Recent content by CalTex

We are leaving on Monday for four weeks in the Netherlands, France and Spain. Its our longest trip ever and was made possible by the demise of our beloved Labrador. I am very apprehensive both about what could happen abroad (getting Covid) and leaving our house vacant for so long. I think...

Our dog and two cats all died within the last year, so we decided to travel before we take on any new responsibilities. We are flying to Amsterdam the first of September and taking a month to work our way through France and Spain. Flying out of Madrid in early October, with tickets to a James...

I'm a guitar player and James Taylor has always been my guitar hero. He's the reason I bought a guitar and started playing in 1970. I never went to concerts, but five years ago I had a chance to get some really good tickets to a JT concert. It was life changing for me! Since then, I've seen...

I tried moderation for many years without success. It was much easier for me to just go cold turkey. The AA approach was definitely not for me. I found a science based approach that clicked with me. The particular book I used was "Sex, Drugs, Gambling, and Chocolate: A Workbook for...

Almost everyone. Life is hard.

We use our 2% back card for everything possible.

Flying was a lifelong dream and I owned a Cessna 172 for several years. I loved it and still miss it. Economics was the reason for giving it up. Not a LBYM activity.

We moved from Southern California to semi-rural New Mexico. Although we rented a place for two months before making the decision, we made the classic mistake of just visiting in the nicest time of year. DW is happy as a clam with the big house and acre of land, but it's much too isolated for...

The Temperpedic was NOT for me or DW. We tried one for two nights and both hated it. I had the worst backache of my life and DW also had back pain. We returned it and got a very firm conventional matress. The best mattress I have slept on was a SleepNumber cranked up to 100. I had one for...

Up 6.8% per Vanguard. 50/45/5

I LOVE being FIRE'd!!! Never was happy being a wage slave and my periods of self-employment were stress inducing. My problem is more dealing with the realities of being older. The future always seemed endless to me. I'm only 58, but it's dawning on me that my time & (especially) energy have...

I've loved flying since I was a kid and used to own a plane. It's extremely out of sync with LBYM in my FIRE situation, though. Still feel the longing on a daily basis.

1. Getting reacquainted with the Martin D-28 I bought in 1975. 2. Got a yellow lab puppy which turned into a nearly full-time endeavor.

I owned a real sweet 172 for about 10 years. Sold it about 10 years ago and still miss it. I loved every minute of flying, but it was seriously incompatible with LBYM mode in my case.

12.1%, 50/50.