One of the more frequent bits of skeptical feedback I get on my miles posts goes something like this: “I don’t think I can do that manufactured spending stuff. It’s way too complicated, and way too much work.” I heard this very statement today from heart failure specialist Alicia Ross MD. Now keep mind, this […]
Archive | October, 2013
The Back Door
Not to be redundant, but if you want to retire young you’ve got to save a large proportion of your income. That’s rule number one, two, and three. I shouldn’t say it like that because saving money is actually quite fun once you get started. Investing your savings is even more fun. And you will […]
Slippery Slope
I’m someone who tends to dive right in. If I’m interested in something I’m really interested, really fast. Some might term it obsessive. Some throw the term “manic” around all too loosely. But there’s no getting around the facts. That’s just the way I was built. The point being that I’ve dived right into quite […]
Raw Goods
The obvious next topic to turn to in discussing early retirement and investment theory is how to design a well balanced portfolio that will deliver us to financial independence at a ripe young (to middle) age. We’ve now covered the main building blocks for success: The crucial importance of low-cost passively managed funds, the only […]
The Icky Side Of Miles
The miles game is a wondrous thing. Travel for nearly free, by leveraging (dangerous/predatory) credit card sign up bonuses, and improve your credit score in the bargain… You had me at “free travel.” But full disclosure: it’s not all sunshine and lollipops. Nothing is without cost. One of the most distasteful aspects of this […]
Vive La Revolution!
This is my second night away from home attending Lisa Yao and Aaron Kabb’s wonderful wedding in Santa Barbara. (Mazel tov!). So please forgive me another indulgent and non-data-driven post. If you want to learn something useful tonight, best to navigate away from this page right about now. Tonight I would like to wax on […]
Oxymoronic Commandments
If early retirement is a personal goal, then shopping probably can’t be your main hobby. If the idea is to whittle away at that which is unimportant, in order to focus on that which is important, then buying a bunch of stuff that you don’t need for the sake of fleeting moments of entertainment, really […]
Carpe Diem
One of the most common counter arguments I get when I discuss early retirement and the importance of the savings percentage with my friends, goes something like this: “My father died at age 36. What good would it have done him to save such a large proportion of his income for some retirement that he […]
The Skills to Pay the Bills
I had always hated to pay my bills. Getting a thick envelope from the credit card company, the power company, or the phone company, had given me a slight sense of unease. I wanted to procrastinate, to put off the drudgery of sitting in front of the computer to dispense money to all of my […]
Do I Bore You With My Investment Talk?
I realize that just because investing is deeply interesting to me, doesn’t mean that it’s interesting to everyone else. Some people read investment theory books for breakfast lunch and dinner (i.e. me). But others’ eyes roll back at the mere mention of “compound interest.” Allocation? Don’t talk to me about allocation. I would argue , […]
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