financial independence through continual improvement
One of the core philosophies here at Brewing FIRE is the idea of continual improvement. I am always looking for ways to make small, incremental adjustments to my life in the expectation that it will lead to major improvements over time. So when I recently came across the Health Work Love Play Dashboard in a … Read more
I was searching through the storage area in my laboratory (for some masks, sigh) when I came across this box. The inscription was written by a coworker a few years ago, and references the popular cartoon/meme by KC Green. In the comic, a dog calmly sits at a table, drinks coffee, and tells himself that … Read more
“Time is free, but it’s priceless.” Harvey Mackay Question: what has more inherent value: time, or money? It’s often stated that time is precious, mostly because it’s finite; we can’t buy more time, and one day it will run out. On the other hand, money is the lifeblood of productivity and is quite literally what … Read more
Sometime around 2010, I became deeply interested in my personal finances. I started to track where my money was going, and scrutinize the spending decisions I was making. When I first discovered financial independence- the idea that I could chop 30+ years off of my working career through conscious life decisions- I was elated. Spend … Read more
Back in January, I created a list of 10 goals for 2019. I’m not normally a goal-setting type of person, but I thought it would be interesting to try out. I divided my goals into 3 categories: Financial, Business/Professional, and Personal. I tried to make them “SMART” goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound). This way … Read more
First off, New Year’s Resolutions are stupid. Why do you have to wait until you tack up the new calendar before you start trying to improve your life? When exactly in 2018 did you stop caring about making a better you? How many cookies did you eat on December 30th because you had two more … Read more
Short Pours is my short-format series of posts that will allow me to publish more frequently, and get a bit more creative with my content. Check out my introduction for more information on this series. In this edition of Short Pours, I’m going to cover my feelings concerning the Holiday Season, and figuring out what Christmas … Read more
When I was 11 years old, I signed up for the BMG Music Club. If you don’t remember the 90s, BMG and their rival, Columbia House, would offer deals such as “10 CDs for the price of 1” if you signed up for their monthly music subscriptions. So I signed up for BMG and got … Read more
One of the taglines of my blog is continual improvement. It’s not because it’s a cool-sounding catch phrase. It’s because the continual improvement process is a core component of my everyday life, and has been for more than 10 years. Okay, yeah- it’s a cool-sounding catch phrase, too. So what is continual improvement, what are its … Read more
It started from a place of passion. It was the 2012 timeframe, and I had just begun to discover the financial independence, early retirement movement. After learning that a lifetime in a cubicle-prison was not mandatory, I became obsessed with improving my financial situation. I started working harder, slashing costs, and investing the difference as … Read more