Category Archives: Frugal Living

Reduced Cost Living Doesn’t Have to Be Frugal

Budgeting, Early Retirement Lifestyle, Frugal Living, ,

When you retire, you don’t have to live an extremely frugal life. If you plan your retirement well, you can still enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. However, there are certain things you should do so that you’re not forced to live frugally.

Ensuring you have plenty of money is one of them, but you should also think about reducing your retirement expenses. The less you have to spend on necessities, the more you can spend on the things you enjoy. As you plan your retirement, think of how you can cut your costs, so you have more disposable income.

Aim to Be Debt-free

Struggling with debt isn’t something you want to be doing when you retire. Even a healthy level of debt could be an inconvenience. If you retire early, you could be more likely to still be paying off your mortgage or other debts. Aiming to be free of all debts by the time you retire will mean you don’t have the money you owe draining your resources. When it comes to loans and credit cards, debtconsolidation.loans or something similar could be a good choice. Consolidating your debts makes them easier to manage. You can concentrate on one payment instead of several. If you want to be debt-free, you should create a plan you can follow to pay off your debts.

 

extremely frugal

  Photo Credit: Pixaby 

Downsizing: Yes or No?

Downsizing is often recommended for retirement. When people retire, they often have a home big enough for their whole family, but the family has long since moved out. If your home is already empty of kids, you might consider downsizing before you retire so that you’re able to reduce your living costs. Downsizing helps you to bolster your savings too. Some people might be wary of downsizing, though. They like the home they have and will miss it if they sell it. Perhaps you might make use of the extra space you have instead. You could rent it out or use it to run a business.

Take a New Approach to Transportation

When you retire, being able to get around is still important. In fact, later on, isolation is a risk, so transportation becomes even more important. However, you can still change the ways that you get around and reduce your transportation costs while still meeting all of your transportation needs. For example, if you no longer have two people going to two different jobs, you probably don’t need two cars anymore. You might feel more comfortable downsizing your car as you did with your house, so you have something more efficient. Find the most efficient vehicles at consumerreports.org.

Stay Healthy for Lower Medical Costs

You can’t have complete control of your health as you get older. However, there are some things you can do to avoid various health problems. Staying healthy can help you to reduce medical and insurance costs so that you have more money to spend on other things. As you plan your early retirement, include a healthy lifestyle now and in the future in your plans.

In Closing

Reducing your costs for retirement doesn’t have to mean extremely frugal living. You can be comfortable and still spend less than before.

How to Haggle in Today’s World

Frugal Living, Saving Money

Frugal living is not a part-time philosophy. Applying money-saving techniques only some of the time, or only in certain contexts, will seriously compromise your efforts to prepare for a better future, or to make the most of your retirement if you’re already there. And one way you are probably losing money is by paying full whack at the shops.

We tend to assume, in this day and age, that price tags are nonnegotiable messages from above, and that phone and internet tariffs are necessary evils. Not so. Haggling for a better price is still an effective practice in the 21st century, and if you’re not bartering down then you’re losing out.

How Should We Haggle in Today’s World?

But how to go about such an approach – how to do it politely and successfully? Well, that very politeness is the key. Nobody is under any responsibility to give you a better price, and they’re likely to walk away if you offend them or come across as self-entitled.

Better to create relationships, be it a friendly getting-to-know-you with a shop assistant who, at the end of the month, is close to hitting their bonus target if they can just manage one more sale, or a long-term understanding with the boss of an independent store in a town you’ve lived in your whole life.

Finding the right person to ask, and working out what will motivate them to lower the price, will get you a long way. This is one reason you may be better off with local retailers who have more say over what goes on in their store.

That said, if you find flawed or damaged goods in a chain store, it’s worth asking for some money off – such big businesses would rather get problem items off their hands. And when making a big purchase (for example electricals [appliances/devices] or expensive shoes) it’s worth asking for extras if you can convince them it will make the difference to whether you open your wallet.

Different contexts will require different techniques, but a great new infographic identifies some of the best ways to go about haggling in ‘real life’, over the phone and online. Have a look next time you’re planning to shop, and think about the value you can add to your lifestyle.

In Closing

Haggling is traditionally only considered when buying a car, at garage sales, or buying used items online. But there is a place for haggling in today’s world that goes beyond that.

Many of us are uncomfortable with haggling. But doing it politely can be a valuable negotiating skill for us to have in our frugal living. Anyone can learn and apply proper and basic techniques in a polite and nonabrasive way to save money. With practice we can become comfortable with it.

I want to thank Amit Raj for sharing this infographic link that shows some great ways where we can haggle in today’s world and save money.

Say goodbye to 9 to 5 working life: Real life success story on early retirement

Frugal Living, Retire Early,

Hello readers, today’s post has been contributed by Amy Nickson (at Working Moms Word) sharing an early retirement success story and tips she learned. Please take a look at her site and provide feedback to her posts.  She will certainly appreciate the support.

Say Goodbye to 9 to 5 Working Life

Say goodbye to 9 to 5 working lifeThere’s nothing better than having enough time to do whatever you want. But, it’s almost impossible unless you’re lucky enough to get billions of dollars from your parents or grandparents. Sometimes the 9 to 5 office life makes you crazy. But, “where there is a will there is a way”. Yes it’s tough but it’s not impossible. You may get ample time to enjoy your life in your own way once you go for “early retirement”. But, you need to be determined and work hard to make it possible.

Here is a success story of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong who achieved early retirement at the age of 45.

How I met them

A few years back, I had no practical knowledge about personal finances. I wanted to learn more about it. Thus, I started the small financial consultancy. One day, I displayed an advertisement “Share your financial success story and win prizes” on the front door of my consultancy office. My main motive was to learn some practical lessons from real people. One month later Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong knocked my office door.

The couple apologized for being so late as they were out of town. The wonderful looking couple told me that “It’s been 2 years since we retired early. Now our age is 47 and we won financial freedom at the age of 45. We met in college, fallen in love, and then got married”.

Mr. Armstrong was a civil engineer and Mrs. Armstrong was a part-time teacher in a college. They graduated from the same university with zero student loan debt. They dated each other and fell in love. They were very compatible and soon started a live-in relationship.

Their parents helped them to complete their studies without any financial hassles. Mrs. Armstrong got a scholarship due to her good rank and worked as a part-time teacher to meet other expenses. After completion of his studies, Mr. Armstrong got a good job and started earning a good amount of money and Mrs. Armstrong continued her same job.

