Life and Society

I was browsing the internet the other day and came upon a touching GoFundMe page. It was the unfortunate story of how something terrible happened and now someone requires a medical procedure that they can’t afford and insurance won’t fully cover. I didn’t think it was unfortunate just because it was a bad situation, it was unfortunate that thousands of identical situations were similarly listed out on the website.

According the GoFundMe’s CEO, one-third of GoFundMe’s donations are to cover medical costs. This is absolute insanity.

So this got me thinking and I decided to come up with a shortlist…

Life and Society

If you’re plugged into the media headlines these days, it seems like society is breaking apart. Apart from COVID-19, there’s an endless slew of conflicts and issues that are intended to sensationalize, to bring attention to your eyes and ears. Granted, I absolutely agree with the long term historical trend that overall violence has declined (Stephen Pinker — The Better Angels of Our Nature), even though it doesn’t seem that way as increased communication gives the impression of more violence.

Yet even though we haven’t had a global world war in some time, there is an ever constant tension that…

Financial Independence

I’ve gotten a lot of questions on various platforms and mediums, from friends, family, former coworkers, and even online strangers. I’ve gathered a list of common frequently asked questions and my answers to help shed some light:

1. Why did you retire early?

Wanted to balance out my life and work the more creative side of my brain, pursue other personal interests and pet passion projects. I naturally have a more fatalistic view of life and society, I have about 50–60 years left on this earth, at best, and I don’t consider this to be a lot of time. I had enough money to build a…

Financial Independence

Let’s be real — you have to be a little “weird” to go all-in to the FIRE movement. It’s an unconventional way of approaching life.

Today I’d like to present a list of 5 items I removed from my life to help me reach financial independence, and continue my lifestyle with relatively low-expenses for a large urban city. I’m not including the generic self-help stuff like “invest in yourself,” “live within your means,” “stick to a budget,” “be goal oriented,” “practice mindfulness and gratitude,” yada yada. …

The Story

Definition of Musing

noun

a period of reflection or thought.

adjective

characterized by reflection or deep thought.

Hi, I’m Ed. I think, I brood, I despair, I hope.

My worldviews, with some flexibility and caveats: Atheist, Stoic (with a capital S), Technocrat, Introvert, Libertarian, conscientious ISTJ .

Welcome to my publication about random life musings. I read…a lot…about everything. And I like to connect the dots between different topics. So I sit and ponder, whilst listening to classical vinyl records. All I need to complete the cliché is a slow-crackling fireplace to stare deeply into, but who am I kidding…

Financial Independence

After introducing FIRE in a prior post, let’s dive into the sub-movements of FIRE. The amazing thing about the FIRE movement is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. We are talking about people’s lifestyles here, so naturally there will be a wide variety of approaches.

FIRE has spawned many different levels and styles of attaining financial independence. It’s important we understand these sub-levels because each level has has its differences and nuances.

In rough ascending order of income/expenses:

1. Lean FIRE

$0-$40K in annual income from your investments.

You’ll need less than $1 million in liquid investments to generate this income, assuming a…

Financial Independence

Since introducing FIRE in a prior Medium post, it’s now been over 30 days since I’ve cut the traditional employment cord. I admit I’m still in the initial stages of euphoria and liberation, I’ve been planning this for over three years…but there are some cons to the movement. I knew these downsides existed beforehand and was prepared to meet these challenges (as best as I could), but some of these will smack people in the face.

I’d like to share some of the negative aspects of FIRE that may not be commonly discussed on other FIRE blogs and articles, and…

Financial Independence

It’s been four months since I’ve hit my FIRE target, and exactly one month since I’ve quit my job. For those unfamiliar, the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement aims to help followers reach financial freedom, versus having to rely on a “regular” job and salary to fund their living expenses. The ultimate goal is to retire early and be able to live off calculated withdrawals from your savings and investment nest egg and/or passive income sources. This movement is gaining increasing traction particularly amongst my generational millennial peers, as TIME is our most valuable asset. …