Mr. Tako Escapes – Mr. Tako's Adventures in Early Retirement (with Kids)

The Stock Sector I Like Best (Right Now)

September 13, 2020September 13, 2020 Mr. Tako 12 Comments

With plenty of cash on-hand, I’m always on the lookout to add to my existing stock positions… or find new stocks in which to invest. Generally speaking though, I don’t consider myself a “sector” style investor. I don’t buy sector ETF’s or sector index funds… but sometimes the market will put entire sectors on-sale.

It happens because investors take-on a kind of “group think” around certain industries. This lemming-like behavior can sometimes be completely right…

Dividends Food Investing Saving Uncategorized

August 2020 Dividend Income And Expenses

September 6, 2020 Mr. Tako 15 Comments

August is normally a month for travel… but 2020 is anything but a “normal” year. Despite the crazy pandemic situation, the Tako family did manage to do a little traveling this August.

With hot temperatures blanketing most of the Pacific Northwest, we first decided to escape the summer heat by heading out to the coast…

Saving Travel Uncategorized

Escaping The Summer Heat

August 30, 2020August 30, 2020 Mr. Tako 9 Comments

Like most families, when school lets out for summer, that’s when the Tako family does most of our traveling. This year the world had other plans for us. COVID-19 happened, and our summer travel plans were canceled.

Instead of visiting the national parks of the American Southwest (like we planned), we settled for a quiet summer at home. It was a bit of a bummer to be honest… but we tried to make the best of it.

Investing Uncategorized

Escaping The Madness Of Crowds

August 23, 2020 Mr. Tako 23 Comments

As I write this, the S&P 500 just set another new all-time high. A new record itself isn’t unusual (The S&P 500 has been setting new records for decades), but to do so in the middle of one of the world’s worst recessions AND during the middle of a pandemic is strange. Okay, it sounds more than just strange, it sounds downright crazy.

Year to date, the S&P 500 is up about 5% … yet nobody I know is willing to say the world is in a better place than it was a year ago.

Investing Saving

The Masters Of Boredom: How Managing The Slow Moments Can Make You Wealthy

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 Mr. Tako 9 Comments

Are you feeling a bit bored with life right about now? With many parts of the world still under pandemic restrictions (due to the COVID-19 virus), I frequently hear people complaining of boredom — both in real life and speaking with acquaintances online.

People are bored with the lockdown life. They want things to get back to “normal”, with its free international travel, movie theaters, indoor restaurants, bars, as well as concerts, conventions, and other social meetups….

Dividends Food Investing Kids Saving Uncategorized

July 2020 Dividend Income And Expenses

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 Mr. Tako 18 Comments

“It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times”… as the saying goes. July fit this description quite accurately. Much of July was a very good month, but we had to deal with some costly equipment failures and a health scare. It was a difficult month for my mental health…

Saving Uncategorized

A String Of Bad Luck…

August 2, 2020August 2, 2020 Mr. Tako 20 Comments

Have you ever had a long string of bad luck, completely out of your control? A whole series of bad events, seemingly unconnected to anything you’ve done that suddenly all lands in your lap at roughly the same time?

A whole bunch of these bad things just happen, and there’s very little you could have done or said to avoid this fate…

Food Kids Saving Uncategorized

Summer Is The Busy Season

July 26, 2020July 26, 2020 Mr. Tako 18 Comments

Summer is the busy season around the Tako household. While most of the world is undergoing some form of shutdown because of the pandemic (including our family), we’re still finding a myriad of ways to keep busy.

So much so, that I hardly have time for blogging. I wish I still had the time to crank out a two blog posts per week, but alas, my time is now very limited…

Saving Uncategorized

5 DIY Ways To Save You’re Probably Ignoring

July 19, 2020July 22, 2020 Mr. Tako 30 Comments

Like most people, you’ve probably found yourself cooking AND eating at home a lot more in 2020. As a result you’ve probably seen some very significant savings in your monthly budget this year.

You’re certainly not alone – The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis recorded a national savings rate of 32.2% in April and 23.3% in May. This is the most recently released data from the BEA. Those two months in 2020 are the highest savings rates ever recorded in the United States! No period in history even comes close (at least since the Bureau of Economic Analysis started keeping track).

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