any great scenes while tooling down the road and for when you finally pull over for gas, the restroom, stretch your legs, or eat a meal. You never know when something cool will show up and it’s a way to document your trip and what you saw. Enjoy the changing scenery.

We always pack some Sandwiches and drinks for our road trips to save money and time. It also ensures that we will eat healthier and without fear of picking up some food poisoning on the road. Sometimes we eat while cruising and other times we grab a picnic table at a local park or rest stop.

Here is a tip when looking to gas-up in a smallish town.

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 4Don’t stop at the first gas stations right off of the interstate. Drive into town a few blocks because you might just see something interesting that you had no idea was there or find a nice picnic site. Their gas prices may be cheaper too and it doesn’t add much time to the trip so it is all good.

Bring a good twelve-volt tire pump. If you are changing elevations or traveling through different temperature zones then keeping your tires inflated to the correct pressure will save you money at the pump. I bought a $29 twelve-volt pump at Lowe’s that has a gauge attached which allows me to fill my tires when needed.

Before you leave pull a new Mapquest.com direction to your destination. Even if you have made the drive many times before it will show you if something has changed. I pulled one for out route and noticed in Riverside CA that everyone had to now exit the Interstate due to construction and go through what is a long traffic filled and time-killing detour through town. We were able to avoid that and take a different route than we have taken during the 38 years I have made this drive.

Pre-load your destination address into your GPS even if you know where you are going. I bought a used Garmin on eBay a few years ago for $24 and that was the best $24 I have ever spent. Pre-loading the address will help if you get detoured or mistakenly take a wrong turn somewhere. Having to pull over to look up and add your destination just adds more frustration to the situation.

Disneyland Tips

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 5We find buying the park-hopper passes makes more sense.

We like to bounce between the two parks during the day. If it’s too crazy-busy in one park we can then go to the other and most times it’s not as bad. We bought a two-day pass this year and it was just the right amount of time for us to do everything we wanted to do without ever feeling hurried. It was a relaxing and enjoyable 2 days.

Bring a Bottle of Water

Take a bottled water in with you. Then refill it at the multitude of water fountains. All drinks run $3.50 each so there can be big savings here on a hot and humid day at the park.

Use Flex Pass

Take advantage of the Fast Pass when rides are too crowded. This year the new thing we saw was “Singles” lines. Basically if you are ok riding with someone other than your sweetie or buddy(s) then say you are a single. Disneyland allows singles to quick enter just like the Fast Pass to fill in for all the odd-numbered groups/families riding together. We saw couples go in as singles and end up on ride at the same time even though they weren’t sitting next to each other.

The Right Shoes

Wear comfortable and supporting shoes. There is a lot of walking. I had to laugh at some of the younger attendees. They were in flip-flops. I had done that too in my younger years. Probably why my feet need the shoe inserts today.

Upcoming Changes

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 6Star Wars is everywhere and the rumor according to people who work there is the new Star Wars Disney Park will be built where all of Bear Country is today. If you are familiar with Disneyland then you may miss some of the beautiful trees and all the shade of that area.

Scout Out Ride Leg Room Before getting in Line

Scout out rides you aren’t familiar with for leg room. I am 6’3” and some rides don’t allow for enough room to sit without really being pretzeled in there. Worse than flying coach.

Loosen up to avoid back strain

Stay loose on all rides because some may involve a sudden stop. Nothing jacks my back like getting popped like that if I am not loose and ready for it. Just expect it and you should escape most short-jerked associated back pain. I always take a small package of Advil, Tylenol or Ibuprofen.

In General

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Take advantage of free entertainment and other events occurring in the area for locals.

We caught an awesome car show on the Redondo Beach Pier and another casual Hot Rod stop over at a local Diner.

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 9Ask your hotel’s front desk if they know of anything going on. There was the area’s Lobster-Fest going on one night while we were there.

 

 

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 10Eat and Drink Local.

For me I enjoyed selecting beers from local breweries. We also chose local eateries over national franchises. We had some great specials that were very reasonably priced.

Walk instead of driving everywhere. There is no better way to get into the local vibe like participating in it.

Pack WD40 in your beach pack.

We were fortunate this time but I have had past experiences stepping in a beach oil/tar ball before in California and Florida beaches. It’s a bear to remove and will ruin your flip-flops or sandals if you wear them. WD40 will dissolve and clean the black oily tar bar from your foot or footwear. They sell it in small aerosol cans. It is also decent in removing stepped on gum.

Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 12Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid 13

 

 

Pack a mat or beach blanket and hit the beach an hour before sunset.

It may cost a few quarters in a parking meter but it’s otherwise free and most people have left the beach for the day. There is nothing like sitting on the beach and watching the sunset before calling it a day.

In Closing.

Being Early Retired Playing Like a Wiser Kid is all about relaxing and enjoying life by concentrating on value and still having a lot of fun. We set a budget based on a similar trip a few years ago and actually came in a couple of hundred dollars under it. That was primarily due to lower fuel costs but some of our food decisions also played into it.

Do you see yourself playing at Disneyland in your retirement?

Is Wealth a Number or State of Mind?

Is Wealth a Number or State of Mind? I don’t consider myself wealthy but I am financially free enough to retire early and live life on my terms. A little while back the US Government enacted some tax increases on those it considered as the top 2% of earners and pegged the low-end of wealth at $250K for a couple. Even more tax increases were enacted for those in the $400K income range and above. But is that a true measure of wealth?

As I have always said, It’s not what you earn it’s what you keep that matters. People who make a lot of money but have high debt and an undisciplined spending habit won’t be feeling wealthy. Certainly the government has put a number to wealth but the number itself can’t be a true measure of wealth.

Is Wealth a Number or State of Mind: How do I define wealth?

I suppose I define it like many people do. Having an abundance of valuables, money, etc. but in the back of mind it’s always those millionaires and billionaires I read and hear about. The rich and famous, movie and rock stars, the big money CEOs and Wall Street movers and shakers.

So subconsciously I too have a soft number that I associate to wealth. I really never gave it much thought until today other than I never think of myself as wealthy. However something happened to make me think I was wrong and that I am actually wealthy. Wow, I said it out loud as I typed it here and it feels pretty darn good.

Financial Freedom Wealth Through Frugal Living is at Odds With What We Equate to Wealth

Is Wealth a Number or State of Mind

I think what caused me and I am sure others who are working toward financial freedom or those who are financially free to not consider themselves as wealthy is we tend to live a frugal lifestyle. We don’t make the big bucks and the only way to get to this point is we cut spending, payoff all debt, and increase our savings rate.

The less we need to spend to live our choice lifestyle the less it takes to pay for it. The flaw that I and I am sure others out there in my same situation have mistakenly embraced is that we compare ourselves to those who we subconsciously equate to wealthy and we are nowhere in the same ball park.

That is a mistake because wealth can’t just be a number. Wealth must be a state of mind. Once I realized that I can live life on my own terms where my needs are financially covered by my portfolio and I could pursue opportunities of passion I should have also realized I just became wealthy.

Wealth is Having All That You Need and Really Want

It has nothing to do with how much my account has in it. It has to do with the fact that I have enough to be content with what I do have. Once I reached the point where I didn’t feel like I was deprived of wants and needs I was wealthy. Once I could focus on what really made me happy like family instead of serving a heartless corporate monster and career I was wealthy.

Now there are a lot of people who have far nicer homes, cars, vacations, you name it, than I do but they aren’t necessarily wealthy. If they are enslaved by their money and lifestyle costs then they can never reach a wealth state of mind. That is far worse than my living a wealthy and free life and not being aware that I was wealthy. Wealth is YOUR state of mind and can’t be something you compare to others.

She Said I was a very rich man

So what happened today to make me ask myself is Wealth a Number or State of Mind? I had a conversation with a nice woman who moved here from Armenia. I have never met anyone from Armenia before and we talked about our families, how I just returned from a vacation with my daughter’s family including a 2 and a half year-old, where we have lived and traveled and want to travel. Just life stuff.

At no time did she ask or did we discuss our occupations or my work or early retirement status. She then asked me how many grandchildren I had and I told her 4 with another coming in December. She looked at me and said, you are a very rich man. Initially I was taken back and then I thought for a second, yes, yes I am.

How about you. Do you consider yourself wealthy when looking at where you are in your life and your financial freedom status? Or do you think there really is a number before you can consider yourself wealthy?

Mormon and Hippie Life Lessons

I have to credit some Mormon and Hippie Life Lessons that shaped me to become financially independent, retire early, and be the Leisure Freak I am. You might be thinking that those must be some pretty extremely polar life lessons. A super conservative rule-laden religion and the most liberal freedom seeking lifestyle movement of the 60s and early 70s. Well you would be right. But somehow it’s when things ring true and challenge what you thought where your truths you begin to see your world differently.

