Man relaxing

FIRE on the Cheap

What are the best ways to improve your life with the least amount of money? The FIRE movement is about much more than the 4% rule, compounding returns, and house hacking. It is in large part about how to create a low stress, meaningful life…

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Old man with wrench

Work Until You Die

“Life is very different now. Don’t you know that 100 years ago the average life expectancy was 40?” This random comment wafted my way last week after some coworkers started chatting the next cube over. They were talking about how people needed to pay more…

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Hair Trimming

The $109,000 Hair Cut

I’m a little unusual for a guy.  Rather than go to a walk-in barbershop and getting assigned a random barber to cut my hair, I’ve seen the same barber/stylist for the last 30 years. My dad brought me in to see her when I was…

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Contemplation by Thomas Couture, 1875

Is Early Retirement the Moral Thing to Do?

I was reading an article on The Green Swan recently, and blogger JW’s article Why The Government Doesn’t Want You To Retire Early which struck a chord with me. JW argues that of the US governments $6.5 trillion in revenue, 2/3rds of this comes from the…

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Work can be Hell

The Job Strikes Back

A dark shadow looms over the land. An oppressive power holds the people in chains. Lives are crushed at a whim and the power that symbolizes it hangs in the sky like an ever-present reminder of doom.  No, I’m not talking about a science fiction…

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Financial Independence through Temp Work

Financial independence through temp work – a statement that makes people question your sanity! How in the world can taking a short-term job with low pay and crappy healthcare help you get ahead? No matter what the wage is, it’s only half of what the…

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What Makes This Blog Different

I love books. This is ironic since one of my earliest childhood memories is my Mom teaching me to read – and I absolutely despised it. Whenever she’d bust out yet another pack of flashcards with words to memorize I’d desperately want to flip the…

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My Goals & Strategy

I’m posting this on a rather inauspicious day, but since this blog will be focusing on achieving financial independence I have to detail at some point my overall goals and starting position. These are ambitious goals,even intimidating goals now that I have them staring back…

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Let’s Begin

Hello everyone, welcome to this site! My name is John and I am writing this blog to detail my journey from cube dweller to financially free retiree.  I am presently 31 years old and would like to retire by age 40 in 2026. I’ve been…

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