Are you suffering from FIRE envy? Do you follow early retirement bloggers on social media and are jealous of their glorious no job lifestyle? You don’t have to worry about that at Retire by 40. It is spring break in Portland, but we’re just staying in town for a relaxing staycation. No exotic trip for us this week. (I took Junior to see Willow. $2 tickets, can’t beat that.) Today, I’ll share my unglamorous early retirement lifestyle and you won’t be envious any longer. I escaped the rat race, but we are still living an ordinary lifestyle. In fact, I think we live the most “normal” life out of all the FIRE bloggers I know.
Our lifestyle didn’t change much after I retired from my full time job. We live in a small home, drive a small minivan, go out occasionally, and travel a few weeks every year. That’s just like your life, right? That’s why I’m so relatable. 🙂 The only big difference is that I don’t have to go to work at the office anymore. That’s enough for me and I’m a lot happier these days even without a lot of other changes.
I follow other FIRE bloggers too and they all seem to have much more exciting lifestyles than us. They are homesteading, RVing, traveling, summiting mountains, building a custom home, sailing the seven seas, and enjoying life in exotic locations. Actually, that sounds somewhat exhausting. We live a more mundane lifestyle and it suits us just fine. Why didn’t I make a drastic lifestyle change like other FIRE bloggers? Read on…
* This is a recurring post that will show up every spring break with some minor update. RB40Jr is out of school this week so I’m taking it very easy.
Why we live a regular lifestyle
There are a few reasons why we haven’t made big changes in our lives. Let’s go through them one by one. I will make this short today because I’m taking most of this week off from blogging. RB40Jr is out of school and being a dad is job one this week. BTW, he is so happy to have a short break from school. It’s amazing how much pleasure kids derive from such a simple thing. It’s not like they’re doing much in 2nd grade.
- Mrs. RB40 is still working. She isn’t quite ready to retire yet. We can’t make drastic changes to our lifestyle until she retires from her full time job.
- Our kid is in school and we love our school district. We probably will stay in this area after Mrs. RB40 retires. My family moved every few years when I was young and I don’t want that for our kid.
- We like our lifestyle. Our life is pretty damn good already. After I got rid of that pesky office job, I am at a good place in life. I didn’t need to make more changes to be happier. As for Mrs. RB40, she loathes change and surprises. She prefers to stick to the things she knows. She’s happy with her life at the moment.
So that’s why we haven’t made more change. Once RB40Jr is off to college, I’d like to live in Thailand part time. That will give us something to look forward to. Meanwhile, we’re very happy with our mundane lifestyle.
My weekly schedule
So what does my early retirement life looks like? It’s actually pretty structured now that RB40Jr is in school. When I first became a SAHD/blogger, life was a lot more disorganized. It’s hard to have a set schedule with a toddler at home. Life is really good now that I have more time to myself. Anyway, here is my current schedule when school is in session.
- Family – spend time with the family, cook, meals, hang out with Junior, and general leisure time.
- Blog (red) – write, research, email, network, etc…
- Gym – 5 times per week
- Flex time – work, deal with rentals, chores, relax, family time, or whatever needs to be done.
On the weekdays, I drop RB40Jr off at school and go straight to the gym. Then I work on Retire by 40 until lunch time. After lunch, I relax a bit and work a bit until 2 pm. That’s when I walk to meet RB40Jr at the bus stop. Once he’s home, it’s all family time until he goes to bed.
Blogging time is pretty interesting. I publish a post on Monday and Thursday. That’s why I set aside time to work on Wednesday and Sunday nights. I need to do a final edit and work on the graphics for the post.
For spring break, all the work time during the day turns into flex time. I’ll work on the blog whenever I can. RB40Jr doesn’t have any camp or childcare during spring break. We’ll do errands, explore our new neighborhood, and take it easy. Blogging will take a backseat while I’m a full-time stay-at-home dad.
My Instagram feed
Yes, you can live vicariously through my Instagram feed. Come along on our spring break and see what we’re doing. Follow me on Instagram. Here is the latest screenshot from my feed.
- YES! I got the cable up from the basement. #DIY for the win!
- We met up with @TreadLightly_RE and @FrugalPharm. The weather took a turn for the worse and we had to hide from a flash hail storm under the play structure.
- SpaPizza! I told you my Instagram feed is exciting. And yes, the spapizza was excellent.
