The 2018-2019 US Government Shutdown was the longest in history and lasted for 35 days. Not only did I survive the shutdown, but I actually thrived during it. Here is my tale of surviving the government shutdown and about how my journey for financial independence affected my shutdown experience.
Continue reading “Surviving a government shutdown”How I’m using my vacation days to maximize my happiness
One of the biggest perks for federal employment is a generous amount of annual leave. I currently earn 8 hours of vacation for every 80 hours I work. I’ve also maxed out the amount of vacation I can carry over from year to year. Therefore, each year I “need” to take 208 vacation. One would think that I’d be in an enviable position. However, I’ve rarely used my vacation days in a way that made me truly happy. This year my plan is to use my vacation days to maximize my happiness. Here’s how I’m doing it.
Continue reading “How I’m using my vacation days to maximize my happiness”Money well spent- April 2019
Hi all! Welcome to May!! Here’s what we did in the month of April! I started writing these “Money Well Spent” posts as a way to reflect on the previous month and talk about our spending in some key areas. It’s also a way for me to reflect on the current state of affairs in our family For a larger explanation of why I write these posts, check out March 2019’s post.
So without further ado, here is my money well spent post for April, 2019.
Continue reading “Money well spent- April 2019”When to collect deferred retirement?
I’ve been writing a lot about early retirement options for federal retirees. One great thing about the FERS retirement system is that you can keep the pension benefits you’ve already earned as the so called “deferred retirement”. You have options on when to collect your deferred retirement. Which is best? Let’s take a look!
Continue reading “When to collect deferred retirement?”Gluten free for less: How we feed our family of 5 for $1.25 per person per meal on a gluten free diet
So I was on Twitter again tonight. (Surprise surprise). On the latest ChooseFI podcast, Brad and Jonathan were discussing their frugal grocery budget of $2 per person per meal. This seemed astronomically high to me, as a follower of The Prudent Homemaker, Money Saving Mom, and Fish Mama (who feed their families for as low as $0.14/pp/meal!) This comment led to a lengthy conversation with The Fioneers about grocery budgets. First of all, let me say that I love The Fioneers. They are writing great stuff. Check out their series about slowing down!! But until recently they were spending $6.50 per person per meal and were wondering how we fed our family so cheaply. (They are also gluten free). There’s nothing like Twitter discussion to cause me to upend my blogging schedule and binge-write a post. So buckle your seat belt kiddos- here’s a detailed look at how we feed our family healthy foods on a budget!
Continue reading “Gluten free for less: How we feed our family of 5 for $1.25 per person per meal on a gluten free diet”The million dollar day of work— Understanding your full FERS retirement compensation
I have been writing a series of posts examining early retirement for federal employees. One of the biggest benefits of federal employment is the FERS retirement compensation. The system is set up so that you’re rewarded with a large retirement benefit upon reaching your minimum retirement age (MRA). Previously, I’ve discussed what happens to your pension if you retire early (post 1) (post 2). Today I want to look at the total FERS retirement compensation package.
Why I don’t include my pension in my financial independence calculations
One of the biggest differences between the public and private sector jobs is that public sector jobs still (as of today) have pensions. A pension, (defined benefit plan), is a guaranteed stream of payments from a starting date until death. Previously I wrote about what happens to your pension benefits if you retire early from the Federal Government. Both my wife (state) and I (federal) have a pension, but we are not counting on them as part of our financial independence strategy. This post details why we’re choosing not to consider these future sources of income in our FI calculations.
I wanted to write about groceries…
But ended up needing to write about body dysmorphia first.
My uncle died of a stroke this week. Of my mom’s six siblings, three have had strokes, and two of those three have also had heart attacks. My grandma had multiple strokes and died of a heart attack. It appears that I’m genetically predisposed to atherosclerosis.
Continue reading “I wanted to write about groceries…”Our second car is a bicycle- A love letter to my spicy curry cargo bike
Our family moved to a central location after spending a year in Switzerland. When we lived in die Schweiz we were able to walk everywhere we needed to go. This time away made my wife and I realize that we both really hate driving. In fact, we hated everything about commuting. At the time, we had one car, and would drive into work together (25 minutes) and we’d take turns taking the bus home (45 minutes) since we worked different schedules. Everything about it sucked. We hated it. This story is about how our lives got so much happier when we (1) moved somewhere we didn’t need a car to survive (2) bought our Yuba Spicy Curry cargo bike.
Continue reading “Our second car is a bicycle- A love letter to my spicy curry cargo bike”Working for the Man – why I’m taking a deferred retirement
(Guest Post! From PartnersInFire.com)
Hi Everyone! Today I’m excited to host my first guest post written by Melanie who blogs at PartnersInFire.com. Melanie is a fellow federal employee who is pursing financial independence. You can read her financial posts here! She also has a podcast called, “My Boyfriend Sucks With Money” that you can check out here. Melanie wrote a case study on the deferred retirement she is planning to take in a couple years for my series of posts on early retirement for federal employees. Check it out!!
Continue reading “Working for the Man – why I’m taking a deferred retirement”