First some background.

I was born into a semi-active Mormon family. I attended services regularly through age 16 and then sporadically until age 18. I completed 4 years of Mormon seminary 9th grade through 12th so I know a bit more about Mormonism than the average non-Mormon Joe. Even though I have been what other Mormons call an inactive-member or Jack-Mormon since then. This post isn’t about that.

This post is about how the teachings and experience impacted me to become what I am today. I am sure many people have had similar influence in their lives from various past and current religious experiences that form their current self.

As for the hippie life lessons. Let me start by saying I never became a hippie. Although I rolled with some right-on groovy long hair. Again, this is about experiences that influence us.

I was too young to experience or really understand the hippie movement in its mid to late 1960s heyday. I did see some of that. We lived in the Bay area of California then. My dad promised his sister, my aunt, that he would look in on my cousin who was an ex-Southern California surfer turned hippie. He definitely was part of the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury scene. My dad would bring him and sometimes a friend of his to our home on Friday evenings after my dad got off work. That way my cousin and friend could get their clothes washed, bathe, have a decent meal and get a good night’s sleep. I was only about 10 or 11 years old during those days.

My Formative Teen Years is when Life Lessons take hold

My hippie life lessons occurred many years later in the summer of 1974 when I was 16. The hippie movement was all but dying out. I was living in Salt Lake City then. During the summer my friend and I would ride our 10 speeds into the city. Just seeking adventure and something to do. One day we came across a hippie group at one of the city’s major parks where they invited us to join in some spirited Frisbee tossing.

This led to us hanging with them for a two-week period until they moved on. They were crashing nearby at the home of someone’s relative. This little band of hippies had 4 young men and 3 young women who were traveling through enjoying our city’s scene for little while.

Although society and my religious upbringing warned of depraved and drug crazed hippies. My previous experience with my cousin and his buddies left me not only tolerant but open to their hospitality. It turned into a short summer friendship where we had many fascinating conversations about their group’s lifestyle and philosophy.

I learned a lot and some of it resonated within me. It wasn’t all drugs and sex as we had been warned about. They were very philosophical and passionate about their freedom-lifestyle.

Mormon and Hippie Life Lessons that Influenced Me

These Mormon and Hippie Life Lessons influenced me so that I would become financially independent:

Money –

Most Christians know about how Jesus felt about money and wealth and where he said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. He was destroying the notion that those with all the money somehow are especially blessed by God as somehow more worthy. Money shouldn’t be what we worship and put before all other things.

These hippies had the view that money had its uses. Its use to pay for what you need like shelter, food, and other basic necessities. They didn’t worry about getting more money than needed. Money corrupts, just look at the rich who run the country and those that try to dictate everything. They were the ultimate threshold earners and earning lots of money toiling at work, especially something they really didn’t want to do was nowhere in their mindset.

What I got was perspective. Money is not what is most important, freedom is and that later evolved to freedom through financial independence. However, I knew when enough is enough instead of continuing in a career that I was no longer passionate about just adding more and more money to my savings. I had just enough to be free, so then go and be free. It’s a need vs. greed mindset.

Be Prepared and Self Sufficient

As a Mormon it is drilled into your head. Everyone has probably heard of the Mormon 1 year supply of food and water for any future catastrophe. They are the original doomsday preppers and being prepared and self-sufficient is a mainstay. They sponsor the Boy Scouts and I participated in that too.

The hippies, not so much. They were all about living in the moment, trying to challenge and change society for a better world. They didn’t change the world like they intended but they did change me and some others a bit.

What the lessons did was give me balance. It is one thing to save and prepare for tomorrow and beyond but try to not lose sight of what is happening now, enjoy you’re moments. Living a balanced life is a life well lived.

Anti-Consumerism

It was preached over and over at church, everything in moderation and it applied to all types of consumption. I did take it to heart.

The hippies were the original re-purpose, make it yourself and recyclers. Travel light and don’t want more than you need. They didn’t buy and keep a lot of stuff. What they had they shared. To them the world had been corrupt by over-consumerism. Frugality as a way of life.

For me it became a habit not blowing money buying stupid things. I have a few toys now associated to my hobbies but we never fell for the latest and greatest sparkly-doodad that came along. I learned that sometimes less truly is more.

