Reflecting on seven years of LeanFIRE life
Six Years of Lean FIRE
This month I celebrate the six year anniversary of my last day at work. Celebrate is a strong word, it sounds so intentional. In reality we acknowledged the fact that it had been six years, because a recently FIREd friend and I chatted about her life and challenges in early retirement a couple of days earlier. During that conversation I realized that my anniversary was […]
Poetry at the intersection of FIRE and nomad life
FIRE is not only about numbers and spreadsheets, it can be quite philosophical, poetic even if you are willing to talk to the right people and look in the right places. Several years ago, around 2013 or so, I came across a poem called A Bucket Full of Freedom on one of the many FIRE blogs that started popping up around the time. I unfortunately […]
What if we run out of time?
Things have been truly shitty since the beginning of the year to put it nicely. The good news is, I am FIREd and can deal with curveballs life throws at me, without the added stress of work, an empathy lacking boss, office politics and any of these things that make life even more complex. My dad passed away in February this year. I traveled to […]
Dental Work in Los Algodones, Mexico
Los Algodones in Mexico, right across the border from Yuma, AZ has quite the reputation as a “medical tourism” destination for snow birds and South West locals alike. Most of them head over to get affordable dental care and cheap prescription meds. In addition to the dentists and pharmacies, there are also a large number of eye glass shops, a chiropractor, a dermatologist, a veterinarian, […]
Do you really need RV roadside assistance?
When we started out full time RVing, we did ask ourselves if we REALLY needed RV roadside assistance, as many full timers probably do. I had carried car roadside assistance for several years without ever needing it, but in my mind driving around in an RV all over the country, was a whole different thing than driving a car mostly in a city you live […]
One year of FIRE in NUMBERS!
Today is my one year FIRE anniversary. WOW, one year! The first of many, hopefully! A few days ago I wrote about my experience and some of my observations during this first year. Today I want to follow up with some good ole quantitative measurements. Yeah for numbers. Fire ONE year in: National Parks / National Monuments visited: 26 When we started full time RVing, visiting […]
FIRE almost one year in: Spoiler Alert: It’s not a sabbatical!
On August 19th 2016, I sent an email to all work related contacts, informing them I was taking a yearlong sabbatical. After changing my out of office reply and voice mail along the same lines, I handed over my company cell phone, laptop computer, passwords and a bunch of other work related stuff to my colleagues later that day and said goodbye. No farewell party, […]
How to save money on gas! My favorite savings hack to get 20% off at the gas station!
Let’s face it, at 7 miles per gallon Harry, our Holiday Rambler Vacationer, is not exactly a fuel saving miracle. With his 75 gallon gas tank he always seems to be thirsty. This is something you have to come to terms with, driving an RV. The guy who sold us Harry, claimed he was getting 12 miles a gallon. Yeah, wishful thinking. Not even downhill […]
How to give a little extra by leveraging resources you may already use!
Frugality is not about skimping on everything, it is about aligning your spending with your values. Beyond covering the necessities like food and shelter, I spend money on what makes me happy. Supporting causes that are near and dear to me makes me happy and has always been a priority of mine. Much more than acquiring more stuff. So even with a high savings rate […]