My second year of law school, I told my mom I wanted to learn everything she knew how to make. I would measure the ingredients and take pictures and write out careful directions. With that same approach, I also planned to learn everything my aunts knew how to make. My brilliant idea was to create… Read More »
I’m working on Operation Get Strong, You Weakling! and reading some of my past articles for advice. No, I don’t think that’s embarrassing. When I was walking myself through learning to cook like my mom and thinking about what worked for my early retirement dream, I decided I needed to: Formulate a good story for why… Read More »
Have you read The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins yet? This book outlines the investment strategy I use. I read it in one night and told you about it here. Do you like listening to audio books? I’ve tried, but I stop paying attention after a couple of minutes. I’m a visual learner.… Read More »
In my book, I have little “Action Plans” you can do if you want concrete steps on how to retire. The first Action Plan is to picture what you want your life post-retirement to look like. You have to understand why you want this because it has to matter to you on a deeper level.… Read More »
I’m working on life bucket list items #18 and #19 — Operation something, something health and fitness. The goal is to make daily exercise into a routine, long-term habit that, eventually, I spend minimal mental energy on. Here are my notes from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg in case you skip my book review posts. Your… Read More »
A dear friend gushed about how a book, Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love, by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller, helped her stop picking the wrong guy. She explained it like this — when you’re on a date, stop thinking “does this guy like me?” and start… Read More »
If you retire first, everything else you try becomes easier. Not easy. Just easier. In retirement, you have enough mental energy and time to structure big projects to minimize the possibility of failure. What works for you personally and specifically? How can you make it easy for yourself to succeed? Do it first and hope it spills… Read More »
I was watching Judge Judy the other day and she said something that stuck with me enough that I’m now telling you. She was talking to a man who was very obviously losing his case. He had taken a dog from his ex-girlfriend who, he acknowledges, had paid him $500 for it. He had no… Read More »
Do you remember me telling you about my friend, Leif?* I knew him when I lived in Chicago. He carries one of the best souls I’ve ever encountered. Kind and loyal and good, we saw each other almost daily for years and I counted him among my favorite people. He was also, unfortunately, a super… Read More »
Ever since finishing my book, I’ve felt adrift and wrong. This happens to me at the end of every big project — after graduating law school, after paying off my loans, after officially retiring — defeat takes over. I always expect to feel a sense of pride that never comes. It doesn’t help that there’s a… Read More »