- Buccatini & meatballs.
- Our cat sleeps during the day so she can stay up half the night and meow at us.
- Nam Prik Ong – a Chiang Mai specialty. Awesome with sticky rice, fresh veggies, and pork rinds. Yummm #thaifood
- Street art on the way to the library after I participated in a market research group.
- Spring is here!
- Cute houses in our new neighborhood.
This is pretty representative of my current lifestyle. These days, life mostly revolves around family, blog, gym, food, and local fun. Early retirement is good.
No need to be envious
Alright, that’s about it for today. Follow me on Instagram so you’ll have one FIRE blogger that you aren’t envious of. I cook interesting food so that’s fun.
Have a great spring break!
Starting a blog is a great way to build your brand and generate some extra income. You can see my tutorial – How to Start A Blog and Why You Should. Check it out if you’re thinking about blogging.
Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.
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That’s nice RB40. All other bloggers just show off how good their lives are. I gave up following a bunch of them already.
I still gave faith in you. The only thing I envy u now if nor working but…that’s all right.
Thanks for sharing it
Congratulations for being able to go to bed at midnight and wake up at 6, I go to bed at 10:30pm maximum in order to wake up at 5:45am.
Flex time also includes sleep. I rarely get to bed later than 11 pm nowadays. 😉
Hi Joe – reading about bloggers like yourself really motivates me to go on my own financial freedom journey. I enjoy reading about and taking a peek into different lives.
Like many things in life, I don’t believe there is a “one size fits all” lifestyle. I also don’t believe there is only one suitable lifestyle for me. Therefore, I find it educational to learn about other lifestyles.
Additionally, as mentioned, it really motivates me to do better and to be able to gain financial freedom to continue to move my lifestyle deeper into the happy zone.
And I thought I was the only boring retiree!! I enjoy about 4:30 every afternoon knowing I don’t have to slog my way home from work and Sunday evenings are now pleasant-no dreaded Mondays. So far that’s been good enough for me!
I loathe traffic jams. That’s one of the best things about retirement. I don’t have to be on the road much. 🙂
Sounds like a wonderfully unglamorous lifestyle!!!
As an anesthesiologist, I prefer routine, boring, and mundane. If things get too exciting, it’s usually not a good thing 🙂
Maybe one day I can visit you in Portland too, just like Frugal Pharmacist and TLRE
I’m not even early-retired yet and I’m already living an unglamorous life. So I guess I’m ahead of the game? I work from home, so my time is somewhat flexible. That is, I can work on my blog in and around emails from customers. I also get off work early (I start at 7, get off at 3), so I have plenty of time to devote to the blog if I so choose. Or to narf around watching Netflix/Hulu. Which I’d never do when there’s blog work that needs to be done. Cough cough.
Anyway, beyond that, I go to a trivia group once a week and out with friends about every other week. That’s the bulk of my life: Netflix/Hulu, blog, trivia/drinks with friends. But I like my life. It’s nice and quiet, which I need after an ex-husband who seemed to bring noise with him wherever he went.
i like that schedule. we have a friend who is a full time artist with no boss, but stuff still has to get done. she had a similar large format schedule in her studio for research, marketing, phone calls/emails, and all the stuff that isn’t just making the art. i still don’t know what i would do without that 40 hours i need to be somewhere. my fear is that i would think of it as vacation where we spend pretty freely. glamour is overrated. i love staying near home and like it even better if people visit me here. i supply the wine, you come over.
Hey your lifestyle is very balanced compared to the rest of society. You have alot of time with your family and simple pleasures. However I doubt you live a boring life. Didnt you just spend 5 weeks traveling around Thailand ? Lol keep on keeping on…..
I’m sure plenty would envy your life, Joe! You have like 16 hours for blogging and can spend more than half of your day with the family? It’s what motivating many FIRE pursuers including myself. You’re living the dream.
As a first time reader of your blog, I must admit you live a wonderful ‘ordinary’ life. I’m still envious haha. It’s great that you have a lot of time to spend with your family. Nothing more precious in life then that! Keep on living ‘ordinary’! 🙂
I love, love, love this post, Joe. I appreciate so much someone throwing out the candid details of their life, rather than leaning into the most impressive, Insta-worthy bits.
For what it’s worth, it seems like a very enjoyable life to me.
