December 2018

Time Diary – This Tool Will Change How You Live And Work

– Posted in: Lifestyle

Like others that keep a spending diary or a food diary, I keep a time diary. I have kept a time diary for over 20 years! I started doing it because I was working in the professional services field where you had to track your time to bill your clients. You also had to calculate how much of your time was billable to clients versus non-billable (and billability was an [...]

Digital Nomad Or Travel Sabbatical: Can You Take Extended Time Off Without Derailing Your Career?

– Posted in: Career

I recently caught up with a friend who left his job in the spring and has been traveling for almost six months, including to Tamarindo, Costa Rica for surfing camp! His expertise is in eCommerce, so his skills and experience would match perfectly with a digital nomad career that blends travel and work. Yet, he elected a travel sabbatical – all play, no work. A travel sabbatical isn’t something just [...]

Miss Costa Rica Natalia Carvajal Gives Advice To Steve Harvey

– Posted in: Costa Rica

The 2018 edition of the Miss Universe competition was held this past weekend. While Caroline and I didn't watch it, I did see in one of my news feeds that Miss Philippines was the winner. Given that Caroline's heritage is the Philippines and we love travelling there, I of course mentioned it to her, and she recalled that this isn't the first time recently that Miss Philippines won. In fact, [...]

One Question That Saved Us Years On Our FIRE Journey

– Posted in: FIRE
large question mark in the sky above a standing man

I juggle a lot of different projects – writing, teaching, consulting, speaking -- but the one thing they all have in common is being advice-related. Earlier this year, I did a talk on work/life balance in Philadelphia, and an attendee asked for advice on what to do about perfectionism. I also get questions on what to invest in (is Costa Rica a good market for real estate?), what industries are [...]

Traditional Job Or Digital Nomad: What Is The Best Way To Start Your Career?

– Posted in: Career
two hands pulling on opposite site of rope

Our oldest daughter converted a temporary job to a full-time offer, so we have one of two children officially launched! This first job is a traditional office job with a biweekly paycheck, benefits package and retirement account. However, it also comes with a 9-5 schedule and limited vacation time that needs to be requested in advance. Already, our daughter had to give up free show tickets that a friend offered [...]

December 1 is Military Abolition Day In Costa Rica

– Posted in: Costa Rica

Since Costa Rica is the place we are adopting as our new home away from home, one of the things we would love to learn more about is the history of the country. One of the things that makes Costa Rica unique is that it has no military. From LA Times: To this day, Costa Rica has no army, navy or air force, no heavy weapons of any kind. There [...]

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