On the day I started my first real job in back 1998, I had little ambition for building a successful career. My primary goal was to earn enough money to quit my job and travel, so I did what was necessary to receive decent raises without taking on much more responsibility. Close coworker friends held…
I’m not one for round numbers. But I had a thought recently. What if I could retire at 50, then live to 100? Is that even possible? If so, which part is the bigger challenge? The whole basis of this blog is my goal to retire by age 55, one year prior to the age…
Some people are driven to the idea of early retirement because they lack job satisfaction in their career. Working into their 60’s isn’t sustainable. Unhappiness at work comes in many forms. It could be a negative coworker that makes you dread going to the office. Or the job pays a low salary with few opportunities…
The warning signs grew more obvious over the course of last summer. But I still thought I’d survive the impending funding cuts that my IT project was facing. By the time fall arrived, I had already dodged a few rounds of layoffs. But it wasn’t much longer before my number was up and I was…
True happiness involves the full use of one’s power and talents. – John W. Gardner I lost my job on October 2nd, 2017. The news was both disappointing and liberating at the same time. Disappointing that I’d have to pause my wealth-building campaign and draw down savings. And disappointing that my employer of 14 years…
Around friends and neighbors, I’m using the phrase “in between jobs” to describe my current employment situation. That’s a convenient euphemism to make it sound less bad. Most people aren’t familiar with my business so they only see a jobless Dad of three kids married to a non-working Mom, dealing with a mortgage and the same…
There’s been some turbulence at my nine-to-five workplace. Funding was tight, but it looked as though I’d survive any downsizing. Well, things got worse. My project was hit hard, and the surrounding projects were hit even harder. I found out two weeks ago that my number was up. Without a billable project to call home,…
A few months before the summer of 1996, I committed to a lifeguarding job at a local pool. It was supposed to be my fifth consecutive summer as a guard. Lifeguarding was an easy and stable summer job in my youth, but it never paid well. This new gig was at a private club with…
What is a more important consideration — higher salary vs. better benefits? As someone who has experienced the best of both options, I compare two below. 14 years with one company is a long time in today’s employment market. My tenure was never been about loyalty or career advancement, and it certainly didn’t earn me…
I moved in with my parents when I was 27. The football wallpaper in my bedroom was gone and the bed was bigger. But it was still the room I slept in for the first 18 years of my life. While most of my friends were married and starting high-salary jobs after years of graduate…
One striking revelation from the 2016 presidential election process was the sharp contrast between people who think the U.S. is in pretty good shape and those who feel the country never recovered from the last recession. Politics aside, the U.S. was in an epic economic expansion until COVID-19. The longest post-World-War-II economic expansion WAS from…
Have you ever declined a work opportunity because you didn’t want the hassle of learning something new? Maybe it was a chance to enhance your skills or get promoted, but it required leaving your cushy job. You declined because the job would have taken more effort and initiative on your part. Or it might have cut…
College graduation season will be here in no time. Graduates and their families will celebrate at an uplifting commencement ceremony, complete with speeches by inspirational alumni, business leaders and political figures, followed by a triumphant dinner at Applebees. Business Insider and other Twitter feeds will surely remind us that Steve Jobs gave a cool commencement…
Reading this on your work computer? I suggest switching over to your smart phone. You may not want HR to know what you’re reading about here. There’s No Team In I If you’ve made it to this website, you’re probably devising a plan similar to mine. You work a full-time a job. You live below…