Retired in 2013 at age 33. Life is Good.
I’ve been expecting a stock market dip for most of the year and it finally arrived in July. So what, right? We were left with a little bit less in the investment portfolio (if losing $19,000 is “a little”). But life is still very good for this particular early retiree. In July, we spent a bunch of money and made even more than we spent.
Read more
Mrs. RootofGood and I have visited the Big Apple in the past, but our kids have not. On our first day in NYC we had lunch plans with Mrs. RoG’s coworker around noon, and we wanted to visit her firm’s equities trading floor before the markets closed, so we decided to drive into midtown Manhattan and park somewhere close so we could ensure our timely arrival. The tunnel toll from our hotel plus parking all day in Midtown was $30 – about the same as transit fares from the hotel into NYC and then MTA transit fares for the subway in NYC. Parking in NYC is expensive, but so are transit fares for a family of five.
Read more
We made it to Canada, but just barely. I’ll summarize by saying the first five and a half days of the trip to get to Canada were awesome and the last half of the sixth day required perseverance. A lot of it. Some might say the last half day of the journey to Montreal was horrible, but I’ll stick with “required perseverance”. But let’s take things in chronological order.
Read more
June came and went and treated us very kindly. Somehow we spent next to nothing, and had a fabulous month of investment income.
At $9,611 in total income during June, we more than covered our monthly expenses of $830. And then some. And then some more.
Read more
Summer is here. Are your kids bored yet? They shouldn’t be. There are dozens of ways to keep your family busy and having fun without spending much money. Here is what we do to prevent ourselves from getting cabin fever.
Read more
Throughout my life, I have been drawn to far away destinations. My first taste of wanderlust started in high school when I requested a free copy of the Mexico destination guide from AAA. I read that thing front to back then back to front. I folded down the corners of so many pages that described in fascinating detail all the interesting parts of a country I was yet to explore.
Read more
For those following along with my early retirement monthly updates, you’ll know the Root of Good family is heading north to Canada for the summer. At the end of June, we will pack our kids (age 2, 7, and 9) and a trunk full of gear into our trusty fourteen year old Honda Accord and set out on a 2,300 mile trek through the US and Canada for about a month.
Read more
In May, we had a nearly perfect month financially. We spent very little and our investments gained a lot of ground due to excellent stock market returns. At $3,575 in total income during May, we
Read more
After another month of early retirement, I have to say I’m a big fan. I fill my days with things I want to do, not things that I have to do to earn a paycheck.
I have heard other early retirees say “I’m so busy now that I’m retired, I don’t know how I ever had time to work!”. That’s a sentiment that’s very familiar to me these days. In a good way.
Read more
In a previous article, I shared one month of grocery purchases in great detail. On food items alone, we spent $448 for our family of five. For those that spend two or three times this amount, read on. I’m about to share how we keep grocery costs down without dumpster diving* or coupon clipping. We keep costs down yet eat a relatively varied diet filled with fresh produce, meats, and dairy.
Read more