Elk Camping
This week centered entirely around the camping trip I was taking to an elk camp. Normally I hunt elk, at least in the sense that I have a license and walk through the forest with a gun. This time though I was just going as a camper, and I would be mountain biking in. It…
Hunting Prep & Bored AF
Early in this week (days 106 and 107) I put the finishing touches on the LeetCode problem which consumed my whole last week. That dominated my thoughts and schedule so thoroughly that it wasn’t until later this week (days 111 and 112) that the mental buzz faded and I got bored and/or antsy for the…
Hand Crafting Code – Job Turned Brain Teaser
Most of my week was devoted to a brain teaser which used to be my job. I hand crafted a solution to a LeetCode problem classified as “hard” difficulty. After about 40 hours of effort, I finished the solution and LeetCode accepted it. Even though code as a profession is dead, it felt great getting…
Tech Hobby and Volunteering
This week I worked a lot on tech projects that interested me (days 93 and 95). None of them for paid work, just for my own amusement. FIRE: Day 92 (9/28) Gym, Spanish, but no tech. I made burritos today which took up the bulk of the afternoon. FIRE: Day 93 (9/29) Gym, Spanish, and…
September 2026 FIRE Budget: Back Under 4%
Full budget series This month’s 3.97% withdrawal rate provided some reassurance that our FIRE budget is realistic and sustainable. We really needed this after last month’s 4.59% withdrawal rate, where we also depleted and overran our uncategorized sinking fund. Income 4% Withdrawal: $4,511.08 Expenses Total: $4,476.91 Withdrawal Rate: 3.97% Grocery Store $915.51 Our groceries finally…
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…
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…
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
