Tag: Retirement

Different Headlines: Springsteen Movie Bombs, EV Sales About To Tank, The Leaked Playbook For Destroying America, WWI Soldier’s Message In A Bottle Found….and more

Entertainment

‘The Boss’ Bombs: Springsteen Biopic Hits A Sour Note At The Box Office – Well, he shit on half the country with his TDS delusions. No wonder they didn’t go see it

Election 2024

‘What The F**k Did You Just Do?’: Obama Was Allegedly Irate With Pelosi During 2024 Presidential Campaign – They are not the kingmakers they thought they were, just egotists

The Real No King To Protest

Joe Biden Was the Real ‘King,’ Not Trump

Biden-era FBI may have investigated over 160 Republicans as part of ‘Arctic Frost’ probe, documents show… Pot/Kettle

Education

Historical Icons They’re Removing From Our Kids’ Education, we’ll be doomed to repeat history. The difference is one side is armed with about a trillion rounds of ammo, the other doesn’t know which bathroom to use and hires drug addled stooges to do their killing. Antifa just destroys their own towns.

EV Sales

EV Sales Will Collapse 60% in October, J.D. Power Forecasts – They were only buying them because of the subsidy, not to save the planet or whatever nonsense they used to justify it.

Black Women Behaving Badly

“Get Out There and Ravish!”: Woman “Out of Food Stamps” Shows Off Stolen Goods, Urges Others to Steal at Will and “Infiltrate” Churches for Cash – What happens to grifters when the free stuff runs out? It’s on Schumer to stop the shutdown now. Try working instead instead of bitching about your free money being cut off. BTW, isn’t this hate speech?

Humor

Gen-X and Older Will Remember the Struggles Were Real [VIDEO]

The Fifth Column Trying To Destroy America From Within

The Leaked Playbook for Silencing America – power-grabbing money-grubbers who are trying to rule instead of govern. These people must be stopped, or many will really suffer, not social media suffer.

Retirement

Top Places to Retire if You Love Cold Weather – not everyone wants to boil in Florida surrounded by tourists

NYC Mayor’s Race

The Shadow of Terror: Zohran Mamdani’s Radical Islam Problem – A radical past and present. That portends a radical future for a city going down the toilet

More Islamic Problems In The US

All Roads Lead to Dearborn – I’m sure this wasn’t Henry Ford’s dream

Humanity

WWI Soldiers’ Messages in a Bottle Found in Australia – a message from the past

Little Green Men

Researchers Say UFOs Spied on Nuclear Weapons Program – Take me to your leader

Food Stamps

Mapping Where Non-Citizens Receive The Most Food Stamps… Surprise, sanctuary cities and states near a border (or accessible by water)

mRNA

mRNA Vaccine for Birth Defects Didn’t Work Well, Won’t Be Continued: Moderna… in things not ready for prime time, yet they forced it on the sheep who took the Covid Jab. Some of us are still pure bloods. We are not ready to be gene editors.

Lawfare

Latest Arctic Frost List Confirms Smith and Democrats Were Aiming to Wipe MAGA off the Map and Ultimately to Jail All MAGA Leaders – maybe this should be under No Kings, as that is how they acted

Letters Confirm Liz Cheney Secretly Worked ‘Hand-In-Hand’ With Jack Smith – what a cnut

Healthcare

107 Studies Link “Vaccines” to Autism, Other Brain Disorders

Woke

Cracker Barrel Shares Down About 32% This Year, Following “Century’s Worst Brand Blunder” – They might beat Bud Light as the top of the FAFO companies. Both campaigns were dreamed up by liberal white women. Stop ruining our lives

Rethinking What “Wealth” Really Means in Retirement

For most of our working lives, wealth is defined in numbers. We measure it in bank balances, investment returns, property values, and retirement account statements. It’s the sum of decades of hard work and careful planning — a financial safety net meant to secure our later years. But once you actually reach retirement, something shifts. The meaning of “wealth” starts to evolve. It becomes less about how much you have, and more about how deeply you live.

When you no longer have to chase paychecks or promotions, the things that once defined success lose their urgency. The focus moves from accumulation to appreciation — from “How much do I have?” to “What truly matters now?”

Time Becomes the Ultimate Currency

In retirement, time is the one asset you can finally spend freely. It’s the resource you once traded away for income, deadlines, and career goals. Now it’s yours again. How you choose to invest it — in travel, family, faith, or personal passions — says far more about your wealth than any number on a statement.

There’s something profoundly freeing about waking up without an alarm clock or a to-do list set by someone else. That sense of control over your time is a form of wealth that many people don’t recognize until they experience it.