My reply from 2018 still holds, but your food shots, Joe! Pizza crust recipe please, it looks like sourdough.
Beautiful, old Victorian homes in your “hood”. I never get tired of walking around looking at them, and catching a glimpse inside at night, ha,ha.
RBjr. is super cute and lucky to have all that open family time w/you.
I’ll stick w/this mundane, boring life. Joy still comes in doses. Quite content, thank you.
Ps- do cats really do that? Up all night? Mee Ouch!
Check on YouTube. You can try different ones and see what works. Basically, I mix the ingredients and let it sit overnight. Then stick it in the fridge until I’m ready to use (8 to 2 days.) It’s pretty easy. You should use bread flour, though.
Our cat has been a bit crazy lately. She keeps waking us up in the middle of the night. I’m not exactly sure why.
It’s interesting to see what you do in a typical week. I did a post back in November 2017 about my typical week. Like you say, they don’t necessarily look very exciting from the outside looking in, but they are a great place to be because these are the things we’re choosing to do, noboby’s forcing us!
As I’ve moved countries since them, I’m planning to record what I do during April (or at least part of it), to see if much has changed. It will be interesting to compare.
Your life looks awesome, that´s how my FIRE lifestyle would look like, around cooking, gym, church, blogging and hubs. Keep up the good work.
Eva
True wealth is not to drive a Ferrari, it is never to have to to work again. 😉
I think people often forget that it is contentment they should be aiming for as the norm, not exhilaration 🙂
Now that I’m in my forties my idea of bliss is coffee and a good book, with my kids in the background and not fighting. Lol
Being on FIRE not only involves having enough money to cover your expenses but also a certain type of mindset. If you are the kind of person who is content with doing exactly what makes you happy, then FIRE life would come naturally. If you are one of those people who needs to keep the show on for the world in terms of consumerism, then it would be difficult.
You’re right about mindset. I’ve never liked pep rally and didn’t have that corporate rah rah spirit. I like to stand alone and self employment is a great fit for me. I love my ER life.
Absolutely! Thanks for putting the real picture.
I always wonder how real are those high adrenaline and YOLO images that typical I-made-enough-money-to retire-young blogger wrote about.
To me, one of the key tenet of retirement is NOT having to go to the 9-5 job everyday and the associated nonsense that comes with it e.g. politics and profit-rules-over-everything-else policies.
Beyond this, everything else should still be pretty much the same. You don’t have to suddenly go sky diving or Everest climbing. Of course you will probably have more time to do things and this should be a gradual process.
Cheers!
You’re welcome! I think the YOLO thing is too much. If you’re living it up to the max now, there’s not much to look forward to. I prefer to live moderately well now and enjoy it more later. Gradual rise in happiness is best. 😉
Yup, there is more than one blog out there that only brags about the great lifestyle and how spendy they are now….GCC is the one that stands out the most but there are others.
That’s what I like rb40 and I hope you don’t be like that when achieve FIRE please.
I’m envious of GCC too. They’re living it up on a very small budget. Kudos to them, but not everyone can live like that. We plan to travel too, but not forever and not as often.
Ahhhh! I LOVE the excel spreadsheet for your time management! Just this week I was trying to figure out how I can better manage my time – you have inspired me to make my own. THANKS.
You’re welcome! That spreadsheet is quite useful. It reminds me to go to the gym and relax more.
Your life sounds alright to me … I am F.I. but not R.E. like your spouse … but live in Asia on the other side of the planet … so can see lots of cool stuff by walking outside my door … just saw a giant Buddha in an apartment complex near my bank this weekend … God Bless and Happy Easter
Regular life is fine by me! I just started my journey…and baby steps are hard when it seems like everyone is running free!!
So you DON”T have a yacht? 🙂
OK I admit that I only skimmed the article.
Hi Joe!
Your schedule looks great! It seems pretty chilled and laxed (and super organized). I don’t think I would need an exotic lifestyle. I think I’d get exhaustsed and bored if I did the “fun” stuff every day. I actually prefer chilled days and super fun days once every so often. I find that balance is key.
Overall, I really like your humbling lifestyle!
During the M-F, what do you usually do to not feel like you’re stuck at home (indoors)? I’m guessing gym is one of the times where you’d find yourself outside of your home? I was wondering how do real ft bloggers prevent themselves from feeling isolated, lonely and lost of interaction with ppl in person? Would love to hear your thoughts on that! 🙂
As always, kudos for reaching fire at such a young age!
