2019 fire cohort

[Trifle]

Great update @FIRE 20/20!  Thanks for the encouragement to volunteer!  I've done a few things here and there but want to find something steadier.   

[Loren Ver]

Thanks for the update @FIRE 20/20 it is good to hear back from the 2019ers!

I too have no idea how work fit into my life.  How did I actually manage to wake up to an alarm and get things done on demand?  Utter non-sense. 

LV

Indeed, obligations for an employer who requires you to be present at the office for 7,5 hours a day is non-sense. I can really get used to the quieter times outside rush hour. When I need to shop now, I always plan it during work time. The corona thing has made it much more crowded now on all times, and I get the impression that from 2 pm most people are off. But if I manage to do much stuff before that time, I'm fine. I have gotten a much lower stresslevel for shopping and traffic now.

Linea- I too find myself really avoiding the normal crowds, even before the pandemic.  The shift in patterns due to the virus has made things harder as many schedules have shifted, but I think I have found a new sweet spot.  I'm not up as early as I once was, but before 1030am still seems to be pretty light on a Monday morning. 

[Dicey]

Thanks for the update @FIRE 20/20 it is good to hear back from the 2019ers!

I too have no idea how work fit into my life.  How did I actually manage to wake up to an alarm and get things done on demand?  Utter non-sense. 

LV

Indeed, obligations for an employer who requires you to be present at the office for 7,5 hours a day is non-sense. I can really get used to the quieter times outside rush hour. When I need to shop now, I always plan it during work time. The corona thing has made it much more crowded now on all times, and I get the impression that from 2 pm most people are off. But if I manage to do much stuff before that time, I'm fine. I have gotten a much lower stresslevel for shopping and traffic now.

Linea- I too find myself really avoiding the normal crowds, even before the pandemic.  The shift in patterns due to the virus has made things harder as many schedules have shifted, but I think I have found a new sweet spot.  I'm not up as early as I once was, but before 1030am still seems to be pretty light on a Monday morning.

Uh, possible pro tip: Shipments tend to be smaller, lighter or non-existent on Sundays, ergo Monday is not the optimal shopping day for groceries. You have the time of day right, but you should find fresher goods Tu-We-Th. This is particularly true for Costco. Source: Costco brother. He says you're welcome ;-)

[chasesfish]

Thanks for the update @FIRE 20/20 it is good to hear back from the 2019ers!

I too have no idea how work fit into my life.  How did I actually manage to wake up to an alarm and get things done on demand?  Utter non-sense. 

LV

I think about this daily

[Loren Ver]

Thanks for the update @FIRE 20/20 it is good to hear back from the 2019ers!

I too have no idea how work fit into my life.  How did I actually manage to wake up to an alarm and get things done on demand?  Utter non-sense. 

LV

I think about this daily

And the further away it gets the more ridiculous is seems yes?

How do people even manage to get kids to do this?  Craziness!

[Loren Ver]

Thanks for the update @FIRE 20/20 it is good to hear back from the 2019ers!

I too have no idea how work fit into my life.  How did I actually manage to wake up to an alarm and get things done on demand?  Utter non-sense. 

LV

Indeed, obligations for an employer who requires you to be present at the office for 7,5 hours a day is non-sense. I can really get used to the quieter times outside rush hour. When I need to shop now, I always plan it during work time. The corona thing has made it much more crowded now on all times, and I get the impression that from 2 pm most people are off. But if I manage to do much stuff before that time, I'm fine. I have gotten a much lower stresslevel for shopping and traffic now.

Linea- I too find myself really avoiding the normal crowds, even before the pandemic.  The shift in patterns due to the virus has made things harder as many schedules have shifted, but I think I have found a new sweet spot.  I'm not up as early as I once was, but before 1030am still seems to be pretty light on a Monday morning.

