I’m on vacation with my family this week. I’ve put aside electronic devices and social media in favor of fishing rods, sandcastle tools, and amusement park rides with the kids. We’re going to relax, eat a ton of sugar, and create memories watching our kids frolic in the sand, water and sun. Preparing for our […]
Throughout all of my adventures, only three times I’ve been a target for crime because I was a traveler. That’s not bad considering I’ve visited 40+ countries over the past two decades. For the most part, using common sense and traveling with a friend or group is enough to avoid travel scams and danger. But […]
Years ago I went to Ireland with a friend. We rented a car and drove from Galway to Kilkenny via the southwest peninsular route. Ireland is awash with beautiful landscapes and scenic drives lined with intricately built stone walls. The roads, however, can be narrow and tricky to navigate at times. One morning in a […]
Two men from very different places in my life passed away in recent years. Both died almost instantaneously and without any forewarning. Both died in the presence of their peers. One died in retirement. The other died while still working. Loss of a Coworker One morning I learned that an hour before I arrived at […]
When it comes to time, money and travel, people fall into one of four categories: Backpackers – Lots of time, but a finite amount of money Vacationers – Enough money, but not much time Broke People – No money for travel and very little time Financially Independent Travelers – All the time and money needed […]
A while back I read a cool guest post by Money Graffiti on Budgets Are Sexy about the legality of writing on dollar bills. You can read it here. It reminded me of a story from my 14-month backpacking trip about a special and very ugly dollar bill. A consistent necessity throughout my trip was exchanging […]
While this blog is relatively new, my goal to retire a year before my Dad retired is not. The goal has been around since October 2002, shortly after he stopped working. Back then at age 27, I had a lot of time to start getting serious about saving for retirement. But I was not serious […]