Yeap, gym is the time I go out. It’s tough in the winter here because Portland is so wet. In the summer, I go out with my kid in the afternoon. We go to the library, playground and such. Social interaction is a tough one. Nowadays, it’s mostly centered around the kid. I meet up with other parents and chat while our kids play. I’m an introvert so that’s enough for me. I also get social interaction through my blog and social media. Extroverts probably need more.
I love how even in retirement, early retirement types still have a schedule. I would (er will?) be the same way.
It’s all about contentment. You seem to do a fine job of avoiding the social comparisons that make us think we need more. Congrats on that, many never reach it!
I think the key is to have a lot of flex time in the schedule. That way you can do what you want. Also needs to schedule time for exercise and some work. People don’t do well with too much unstructured time. Good luck!
I think you’d be surprised how many people would love to have this exact lifestyle! I’m certainly a simple person that loves being close to home, and very happy with where we live and what we do day to day.
Drastic changes by some FIREees sometimes seem more like a ‘statement’ than what people actually want to be doing, especially if many people are following your journey – have to give the fans something exciting to read about! I like your approach Joe 🙂
I love your Instagram feed, Joe! Your food pics look delicious. I was going to post a fish and chips I made tonight on Instagram but the fish didn’t look as good as they tasted. The potato wedges looked okay though!
Thanks for sharing your schedule- I should try and time block my time a bit more. Do you think you spent more time on the blog before it became very profitable? (e.g. right before you retired from your regular job). I am very impressed you go to the gym 5 times per week!
Thanks! I need to take better pictures of my cooking. It looks much better in real life. The curry smelled amazing. Too bad you can’t share smell on the internet yet. 🙂
I spent more time on the blog when I started. I had to do a lot of other stuff to get the blog up and running. I used to stay up to 1 am almost everyday. It’s much better now.
That’s pretty much the FIRE outline I had for myself. Basically, the kid and family would be priority, and wherever possible I’d slot in some writing because it can be scheduled. I think a lot of bloggers think that way too – as something to stay occupied even if they don’t bring in as much income yet – between the hours the kid is in school. Beats watching daytime soap opera with grandma.
You got it. If I don’t have a blog, I’m not sure what I’d be doing when our son is in school. I’d probably volunteer or something. You need to occupy your time with something you enjoy.
It can be a lot of idle time, but broken up time between chores and picking up the kid. My mom was always trying to hustle but between 9-12 and 1-3pm it was really hard to go make a sales call or consign clothes, or sell Avon or whatever housewives did back in the 90s. One thing’s for sure though she really wanted to bring in active income, so she ended up managing rentals and running a dayhome for tots. Master multitasker and true hustler because she couldn’t seek a solid full day of traditional employment because of me.
I think a lot of moms had to hustle back then while balancing demands of kid, housewife, and wanting to make dough. Most Dads just had to make dough. (Baby boomer gen)
The world is different in the millennial era now though. There are increasingly more SAHD and moms working FT in my demographic. A lot of my b-school friends are accountants and lawyers today who never took a break so have steadily worked their way up the ladder to partner positions. Now in the last leg of the child rearing age they realized they’ve outearned their husband and it just makes more financial sense for the husband to watch the kids FT.
I think that’s kind of how this trend emerged for my age group at least from what I’ve seen.
This is all I’m asking for! Just more time with the fam. I don’t need the sail the seven seas or live some glamorous lifestyle–I just want my family to be together. I agree that there is no possible way to have a schedule with small children in the house. They dictate everything.
How did you get samples from Rogue Ales? I like that brewery. Samples would make my day for sure.
I don’t know. They sent me an email and I said YES! Maybe I’m a famous blogger. 🙂
Sounds ace to me! & I am envious!
That’s a sweet lifestyle and probably similar to one I’d be living when I retire. I’m a simple man and want to live a simple life and generally that’s not very complicate or glamorous. People think you have to jet set and travel or something because you have all this free time but I kinda just want to sit around and write, read or go for a hike.
Right! I’m pretty happy to read, write, and relax at home. Traveling is fun, but not if you’re on the road for months.
Great, down-to-earth blog article, Joe. Time is so precious whether a millionaire or not. Thanks for sharing! We all do it differently. In the end, it’s called life!