During that time they had to manage their rent and other costs. So they worked hard and soon bought a house. After 2 years of courtship they got married.

They had a mortgage and other monthly bills. Soon they realized frugal living is the key to saving money. They took baby steps toward extreme frugality. It helped them to pay off the mortgage earlier.

Mr. Armstrong had to travel often for official purposes and Mrs. Armstrong didn’t want him to continue the same job anymore. This is because their busy life became an obstacle between them. Mrs. Armstrong said, “There’s no fun left in our marriage. Absolutely no time for personal life!” Both of them wanted to leave their jobs to enjoy life in their own way.

Thus, they set financial independence as their goal for their life. They were in their early 30s and continued with frugal living.

They hardly visited restaurants, they prioritized to save 75% of their income each month. They said “We optimized each expense so not to break our budget”. Their pretty good income and saving helped to pay off the mortgage and they started saving more money.

They shared more secrets for winning an early retirement at the age of 45

The couple said, “we set our goals first, we analyzed every expense and allocated money for them” and “We followed our monthly budget”. They agreed that maintaining a frugal lifestyle is tough, but it helps to save more money every time. Here are some tips to minimize your working life and maximize your golden age.

Tips to win an early retirement

The couple said you should start soon for winning an early retirement. Because if you start planning for retirement at the age of 40 then it’s already late.

  1. Make a proper plan

At first, write down your plan to build your financial security for post-retirement life. Remember, you need to take proper action to make your early retirement possible. It won’t happen magically. So make a financial goal and set the age when you want to retire. This way you can focus on your goal and make each and every decision purposefully.

  1. Prepare a budget

Check your bank statements on a regular basis and put all expenses into a category, like debt repayment, travel expenses, food and household so on. Calculate every month’s average expenditure per category to figure out how you are presently spending your money. Thus, you can track your monthly expenses. After this, deduct the average monthly expenses from your net monthly income. Now look at the amount you have saved and look for other ways in which you might increase that amount.

  1.  Reduce unnecessary expenses

Mr. Armstrong said, people with high paid jobs are still working at their age of 50 because they all are reckless spenders. So, if you want to achieve financial security early, then you should focus on saving, no matter how much is your annual income. So, try to uncover those unnecessary expenditures. You may be surprised to look at the amount you’re spending by going to the movies every week or how frequently you are eating a lavish dinner in an expensive restaurant. There’s no point in living in a bigger house than you need. Try to buy or rent a modest apartment, according to the size of your family. It would be wise on your part to reduce these unnecessary expenses and save for your forthcoming retirement days.

The couple marked some mistakes that can delay your retirement planning

You need to be very clear about your dreams. If you’re planning for early retirement without knowing all the advantages and disadvantages, then it will be your biggest mistake. It is very important to research thoroughly before making any decisions.

  1. Not re-allocating your excess finances

If you have some extra money, then use the money to get out of debt or other payments (if any). You can also use the amount that you save from your net worth to pay your mortgage. Remember, the more you reduce your expenditures, the quicker you’ll be able to pay off your bills. If your debts are cleared, you’ll be able to save more money for your retirement days.

  1. Not living in the right place

Mrs. Armstrong suggested that, if you’re living in a big city, then it’s quite normal that even a cup of coffee is much costlier than a smaller town. You should think about relocation if you want to save more money for the future. It’s not possible to maintain a frugal life in an expensive place even if you want. So, it will be a good decision to relocate to a smaller town to stretch your retirement savings.

  1. Not consulting with a financial planner

A consultant always has some better insight than you. So, if you’re planning for early retirement, then it is advisable to sit with a financial planner to judge if the plan is suitable for you. They might have some tricks that can help you to achieve your dream faster.

Conclusion

The whole discussion was for 3 hours. They won some goodies and I won some real life financial lessons. The couple travels a lot. They rent a portion of their house to earn money. They grow their own veggies in their yard as well. Lastly, they told me “make sure you’re saving a good amount when you’re young. Making wise investment decisions is very important to grow the money as well. Because without adequate financial support, financial independence is not possible”.

Extending my thanks to Amy, this is the Leisure Freak site’s first contributed post.

Author bio- Amy Nickson started the Working Moms Word site  in loving memory of her mom – sharing thoughts and opinion to help single parents, child, working moms.

Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card Use

Budgeting, Frugal Living, Managing Debt,

Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card Use couldn’t come at a better time.

Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card UseThere is a right way and wrong way to use credit cards. For many of us the holiday season is the one time of the year where temptation may have us reaching for our credit card beyond what we planned for. It’s a wonderful time of year and all the sales, social activities, and celebrations may cause us to lower our spending guard.

Nobody wants to have financial regrets after the last of the eggnog and candy canes are long gone. Here are some Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card Use.

7 Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card Use

#1- Create a Budget Plan.

Set a holiday budget and stick to it. If possible always make this a part of your yearly budget so that you have the money saved or will have available when your credit card bill comes. As an example I have a yearly $1500 Christmas budget to cover everything from the grand-kid’s gifts to the Christmas cards.

This budget plan should also break down your budgeted spending by type: Gifts, Decorations, Party Supplies, Events, Spontaneous Fun, etc. Everything that you plan on doing and buying during the holidays that requires funding from your holiday budget.

#2- Keep a Shopping/Spending List.

Make a list of every planned holiday expenditure based on your budget plan. List names of people you wish to buy a gift for, any gift details, and the budgeted amount. List all of your budget planned spending types and stick to it. Aside from staying on my spending plan, I use my lists to keep me on track while shopping and to get in and get out as quickly as I can.

#3-Take Advantage of Credit Card Rewards.

Use the best reward credit card that you have. This is Smart Holiday Credit Card Use bringing you financial benefit by getting credit card reward’s cash or travel points back for buying what you budgeted for. I pile as much as possible (within my budget) on my best rewards card that pays me back 2%.

#4- In-Store Credit Cards.

Some stores offer their own credit cards with super promotions and discounts for using them. The savings can surpass what your rewards credit card can offer. We have received phenomenal discounts using our Kohl’s card during their sales promotions.

#5- Track What You Spend.

Tracking all your charges is key to staying on budget. Log all of your spending and track against your budgeted amount so that you can stay on plan. If you are using more than one credit card, like using your reward card and an in-store card then also track by card so there are no surprises and nothing is over looked.

I am totally old school. I have a small notebook and I list and total everything with a pencil. Use an Excel spreadsheet, Quicken, or whatever your preference is but just do it.

