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Retired and Inspired at 55

Thoughts and Musings on Early Retirement

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Early Retirement Can be Yours

Welcome to my blog on early retirement. It took a lot of planning and discipline but I was able to retire at 55 in February 2020. I'll share how I did it, and my experiences in retirement.

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The Zen of Disc Golf

With all the stresses in life, it’s important to find ways to decompress and leave the stress behind for a while. For me, biking off-road and playing disc golf provide exactly that. Lately I’ve been playing disc golf much more than riding and a friend has taken up the sport, so I have a partner on the course.        Let me start by taking an excerpt from a definition of “zen”: “…its focus on mind-body oneness and a holistic understanding of reality. The term "zen" can also be

Scary to be On My Own Again

When we are young, we think we are indestructible but as we mature reality takes the place of that youthful myth. About to celebrate another birthday, I got to thinking about living by myself and being on my own again after so many years. A lot of things to consider as I looked for a new home and a lot to plan for going forward. After 25 years of taking care of a house and yard, I wanted to be free from that responsibility for a while. Plus, I didn’t want to spend a huge chu

All 50 States Convention – Musings from the 2nd Annual Convention

A big shout-out to the organizer (thanks Alicia) and volunteers who made the convention in Richmond, VA a huge success. THANK YOU!        Since the travel time was basically the same to fly or drive, I chose to drive. It saved a ton of money but more importantly allowed me to bring back beer from several local breweries and a nice bottle of VA bourbon too. I was amazed and pleased to see my 14-year-old SUV pull 25 mpg on the drive. Not bad for an aging tank of a vehicle.     

Changing Priorities

One of my first posts that came up again amidst the changes in my life. As we evolve through life, our goals and priorities ebb and flow...

New Beginning

As we move from one phase of our lives to the next, we can choose to fight the changes or embrace the opportunities they present. I’ve...

Almost Cut My Hair

With all the changes happening in my life right now, this old post came to mind as I ponder the future. Those of you old enough – or...

Packing Up My Life

Now that I am in my new apartment, I want to share some lessons learned and insights gained as I packed up my belongings on the way to...

Don’t Think, Just Hit

The title of this post is a direct quote of advice I got from a softball teammate when I was in a hitting slump a few seasons ago. By...

Be Curious

Another of my early posts that I was recently reminded of:        As children we have a natural curiosity about everything, and we are...

Conversations

I am lucky to have 2 close friends with whom I can discuss any topic without issue. One is more on the religious side than me and the...

Cleaning Out Your Closets

Some late spring cleaning and de-cluttering at home got me thinking about this early post. If you’re like me, you have a lot of stuff...

Back in the Saddle

This has been a tough spring for allergy sufferers like me to do a lot outside. Between the super-high pollen counts, rainy days, and...

Adapt in Order to Make Progress

Another previous post that I was reminded of by being in the process of adapting to some of life’s changes this spring....

5 Years and Still Going

It will very soon be 5 years since I started this writing journey in June of 2020, and it sure has gone fast. I started my blog as a way...

Don’t Let Your Brain Retire

As I approach 5 years of writing this blog, another of my first posts jumped out while I was reminiscing, so I am re-issuing this one as...

Babes In Breweryland

For those of you thinking this will be about pretty women at breweries you are incorrect. The babes referred to here are those of the...

Beware of Medical Billing Practices

A new round of medical billing errors following a recent procedure that required several phone calls to straighten out, reminded me of...

Where’s Your New Hangout?

When our local brewery – Ashton Brewing – closed at the end of December all of us regulars had the same question for each other: “where...

How I Retired at 55

It’s been just over 5 years since I retired and time sure has flown by. Here is my first post as a potential reference for those of you...

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The articles in this blog are for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal advice, financial advice, emotional advice or counsel.

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