The Friday Feast ~ the 6th of May
The personal finance community is filled with so many talented writers and inspiring families in search of something better out of life than the traditional society-approved plan of buying lots of stuff and retiring in your 60s if you're lucky.
Here is a look at the best of this week's personal finance blogs.
In this episode of Friday Feast: Age of Happiness, Financial Samurai, Wallet Hacks, The Money Professors, Mom and Dad Money, MrFireStation, Plan Invest Escape, Our Next Life, Clever Girl Finance and DINKs Finance.
Wow, it's May already - for me that's great because I am literally counting down the days until I officially retire from full-time work in December and get to finally control my life. My wife will be two months away from her retirement as well. Fly time, fly!
Hot damn, I think this is gonna work! Now, onto the business at hand...
In the blogosphere, Age of Happiness introduces us to a 70-year old woman who hasn't spent a dime in the last 17 years.
And elsewhere, check out the thoroughly interesting post by Financial Samurai that takes a look at net worth levels by age group; you might be surprised at how low those numbers truly are.
My favorite post of the week
My favorite post this week comes from Jim at Wallet Hacks who told us why he will never let his kids play The Game of Life.
"There are more than two paths [in life]," he wrote, and took issue with "money" being the main driving goal behind real life. "As I write this today, at 35 with two kids and barely into what I consider my “real adulthood,” money is a means to an end. I want enough to support our lives but so many things are ahead of money in importance."
Do you remember playing The Game of Life? I do!
More from the personal finance community
The Money Professors chat with us about the pros and cons of putting your entire vacation on your credit card. Credit card points, anyone?
Don't miss Mom and Dad Money's post that answers the question: How much does financial freedom cost? Matt also provides some tried and true methods to get there sooner.
Also this week, MrFireStation addresses the issue of whether every day is a weekend in early retirement. You might be surprised!
Lastly, Plan Invest Escape has decided on their epic escape date and talk a bit about why they chose their summer date. One big reason? A whopping 13 hours of combined commuting time to their full-time jobs every week!
BONUS: Check out this video of a guy who lives out in the desert and makes his living by picking up recyclables. Amazing.
Honorable mentions: Our Next Life talks about boredom after retirement, Clever Girl Finance gives us 5 ways to rebuild your horrible credit and lastly, DINKs Finance discusses ways to completely murder your credit. How fun!
Photo of the week
I snapped this photo on-the-fly without looking through the viewfinder during our 2014 summer trip to Boston, MA. Came out decently!
Coming up in the week ahead on ThinkSaveRetire: I promised to be as honest as possible about how our new lifestyle is working for us, so on Monday I'm taking a look at the downside of living as small as we are (around 200 square feet). On Wednesday, I will take a look at my last year of full-time work and why I feel so damn confident about the future.
Thanks for reading, and cheers to another financially productive week ahead!