After a busy year of travelling (most of which remains undocumented on this blog, as my friends have aptly pointed out on numerous occasions) we rolled back into my beloved Phoenix right in time for the 2017 holiday season. Spending November and December in Phoenix gives me the opportunity to reconnect with said friends (who then have to listen to all the stories in person […]
One year of FIRE in NUMBERS!
Today is my one year FIRE anniversary. WOW, one year! The first of many, hopefully! A few days ago I wrote about my experience and some of my observations during this first year. Today I want to follow up with some good ole quantitative measurements. Yeah for numbers. Fire ONE year in: National Parks / National Monuments visited: 26 When we started full time RVing, visiting […]
FIRE almost one year in: Spoiler Alert: It’s not a sabbatical!
On August 19th 2016, I sent an email to all work related contacts, informing them I was taking a yearlong sabbatical. After changing my out of office reply and voice mail along the same lines, I handed over my company cell phone, laptop computer, passwords and a bunch of other work related stuff to my colleagues later that day and said goodbye. No farewell party, […]
Finding financial advice in unexpected places!
Today TDA and I visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It has been on my places-I-want-to-visit-list for a very long time. We leisurely strolled along the trail that took us to the artist studio via various viewing platforms and made it back to the visitor centre just in time when a major hailstorm came in. We usually enjoy looking at exhibits thoroughly and learning about the history […]
How to save money on gas! My favorite savings hack to get 20% off at the gas station!
Let’s face it, at 7 miles per gallon Harry, our Holiday Rambler Vacationer, is not exactly a fuel saving miracle. With his 75 gallon gas tank he always seems to be thirsty. This is something you have to come to terms with, driving an RV. The guy who sold us Harry, claimed he was getting 12 miles a gallon. Yeah, wishful thinking. Not even downhill […]
How to give a little extra by leveraging resources you may already use!
Frugality is not about skimping on everything, it is about aligning your spending with your values. Beyond covering the necessities like food and shelter, I spend money on what makes me happy. Supporting causes that are near and dear to me makes me happy and has always been a priority of mine. Much more than acquiring more stuff. So even with a high savings rate […]
How I downsized from a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house into an RV!
Yeah, I know, if I were a great blogger or more organized (or both), that would say “In 5 easy steps, and I’ll teach you how!” and it would be a short and sweet post. But who I am kidding, downsizing is WORK! Especially when you downsize into less than 1/10th of the space without keeping another place where you can store stuff. That 4/3 […]
Achoooooooooo!!!!
Achooo! And Achoooooooooo! Boy is it dusty in here! Time to whip out the virtual feather duster and oil the rusty keyboard! So much has happened since my last post and I have a boatload of drafts for posts started on various subjects, but never really got around to getting anything published! This is probably the fate that a lot of blogs face, started in […]
Journey Inward, Circle of Control and New Year’s Resolutions
I have not posted in quite a while, I know. Besides several work related trips, I also was away on a journey… a long overdue journey inward and I made some surprising discoveries in the process. Now with the year coming to an end and Winter Solstice right ahead of us, for many people it’s time to take stock and make plans or resolutions for […]
Chautauqua 2014 – Higher elevation and new insights
Recently, I travelled to San Pablo del Lago in Ecuador to seek some answers on a higher level….in about 9000 feet altitude to be specific. I attended the second Chautauqua organised by Cheryl Reed with Above the Clouds Retreats. The first event of this kind took place in 2013, only a few months after I had discovered both MMM’s and Jim Collin’s blogs. Blogs, that addressed the missing pieces […]