Maybe the glamorous FIRE bloggers know something we don’t?
Nobody realizes all the scheduling required in FIRE. I mean, we have to schedule the ENTIRE day, not just before 8a and after 6p. There’s a lot we have to do. My schedule has a LOT of “flex” built in to allow for “working” ie. learning. Keeping track/planning for 40/50 years takes time. However, not as much time as enjoying every day.
I love your schedule. Someday, I hope to have more time. Right now, between 7:30a and 6p is this thing called “day job”.
Thanks! That pesky day job really stands in the way of things. 🙂
I like it. 🙂 Most of our days are pretty mundane which is by design. Lounging around home, going out for a walk, eating good food, spending time with family – that’s what life is about. We enjoy a good adventure on vacation but also enjoy time around home with simple pursuits.
I’d nominate your family, but you went on a 9 week vacation to Europe last year. That’s pretty glamorous. 🙂
The low key lifestyle is definitely appealing. Who cares about glamour – being your own boss and being in control of your own schedule is the goal to strive towards.
Thanks! Having control of my schedule gives me a lot of contentment. Sure, my time is still somewhat structured, but it’s still much better than working in an office.
With 2 school age kids our life is pretty unglamorous too, it’s important to Keep the structure for them. Our house is definitely cleaner than it used to be and more home cooking is done.
Home cooking is one of the best thing about ER. I could take time to cook something new instead of rushing to make easy dinners. Home is still not that organized, though. 🙂
Early retirement will happen after kids are done University … Just about to have one go and the next one soon after. That means Retire By 50 🙂
Have you thought about the dent university will make? I have saved but it’s still not enough for 2 at the same time and I don’t want to dip in the retirement pocket.
May I chime in here, Dividend Earner? Start figuring out worst case/cost scenario now for your two kids. Plan on that, the highest it will cost, because there are many surprise costs too.
When of working age, let your kids know they must help w/expenses as well. Financial Aid gives more $ when two or more are in college at the same time-bonus! Research how and where the free money-grants/scholarships come from ahead of time. Good luck! I’ll all work out. Oh, and never, ever dip into your retirment savings for college. That is your safety net!
That’s great! We’re already saving for college so I think our son will be okay. Our 529 already has over $60,000 and it still have 10+ years to grow. I think we’re in good shape. And we only have one kid. 🙂
Good luck!
We’re just as unglamorous. We go out basically once a day for our long walk and errands — park, post office, library, Walmart or Aldi maybe — then back home. Yes we’re building a custom home but it’s not going to be high end and there’s nothing glamorous about the process. We’ll be closer to family/friends (around 14 people at last count) which will widen our social life in that we’ll have more people to be boring with.
A custom home is pretty glamorous. 🙂
Thanks for this. Always easier to think the grass is greener.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT.
My wife enjoys her job, and there’s a high possibility that when we pull the FIRE trigger in a dozen years she’ll cut back to part-time (every weekend a four-day weekend and maybe we can keep health insurance). Our neighbors and town and little craftsman house are lovely. We’re surprisingly content where we are and doing what we’re doing.
I just would like to do it without 40 hours of my life blocked off for pursuits not my own! Thank you for providing that inspiration. It’s nice to know there are others with my ambition who are making it work.
Thanks! Part time is the way to go. You have time to do what you want and still keep a lot of the benefits.
Good luck!
I think you’re right that because things didn’t change to much when you retired, it does make you a little more relatable. My goals have changed somewhat as I get closer to FIRE, but when I first got started down the path, all I cared about was getting to a point that I could quit my job. I envied how you kept things “unglamorous” – same life, just without the job.
Boring is good. 🙂
Have a great spring break!
— Jim
Boring is not good, what’s the point of living? If boring is your routine your retirement will be boring. I make sure i’m having “retirement fun” now so I don’t have to wait till i have all the money and time but no energy. I’m bound to have money and time, but the best time is NOW, when you have the energy to do what you really want and not just settle for a dream retirement in which you may encounter other issues, including ailing health.
I’d say routine rather than boring. When you have kid, life is much easier with a good routine.