Relationships Over Returns

While financial comfort is essential for peace of mind, studies repeatedly show that social connections have a greater impact on longevity and happiness than income or assets. True wealth in retirement often comes from nurturing the relationships that bring meaning to your life — whether it’s time with a spouse, deepening bonds with friends, or creating memories with grandchildren.

Some retirees even use their newfound freedom to rebuild old relationships that fell to the wayside during busy working years. Picking up the phone, writing a letter, or visiting an old friend can enrich your life in ways no financial investment ever could.

Health as the Foundation of Prosperity

Ask anyone facing health challenges, and they’ll tell you: without well-being, wealth doesn’t mean much. Good health allows you to enjoy the fruits of your labor — the travels, the hobbies, the simple pleasures. Maintaining physical strength, mental clarity, and emotional balance becomes a daily investment in your quality of life.

That might mean spending a little extra on nutritious food, gym memberships, or preventive care — not as expenses, but as deposits into your most important asset. A strong body and mind are what allow you to truly experience the richness of this chapter.

Purpose Is the New Paycheck

Many retirees struggle at first with the sudden loss of structure that work once provided. But retirement offers a chance to redefine purpose on your own terms. Maybe that means mentoring young people, volunteering, creating art, or building something new. Purpose fuels vitality and joy — and often leads to the most rewarding kind of “profit”: fulfillment.

You don’t need to earn a salary to feel valuable. Sometimes the wealthiest retirees are the ones who give the most — of their time, wisdom, and compassion.

Gratitude Turns Enough Into Abundance

Gratitude has a way of reframing everything. When you look at what you already have — health, freedom, family, faith, or the simple beauty of a quiet morning — life feels abundant, no matter what your portfolio says.

True wealth isn’t measured by accumulation but by appreciation. It’s realizing that every sunrise, every conversation, every moment of laughter is part of your return on investment for a life well-lived.

In the end, rethinking wealth isn’t about abandoning money — it’s about putting it in its rightful place. Financial security matters, but it’s just one piece of a much larger picture. Real wealth is health, time, love, peace, and purpose.

That’s the kind of wealth that doesn’t fade with the markets — and the kind that only grows richer with age.

Source

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

What do you do during the day? It seems innocuous, but here’s why it isn’t for me. (the real answer is that I mind my own damn business and get done what needs doing).

I retired early and being a good introvert, I stay to myself, don’t bother others (especially with personal questions). I do normal introvert things like read and write a lot. I go about my business, get exercise usually for hours, do house repairs, help others, go to bible studies or other events, etc.

The point is that I don’t keep detailed records of what I do. I go about my business and try to stay out of other people’s business.

This question started with a relative I nicknamed Flounder from Animal House, for all the reasons Dean Wormer described about how not to go through life. Flounder went between high paying jobs to bankruptcy due to money mismanagement (spent like a drunken sailor). We’ve never been particularly close because we are so different and shit like this makes me not want to try very hard.

It should be noted that if I give someone a nickname in life, it’s not a good sign of how I feel about them.

Every conversation was, “What do you do all day, sweep the floors?” In fact, it was one of the things I did because I like a clean house. It was a shitty question though and it became monotonos. I’d just rather not have a conversation than discuss that. I finally turned it on him by saying most people ask me that because they wonder what they’ll be doing when they retire. He had no real answer as he defined himself by his job his wife told me.

Nevertheless, the condescending attitude was not even masked. I, the consummate introvert couldn’t defend the question on cue. I’d think of what I wrote above in the hours after the discussion when it didn’t matter.

Still, I hate the idea of anyone 1) intruding on my life and what I do unless I choose to talk about it and 2) getting this condescending attitude because I was able to retire early and it was a part of my life plan. (note: I saved, invested, and paid off all of my debt early to be able to do it. Flounder was in debt above his head and lost millions on houses and valuables he borrowed to get. He had to work until almost 70 and thought he was a big shot until his next firing.

Now, I’m still retired and set for the rest of my days. Flounder lives with one of his kids as he lost both of his houses. Do I ask what do you do all day? Hell no. I don’t want to know what he does, but it’s an intruding question.

Note: I got this question from one of my wife’s friends Randi when I said I was going to retire early. What are you going to do was the very next statement. I answered and got, and then what are you going to do.

Randi isn’t a part of our life anymore because of her shitty attitude. I couldn’t stand to be around her either. She was snarky when saying it and those things don’t get past me easily.

Hey Randi, I’m retired early and am loving life, doing what I want. That’s what I do all day. I go about my business.

This ends with the story about the kid eating all of his candy. A man said that isn’t good for you to which the kid said my uncle lived to be 120. The man asked if it was eating so much candy and the boy responded no, it was because he minded his own business.