Uh, possible pro tip: Shipments tend to be smaller, lighter or non-existent on Sundays, ergo Monday is not the optimal shopping day for groceries. You have the time of day right, but you should find fresher goods Tu-We-Th. This is particularly true for Costco. Source: Costco brother. He says you're welcome ;-)

Just saw this one Dicey- I might have to move my day to Tuesday.... :).

[chasesfish]

Re: Costco/Shopping Days - I've picked up an instacart hobby, Tuesday - Thursday is 100% better for Costco and the other grocery stores.  Both for stock levels and freshness.

 

[Classical_Liberal]

I semi-FIRE'ed back in Sept of 2019.  I was contract working my old job in smaller chunks until two weeks ago when I quit completely. 

A year ago my WR was around 5% (I just checked, it was actually 5.5%), now it's down to about 4.25%, mostly because of spending reductions post FIRE.  I still plan to work again in the future, just more aligned with my values and lifestyle preferences.

I'm a heretic here in that prior to FIRE I never biked, but since FIRE it's become a true passion of mine, for transportation, entertainment and exercise.  I can't believe how much fun I had been missing out on!  Anyway, the biking hobby, plus tons more time for other activities like hiking has helped me lose about 20lbs since FIRE date.  Plus amazingly improved cardiovascular health, which just makes life so much more fun.

I've also taken up a whole host of other productive-type hobbies, which has really opened up the world to me from a sustainability/DIY ethos. Really, my thinking has done a 180 from being mostly reliant on consumer culture to mostly independent of it. Although I still have a couple of vices. :)  Maybe I can ditch the worst of them in 2021 and push the boundaries of spending down even further.

I don't spend much time here posting or reading anymore.  MMM was more of a gateway drug for me.  I'm more interested in ideas that lead to what would be viewed as more extreme lifestyles.

If you can't tell, I highly recommend pulling the plug to anyone who is unhappy with their job situation and has even a modicum of financial security.  Consequences be damned, if you're smart enough to be here, you'll figure it out.

Keep kick'en ass MMM forum!

[Life in Balance]

@MissNancyPryor  Thank you for sharing your reflections.  I am 8 months in and just feel now like the decompression cloud is lifting.  So, it's nice to see someone on the other side who is enjoying their fire-pandemic life. 

[BigMoneyJim]

I'm days short of 11 months retired, and I only really felt like my pandemic life having any relation to my retired life started meshing a month or two ago.

My response to the pandemic has greatly altered my near-term plans, and I think it has dragged out my decompression/adjustment period. Or maybe I'm not even fully decompressed or adjusted yet, but at least I can connect the dots between what I'm doing the past few weeks and what I want to be doing post-pandemic in retirement. And that's new.

I've been coming to the forum fairly frequently, but I quickly learned to be very selective in what I read, and especially what I reply to. Usually I just look for updated topics I've posted in. I just have nothing constructive to add to the most popular topics of 2020.

[Loren Ver]

Thank you for the updates @Classical_Liberal and @MissNancyPryor

It is so good to hear from those that have wandered off and found their FIREd selves! 

Miss Nancy - I'm glad you kicked the cheater to the curb, before he even got on the side walk even!  So many people let the excuses slide because because because and then wonder how they got trapped is a mess.  Well duh.  Not worth it.  Value your self highly, for that is what you are worth!

Loren

[Trifle]

Great updates everyone!  It's so interesting to read about everyone's journey.  I really miss you all.  If you're going to be in western NC please PM me.  I'd love to meet up for a beer. 

All's well here at the Trifele ranch.  I'm one year and seven months into FIRE, and it is out-of-this-world fantastic.   My health continues to be good, which I'm grateful for every single day.  I don't miss work even a little bit.  We're gardening, DIYing, hiking, and running to our hearts' content.  Covid put a crimp in some travel plans, but that is a tiny, first world/privileged problem if there ever was one.  Agree @MissNancyPryor -- FIREing was one of the best things I've ever done.  Life is soooo good.  :)

 

[Home Stretch]

I hit one year in June.

I think 2019 has to go down as the all-time weirdest year to FIRE in the history of Mr. Money Mustache. Seriously, what a roller-coaster.

