The construction industry is unique in that we purposefully and dutifully work ourselves out of a job as fast as we can. That’s the goal. When a job is complete, the project team disperses across the company and new teams are formed. This constant churning allows me to become somewhat accustomed to change, not that the same nervous feeling ever goes away when it’s time to walk into a new office and meet my new team. I just know the…
Winter and Thanksgiving are upon us. It’s a spendy time of the year for the entire world. Black Friday on this side of the world, and Singles Day in the most populous country in the world. In the Bay Area, daily highs this time a year hang out around the 50’s and 60’s with lows in the 40’s to ’30s. More than cold enough for this Californian to warrant the use of my fireplace. Usually, winter holidays mean getting together…
I live 42 miles from downtown San Francisco where I’ve worked for the vast majority of my career. My commute on average is 3 hours a day. 1 hour in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. This equates to 32.5 days of commuting a year. I believe I’m being as efficient as possible with my money by choosing to live in a “cheaper” suburb, but is commuting to work really the most optimal way to live in a high…
For the first time since we’ve made a concerted effort to pursue Financial Independence, we have to temporarily reduce our after-tax investment purchases of VTSAX this November. An RV road trip vacation in September and our 10 year marriage anniversary weekend in Yosemite in October, sucked out all the buffer we had in our checking and saving accounts—and actually left us chasing our credit card balance in October. Not good. Minimal cash in my bank means more market exposure, but…
The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is the greatest motivator of all time. And for the most part, if we plan and strategize, this Living For The Future works out. If we work hard and sacrifice a little today: saving money, eating healthy, buying stocks, teaching our kids to behave, obeying the law; tomorrow will be better for us. Just about everything we do, individually and as a society, is based on some reward we hope to…