#6- Evaluate and Adjust.

If you find you overspent somewhere then adjust your budget by shifting amounts from something else in the budget to cover it. You may have even come in under budget on some items by getting a better sales price than planned. In any case the point is to not have any surprises and come within your planned holiday budget when it is all said and done. I still try to beat my Christmas budget. Anything I come in under budget is a head start on next year.

#7- Have a Payoff Strategy.

The absolute best strategy is to pay off the credit card bill as soon as you get it before the due date so that you pay no interest. Paying credit card interest is not Smart Holiday Credit Card Use. IF you have to carry a balance then be sure to have a payoff strategy. The strategy to have if you know going into the holidays that you will be carrying a balance is about your credit card choice.

Instead of using your rewards credit card use one that offers zero interest on purchases for a set period of time. You may even purposely get a new credit card for the holiday season that offers no interests for the first few months. I know many people whose payoff strategy is to use their tax refund in February or their yearly bonus from work. Those are only valid strategies if you do get a tax refund or bonus.

Final Comments about Smart Holiday Credit Card Use

The holiday season can be a wonderful time where we can spend time with friends and loved ones. For many it is a time of worship and reflection. It should be a time without financial regrets or distress and hopefully by using some of these Tips for Smart Holiday Credit Card Use we all will avoid that.

Do you have a Smart Holiday Credit Card Use strategy?

Increase Wealth with a Brush and a Plan

Frugal Living, Saving Money

We all know that the way to financial independence and wealth is to cut spending waste and become a super-saver. It’s all about living debt free while investing our savings for our future selves taking advantage of compounding returns. However for some frugal living non-consumerist folks they can also Increase Wealth with a Brush and a Plan. What I am I talking about is our home.

I think it is easy for us to become complacent with our homes. We frugal living folks only think about making updates or improvements when we consider putting the homestead up for sale and the Realtor drops a truth-bomb on us. Then we do what we need to do for the new owner and don’t get to enjoy the fresh renewed place ourselves. We get caught in the old “if it isn’t broke why replace it” mentality.

But there are some things we should do not only to make the old homestead more appealing but can actually improve our utility thriftiness and increase our home’s value. We can Increase our Wealth with a Brush and a Plan, with the operative word here “Plan”. Meaning not going overboard for trend-sake but making our homes more valuable with some smart updating.

Not only do we get to enjoy the benefits of the remodeling but if we decide to make a move we are all that much closer to having an attractive property to get the highest sales price.

Easy Face-lift to Increase Wealth with a Brush and a Plan.

Making your home look better than it has in years while also increasing its value:

Grab a good brush, time to Re-paint some rooms-

Simply one of the most frugal ways to make a dramatic improvement to a room is to lay down a fresh coat of paint. It makes any room look clean and crisp. You can also choose colors that will change the room’s feel or vibe. Think twice about using intense darker colors as they can make a room feel smaller. Make your room feel more open and welcoming by choosing lighter and warmer hues. If you have your heart set on a darker color then try to limit it to an accent wall so it plays off of the lighter colors and makes them pop.

Here are a few painting tips:
Buy good brushes and rollers.

Don’t go super cheap with your brushes. A good brush will save a lot of time. You will find that you can lay down a crisp line and cut the amount of paint overflowing any tape you have used. Good brushes can be washed and reused for years. Keep the cardboard packaging sleeve that comes with the brush so you can put it back on after washing the paint out. This will help the brush keep its shape while drying.

The First coat should be with primer.

This will cut the amount of paint your walls will soak up. Especially if it has been a long time since the last painting. This is particularly important if you are covering over a previously painted bright or deep color. Primer will seal the walls and help prevent the color from bleeding through your new paint.

Plan on painting 2 coats of pain.

It will usually take a couple of coats to give your room even and full coverage. Some colors may need more than 2 coats.

Paints with Primer included.

There is a lot of advertising for paints that have primer mixed in with it and claim for full coverage without first laying down a primer coat. I have not tried these and I suggest you do research for any product reviews to make sure they do as claimed before going that route. Any paint and/or primer should be researched on-line. Although painting a room is a frugal face-lift, paint isn’t cheap. Get what works best for the least coast.

Make sure you use good painter’s tape.

Tape with good painter’s tape where you are changing color or trying to avoid getting paint past where you want it. Look for the blue tape that is called Painter’s Tape or if you have textured surfaces give Frog Tape a try to keep crisp, sharp, and even lines.

Frugal Renovations to Increase Home Value and Your Wealth.

Some updates are worth considering for increasing your home’s value:

Increase Wealth with a Brush and a PlanKitchens and Bathrooms-

These rooms are the target of most renovations and having a plan will help keep things from going overboard and costing more than you want to spend. Whether it is flooring changes, updating faucets, new cabinet hardware, or painting your wood cabinets there are a lot of options and products to choose from.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

We are going to paint our Maple kitchen cabinets this fall and have already bought the paint. I watched several YouTube videos and believe I will pull this off without a hitch.

Change or add Kitchen Cabinet Hardware

My buddy found all new stainless steel drawer and cupboard hardware on eBay for a song when they did their updating and I plan on trying the same.

Choosing Tried and True Design

Stay away from the latest trends and stick to classic looks that stand the test of time and have staying power. You don’t want to have to redo things a few years from now.

Counter Tops Can Be Expensive. Rethink Alternatives

Granite and Quartz Counter Tops are all the rage and have been for a few years but they are not cheap. If your counter tops are in good shape try refreshing your cabinets first and see if it works for you. If you can’t stick with what’s there and don’t absolutely have to have the stone to do your thing then consider trying less expensive counter top options.

Time Appliance Purchases with Holiday Sales

New Appliances are sometimes needed. I have had trouble letting go of old and tired appliances that still work but they are not only out of date color wise (Almond) they are power and water inefficient. My 1988 fridge and dishwasher probably cost me $30 a month to use. Aside from that I have had to pay some costly repair charges over the years. We plan on replacing our appliances this November/December when the retailers offer huge discounts when buying all four kitchen appliances together.

A New Sink and Facet Makes a Bigger Impact than you might think.

Take a hard look at your sinks. If they are colored enamel sinks in white or almond/bone, or whatever color they can look tired and scratched. Sometimes replacing the sink and faucet will do the trick and most folks can DIY these changes.

Seek out DIY classes and online tutorials

Most modest homes come without tile back splashes in the kitchen. By adding a tile back splash you can totally update the look of a kitchen. Home Depot even offers occasional classes on how to do it.