The second half of 2019 was pure bliss, for the most part. Found out my wife and I were expecting our first child a few weeks before I quit my job, but after I had decided to do so. This was not unexpected, per say, but for some reason I thought it would take longer to conceive since we've had lots of friends our age with issues. Welp, not a problem for us! We traveled up north and out west during the summer and fall, spent tons of time with friends and family, and generally had a great year.

Around the new year, I started to get a bit antsy and decided to do some freelance software development work with a really good/low-key client. Partially, I wanted to do this to keep myself mentally sharp, but also partially just to prove that I could have been successful on my own if I had chosen that path earlier. So far, it's going okay, but the events of this year have been... distracting... to say the least. I feel like I could be delivering things faster for their project, but there isn't a huge amount of pressure to do so, and I didn't FIRE so I could work 40 hours a week again.

Our new baby arrived in Feb. She is adorable and healthy and a whole lot of work, as everyone of course warned us would be the case. Since we have no full-time employment, we aren't paying for childcare, which means a whole lot of time at home with the little one. This isn't a bad thing, but 2020 threw a nice little curveball which has made everything feel a little more claustrophobic and a little less optimistic. I really would like to be able to just meet up with our friends and their kids, but a lot of them are still super paranoid, even though none of them are high-risk and I would have no problem meeting up. And even then, they all work full time and can only meet on the weekends; one of the downsides of leaving full-time employment at such a ludicrously young age.

All in all, I have zero regrets about pulling the trigger. We are inexplicably wealthier and more confident in our plan than we were last June, and it feels good to know I can pull in extra income via freelance work if we need it.

Now we just need to get over this fear-based pandemic nonsense, and back to traveling the world, and all will be well.

[Loren Ver]

Congrats on the baby @Home Stretch!   Glad you didn't have any issues.  Working out not make the pandemic any better :).

@Trifele Glad things are well at the ranch!  First world problem are the best problems to have :).

[SeanTash]

I haven't posted for many months now, so thought I might as well.
It's been about 20 months since my initial fire date.
I spent the first 6 months travelling in Asia, hiking a lot and loving it.

Afterwards, I spent a few months back in Ireland with family - I even took a job (I was a bit nervous that my lean fire is a little too lean) but it really didn't feel right so I left after a few weeks.Then, an old work friend offered me some part time contracting with a small startup in the travel space back in Melbourne, so I decided to do that for a while.

I didn't plan on doing it all that long - I don't have a real permanent base, so I was actually pet sitting for accomodation, with the odd airbandb.  I had several mega adventures planned - starting with walking the length of new zealand, when covid started being a thing. Before long, we were blocked from flying overseas, then from leaving the state, then the city, and then stuck to a 5k limit. So that's curtailed my travel just a little!!

I didnt expect my PT gig to last (as its in the travel space) and because my two rental properties were now only paying 50% rent (if at all) due to covid, I accepted a freelancing gig which meant I was basically working 6 days a week, not 2 or 3.
I figured, its freelancing, I'm working for myself, should be fun. Well no, it wasn't. You are not really working for yourself, you are working to deadlines and requirements of a client. It was a very stressful 4 months, but thankfully now Ive handed off that project and am back to just 20 hours a week.

Until the rental issues get sorted, I kind of need to keep working a bit for the moment, so the fact that I am blocked from travelling isn't a huge issue. But it's still pretty annoying. I'd just love to be able to just go for a weekends camping.

[chasesfish]

How is everyone doing?

I hit two years this Friday...and I don't know how I ever had time to work!

[stoaX]

How is everyone doing?

I hit two years this Friday...and I don't know how I ever had time to work!

My 2 years is coming up in July and I fully agree with your "how did I have time to work" thought. Between planning and executing a cross country move in late 2019 / early 2020, and then having the covid hit, I'm not really sure what it is like to have a normal retirement. 

I do know that I prefer it to a full time stressful job!