Conclusion.

There were a lot of things that I learned in my early formative years but the above Mormon and Hippie Life Lessons are just a couple of simple lessons I wanted to express as influences in my financial mindset.

When I look back at my life I think that I had a lot of unique experiences because I was always open to new ideas and my soul has always believed that when it comes to life, it is an adventure so live it that way.

As one of the baristas at my favorite coffee shop always jokingly says as I leave, “Drive Fast and Take Chances”.

How about you. Can you identify what your earliest influences were for you that has set you on the path of financial independence, a passion-driven life and freedom?

Waiting to Retire Taking the Most Dangerous Risk

Are you waiting to Retire Taking the Most Dangerous Risk?

“The Most Dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later”.

That was the tagline on a digital poster that my early retired friend had sent me. It really stuck with me. The quote came from a book called The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living. By Randy Komisar. The book is a guide for breaking away from work that isn’t your passion, and moving on to work that you are meant to do that has greater meaning.

“If your life were to end suddenly and unexpectedly tomorrow, would you be able to say you’ve been doing what you truly care about today?”

Many of the quotes from the book do resonate with me. They can truly be motivational about early retirement. Retire from work or a career that is no longer floating your boat to do what you are passionate about. If you have been reading from this Leisure Freak site, that is exactly what I preach. I constantly rant about retiring early and often and why it’s such an awesome lifestyle to live.

Why having the financial freedom to retire early to pursue leisure and happiness, including whatever opportunities you may be interested in and passionate about is a life well lived. Why would anyone spend any more of their lives in sacrifice just to make a living? You may retire from something but true retirement happiness is all about what you retire to. Life is short. It would be a waste of life spending your precious time in a position that no longer aligns with your talents, spirit and passion. Especially once you have reached financial freedom through savings and/or pension eligibility.

 

“The most dangerous risk of all is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet that you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later”.

Most people take this risk every day of their lives. They take this risk while in their careers by avoiding the risk of lost comfort, seniority and security. What everyone should fear most is the risk of never experiencing anything else.

I was one of these people. I stayed well beyond my passion for my career in order to secure a retirement package. A package that in the end was far less than initially promised. Fortunately it was only a decade of my life during the last 10 tears of my career.  It was bearable because it was all part of a plan. I still feel it was worth the sacrifice.

I do not advocate everyone who feels that they are not in a place where they feel it aligns with their passions should just quit and walk away. It takes planning and knowing what your real happiness is and what your passionately lived life is going to be.

When do you know that you are Waiting to Retire Taking the Most Dangerous Risk?

You know when. Its when you have reached a point of financial freedom and you hear that little voice in your head. It’s when you have the nagging feeling that you are meant to do something else. Doing something that is rewarding and with greater meaning. Hearing that voice say that it’s time to focus your time on your true passions and live being in your zone.

“The Deferred Life Plan also dictates that we divorce who we are and what we care about from what we do in that first step…we hope and suppose that when we get [to the second step], we will be able to resurrect our passions on our own terms. If we get there.”

This quote had me really take a look at how I got to my early retirement. I am certainly guilty of living the deferred life plan. I did what I had to in Step 1 so that if I made it I could then live a life that I wanted to in Step 2. It is the plan that everyone knows and if you have a plan it does work. However we do risk leaving the planet before reaching our goal and freedom. I am very proud that I was able to follow the plan and not spend another day longer postponing my earned freedom. Living with purpose, happiness, and a passion focused life. My passion has been successfully resurrected. Once the little voice was heard, I made the leap and have never regretted it for a minute.

Value Time over Money

“Marrying our values and passions to the energy we invest in work…increases the significance of each moment. Consider your budget of time in terms of how much you are willing to allocate to acquiring things versus how much you are willing to devote to people, relationships, family, health, personal growth, and the other essential components of a high-quality life.”

This quote from the book is totally aligned with my Leisure Freak Retire Early and Often philosophy. My valuing time over money. Living a more fulfilling life spending my time doing things that are rewarding. Doing what I am truly interested in and passionate about.

Happiness isn’t about buying and owning stuff.  Happiness is found as mentioned in the quote: People, relationships, family, health, and personal growth. I will also add the following. Happiness is also having the financial freedom and courage to pursue your dreams and passions.

Are you waiting to retire taking the most dangerous risk or have you made the leap to live a passionate and happiness focused life?