Whatever you plan to do you can do on-line research and even see how-to tutorials on YouTube so you know what you are getting yourself into.

Lighting-

Bad lighting can cause a room to be uninviting, drab and enclosed. Making simple changes in lighting fixtures and/or design can be inexpensive when compared to the overall improvement gained for the room.

Use different fixture types in a room to get exceptional results.

For example: Use recessed light fixtures to spread the light in the whole room.Try hanging a pendent over your kitchen island. Use under the cabinet track lighting which will make your kitchen feel bright and open.

If you are not sure what to use consult a lighting designer.

Find a lighting designer or ask the specialist at the home improvement center you are visiting.

Hire a Pro if you are not trained or knowledgeable about electricity and residential power

You should hire an electrician or someone with the skills and background to change out your fixtures. The home improvement center you are visiting or if working with a lighting designer may offer this service.

Electricians are the ultimate power specialist but you may find a competent handyman or other contractors who can handle the job for less cost. Using a pro should be very much considered when making fixture changes in an old home.

Changing out a light fixture is one thing if reusing the same location. But wiring in a new light location or moving a light, anything that requires a change in the wiring or circuits needs to be done per building code. If you don’t have the background then get a pro. It is a safety issue.

The Bottom Line

Anyone should be able to Increase Wealth with a Brush and a Plan. Giving your home a little attention doesn’t have to be an expensive home remodel. Of course if that is what is needed then do so with a budget and a plan.

Choosing professional help may be necessary. If you do select a pro make sure to get references and check them out before handing over any money. If you want to tackle things on your own then make sure any electrical or structural changes are done to local building code and get all necessary permits.

Finally, you can watch all kind of how-to home improvement videos on YouTube if you need a little educational boost. Once you finish with the inside then start thinking about frugal updates for the outside along the lines of Curb Appeal.

Are you a do it yourself type tackling or planning on tackling some home improvements?

Do you have other low-cost suggestions?

Does Frugal Living Allow for Sports Cars?

Cars, Cars In Retirement, Frugal Living,

Does frugal living allow for sports cars? Sounds like a crazy question when taken out of context. When you wrap your mind around everything that frugal living means and is defined as. I consider myself part of Frugal Living movement and yes, I do own a sports car.

I seem to evoke some negative feelings from some in the frugal living and financial independence world when I mention this little fact about myself. Who wrote the Frugal Living rules? I guess I really don’t care too much for that answer. Since my freakish ways make me tend to challenge rules anyway. I challenge the definition of traditional retirement so why not put myself out there with frugal living’s definition too.

I am not writing this post in defense of frugal living sports car ownership as much as I like to present another way to look at things. You see, rigid and strict rules don’t work for everyone in the world of financial independence through frugality. You have to agree that there is no ONE WAY to get and stay there. Life is short. We all have different frugality thresholds before the deprivation pain starts up. We all have different financial means to work with.

Does frugal living allow for sports cars? There’s that thing about lavishness and extravagance

Frugal Living means avoiding lavishness and extravagance

does frugal living allow for sports carsAside from the cost of things the Frugal Living Rule that gets thrown around is Frugal Living means avoiding lavishness and extravagance, being all fancy instead of simple but who gets to gauge what that is. It seems to be a personal value system that decides what is lavish or extravagant.

My sports car is a 1999 Hard Top (FRC) Corvette I bought in 2009 for $15,000 just before I retired early for the first time. It is part of my early retirement automotive hobby and it is also super economical getting over 30 mpg highway at 75 mph all day long. More importantly it is part of what I retired to.

I don’t see it as lavish or extravagant unless of course it’s parked next to a minivan (I kid). Yet most people spent more to buy their minivan.

does frugal living allow for sports cars- this is too far

It is nowhere as wasteful as owning a lavish and overly extravagant Ferrari for crying out loud. Oops, I applied my personal value system to that comment. Just the same judgment that I and many who believe they are part of the frugal living movement would for European vacations, any kind of boat, RV, etc.

Who Defines What is Wasteful?

You can probably see where I am going with this. That is a problem with any movement or lifestyle, people want defined boundaries of who is in and who is out to feel like they are part of something special. Where everyone else on the outside is wasteful and stupid if not just financially misguided. Boundaries that are set by them and their closest like-minded which leads to clusters of people claiming they are the true representation of frugal living or whatever movement they care to be associated with.

Frugal Living – Live well below your means, be a super saver, become financially independent.

I believe there are as many unique flavors of frugal living as there are reasons that motivate people to enter into it. For myself and many others that reason is all about financial independence and yes, early retirement. It absolutely takes living well below your means, saving a high percentage of your income, and becoming and staying debt free.

There is a lot of wiggle room there too because some can handle extreme frugality where others set the bar far less than extreme. It’s all about creating our sustainable long-term lifestyle to reach and stay in the winner’s circle with the financially independent rat-race escapees.

There is no Frugal Movement Referee Calling Fouls

Once you get there and can afford to fund your hobbies or other high-happy-value things of importance in your life, who is to say you are outside of the frugal living movement guidelines. Obviously someone who’s targeted a happy frugal living lifestyle that requires it to be very low dollar may not consider a sports car or worldwide travels. While others may have the funds and the desire to include them.

I suppose that is the crux of what I am writing about. People are all different, different lifetime incomes, savings rate, lifestyle desires, etc. so let’s cut folks some slack. If not, where does it end? Does it come to saying everyone who lives in expensive cities can’t be part of the frugal living movement? They may be more frugal than most people just so they can stay where they want to live.

Part of this life of ours is creating a lifestyle that we can be content living, not wanting and desiring things. I have friends who have bought the new C7 Corvette Stingray and they are awesome cars. Even though I could afford to buy one without debt, I choose to stay with my 1999. I am perfectly content with it and it fits within my frugal living. The same way I choose to stay with my flip-phone and $100 a year pay as you go plan instead of going with a smart phone.

Closing Thoughts

It is always a good recommendation to cut back on automobile costs whether it’s having fewer cars to care and pay for or picking a utilitarian everyday reliable vehicle. If you aren’t into cars then that will be accepted but to a car freak like me I need my retirement toys and hobbies. At least until I am too old to do my maintenance or costly repairs begin to occur. Even though I love my automotive related hobbies I still have to set financial limits. I live off of my portfolio so I have a budget to consider.

What do you think, does frugal living allow for sports cars?

Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment

Frugal Living, Saving Money

Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment options are always the top of my list. This summer we have been busy taking advantage of all the free and near free events we can attend. It’s easy if you have many hobbies and interests so you can pick from various forms of entertainment. I am a huge automotive nut, mountain biking, hiking, music fan, movie fan, and doing anything where people gather in celebration for holidays or charity.

Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment That I Have Done June 1 – Aug 24

Ducky Derby-

Women’s Crisis Center Charitable Event – Donation of $5 per Duck released into the river race. There are prizes of which we did not win but with bands playing and many booths creating a big street fair it is a lot of fun and usually the first even of the summer.

4 Car/Hotrod Shows.

I participated in one where there was a $20 donation to the Veterans Memorial Fund and I attended the other 3 shows at no costs. I saw some awesome rides in some nice locales and met some great people.

4 Park Concerts.

These were spread out every couple of weeks. There was a 80s cover band, a Country Band, a Journey Cover Band, and a Jazz Concert. These were at a park that is walking distance to my home so we load up the wagon with our camp chairs and cooler. All free.

2 Town Concerts.

Both were really good events with Rock/Blues bands brought in where the main streets of town were closed. Both Free except for any concessions we wanted to buy.

2 Outdoor Movie nights.

Big inflatable screens are put up in town, grab your chairs and watch a movie. One was no cost and the other costs us $25 that went towards the Downtown Merchants Association for the two of us. The fee included a stainless steel martini glasses and fancy appetizers. Martinis were $7, beer $5. It was a date night event and their fund-raiser to be able to continue offering other free future events in town.

Taste of Douglas County (my county)

Restaurants come to the County Convention Center and give out tasty samples. Cost is $10 in advance, $20 at the door, but our cost was free. My wife got some free tickets from her bank. They were one of the sponsors.

Watched 2 Bicycle Races

There have also been 2 Bicycle Races I watched portions of and I have caught some musical acts at the local coffee shop/bar and biergarten. Sure I may buy a beverage but the price of one or two drinks is well worth the entertainment provided.

Take a Cooler

At other times when appropriate we take with us a small soft sided cooler to the events and always have a water bottle. We try to support the events but don’t spend a bunch of money on concessions. I always have my entertainment budget in mind.

Early Retiree Frugal EntertainmentI am sure I am missing some events we attended as I am just winging this but if the bullet item events above represented only one event per week it would be 14 weeks out of the 12 week period I am writing about. Obviously some weeks had multiple entertainment offerings where they occurred mid-week and weekends which is why I say we have been very busy this summer and very successful taking advantage of Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment opportunities.

How I Find My Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment

Even though being an early retiree means having more free time to investigate and plan for recreation and entertainment, for those still working and on their financial independence journey, having less time shouldn’t be too big of an obstacle. That is because it is fairly simple for anyone to find frugal entertainment options if just taking the time to seek them out and then keeping track of them.

Bulletin Boards –

For local entertainment I find most of them by looking at the bulletin boards placed in the businesses I often go to. Most people walk right past them. Start taking the time to browse the boards to see if anything is there that strikes your interest. Coffee Shops, Banks, Grocery Stores, Auto Parts Stores, mechanic shops, etc. Some stick posters on their shop windows. If the business is a sponsoring business for an event or part of the organization sponsoring the event don’t be shy. If it’s a paid event ask if they have discount coupons or free tickets for their customers, i.e. YOU. We got free tickets to the “Taste Event” and a Buy One, Get One offer for the movie date night from our bank.

The Library–

Go to the library and look through their community newspapers. Many entertainment events are advertised or are in there as announcements in the local community papers. It is not unusual for your Library to offer a chance for a little educational based entertainment too. Not that long ago I signed up for gardening classes at my library that was taught by a Master Gardner from a nearby nursery. It was free, informative, and I met some really cool new people in town. There was also a lot free giveaways like seeds and plants. Don’t forget to ask the librarian if they have any discount coupons or free tickets for local events.

Go On-Line and Check Community websites–

Most counties, towns, and even subdivisions (neighborhoods/developments) will host free events and post them to their website. You will also find Chamber of Commerce and Merchant Associations associated to your community with websites to check. This is where I can find out about concerts in the park, concerts downtown, charity events, street fairs and sometimes even car shows. For bike races I look at our Parks and Recreation website. You should be able to find event calendars or lists of entertainment opportunities.

Facebook, Twitter, and email–

sign-up with your favorite event sponsoring entities and get notifications when they are sponsoring an event. For example, I know our local biergarten and my favorite coffee-shop sponsors a few entertainment events each year. This way I get a notification when they start making their announcements. I get email alerts from my town and Facebook updates from the merchants association, etc.

Slow Down and Read the signs, hear the conversations–

I think the biggest tip here is to slow down and pay attention to what is going on in your community. People will always mention things that is going on but you have to hear it to remember it. Pay attention and even ask people if they have heard of any new events coming.

Web Search your Favorite Locations–

When you feel like going to the Zoo, Aquarium, Museum, etc., do a web search on them and find out when they have a free attendance day or if they offer a discounted time-frame. Being retired means you have time to go during off-peak attendance days or times and can get in for free or lower cost. Most movie theaters offer off-peak time movie ticket discounts so take advantage of them. You can also expand your search for all communities/cities near you by using a national event listing site called Eventbrite that I have found some fun frugal things to do.

In Closing

There are so many Frugal Entertainment opportunities that we have to pass on some of them. There is no reason to ever say money keeps us from having any fun. For my wife and myself, Early Retiree Frugal Entertainment is just a part of our lifestyle. We even seek frugal entertainment this way when we travel to find cool events to attend while on vacation.

Do you have some other ways to find frugal entertainment?

My Personal Economic Disobedience

Frugal Living, Retire Early

My Personal Economic Disobedience is all about the lifestyle I have chosen to live as an early retiree. I have always been someone who seems to buck the system, I just can’t blindly follow rules that don’t make sense to me. I seldom quietly oblige when someone lays down expectations that are not fair in my mind. Especially when the only reason given is obedience.

It seems the only folks who use the word obedience as a motivator are those who believe they are in a position of power or claim some kind moral authority. Perhaps that is why I love challenging the traditional definition of retirement and call myself a Leisure Freak. That said, I do enjoy the thought that I am practicing My Personal Economic Disobedience through Financial Independence.

I feel that those who are dedicated to smart frugal living and saving/investing are considered economically disobedient because we are at odds with the economic mainstream and the financial expectations of the system.