I think children makes a big impact on how you see life. Traveling was a lot more exciting when I was single. Now, it’s still fun, but also kind of tough.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to reading more about your move to Panama. It sounds like a big change. 🙂
That is about our life but my husband is home too. I do a few “productive” hours, he runs some erronds. We try to go out to coffee a few times a week or do an adventure without the kids. And we work out together. Although this spring we will do a 9 week road trip. 🙂
It’s great that you have some personal time without the kids. I think we’ll be able to do that once our kid is a bit older and can stay by himself. Now, he still wants to go everywhere with us. Enjoy your trip!
Having a young kid / wife that still works will do that to you. Do you expect your life will change drastically once he’s older and she quits her job?
I don’t think life will change much after Mrs. RB40 retires. I’d like to take a year off to travel around the world, but then it will be back to normal life. That’s exotic, but I’m not sure if we can pull it off. We’ll see…
One of the things I appreciate most about this blog is how easy you are to relate too. Taking advantage of geo arbitrage and traveling the world sounds fun but it’s not for my family anytime soon. It’s nice to read about you being retired and living an otherwise “normal” life.
Thanks! I’d like to take advantage of geo arbitrage too, but that will have to wait until my kid goes off to college.
Ha,ha. Thanks for the laughs.
I do wonder about those other bloggers-do they take tax deductions for the expenses of those high flyin’, life in the fast lane, blog related lifestyles? I always wondered.
I LOVE coffee beer-just never know what time you should drink it-morning? not before bedtime? Who knows!
Impressed by your structured week schedule.
Mrs. RB40 made all those soups?? I’ll be right over!
Some of them do, but the blog would have to make good income. One blogger I know took too many deduction and got audited. The blog didn’t make enough income to justify it.
Coffee beer was good, but a little strange. I think I like regular ale better. It was good to try once.
No expert here, but I thought you had 3 years to make a profit in a business. So deductions allowed until then, but he was probably deducting his whole lifestyle! Ha,ha.
This was a fun, fascinating post Joe. Someone once said (I think!) Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. I see others living in the fast lane, and I like to slow down, go w/the flow, stay out of people’s line of fire and off their radar screen-ha,ha. Thank you, RB40.
Normal and boring is sometimes the best way to live life. Hubby and I LOVE stability and routines. We are not adventurous people at all.
We like to talk about how we will travel the world and live in different countries when we retire but we don’t go out of our ways to spend big bucks on exotic trips at the moment.
Maybe we will do that when we have more cash reserve or something hehe. I find your FIRE enjoyable rather than envious. Keep it up!
I like to have some adventures, but not too much. Mrs. RB40 prefer stability, but she’s up for travel once or twice per year. I don’t know if she’ll join me in Thailand when we really have time. She might visit for a few weeks and then come back to stay with her parents. We’ll see how it goes.
I’m FIREd too, but my life has changed pretty significantly.
Mrs. FF and I sold our house in the burbs and rented a small apartment in downtown Philly. It’s a new Empty Nester lifestyle!
We are also planning an exotic trip to the UK this Spring, so I guess we’re one of those Traveling FIRE people. 🙂
That’s pretty cool. We’re going the other way soon. We have a small kid and my mom lives with us most of the year. A small apartment isn’t working out. Enjoy your travel!
That sounds like a pretty great schedule to me. That’s pretty much what we’d be like, I think, just with the times probably shifted up a little bit. And hey if you’ve got an awesome life, why does FIRE have to change that??
Pretty similar here. If a person lived a glamorous life style, they probably wouldn’t make it to FIRE (or wouldn’t want to) and we just don’t change are spots. Tom
Right. It’s tough to keep the same budget if you change your life drastically. Geoarbitrage would help a lot, though.
When do you do chores besides cooking?
During flex time. I usually do light cleaning twice per week. Laundry occasionally. Grocery shopping sometime on the weekend. Chores are no fun.
Ha ha – I’m pretty sure the term you are looking for Joe is househusband.
And when Mrs. RB40 retires, we can be a housecouple? Or maybe just unemployed household…
Hi Joe, nothing wrong with a normal unglamorous life if you are happy:) Isn’t it was this is all about…happiness?
Have you ever thought of switching your blogging schedule to free up your Sunday afternoon when both your son and your wife are home?
Check the previous response. 🙂
I already spend plenty of time with Jr.
Good morning Joe,
That idea of grouping emails into a specific time block is a great way to keep them under control. It’s also great that you’ve set aside a specific schedule for your blogging; otherwise it could just become all-consuming and creep into all of your other time.
