With most of the population in Washington state getting vaccinated by the end of May, things have finally started to open back up again. The pandemic is subsiding here, and it seems like life is (slowly) returning to normal.
As you might expect, our travel adventures resumed in May as well. We took full advantage of the fine May weather, and went camping on Washington’s coast, near a small town called Ocean Shores…
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While I’m not normally a nostalgic person, October marked something of a major milestone in the life of Mr. Tako. This was my fifth year of freedom from the corporate world!
Although my blog was started back in December of 2015, my last day of work at a “corporate” job was September 30th, 2015. It took me a few months of unemployment before I finally decided to start writing the blog you see here today.
It’s been an interesting 5-year journey to say the least. Filled with all the ups and downs, and strange fluids you might expect from raising two kids…
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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.
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Travel. Ask any random person if they like to travel, and undoubtedly most will say “Oh yes, absolutely!!”. Then after some careful thought, they’ll hedge that claim with “…but I probably won’t do a lot of traveling right now”.
Travel used to be a pretty big chunk of the average consumer’s budget. Now, with quarantine periods for international travelers and “stay home” orders in-place, most families are simply sticking to home…
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Hi folks! Instead of my usual blog post where I decide the topic my choosing, this week’s post I thought I’d we mix things up a bit! It’s time for the readers to take charge and let them ask questions!
That’s right, it’s Q & A time! This week’s post is composed entirely of reader questions, and I’ll do my best to supply the answers!
Without further ado, lets get this Q & A started….
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Sometimes when inspiration hits for a new blog post, it comes from very strange places. Today’s post was inspired by an odd one — I took a trip to the DMV. Yes, really — the DMV!
Turns out, my drivers license was about to expire. I needed to make a trip to the nearest DMV office to get it renewed. Oh bother! The problem is, I don’t live anywhere near a DMV office. The nearest licensing office is a 30 minute drive away!
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Yep, we’re still on vacation! Last week we were exploring around Dallas and having a great time, but our vacation isn’t over yet! When you’re financially independent and “mostly” retired, you could argue that everyday is a vacation, but I still like to make the distinction when we’re away from home it’s a “vacation”…
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Most of the year I keep myself busy being a stay-at-home dad and “closet” personal finance blogger. Those two activities are usually more than enough to fill-up my limited spare time…
But when summer finally comes, I tend to slow down on the blog updates and spend time traveling with my family.
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The school year is over and summer is finally here! My oldest son, Tako Jr. #1, just finished his first school year as a kindergartner! I’m amazed at how much kids learn in kindergarten these days. They seem super-smart now! Tako Jr. #1 learned a ton of new stuff — reading, writing, and math. All in just a few short months!
It was an amazing school year…
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