[BigMoneyJim]

Doing very well! 18-ish months in. As much of a downer as the pandemic has been, I think being retired has made it much easier for me to deal with compared to most others.

But now I'm midway between two vaccine doses and starting to consider how quickly/slowly I want to reintegrate into the public world.

The pandemic–well, my chosen response to it–delayed my moving plans for several months to a year. On the other hand, I was forced to reconsider how I was going to do it and came up with the idea of going nomadic which is something I had never seriously considered.

I've only been in two places and actually have a 5-month lease right now, but I do consider myself nomadic in that I'm not staying in one place for more than a few months at a time, and after this lease I'll do a post-pandemic family slow-travel tour. (For me to visit family, especially my aging parents.)

I may actually be getting some employment rather suddenly and unexpectedly, but just a few hours a week, all online, and very in-line with my current activities and interest. I will still consider myself retired; retired doesn't necessarily mean never working; it means doing what I want, when I want.

I'm still learning what it means to me to be retired, but I am definitely progressing.

[chasesfish]

@stoaX - Where did you land?   We pulled off our move in July, so at least had eight months to experience the place before the last thirteen of pandemic life.

I underestimated the amount of time/work a cross country move would take, it was a solid 3+ months of a new full time job.

[DireWolf]

How is everyone doing?

I hit two years this Friday...and I don't know how I ever had time to work!

I’m still about 3 months away from 2 years. It’s going fantastic. Spouse joined me in October. I’d told here she could retire when I did, but she wasn’t ready. Seeing me enjoy myself and our portfolio growing and growing convinced her.

And, wow, the portfolio. I didn’t panic in the slightest at the COVID dip. Now up $250k since I started prepping to pull the trigger on FIRE. On top of that, this crazy real estate market has pushed my home price up almost $100k. Might hit the $2M mark this year. Crazy.

Expenses were way under expectations because of being home all the time last year with lockdowns. We decided to go ahead and do some big ticket items, replacing the roof and gutters. Also got a new bicycle and wife splurged for a kayak. Getting tons of use out of these. With all that, we still came out just under budget. With the roof last year and water heater 2 years ago, our A/C unit is the only thing on the horizon for years.

This is our first year on ACA. CSR Silver plan was already cheap, and then the stimulus bill lowered in half or less. Woohoo

[Omy]

20 months in. We've spent way less than anticipated due to the pandemic. Almost no travel or restaurant spending. Because we FIREd, we were eligible for all three stimulus checks (which we're donating to food banks). ACA was WAY cheaper than expected...and just dropped another $150 per month. Net worth has increased over 20% since August 2019.

2020 taxes were a huge surprise. I was certain that Turbotax was wrong because our tax rate was SO low. I was expecting 10%...but less than 1%?!

Overall, it's been very stress free. Before FIRE, I had stressed about health insurance costs and a million other what ifs. If I'd known it was going to be this easy, I would have FIREd 5 years sooner.

[Trifle]

Great updates everyone!  I'm 27 months in, and life is grand.  The stash has continued to grow, I don't think about money much, I'm with my family who I love, and I am freeeeee.   Now if we could just fix the pandemic and all the other problems.   
:)

[tooqk4u22]

Pretty good here and fortunate no family or close relationships had covid issues, although there have been other health concerns.  2 months before it will be a full 2 years.   I believe I am an inherently lazy unmotivated person and sometimes I stress about thoughts that I should be doing more.  But on the other hand I have done a crap ton of work on the house (kitchen, paint whole house, rewired a bunch of it, redid two of kids room, landscaped outside with Boulder fire pit, gardened), helped family members with some home projects, did a few smaller trips pre and post covid, lost 20+ lbs last year by mostly walking (but gained 10+ back when holidays and winter came).   Oh and I run my 3 kids all of the place for their school and activities (lucky to have one day with nothing). 

