The Latest Personal Finance Content from Think Save Retire - Think Save Retire

How we budget our monthly expenses

Our budget is designed around a reasonable expectation and the minimalism that took a firm grasp over our lives last year makes the acquisition of useless crap virtually nonexistent.

Using Etsy to generate passive income

A couple weeks ago, I opened up a store on Etsy - one of the Internet's most-visited creative selling services - to start getting my hands wet selling some of my favorite photographs online - before retirement.

Would you pay $164k a year to live on a cruise ship? This woman would!

For seven years, 86-year-old widow Lee Wachtstetter has called a Crystal Serenity cruise ship "home". By now, the crew on-board the ship is like family to her, and she regularly ballroom dances, attends cocktail parties and movies, lectures and other activities. And, I'm sure this woman hasn't cooked a meal for herself in years.

Would you pay $164k a year to live on a cruise ship? This woman would!

For seven years, 86-year-old widow Lee Wachtstetter has called a Crystal Serenity cruise ship "home". By now, the crew on-board the ship is like family to her, and she regularly ballroom dances, attends cocktail parties and movies, lectures and other activities. And, I'm sure this woman hasn't cooked a meal for herself in years.

Those fancy-schmancy wallet-busting weddings

For some insane reason this Friday evening, I started Googling for the average cost of weddings in the United States of America. I got a hit through the Huffington Post, so I clicked - and read. Holy crap, I could hardly contain my bowels when I discovered the amount of cash that we are blowing for our weddings these days: almost $30,000.

Conventional wisdom

8 life lessons that I will never forget

Growing up, I had a particularly lofty expectation about professionals in the working world – heck, about the world in general. I thought that high level executives were the best in their field. I thought perfection was a critical element to success. I thought my competition would be my greatest limitation. I was fearful of what the world was about to hoist upon me.

Trying damn hard to stay frugal in San Francisco

My wife and I have a looming trip to one of our favorite cities, San Francisco, to celebrate the birthday of a friend of ours. But, there is no getting around the fact that San Francisco is not the cheapest place to tootle around in, and our friends of ours are definitely not on the fast track to retirement.

Get excited about the little things in life!

How many of you out there have ever said "Man, I'm excited for this weekend because..."? Or, maybe yours went something like "I can't wait for our vacation to Hawaii...it's gonna be hella-awesome!". Whatever awkward phrases that you use to describe what you're excited about, it's always nice looking forward to something. It puts a smile on your face. Each time you get excited, it makes life a little more awesome.

Comment moderation

This entire blog is now officially un-moderated!

As of today: This entire web site is completely, 100% unmoderated. That means comments will, by default, appear publicly on the site immediately after submission. No more emails asking me to approve a comment (which I generally did via my cell phone, increasing the time that I was mindlessly staring into my pocket-sized personal computer).

What I look for in an early retirement blog

It seems these days, so-called "early retirement" blogs are a dime a dozen. So many blogs out there, so little time to digest them all. But quite honestly, some aren't worth the effort to digest because their main purpose is to make money.

Opinions wanted: Buying land and building a house vs. buying a pre-built home

After retirement, we plan on moving up to Sedona, Arizona - Sedona is nestled within red rock country in northern Arizona. It is a beautiful little town that attracts tourists throughout the year and is rich in hiking opportunities and generally getting more in touch with nature. We make yearly visits to both vacation and, now, to check out real estate in the area for our eventual move into the area.

Change Your Life

Sedona, AZ is definitely in our future

We love Sedona, Arizona. We're determined to live our off-grid life there. Here's how we're going to do it.

Change Your Life

The new year is here! What 2015 means to me

Finally, the new year has arrived. No more anticipation. No more resolutions or reflections. No more, "Next year, I will..." utterances. The next year is here, so it's time to finally put up or shut up. Happy New Year to one and all.