I thought that when we reached a base level of financial independence (living in Florida is Stage 2, where we can pay our minimum living expenses by moving to a cheaper location), I would gain more clarity about how to spend my time. I have always been money-focused – not driven to make a lot of money, but I equated money with security and had a high bar to feel secure. My first career was in banking and consulting, two highly paid industries where you have little to no personal life. I wanted to be self-sufficient in New York City, [...]
We celebrated our 28-year anniversary with a week in Tamarindo. It was a true bleisure trip (business + leisure) because we booked the trip to renew our Costa Rican bank card and jumpstart a kitchen renovation. As luck would have it, the best airfares and the most opportune time in-between other commitments turned out to be our anniversary week! So, we were able to bookend very unromantic trips to the bank and various furniture stores, with several sunsets, walks on the beach and delicious comfort food. Typically, we fly NYC/Liberia and then taking a one-hour shuttle ride direct to our [...]
This reader is looking to buy in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and wants to know how much anxiety is too much when embarking on a real estate purchase. What would you advise? I just happened to come across your blog post from 2018 on why you decided not to purchase in Langosta. I am literally about to put in a purchase offer on a property in Tamarindo…and am having second thoughts. I think I may have been overly optimistic in my rental income numbers. I've been going through all of your Costa Rica RE posts and the Langosta property is so similar to the [...]
We sold three of our real estate properties in the last year, just so we could have a more liquid and balanced portfolio. Yet, we recently closed on a new purchase – a studio apartment in Jacksonville, FL with a view of downtown. We had been looking at units in this particular downtown building for a couple of years now. We even bid on a penthouse studio late last year but lost out to someone else. When this unit came on the market, we weren’t looking to buy, but we are always open to buying for the right deal. We [...]
Multiple companies, such as Tesla, Coinbase and Redfin, are announcing layoffs. Some companies have rescinded previously made offers (Coinbase again! also Twitter), while some are decreasing hiring (Netflix, Peloton, Facebook). You also can’t visit any news site without seeing a post on crypto winter, which impacts not just crypto values but also the job market at crypto firms. At the same time, we’re facing the highest inflation rate in recent memory. My favorite retirement calculator is courtesy of Financial Mentor, and one of the variables you can model is inflation rate. Try it for yourself, and you’ll see that an [...]
In my very first job post-college, I worked as a management consultant. This involved working onsite at clients around the US, and for one project, in Toronto Canada. I spent March/ April 1995 in Toronto, and while I was working too long hours to enjoy the city, I remember liking Toronto very much. Fast forward 27 years later, and we were back in Toronto for a quick overnight. The trip was really for a family obligation, not a weekend away for us, so it was short and efficient. Most of the trip was spent on the road with just under [...]
On a recent road trip from Florida to New York, we had rain the whole way, and as we drove north, we hit colder temperatures, more wind, then sleet and sometimes even snow! The week before our trip, we had an internet outage in our service area, exactly at the time I was presenting a training webinar, Scott had a client meeting and our oldest happened to be at our place, working her job remotely. All three of us work part-time hours and yet the internet goes out while we all are working! The week before that, we had two [...]
The two most influential teachers in my financial literacy journey were also my piano teachers. My first financial literacy teacher was my first piano teacher and also my mom. Many people probably learned about money from their parents. My mom didn’t talk about money management or investing directly, but I learned by watching. My parents separated right after I was born, so my mom raised two kids on a single income in New York City – that feat requires some high-level financial gymnastics! My other financial literacy/ piano teacher was my teacher in college. I did a joint program with [...]
Last month we closed on the sale of Casa Salita, the second property we purchased in Costa Rica. Though we bought it only in December 2017 (just over four years ago), we started thinking about selling it in the midst of the pandemic because we weren’t sure where rentals were heading, and the market for selling Costa Rica real estate was hot. However, we didn’t put the home on the market because we expected a complex transaction. Real estate transaction costs are high. A large property like Casa Salita – four bedrooms, double lot – could take a while to [...]
Writing has been a gamechanger for establishing and growing my consulting business (consulting is an excellent career or side hustle to jumpstart your FIRE fund!). When you’re published, people see you as an authority in your field. If you’re new, it’s a way to get established. If you’re pivoting, getting published on different topics can give you traction in a new target area. Of course, writing itself can be monetized – either by monetizing your blog with sponsors and/or ads or turning your blog into a book and collecting an advance and/or royalties. When I first started coaching on careers, [...]
