T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 115

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #115!

Here are some things I really like and that you might too.

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles

What Wealth Means To Me (Budgets Are Sexy) – “Wake up. Be You. Be thankful. Do your best. Be wealthy“

Tax Decisions in Early Retirement (Stop Ironing Shirts) – “How do you estimate and plan for your taxes in early retirement?“

Video

Enjoy this amazing slo-mo of a bald eagle snatching a fish out of the water.  The precision and the levelling out at the final approach are better than any jumbo jet setting down on a runway. What’s best is how he/she immediately starts eating it on the way back up, this mo-fo ain’t waiting to get that treat back to the nest!

What I’m Grateful For

My new slippers that I got for $7.99 at Ross.  Sometimes it’s the simple things in life.

Lyrically Speaking

If the life you have created
Has buried you with luxuries out-dated
And you ask what is the purpose
Too weak to claw your way up to the surface

From “It’s The Life” by Grant Lee Buffalo

Grant Lee Buffalo was a band started in the early 1990’s, formed around it’s leader Grant-Lee Phillips. They released 4 studio albums in the 1990’s and were a college radio staple, touring with big names like R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and the Smashing Pumpkins. I discovered them around 1994 after they released Mighty Joe Moon and they later had a big commercial hit with the song “Truly Truly” in 1998. The band split in 1999 and Phillips went on to a successful solo career with numerous releases and a reputation for excellent acoustic covers of pretty much anything in the rock cannon. To this day they’re one of those bands that define a time period for me, and when I hear one of their songs it becomes the 1990’s all over again.

As for the lyrics above, it kind of reminds me of the millions of upper-middle class people who surround me in the D.C. region. Their lives are full of luxuries, many unimaginable even 20 years ago, yet they’re clawing for something else.

Miscellaneous

The food industry pays ‘influencer’ dietitians to shape your eating habits (possible paywall) – “Registered dietitians are being paid to post videos that promote diet soda, sugar and supplements on Instagram and TikTok.”

The loss of a rising marathoner is a tragic reminder of the toll of motor accidents – “On track to make history, Kelvin Kiptum’s story ended too soon.”

Bones in German Cave Rewrite History of Homo Sapiens – “Bone fragments found in a German cave reveal that early humans made it to northern Europe thousands of years earlier than we thought.“