So yeah, I am lazy and unmotivated but still seem to do a bunch.  I think the feeling of not being super productive is a remnant from the work life when qork related stuff (commute, dressing, ironing, shaving, actually working, etc)  consumed 60-70+ hours per week. 

It's also crazy that my portfolio is up more than I would have made (gross) during that time and that's with a conservative AA.   Crazy! Still don't trust it but not fighting it either, just sticking with the AA and rebalance accordingly and still mentally prepared to withstand a 50% drop in equities but don't think that will actually happen.

I guess one thing I need to figure out (other than dropping some lbs again) is getting some friends. Problem is I am not an overly social person and if I do to much it gets tiring, but I do enjoy hanging out with people in general.   aside from covid the schedule and ways to find people don't seem to cooperate. 

[markbike528CBX]

Hi everyone, OP here.

I OLY but checked in as the rest of you FIRED.  Congratulations, and hoping everything is going good with all of you.

We have been OK.  Didn't panic (much) last March.   I have been reading "Too Big To Fail" and I feel that we are close to that finance-wise.

New "problem": Covid gave me an excuse to be anti-social. 
Now I have to fight covid habits as well as my pre-existing introversion to get to becoming a more social person.  https://xkcd.com/2416/


Both DW and I have at least one vaccine shot now.
The pool might be an attractor for small parties to get back into socialization. 
Working on getting it set up earlier this year.


I have restarted having a weekly checklist of to-do's just to prevent ultimate sloth. 
I don't take the checklist that seriously.  Some things took 6 months of weekly reminders to complete, but I didn't stress about it.

still mentally prepared to withstand a 50% drop in equities but don't think that will actually happen.

You do realize that you already have been there, done that and got the t-shirt for to 50% drop already?  :-)

[2Birds1Stone]

I failed my cohort and ended up back at work after ~13 months off.

Planning the next exit strategy while waiting for things to normalize a bit. To be fair, I pulled the plug too early by most peoples standards ($500k in assets).

It's great seeing so many of you still happily FIRE'd!

[tooqk4u22]

still mentally prepared to withstand a 50% drop in equities but don't think that will actually happen.

You do realize that you already have been there, done that and got the t-shirt for to 50% drop already?  :-)

Yup, but doesn't mean I don't want to be prepared for the next one!

[Loren Ver]

So glad to see so many checking in and doing well!

We celebrated two years April 1st and things are very well with us.  Our numbers are looking better than we ever thought possible.  We went out light and thought we would need to be lean the first 5 years or so to let thing stabilize and avoid SORR, but with the 2020 growth we should be good.  Not like we have much we want to inflate to, just less being watchful.

COVID cancelled some things, but also gave us a chance to reset and evaluate some of our early FIRE decisions and decide what we value and want to add back in going forward.  Worked out well for us and we are choosing to use it like an opportunity instead of a set back.  So glad I wasn't at work when all this came down though.  DH and I would have been some form of essential, and being tucked safely at home with a mug of hot cocoa was far more enjoyable. 

LV

[stoaX]

@stoaX - Where did you land?   We pulled off our move in July, so at least had eight months to experience the place before the last thirteen of pandemic life.

I underestimated the amount of time/work a cross country move would take, it was a solid 3+ months of a new full time job.

We landed in the suburbs of charlotte, on the SC side of the border, just 2 months before the covid hit.   I hope to never make a major move again.... but I suspect that I will.....

[Lews Therin]

Here's another data point on the: I could have FIRE`d earlier.

It's been quite nice market-wise.


I was Skinny Fire, (4% at 500k) ; now I'm up at 650k.

[iluvzbeach]

I can't recall if I provided an update after my attempt at FIRE in the fall of 2019, but I ended up staying on part-time (3 days per week) at 75% pay + other incentives and benefits and it worked out quite well.  Slowly, over time, I've ended back up to full-time but with an incredible amount of flexibility in my schedule and it's actually been okay as I'm not sure what I would have done with myself during the quarantine of the pandemic.  In some ways I feel like I'm FIREd but I know I'm really not.  I plan to launch FIRE 2.0 (the final FIRE) later this year with a much bigger safety cushion than we originally anticipated.