Regarding Monday Mornings

I swear I wrote this in my journal this morning. I was grateful that I got rid of that ball and chain a long time ago. I busted ass for a long time to be in this position and it is worth it, I Gar-un-tee it!

Sure I’m older now and don’t have as many years left, but Sunday night doesn’t suck as much knowing that if it’s a bad one, I don’t have to hate the next 24 hours.

When I watched the NFL before it went woke, I used to go to Monday Night Football and get home late and not sober. How I made it to work the next day and was able to get through it is beyond me now. I guess I was young and it didn’t affect me like it does now, even though I gave up all my bad habits.

Just not being able to sleep, which happens a lot now can ruin the next day.

I think I’m better off older.

On This Day, 10 Years Ago…..A Momentous Occurrence Happened To Me…..

I retired and enjoyed the heck out of it. If you want to know what I did, go to about and about me.

I started planning for it when I was in my 30’s and knew it would be a long game to have enough. I listened to Larry Burkett of Crown Financial Services, a biblical based ministry that taught me to save and to live debt free. I posted about it a while back on how an average Joe can become a millionaire.

Was it hard?

You bet it was. There were a lot of sacrifices and a lot of learning about investing, managing money and faith in God. It turns out that we were blessed with an abundance of riches, only a small amount of which are financial.

We were alone.

Fortunately, my wife was on the same page. Heck, my Mom even taught me how to save as she lived through the depression. She could make anything last longer than possible. That woman sacrificed for us and I noticed. My siblings however never learned. Mom told me she taught each of us the same lessons, but said no one else listened to her.

I caught a lot of crap from my friends.

Working in the airline industry is very common for my family and friends. We have many pilots and flight attendants in that group.

Rick, with whom I went to school with since 7th grade, gave me a ton of grief when we were in our late 20’s. He was serving cokes for a living (stewardess) and wasted 15 years of his life doing it. He was broke when he quit.

I spoke to him one Saturday when I was at work. He told me that he only worked 2 weeks a month and was off to Hawaii for free, rubbing it in my face that I had to work. When I hung up, I knew right then that I was making a short term sacrifice for long term gain. I would be retiring early while being financially safe and knew I would have to work hard to accomplish it. I said to myself that I would make it my goal and I’d be playing golf while he was working. He still is working today, and when he got to the real world I’d had 16 years of experience. I had owned my own business shortly after that conversation. FWIW, I played golf this week and have enjoyed a long retirement while he was in tech support.

Did I get even with him?

I chose not to rub it in because the facts show our different outcomes. I’m glad I have mine. I knew I would be financially set and stuck with it in life. Every day is Saturday for me now and he is living off of Social Security.

Being an introvert, I don’t want to get into it anyway and he doesn’t want to talk much anymore. I don’t care what happens to others as I can’t control anything other than my destiny. I’m sorry he didn’t listen to me. He told me he resented that job for 13 of the 15 years he did it and hates his current job.

A theme and a pattern.

It wasn’t only my siblings and friends. When I sold my business and went to work for IBM, they were the same. When it came time for me to say goodbye, my house was paid off and we had saved. Almost no one could believe that I was pulling the plug that early. They thought it was some scandal that I had to quit and were very disappointed that the reason I retired was because I could. Most of them were keeping up with the Jones and didn’t save. I looked some of them up and they are still stuck working at the same job when I left.

At the end, IBM was a terrible place to work (see managing executive ego’s, the good, the bad and the ugly). I actually pulled the trigger a year early to get out of that hell hole. To a person, everyone said they wished that they could do what I did, get out. They were too far in debt to do so.

I turned down moving to New York to “climb the ladder” because living there sucks and I didn’t want to raise a family there. People told me when they moved to New York, they got to pay 30% more for everything, for less than I made. Again, I knew that I was making the right decision for my family not to go there to “get ahead” (behind would have been the actual case if I’d gone there).

My Father.

Dad worked until he was 70. Work defined his life. He was lost when he retired.

Working was only a means to an end for me. To be fair, I was fortunate enough to be highly successful and God decided that I should be compensated for it. That helped make it happen, but if you go back to my siblings, they earned more than me at times. They still work though as most of it was wasted on useless stuff.

Dad couldn’t understand my goals, but I had so much going on that work was interfering with my life, so I stopped. I never regretted it.

A lot of the IBM’rs died shortly after retiring because they had to work a long time. I saw that and knew I wanted to enjoy my life. Now, every day is Saturday for me.

I have enjoyed each day these last 10 years. Heck, I’m the president of the how to enjoy your retirement club. Never once did I think about going back because I didn’t have to.

If there is any lesson, it is in the post of how to become a millionaire.

Short term sacrifice for long term paradise.