An uncertain future

On February 17th — in the middle of nine days without power due to an ice storm — we had the foundation contractor out to re-inspect our house. We experienced some settling last fall, and I was worried that might indicate deeper problems. For thirty minutes, the contractor explored the crawlspace while I sat in the living room, fretting. When he finished,...

2w

My new Audible course on financial independence and early retirement!

Nearly two years ago, I received an unusual email at an address I rarely check anymore. The author wrote: I am writing to you today because The Great Courses in partnership with Audible is exploring the possibility of creating a high-quality series on Financial Independence. We believe that you may be an excellent candidate to teach such a series....

4w

The power of low expectations

At the end of January, I had an epiphany. Kim and I were sitting in the living room one evening, relaxed in our easy chairs, both reading books. All four of our beasts were nestled nearby. The house was quiet. For the first time in forever, I felt completely content. For maybe twenty minutes, I paused what I was doing and simply savored the moment....

Mar 2021

An ice-cold update

Ah, life. It's funny sometimes, isn't it? On Thursday, I began writing an article about the difference between personal finance in Mexico vs. the United States. You see, last week I spent several days in Mexico with a friend (who also happens to be my accountant). I had planned to finish the article on Friday. I came close. I got the YouTube version...

Feb 2021

Becoming a frugalvore: How to eat well for less

Hey hey, y'all. Here's a guest post from former GRS staff writer (and perennial reader favorite) Donna Freedman. This piece about becoming a frugalvore contains material that originally appeared at Donna's site, Surviving and Thriving. It's been modified for GRS. Enjoy! The “locavore” movement is based on the idea of eating only foods grown within...

Feb 2021

When rules bring freedom

While I've identified as a writer since I was eight years old, what I've written has changed significantly over time. When I was very young, I was only interested in writing stories. These stories were child-like, to be sure, but they grew in sophistication as I did. By junior high, I was drafting large chunks of fantasy novels (mimicking the books...

Feb 2021

A retraction

Earlier this week, I published a guest article from Financial Samurai. I've decided to do something I've only twice before in fifteen years at Get Rich Slowly — I'm retracting that article. Sam's article, while new, rehashed a piece he'd previously written for his own site. I was unaware of that original article until I published this new version....

Feb 2021

Re-thinking safe-withdrawal rates and how much you’ll need in retirement

On 27 August 2020, the Federal Reserve announced a major policy shift. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is willing to allow inflation to run hotter than normal in order to support the labor market and broader economy. In other words, the Federal Reserve is likely to keep its Fed Funds rate at or near zero percent for longer. In the past, the Federal...

Feb 2021

The power of habit tracking

For decades, I've been a proponent of habit tracking. Habit tracking sounds and feels nerdy to a lot of folks, so many people avoid it. That's too bad. Habit tracking is a powerful tool that can help you make better decisions about your life. Let me share an example. Over at Reaktor, Olof Hoverfält recently published a long piece about why he's tracked...

Jan 2021

My spending moratorium while on vacation

Kim and I are back from a week-long beach vacation with her brother and his family. We traveled to a luxury timeshare resort where it was super easy to practice social distancing because almost nobody was there. (The place was running at maybe 10% capacity because of COVID, and the level of cleanliness was mind-boggling. I felt safer there than at home!...

Jan 2021