This post has been running through my head the last couple of months: Like JL at the time, I have a young daughter. Also like JL, we have money to give us some breathing room. I am leaving my job in a week. 11 years with the federal government has been bitter and sweet. Some…

I was needing some motivation. The transition to this new job has been rough. I came up with the idea of a wooden board with different flags in it. On the y axis would be a number which would represent the amount needed to retire in the corresponding country. This exercise allowed us to select…

I watched a great TED talk by Scott Galloway and something he said was eye opening. I am paraphrasing but he said the bailouts of the great financial crisis and during Covid was a transfer of wealth from the young to the old. His point was that only the old had assets and the stock…

The move and job didn’t turn out as expected. It is a shame and has been demoralizing and tragic. My mental health has suffered greatly. Its a shame being the primary bread winner, moving your family, and it not working out. However, there is a silver lining in that we have money working in the…

I found the above graphic in the wild and thought it was a fairly good prioritization of money priorites. However, I would base the debt on interest rates but most people probably don’t know what their interest rates are on their debt. I really like the FOO by the Money Guys. However, they have caveats…

We were ready for major upheaval of our life. We were welcoming of it. However, my hiring agency has dragged their feet in providing me a firm offer. This could lead to losing our contract on our house and if this happens then we are back to the beginning. We do have an offer from…

A few weeks ago I received a tentative offer for a VA position as a librarian. I accepted. The position is a promotion, in the heart of Appalachia, and non-supervisory. Each of those things are important but interpersonnel relations in my current organization have reached a boil and its time for me to go elsewhere.…

At the time of writing this I have an interview scheduled for a federal position in a culture rich and historical location in Europe. One of the primary reasons I decided to pursue federal employment was for the opportunity to live in Europe and have that experience. That was over 10 years ago. The position…

Spend less than you make and invest the remainder. Simple but hard. It sounds easy but its not. It takes getting a lot of things right to get this one thing right. You need to understand the power of investing. Without a good reason to artificially limit your lifestyle then you won’t. Without study and…