In Real Life, Few People Clamor for Diversity

Last month, I began a continuing education welding course at my local community college. Eleven people signed up for the course—myself included—and to the casual observer, we represent a very diverse lot. Here’s a breakdown of our surface characteristics: 9 men 2 women 8 non-Hispanic whites 2 blacks 1 Hispanic white 7 high school graduates …

Income and Happiness

As one’s income grows, so does one’s happiness. But this dynamic isn’t immune to the laws of diminishing returns. At an income of $75,000, happiness supposedly peaks. Don’t ask me why, but my fertile mind got hung up on this factoid recently. On one hand, the correlation between income and happiness makes perfect sense. Make …

Is There a FI Gene?

I sometimes wonder if there’s a FI gene. Up until my early 40s, I was a financial moron. But not because I knew the difference between financial rights and wrongs and voluntarily chose to engage in financial self-sabotage. Nope, I was a financial moron because I didn’t know better. My family and friends were mostly …

Obesity and FIRE

Last Friday, I patted myself on the back and shared some confirmation bias regarding America’s declining competency, particularly as it relates to weight control. Today, I want to discuss how I reversed course mid-life and went from overweight and bordering on obesity to fit and bordering on scrumptious. I think it might help a lot …

Dump Privilege Envy Syndrome and Get Yourself Some Bootstrap Mentality

Today I have a special treat for you—a guest post from Laurie Blank. Laurie is a super writer with a new blog, Great Passive Income Ideas. She’s an honest, upstanding woman who has been a good friend to Mrs. Groovy and me, and I’m so proud to feature her today. Take it away, Laurie! When …