Our lives get naturally more complicated as we get older. Therefore, it takes active effort to keep everything from getting out of hand. Here's a series of unfortunate events that makes me want to get back to minimalism. Minimalism and early retirement go perfectly together (post).  Posts Mentioned: Private Real Estate Investing: Key Takeaways After 5+ Years Of Investing Trophy Homes, Trophy Wives, And Now Trophy Children 10 Years Of Fake Retirement Later, Some Important Thoughts Resources For Greater Wealth Nothing is better than the gift of education. Pick up a hardcopy of Buy This, Not That, my instant Wall Street Journal bestseller. The book helps you make more optimal investing decisions to build more wealth and live better lives. Pick up a copy on sale at Amazon today!  For more nuanced personal finance content, join 55,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter and posts via e-mail. Financial Samurai is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites that started in 2009.