It's never too late

OG1: OG2 found out that FinCon19 was going to be within driving distance and took the liberty of signing us up.  During one of our walks at work he let me know and I pretty much left it at that...it was almost a full year away and my planning horizon for activities is rarely more than a few weeks out. The week finally came and went, and now I sit here trying to wrap my head around why I not only felt it was worth attending, but feel that there is something about THIS group of people that I badly want more exposure to. To be sure, there is plenty of the finance stuff to be found and it really is the pivot point that brings everyone to FinCon. Go for the finance stuff, but be prepared for the people.   I left FinCon with a real sense that the average…

It's been several months since the last post. What can we say... we've been busy. The good news is that the busyness has provided inspiration for new content. This one, however, comes from the stack of drafts. A few months back I was listening to The What’s Up Next Podcast with a panel of all women to discuss if there were differences in the FI experience between genders. One of the panelists made a statement about inserting herself into situations, groups, discussions etc., to put herself out there and to have a voice in areas dominated in population by men. I can’t recall exactly how she phrased it, but she inspired the OG’s to write a post about their wives. Her voice shone a light on the importance of including their stories, as they are now woven into our own. Although neither take an interest in this blog, they both…

Inspiration for this post came from J. Money’s list of jobs on his blog at Budgets Are Sexy. You can read all about it here. With his permission, we’ve done the same. Simply listing the jobs we have had during our not so illustrious careers. I will say, I think OG1 is selling his experience a bit short. His stint in the Merchant Marines sent him all over the world, setting foot in every continent except South America and Antarctica. He has some crazy stories that always captivate in whatever social scene he's part of. OG2: Here’s my list of jobs Paper route (12-13 yo, no idea what I made. It was a unique route through a series of 3 story apartment complexes. I would simply through the paper up to the 2nd or 3rd floors) Little Caesars Pizza (14yo, $3.35/hr – child labor laws restricted when I could work…

OG2: In following the FI/PF world on social media you come across a lot of great success stories. Comebacks, debt payoffs, retiring early, world wide travel, not to mention you can make a lot of virtual friends. One other recurring headline is that people seem really stressed. In particular, stressed about work or their job. I’ll be the first to admit LIFE can bring all sorts of stress. Health or heartbreak with loved ones, less than ideal living conditions, the 7 deadly sins, bad luck and so-on. We are all in the same boat, needing to figure out how to manage these life events, both big and small. But it’s work related stress that seems to come up frequently and I just don’t understand why. Now, I’m no psychologist or sociologist, but I’ve been around for over 4 decades and have had a job since I was 14 making pizzas…

Wow, this one will definitely rattle the Howler Monkey’s into action. Here are the 3 things that annoy me most about the FI movement. Now granted, I’ll claim that this is experience talking. But I’m sure it’ll come across as ‘get off my lawn’ or I’m too conservative or plain ole, well, Old. #1 Insurance I’m all for shopping around to get a good deal or save some money. Compare retailers, look online, consider used or buying in bulk. There are no shortage of options. However, sometimes going the least expensive route can be very costly. I frequently read and hear of those in the FI community touting how they shopped insurance and found the least expensive deal. Those are heralded as FI wins. But be careful. Not having appropriate coverage can be painful. I’ve always had USAA for our home and vehicles. I’ve never shopped for cheaper coverage. As…