The Grumbys will begin the great Undaunted Porridge tour in 71 days. What are we doing to get our burn on in the midst of the Portland Snowpocalypse? Will we be physically ready to tackle this little bike ride? Portland Snowpocalypse For those of you who haven’t been in Portland during the winter, it’s treacherous! We had almost an… Read more →
After several years of planning, shifting priorities and saving our nickels, it’s official. The cat’s out of the bag. The Grumbys’ retirement date, in case you missed the very conspicuous feature graphic to the right, is May 4, 2018. I (Mr. G) told my bosses and teams in late November and Mrs Grumby notified her boss last week. One of… Read more →
During the month of November, Mr. Grumby and I took some time to consider a few worst case scenarios and how to best prepare for them. Our top three were loss of physical health, loss of life, and mental incapacity. And our measures of preparation included open enrollment, HSA contributions, and a review of our wills and advanced directives. You… Read more →
When we visited our friends in Arizona in February they introduced us to their dinnertime gratitude practice. We decided to bring the practice home as a souvenir from our trip. It’s a simple daily routine that we now refer to as The Gratitudes and it has made a palpable difference in our outlook. Next time you share a meal with… Read more →
As we get closer to GERD (Grumby Early Retirement Day), we decided to switch both bank accounts and credit cards. We also got a great 1-year deal on digital storage. The countdown is on, and it is important to make sure that each month tells a tale of efficiency and progress. To see how our September decisions might help you,… Read more →
Last month we included “hike the Eagle Creek trail with friends” on our bucket list post. We never imagined that a few weeks later a forest fire would consume the trail and more than 33,000 acres that surround it. Mr. Grumby and I are very grateful that we were able to hike the trail one last time. We’d like to share… Read more →
Making the decision to to spend less and save more requires a long-term commitment to changing habits and shifting perspective. One technique I like is practicing meditation to train my attention. This exercise can be particularly beneficial when pursuing financial independence (FI) and/or planning to retire early (RE). Here are 7 ways that meditation can be beneficial to the FIRE… Read more →
…or does it? You might remember that after we sold our house and became apartment dwellers almost two years ago, we also got rid of our 2000 Subaru Outback. And when people got wind of that, a few had conniption fits, which I believe had to be treated in the ER. The idea of an American without a car is… Read more →
In the world of FIRE, it becomes easy to see how all things financial (decisions, transactions, etc.) are interrelated. When I was working on our tax returns for 2016, I could see easily that “bad” news from TurboTax meant that there was good news with investment results. And we would not have the investment results that we do without Captain… Read more →
One of the major challenges for anyone considering early retirement is healthcare. When I prattle on and on about our FIRE plans to our friends and family, the most frequent question is, “What are you going to do about health care if you’re not working, Mr. Smarty Pants? Huh??” Well, we have thought about that. Mrs. G and I will… Read more →