[chasesfish]

@stoaX - Where did you land?   We pulled off our move in July, so at least had eight months to experience the place before the last thirteen of pandemic life.

I underestimated the amount of time/work a cross country move would take, it was a solid 3+ months of a new full time job.

We landed in the suburbs of charlotte, on the SC side of the border, just 2 months before the covid hit.   I hope to never make a major move again.... but I suspect that I will.....

100% with you on that.  I ended up outside of Charleston and see one more move in my future...even if the pain of it is frustrating.

[TartanTallulah]

Two and a half years after "retiring" and falling straight into a little stash-sparing freelance job doing the most enjoyable parts of my occupation I remain a FIRE failure. I keep thinking I'm going to become surplus to requirement and that'll be OK, but as things stand I remain useful and having a defined role in an actual workplace has been a blessing during the pandemic. With no opportunities to spend on holidays and dining out, I managed to save most of my income in 2020. It'll be lower this year because my parents, who live some distance away, need a lot of support from me so I can only work around 12 days a month. But that's more than enough, and it's all icing on the cake that was my lean FI situation in late 2018. I suspect that as things open up and short vacations and long bike rides become possible I'll be less willing to work.

I tried to take my DB pension this year, but the process was frustrating and I had plenty of income so I put it aside to accrue for another year.

Two of my adult offspring have boomeranged, but they're 27 and 23, have lived independently, and are highly motivated to launch again.

[PhilB]

Two and a half years after "retiring" and falling straight into a little stash-sparing freelance job doing the most enjoyable parts of my occupation I remain a FIRE failure. I keep thinking I'm going to become surplus to requirement and that'll be OK, but as things stand I remain useful and having a defined role in an actual workplace has been a blessing during the pandemic. With no opportunities to spend on holidays and dining out, I managed to save most of my income in 2020. It'll be lower this year because my parents, who live some distance away, need a lot of support from me so I can only work around 12 days a month. But that's more than enough, and it's all icing on the cake that was my lean FI situation in late 2018. I suspect that as things open up and short vacations and long bike rides become possible I'll be less willing to work.

This really resonates with me.  After OLYing from this cohort, I agreed to stay on with work 7 hours a week.  Two and a half years later I'm still doing it.  I too keep thinking it will end and they keep finding me useful.  I've been glad to have it through the pandemic for the social contact and it has definitely padded the budget.

It has been a real struggle to come to terms with not being properly 'retired' though after so many years of looking forward to it.

[chasesfish]

Mid-year check in?  How far out are you?   27ish months for me and this week marks two years since we settled into our FIRE spot.  Celebrated it with some surfing this morning.

[couponvan]

Still on my smoke break- hubs got a package to cover through 2022. Technically we could FIRE, but hubs is not ready to go out on terms that weren’t his own. FU money comes in very helpful BTW.

[BigMoneyJim]

I guess almost 21 months for me. I sold my house, went nomadic, spent a few months in Colorado, in the middle of a few months in Washington where I've officially moved to, and in August will hit the road and stop in a bunch of places in the Western US a few days at a time while visiting family along the way. (From Northern border states to Southern border states.)

I think I'll be going to a conference or two and returning to Washington along the West coast on highway 101 before winter makes getting back to WA iffy.

No RV, just me, a cat, and a car full of stuff, and staying in vacation rentals or hotels.

[Enigma]

I was FIRE, Oct-2019 (@$1.7M).  Left my computer job and did some road trips when I wasn't confined to my house due to COVID.

Due to rental income and market rise I am (@$1.99M).  My rental income is still a pretty good chunk of income and I am still trying to grow my liquid stache.

[Loren Ver]

Hey Hey!

DH and my first day of FIRE was April 1st 2019 and we are still happily FIREd.  Very happily.  I still wake up and realize I never have to go to work again.  Yah!!

