Oldster on FIRE

Anything Extreme Is A Bad Idea

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Oldster

Websters defines “Extreme” as:

“An amount or degree that is far beyond what is normal or reasonable.”

It seems like we are constantly being bombarded by businesses, blogs, books, and people who want to sell us something that is being marketed as being “Extreme”. Extreme Frugality, Extreme Workout, Extreme Dieting, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme! I mean honestly folks, I understand the marketing angle, and the need to be seen in whatever niche you are either occupying or trying to break into. But can’t we dial it down just a bit? Can’t we try to give people something they can actually use? Continue reading →

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Q: What to do in Retirement? A: Nothing?

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Oldster

There’s a great scene in the movie Office Space, where the main character, Peter, contemplates with a friend what they’d do if they had a million dollars (this was 1999, when a million bucks was worth half a million, so it was serious money :-). After his friends answered with the usual party/investment answers, Peter says “Nothing. I would relax, sit on my ass and do nothing.” (here’s the clip, if you are interested) If you are a fan of the film, you know that later, Peter gets the opportunity to “do nothing” and it was everything he’d hoped it would be.

In the FIRE community, the RE portion tends to be looked at in terms of what am I going to do next? There is a lot of talk about side hustles, businesses, volunteering, travel, but very little about just relaxing. Continue reading →

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Robo Advisors May Be Muddying The Water

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Oldster

Over the last several years we have heard a lot about Robo Advisors like Wealthfront and Betterment, and more recently M1 Finance. While the initial look at these investment services were promising – automatic investments into low-cost index fund with little, or in some cases, no fees – like most things, it may have been too good to last. What was most likable, the clarity of what they were offering us, may be disappearing. Continue reading →

Posted in General FIRE, Investing, Reading | 2 Comments

5 Things I Would Tell My 25 Year Old Self

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Oldster

Most of us at one point or another has fantasized about being able to go back in time and relive some or all of your life, only knowing what you know now. One of the great things about this community is that we have the ability to share experiences and give those that are coming up behind us the benefit of our successes and failures. Below are several things I wish someone had told me (and that I’d believed). Perhaps, someone will read and benefit.

RELAX

I remember the feeling of needing to get somewhere. I always had that feeling. When I was 25 I was part owner in a small business and worked at it endlessly. I felt the constant need to be engaged in furthering our business goals. Unfortunately, my partners did not feel the same way, and we ended up breaking up. I look back at that time and think that I could have accomplished just as much with a much lower stress level. If I could have looked forward and seen how things were going to resolve, I would have spent more time enjoying being 25, and less time worrying about making it to 26. Continue reading →

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Being Owned by Your Possessions

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Oldster

I remember hearing an old saw once that defined happiness as “loving what you have, not having what you love.” The point is clearly that being satisfied with your life will make you happier than the constant pursuit of more. This is a very clear concept in Stoicism called “Hedonic Adaptation” (read this for a better explanation). But it is more than that as well.