Travel

Slow Travel Is Wonderful, Yet We Still Had Challenges

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: March 2, 2020 6 Comments

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I’ve had a bunch of reader requests for our lessons learned from slow travel. I’ll mention parts of our trips during this post, and the “Related articles” section at the bottom will have more information about our destinations. All of our Facebook photos in those links are public, and they have location tags & captions. This post will focus … [Read more...] about Slow Travel Is Wonderful, Yet We Still Had Challenges

Yet Another Decade In Review Post

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: March 18, 2020 6 Comments

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My spouse and I enjoyed a heck of a year. The end of 2019 marks 20 years of our financial independence and over 17 years of my military retirement. I’ve written about military personal finance for over 15 years and I hope I have a few decades left! And yeah, I empathize with my fellow math nerds who insist that 2019 isn’t the end of … [Read more...] about Yet Another Decade In Review Post

Should You Attend FinCon, Military Influencer Conference, Camp Mustache, CampFI, and FI Chautauqua?

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: December 5, 2019 2 Comments

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Your journey to financial independence can be a little lonely if you’re doing it all by yourself. Even social media, podcasts, and videos are poor substitutes for hanging out with people who share your goals. This post will cover different ways to get a little boost of FI endorphins to last for months... or at least until the next boost. Better … [Read more...] about Should You Attend FinCon, Military Influencer Conference, Camp Mustache, CampFI, and FI Chautauqua?

Military Space Available Travel: Tips for Flying Space-A The Navy Way

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4 Comments

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Space A travel is one of our favorite retiree benefits! It’s the military version of ultimate travel hacking. Although most of the system is run by the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command, the Navy has a few of its own Space A passenger terminals. When you know how to use the AMC Space A system, you can level up your destinations (and your travel … [Read more...] about Military Space Available Travel: Tips for Flying Space-A The Navy Way

From The Mail Buoy: Staying For 20 And Hacking The High Cost Of Living in Hawaii

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: July 29, 2019 4 Comments

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A reader writes: "Nords, I’m an avid reader of your website and love your Reddit replies. I’m active duty with 14 years of service. I’m saving a considerable amount of my paycheck and investing in dividend growth stocks with a portfolio that yields about 3.5%. I can retire at 20 years or try for one more promotion, but I’d do the High Three … [Read more...] about From The Mail Buoy: Staying For 20 And Hacking The High Cost Of Living in Hawaii

Good News! How Our Nords Family Financial Independence Life Will Change In 2019

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: January 27, 2019 8 Comments

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2018 was quite the turbulent year for the financial independence crowd, and it’s just going to get busier in 2019. Let me cover a few highlights from last year and then give a personal update. I’m here to reassure you that financial independence is sustainable and life is good. At the end of the post, I’ll share a few more personal details from … [Read more...] about Good News! How Our Nords Family Financial Independence Life Will Change In 2019

One Last Post Before The Pro Bowl Presented By USAA

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

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Short bonus post today: the runup to the Pro Bowl continues. Thursday's pre-game event was "Marine For A Day" up at Kaneohe. I can't show it any better than this NFL player getting to try on a set of explosive ordnance disposal gear: NFL #ProBowl players get to experience a day in the life of a Marine on base today. #SaluteToService … [Read more...] about One Last Post Before The Pro Bowl Presented By USAA

The Pro Bowl Presented By USAA

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 11, 2019 2 Comments

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[Note: my condolences and sympathies to those of you digging out from Winter Storm Jonas. I grew up in Pittsburgh and was incarcerated at Annapolis for four winters, so I know how it feels. It's why I live in Hawaii now. There's a very good reason that the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Hawaii Visitors & Conventions Bureau work so hard at … [Read more...] about The Pro Bowl Presented By USAA

I’m Goin’ To The Pro Bowl With USAA!

If you're at the Pro Bowl events next week, please stop by and say hello. I'm the 5'10" 190-pound middle-aged balding ponytailed surfer dude who'll probably be wearing sunglasses, surf shorts, & t-shirt. And SPF50 sunscreen in the middle of winter because, you know, Hawaii. Most of the tickets to the pre-game events were handed out to … [Read more...] about I’m Goin’ To The Pro Bowl With USAA!

Travel While You Can

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 11, 2019 13 Comments

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We came home from our second trip of the year in late November. Financial independence gives us the flexibility and time to travel as much or as little as we want, and we spent nearly half of 2015 away from Oahu. In this post, I'll answer the usual reader questions about where we went and what we did, but people are also asking very perceptive … [Read more...] about Travel While You Can