Mountain Biking & Hitting My Socialization Quota
This week was unusually heavy on socializing with friends who are also past coworkers (days 88 and 89). I can only take so much of that, and I have hit my socialization quota for a while. It was really great though, and I feel much more inclined to do that now without work draining me.…
Existential Flourishing?
This week took an interesting turn from prior weeks. The start to the week was not the best for me physically, but my mental state has been just about the opposite of an existential crisis. I guess you would call it existential flourishing. The power of ample free time is revealing itself to me as…
Homemade Egg and Green Chile Breakfast Burritos for 73¢
Part of Cost Per Calorie — see the full index A few years ago Costco used to have EVOL egg and green chile breakfast burritos, and they were the most delicious breakfast burrito I have ever eaten. The downside was that they would explode in your microwave while cooking, almost every time. That was a…
Self Discovery And Fun On Purpose
This was a tough week for me as I was recovering from being sick while working through my continuing existential crisis. I need to remind myself that it’s really a self discovery process. I’m figuring out what I am outside of the job I used to do, and outside of international travel. Later in the…
Homemade Tortillas: A Mission To Achieve Better Taste
Part of Cost Per Calorie — see the full index Store bought tortillas are not something to be enjoyed so much as they are a tool. They are great for wrapping, containing, and delivering other delicious foods to your mouth. In recent years I’ve wanted something better than a tool, so I decided to make…
Morning Oats: A Better Breakfast for $1.00
Part of Cost Per Calorie — see the full index For a while, my wife and I tried to convince ourselves that overnight oats were a good idea. You mix everything the night before, tuck it into the fridge, and wake up to… a cold, slightly gloopy jar of “breakfast.” It never saved much prep…
Down With The Sickness
An extremely boring and unproductive week unfolded with most of our household sick. There is literally nothing interesting to point out, and this isn’t worth reading. FIRE: Day 64 (8/31) Gym, Spanish, Tech The bulk of today was spent looking into a 2018 Nissan Leaf we are thinking of buying. It’s only $9K, single owner…
August 2026 FIRE Budget: No Buffer Left for September
We were $668.22 over budget this month at a 4.59% annualized withdrawal rate. Our kids return to school in August, and there are always associated costs. We know these are coming, but we never know how much they will be. This year they totaled $539.82, and $334.33 of that landed in the budget. That’s normally…
Traveling Toward Fire
A Premature FI Experiment
