Some times it helps to make lists

Here are some ideas I've been playing around with in my mind:

Five rules for learning to be more independent. 1) Start with something simple like learning how to make your own bed and wash your own clothes. 2) Read, even if its just your daily dose of blogs. 3) Ride alternative forms of transportation to get to and from work. 4) Pay all your bills first. 5) Work no work, no work work.

Is my brain becoming more and more like a computer?
The other evening just before T. and I climbed into bed for the night, we got into a discussion about what the name of the actress was in a commercial we had just watched. Neither one of us could come up with it. The next morning though the very first thing that popped into my head was her name. As I thought about this situation, it dawned on me that my brain was acting like a computer that by the end of the day had so many programs running that it took forever (or in this case all night) for it to complete a task.

How to retire early by staying frugal.
It just seems ridiculous to me that a person would teach themselves to be frugal and then when they retire that they would slot rattle themselves into a entirely different behavior. Why not just use your frugality to retire from the whole rat race early?

What do you do when the goals of your partner are different than yours?
Wow, this is one that I am just now coming to grips with as we have seemingly reached our first plateau of goals. She keeps talking about The Secret and looking at BMWs in the $50k range while I would rather ride my bike than drive somewhere any day. I keep thinking whoopee, our business is solvent, we own four cash flowing rentals, all our insurance is up to date, we have an emergency fund, we both are busy working on things.

What is a business handshake worth?
If you are in the farm, produce or small farmer's market business, you know what is meant by the business handshake. Deals within deals. Nothing shady, just back scratching. But in the small business world it is usually the only way to make a living. You buy all his oranges now because come strawberry season you want the pick of his crop.