If we had been working we would have been essential and been in the office/labs at least some of the time, ugh.  No thanks.  Being hunkered down in the safety of our own home where we could make the rules was much better. 

The market has been very good to us.  We went from very lean FIRE to oh my freaking goodness gracious FIRE (very close to doubling).  So naturally we hedonically increased our lifestyle, by an estimated $1,700 for the year.  Big money, big prizes!

Today is the 4th of July holiday (observed).  I don't have to go to work tomorrow.  EHHHHH!!!!

We are starting to plan trips again and see where whimsy takes up. 

Loren

[Trifle]

Today is the 4th of July holiday (observed).  I don't have to go to work tomorrow.  EHHHHH!!!!

Hahahaha!

Enjoy your whimsical awesomeness this year @Loren Ver.   

[PowerStache]

Enjoy reading everyone's updates!

I am 27 months in and still loving life.  In March 2020 my RE life was interrupted when the DH and two kids stopped leaving the house for work and school.  lol. Hubs and I have enjoyed more time together and I have been glad to be around while the middle schooler and high schooler navigated virtual learning.  Oldest son (16) was very sick in early 2021.  Turns out he has an autoimmune disease that will require infusion treatments every 1-2 month for the foreseeable future.  Just another reason to be glad to be out of the workforce.

Old job has called to offer me a promotion to come back not to long ago.  That's a big no thank you! 

[Loren Ver]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

[oldtoyota]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

That’s so nice you can do that for her, and I bet she appreciates it! My mother did similar by retiring to care for my dad. He had retired years earlier.

I hope you two have lots of fun in your retirement. :-)

[Trifle]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

:)
It really is great when we can help family with things. 

[stoaX]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

:)
It really is great when we can help family with things.

Agreed.  Spending more time with family, especially the older ones, is my top reason for being retired.  Whether it's helping out or having fun with them, I'm so glad that I have the time to be there. 

[Dicey]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

That’s so nice you can do that for her, and I bet she appreciates it! My mother did similar by retiring to care for my dad. He had retired years earlier.

I hope you two have lots of fun in your retirement. :-)

Hey @oldtoyota , methinks you've returned after a long-ish break. Hope you've been well and welcome back!

[oldtoyota]

So earlier this month DH and I went up to mother in law's house (few hours drive) to do some things she needed done around the house (painting fence, fixing toilet, caulking storage barn etc.) and visit.

While her and I were out and about we got to chatting about DH and I being retired and she stated, "you two are just so much happier now.  Not that you weren't happy before, but still."  It was pretty funny. 

She retired when father in law got terminally ill years ago to take care of him.  They were always frugal and good savers so she knows the game.  She is just so happy we could step out of the game while we still so young and really enjoy retirement.  And of course come up in the middle of the week to fix her fence and storage barn :).

Loren

That’s so nice you can do that for her, and I bet she appreciates it! My mother did similar by retiring to care for my dad. He had retired years earlier.

I hope you two have lots of fun in your retirement. :-)

Hey @oldtoyota , methinks you've returned after a long-ish break. Hope you've been well and welcome back!

Aw, that’s so nice of you to say. Thank you! I hope you are doing well!

[Loren Ver]

Anyone else thinking about it?

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/camp-mustache-events/camp-mustache-midwest-cm*mw-cincinnati-oh-422-4242022/

[Trifle]

Thanks for the heads up about this @Loren Ver !  I think I can do this one.  I filled out the pre-registration form. 

[Loren Ver]

That's great @Trifele , I did as well.  I was excited to see one so near by and not sold out.  They are looking for someone that is good identifying plants, so, if you know someone ;). 

Anyone else?

Loren

[Trifle]

That's great @Trifele , I did as well.  I was excited to see one so near by and not sold out.  They are looking for someone that is good identifying plants, so, if you know someone ;). 

haha, I saw that Loren.  I never lived in that area though, so I doubt I would be much help identifying things.  Probably the best thing would be to rustle up one of the local Master Gardeners . . .