Economic Disobedience has different flavors.

There are those who are part of Tax Revolt or Student Loan repayment refusal. Then there is where I fall into Economic Disobedience, with Frugality and my Employment Demands. That’s what the government and/or private economic powers consider to be Economic Disobedience. To us in the Financial Independence movement, it’s not about trying to be disobedient, but just our creating strategic and elaborate ways of living an alternative economic lifestyle. One that works for us. A way that is apart from the existing economic systems that are considered as normal.

We are empowered free people who have chosen to break the chains that financially enslaves us within the existing capitalist, employment and consumerist system.

My Personal Economic Disobedience Through Frugality

Spending Discipline

It takes a certain amount of frugal living to get to Financial Independence. You have to cut cost to maximize savings to attain financial freedom and early retirement. That means we don’t buy crap if we don’t need it and strategically limit purchases for what we think we need. This goes against economic measurement and expectations where if you have the means you are expected to spend it and buy things.

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

The biggest way that the economy is measured is by gross domestic product (or GDP) calculated statistics.

My Personal Economic DisobedienceConsumer Spending is the largest part of GDP now weighted around 70% of overall GDP measurements. Practicing frugality when you have the money goes against the system. If you make more money then you are supposed to follow the masses and spend more money. Not save it so you can drop out of the rat race early. That goes against the system’s economical expectation of the masses and is just being economically disobedient.

Avoiding Debt

Another part of Financial Independence motivated frugality is debt repayment and debt avoidance. Nothing financially enslaves more today than debt. However we are expected to take on debt and pay it back with interest over the length of the loan. The people who pay off credit card charges each month without ever paying interest are considered Credit Freeloaders and Deadbeats. Just think what they call those of us who not only avoid all credit card interest but also reap rewards from their cards too.

How many times have you seen reported as an economic indicator the number of auto loans? Or borrowing in general that was either up or down for the month or quarter? Borrowing money is expected in the current consumerist and capitalist system. The data is compiled by the Federal Reserve and released as economic reports. Anyone with the means and a better than horrible credit rating who purposely are a non-participant in the borrowed money economic measurement is economically disobedient.

My Personal Economic Disobedience Through Employment on my Terms

I chose to retire early and often. If and when I choose to take on employment it will only happen when the opportunity is aligned with my interests and passions. I am also picky and I set boundaries around what I am willing to do. Unfortunately that doesn’t fit in the workplace very well. At least in the U.S. where workers are considered interchangeable and replaceable cogs. Cogs with predefined “take it or leave it” cross-functional and excessive responsibilities.

Just look at job ads and the list of the required skills. They want it all. All at entry-level salaries. Sadly, many workers today in an investor-driven corporate market are not seen as an asset. Not seen as people with unique capabilities, skills and talents to be maximized. But instead treated as costs and expected to fill job-needs as low-expectation and loyal drones.

Without Financial Independence you may have no choice but to accept it. However for those of us who are backed by the power of financial independence, we can challenge the employment system. The system that depends on economically desperate employees performing work without question. Our setting boundaries and being selective about what we do may be considered Economic Disobedience.

When I retire and leave a position I may trigger other economic measurements. Each month there is a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is based on data from employers at industry levels detailing the amount of people who were added or subtracted from their payrolls. Anyone who is capable of working is expected to labor. To choose to not work at a young age and retire early is most likely just another form of Economic Disobedience.

Are There Penalties for Economic Disobedience?

Yes and No.

Being frugal is not illegal or called out anywhere. Although numbers are growing, in the grand scheme of things there are few purposely frugal people in numbers. We aren’t an overall threat to the economy. Even though Financial Independence may bring on sometimes extreme frugality with reduced purchases, it also brings investments into the system through the stock and bond markets so there is economic benefit.

Being a choosy employee while retiring early and often may cause backlash and future unemployment. But that is part of the risks for living life on our own terms. I can mitigate this by over delivering and providing a valued and wanted skill set.

There are some things that seem to be targeting the Financially Independent by way of taxes.

An easy example is the small amount of non-Social Security income that a retiree has coming into them which will trigger taxing up to 85% of their received Social Security benefit. Seemingly the non-adjusted static thresholds are there to take money from anyone who saved for a better retirement. Especially once RMD begins at age 70 ½.

A few years ago in Colorado a group dissatisfied  with the ACA (Obamacare) tried to push through a state-wide single payer health system. It came with the mandatory citizen payment into the system not only determined by income but also net-worth. Counting your home equity, investment/savings portfolio and retirement accounts. The gall of some people to be financially independent through frugal living, being financially responsible and saving. Can’t get enough from them on their frugal taxable income so let’s go after total assets too!

There was talk by Republican Presidential candidates to means-test Social Security above how it is currently means tested within its income bend points. Some in congress share those views. Who knows how far this might go. But I wouldn’t bet against it just ending with adjusting working income means testing as it is now. I wouldn’t put it past some of them to also want to include retirement savings balances and/or retirement income. Just to snare and penalize those who had modest incomes but chose Financial Independence to save for retirement. Punishing the savers was alright through the economic recovery with low-interest rates so why not with Social Security?

Final Thoughts

I don’t mind being labeled as practicing Economical Disobedience, I am a Leisure Freak after all and challenging rules is what I do. I chose to buck the norms and live free from all the consumerist trappings that the system expects everyone to take part in.

My Personal Economic Disobedience does benefit me but I do not consider it as selfish or self-centered. I am not shucking some kind of economic obligation. It’s just living a life where I took control of my finances to become free and liberate myself from employment servitude. What is so wrong with that?

Stray from the expected and become a part of the growing few who are practicing Economic Disobedience.

Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90: The steps to an affordably good paint job

Automotive Hobby, Cars, Cars In Retirement, DIY, Do It Yourself, Frugal Living, Rustoleum Paint, Saving Money

Being an early retired Leisure Freak means I always look for ways to save money. Or at least spend it sensibly. Car repairs are something that can strain the budget. I try to do what I believe I can do or handle myself. One of my money-saving efforts was Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90. In this case my truck. I painted it at home without special painting equipment or skills.

Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90
Mini-Truck Rustoleum Paint Results

This paint job is now in its third year and is holding up great. It is doing far better than I expected or was warned about. I thought I would share what I did and where I got the details on how to pull it off. Anyone with some time and a little space can do this if you have an older auto that looks like crap and you would like to have it look more presentable while offering surface protection. The bonus- Not having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars.