Here’s a question for you, Joe: Why do you publish Mondays instead of Tuesdays, and not shift your blog work from Sunday to Monday? That would shuffle more family time to when Jr is home from school on the weekend.
Oh, and I love the storage of board games / puzzles under the chair! We do that too 🙂
Now, I just need to work on an auto-response for email. I rarely respond to emails, but it takes so much time.
Monday is my best traffic day. I think office workers start their week by not wanting to work. They catch up on blogs and other news. That’s what I used to do.
I already have plenty of time with Jr. He needs to spend some time with his mom too. In the summer, it’s more flexible because we go do more stuff as a family.
The board games and Lego.. That’s the cleanest that it’ll ever get as a SAHD. 🙂
Ha ha I love how open and honest you are. I’m sort of retired I suppose.( Maybe it’s semi retirement?) and your life seems like mine but more organised.
Thanks for sharing
LMF
Semi retire is probably a better fit for me too. Semi retire by 40 just doesn’t sound like a good blog name. 😉 My life was a lot less structured when our kid was young.
We know you’re fooling us Joe… we’re all waiting for the pictures of your Ferrari & swimming pool to show up on Instagram. Or is it a Porsche?
🙂
I wish… 😉
I did something weird and I downloaded your image of your daily schedule to my phone to examine later. Hahaha. Thank you for this specimen. I’m too sleepy right now but other people’s time management has always sparked my attention.
I’m only a little jealous of FIRE but only if the blogger has kids and both spouses are retired and spending the day together. That’s my dream!!
Yeah, check it out. I don’t keep to it religiously. It’s just an outline. What are you doing up at 2 am?
I think my life is pretty much perfect now. Spending more time with Mrs. RB40 everyday would deteriorate my QoL. Life is easier when you have some alone time.
“What are you doing up at 2 am?”
Ahahaha, that’s why I downloaded your schedule. I am pretty sure mine is messed up 😉
LOL! Does Mrs. RB40 read this? But yeah, I know what you mean, alone time is the best! My husband likes his alone time too thankfully.
I like how you spend about 14-15 hours blogging/week and you’re able to generate high 4 figures off the blog- that’s amazing!
Summitting mountains- hard to do when you have a family! Life is like a 180 degree turn once you have kids. Adventure is more the little things once you have a family, like getting to go on a date or a movie night without children, lol!
I kind of just did the same ?saved the image
I went further – I printed it to use for my weekly routine, maybe it will help me organize my things better.
I donno Joe … I think my FIRE family could be a contender for “the most normal” award.
Other than taking one big vacation a year, we’re pretty boring! Suits me fine though! 🙂
I was thinking about you when I wrote this one. Living a normal lifestyle is good when you have 2 little kids. Some bloggers take their kids on long trips, but that doesn’t sound like fun for long. Kid likes stability.
I recorded what I did for a whole month and I think I might be serious competition for you on the normal, not very exciting lifestyle. But, like you say, as long as we’re happy with it, what does it matter.
Having said that, I do have my exciting plans – I wonder if they may be too exciting for me. Oh well, I guess I’ll find out in due course.
Your trip sounds really exciting. That will mess up your normal lifestyle for a while. 🙂
I want to take a year off to go travel too, but I’m not sure if we can pull it off. We’ll figure it out.
You like your lifestyle. I like mine too which is just as an unglamorous early retirement lifestyle as yours. I am a night owl and enjoy staying up until 3 or 4 AM. I also like sleeping in till noon. After I shave, the first thing I do is exercise vigorously for at least an hour. Last week, when I was in Vancouver, one day I went for an intensive bicycle ride for 2.5 hours. After I shower, being a digital nomad, I head for one my favorite coffee places where I work on my laptop for an hour or two. In the evenings, I like to wine and dine with friends as I did five of the seven nights that I was in Vancouver. I also go to venues to listen to live blues music whenever I can. But I have gone on too long about my lifestyle. I remember these words by Samuel Johnson: “Sir, you have but two topics, yourself and me. I am sick of both.”
Ah.. That’s why you’re catching up with the blog at midnight.
Wine and dine sounds good. Are there good blues venue in your area? Our only blues/jazz club closed down last year. The Blues Festival is coming soon, though. I always look forward to that every year.