                                                              My Situation.
Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90
Busted Frame- Ready to Resurrect

My 1981 SR5 Toyota custom pickup that I have driven almost daily since 1993 finally had a life ending catastrophe. The frame had rusted through and cracked over its then 31 years on the road. There is a reason you see few old import cars/trucks on the road, RUST. This truck has huge sentimental value as it was my son’s and my first automotive project together. He was just short of 13 when we turned the truck into a hardtop convertible. We had many father and son adventures with it spanning 5 western States.

 

Frame and Bed swap
Frame and Bed Replaced

It took some months for me to find a suitable donor truck where I could harvest a good frame to resurrect my long-time truck. I also kept the bed from the donor truck as mine had far more rust in it. Even this new bed had some rust bubbling on the side where the inner wheel well is. That rust is another reason I elected to go the frugal paint job route.

Please note that buying the donor truck and paying someone to complete all the work for the frame/bed swap cost me all I could logically spend regardless of sentiment. That was another reason for a frugal paint solution. The lowest painting bid I got was $1400 and there is no stopping rust. After a few years it will return. I could have waited for the local MAACO Discount paint shops to run a sale but that would still cost hundreds. My truck was a light Yellow and the new truck bed was Red. I was ready to roll in it so I needed to do something about the yellow and red Ronald McDonald color scheme.

Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90 – The Rustoleum Auto Paint Job

Primered the red swapped bed
Sanding, Primer, Decal removal begins

I decided I would look into painting the truck myself. I kept coming across all these posts and You Tube videos where people had done a fair paint job using non-automotive Rustoleum Paint and a high density foam roller. That’s right, Rustoleum. The same oil based enamel stuff you get at Lowes or Home Depot to paint your patio furniture that comes in the little quart cans.

I then came across another site where they just used high density foam brushes.  The roller method can leave a lot of bubbles and require a lot of sanding to smooth out. I decided to follow this one guy’s brush technique and I have to say it went real well. The point was to reduce the amount of sanding to do. I will admit there was still sanding needed but I have to believe far less than I would have trying to remove bubbles.

Frugal Car Painting Supplies Needed
  • Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90Rustoleum high gloss paint – 4 Quarts. For me to get a light Yellow I needed a 3 Gloss White to 1 Sunburst Yellow mixed. Most cars will take only 2 or 3 quarts depending on size, SUV or full-sized PU more. I had over half of my mixed paint left.
  • Odorless mineral spirits – 3 quarts to a gallon. (Used for surface cleaning, prep, and paint thinning which allows paint to dry faster and for it to flatten out after brushing on).
  • Rustoleum Primer spray paint – 1 Can (I needed 3 to cover the truck bed, always best to use the same brand of primer as the paint)
  • 3″ High density foam brushes – 10 ea.
  • 2″ High density foam brushes – 10 ea.
  • Paint trays – 3 ea.
  • Wet Sandpaper – 3 packs (600, 800, 1500 grit)
  • Painter’s tape – 1 Roll
  • Old Newspaper or plastic for masking work
  • Rubber Gloves
  • Spray Bottle
ready to paint
Sanded and ready for first Rustoleum Paint coat

The Frugal DYI Rustoleum Auto Paint Job Process

At a high level the job goes like this:

Getting the Car Ready
  • Wash the car and if there is any dents or body blemishes you need to fix get some auto body filler and make repairs. For small blemishes just use auto body finishing glaze/putty that is easily sanded. I had old peeling decals I needed to remove so I ordered from eBay a decal remover eraser that you run in your drill to get all the old and nasty decal stripes off.
  • Wipe car down with mineral spirits to clean any oils from the surface. (Read and follow all safety and warnings posted on the product can while handling product).
  • Remove anything from the car you can that you don’t want painted.
  • masked and ready to paint
    Taped/Masked and ready to paint

    Mask around everything on the car that you don’t want painted.

  • Sand all surfaces to be painted with 600 grit sandpaper. If there are areas like rust that need to be smoothed get lower grit paper to smooth it out. You are sanding to rough the paint and level the surface not remove all the existing paint.
  • Primer any areas where sanding went to bare metal. In my case I also primered the Red truck bed to Grey to help with Yellow paint coverage.
Paint Time
  • Mix your paint with the mineral spirits using a 50%/50% ratio. (Read and follow all safety and warnings posted on the product can while handling product).
  • Prep the paint surfaces by wiping your car down again with mineral spirits.
  • Apply the paint and allow to dry. The 50%/50% is very thin and should dry in a few hours. I did this while still working (Career #2) so I waited until the next evening.
  • 3 coats
    First 3 coats down & questioning my sanity

    Repeat – Prep the paint surfaces with mineral spirits and apply the paint and allow to dry.

  • Repeat – Prep the paint surfaces with mineral spirits and apply the paint and allow to dry.
  • Once the third coat is dry, Wet Sand lightly with 600 grit to smooth out the paint and scuff for more paint to be added. I used a trigger pump water spray bottle to wet the surface and the paper instead of running a hose. You will question whether this is going to work due to a lack of coverage but the paint builds upon itself in all the layers. Just don’t sand off all your work.
  • Repeat painting process 3 more times. The process is paint 3 coats and sand, then repeat as necessary.
  • 6 coats
    6 coats down & starting to see results

    Sand and inspect. Repeat painting process as necessary until you get the right paint coverage.

  • Once satisfied with the paint coverage use 800 grit and higher grit to polish out any imperfections out of the paint including any brush marks easily seen at your discretion.

 

I know this is very high level.

If you are interested in trying this I recommend you get the more deep details from the source I used – Poor Man’s Paint Job  ( http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Poor-Mans-Paint-Job-or…-How-to-paint-your-c/?ALLSTEPS ) Note: If the details end with the disclaimer, scroll down a little farther until you see the Download/View all steps/Next buttons and select View all steps

7 coats
7th coat coverage

Another good source of information about the use of Rustoleum paint to paint a car using a foam roller and foam brushes was the article put out by Hot Rod Magazine    (http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/paint-body/hrdp-0707-1962-ford-falcon-budget-paint-job/ ) Note: Just click on “view all 36 photos” or bottom of the first photo where it shows “1/36” to get a photo and step by step.

My Frugal DYI Rustoleum Auto Paint Job Results

painted convertible mini truck-top on
Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90- Mini Truck project complete

I am sure everyone’s results are different depending on the car and color of paint being applied to and used. Your masking will also make a difference on your final results. Yellow is a color that does not cover well so I had up to 10 coats on flat surfaces like the hood and roof (I had some primer spots) and 14 on the truck bed sides to cover the grey primer. I also spent time sanding with high grit sandpaper to remove as many brush marks as I could. They are only visible in certain light but I wanted as close to a sprayed paint job as I could get. There are still a few spots that I can see brush marks but nobody else has unless I point them out and they look very carefully.

The Results That Really Matters
  • I ended up with a great 5-footer paint job and maybe better than that.
  • The Truck is protected from the elements and all one shiny color.
  • I will be able to inexpensively do touch-up paint myself.
  • It cost me 14 days and less than $100. The first day was a few hours but the repaint and light sanding was only 1 to 2 hours each day.
  • my 1981 Toy SR5 Convertible Mini Pickup
    Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90- Mini Truck project complete

    I wax it once a year and the paint has held up as new. However this truck is parked in a garage when not in use. Over time UV exposure will fade and oxidize Rustoleum paint so washing and waxing will help it look good.

  • The Paint is hard and doesn’t easily chip or scratch as some have warned. Because it is built up from multiple light layers it holds up far better than spray can paint. I used Satin Black rattle cans for inside the truck bed and spray paint is a thinner coat of paint and does scratch way easier than the brushed on Yellow.
  • After 3 years I am just starting to see signs of that rust on the bed. It is starting to bubble again so in a year or so I will grind, sand, finish putty, and repaint that area soon with the left over paint.
  • Update June 2018: It’s now 6 years into this paint job. It still looks like the day I painted it. The rust area is still very small and barely noticeable. There are 5 small 1/16 inch raised circular blemishes but no discoloration. I haven’t felt the need yet to make paint repairs.
Final Comments

I can’t guaranty this is the best choice for everyone or that by doing it you will be completely satisfied. A perfectionist or traditionalist will probably not agree with this method, product used, or results. I get that and to each their own. No need for hateful comments.

Know that by using a paint like this if later you or someone else decides to take the car in for a traditional shop paint job that all the Rustoleum must be sanded off first. However it does sand off and you can do that or I am sure they will probably just charge extra to do it. I have no intentions of doing that given the probability of rust’s return and my satisfaction with the results. It looks great and I can repair it myself when needed at little or no cost.

Frugally DIY Painting a Car for $90 using Rustoleum was a fun experience and I would do it again on the right vehicle under the right circumstances. I may even try the roller method.

Do you have a car that isn’t worth the cost of a traditional paint job that you might maybe try this method on as a frugal DIY project?

Do you think it is just stupid to use a non-automotive paint on any car to save money?

What Early Retirement has taught me

Early Retirement Lifestyle, Frugal Living, Retire Early, ,

I would ask myself whether all the saving, budgeting, and obsessing during my journey to early retirement would be worth it. Instead of following the herd spending away on stuff of wants instead of needs. I consciously took the other path focusing on happiness and smart balanced frugal but sustainable lifestyle. A lifestyle that would ultimately define what my future early retirement life would be all about.

Believe me that I answered the question soon after my first retirement and YES, it was all worth it. What Early Retirement has taught me about myself is an ever-changing list of personal growth and the realization that the journey to get here prepared me to live a life with meaning and adventure. It is something that early retirement critics and over-consumerist can’t or refuse to understand.

I believe it is all about the journey.

My journey is one of many early retirement success stories. Of course the prize is reaching our financial independence goals and being able to start living our early retirement dream lifestyle but our journey is what prepares us and ensures we will have a happy and content life. I am not saying it’s the struggle that makes you appreciate the prize although I am sure there is some of that.

Instead I think everything we experience during our journey is necessary because we retrain our brain to a new way of living that is far from the mainstream and what we were taught to be the normal or standard lifestyle path to follow.

With the internet there is no end to information about personal finance, spending and debt control, budgeting, investing, and early retirement through financial independence. I am sure anyone reading this has read from many sources of information and taking what works for them as part of their own early retirement plan. Creating their unique and sustainable plan to guide them while on their journey to their prize.

What matters is how we put to work all the ideas we have along with adopting ideas and tips provided by others into a plan and way of living that over time brings us success without feeling deprived or wanting, however long it takes.

Basic Principles of the Journey to FI and Early Retirement:

Ditch the one-plan-fits-all guidebook

Look and learn from other’s early retirement success stories. But create your own unique strategic retire early plan.

Seek ideas from off the beaten track.

There is more than the information found from big banks and investment companies. Immerse yourself in different sources of information like FI, early retirement, investing, and other areas of personal finance blogs. There is a wealth of information from people sharing their ideas that actually work or has worked for them.

Create a sustainable budget

One that pushes your frugal threshold and ramp-up your savings rate. The more you save the quicker your journey to the prize.

Set an overall goal and stay completely open and flexible to how you’re going reach it.

For most people this is a journey that will take a number of years. A lot of life will happen during this time. Live your life, stay focused on the goal, and accept that your journey won’t be the straight line you may have initially planned for.

Learn from your mistakes.

In order to make great progress you may have to challenge and step outside of your comfort zone in ways of lifestyle and investing. You must be willing to make mistakes, learn from them, and then make the necessary corrections.

Be optimistic and be open to say YES to every opportunity that you can.

If you stay open to opportunity by believing that they will come your way you will be able to recognize them when they do come.

Be nice and share your knowledge, skills and experiences whenever you can.

Share with others on the same journey or to those wanting to join the FI/early retirement movement. Be someone sharing early retirement success stories, what is working and what isn’t. On the flip side be open to the ideas and receiving help from others.

You Will Receive Non-Financial Benefits

While on your journey you not only move closer to your goal but you discover so much more about yourself. You learn what it is that truly makes you happy, what is important to you, and you create what will ultimately be your early retirement lifestyle.

What Early Retirement has taught me about myself is that the journey is where I discovered my own meaning and established my own sense of self. It is something that must be experienced. It can’t be taught or learned from reading a book. This is exactly why early retirees who took control and planned for their dream life are the happiest and most content retirees.

What Early Retirement has taught me is the Journey continues.

Once my goal was reached and the prize was won my journey didn’t just end. It began a new adventure that I get to rely on all I learned getting here.

What Early Retirement has taught me about myself is that we are truly happy when we continually grow and change. When we can learn, stay curious and develop over and over again. By accepting this we are sure to enjoy the journey wherever it takes us next.

Do you see your financial independence journey bringing personal rewards beyond financial success?