The personal finance radio host Dave Ramsey often talks about creating ‘generational wealth’ as the final step in his Total Money Makeover. He encourages people to think about how they can fundamentally “change their family tree” by building an uber portfolio that allows them to pass money on to their kids and even grandkids. I like to listen to Dave Ramsey and think he generally … Continue reading Fertilize The Family Tree?
I turned 55 last week and to celebrate the milestone, my friend treated me to my first Senior Discounted meal at breakfast. We went to Denny’s and my 55+ eggs, pancakes, and extra crispy bacon (burn the hell out of them!) cost $8.49. That’s a savings of $1.00 even, or 16% off the regular menu. I guess that’s worth it, although Im not a big … Continue reading Double Nickel Discount
Reaching financial independence requires a combination of good choices and good fortune. Even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, but if you aren’t making smart decisions along the way, it won’t matter. Recently a post on the early-retirement.org forum asked “what changes/sacrifices did you make to reach financial independence?” In general, the folks responding are a very successful group of early retirees and their … Continue reading 25 Proven Moves To Reach Financial Independence
I guess it is a good time to be a retiree living off investments. Wall Street is loving the CV19 rebound and loose money policies of government & central banks. The S&P 500 is now up an amazing 83% since last year’s CV19 low point on March 23rd, 2020. Globally, stocks are at an all time high. Still, forgive me if I’m more than a … Continue reading Negative Outlook Amid The Exuberance
Someone posted a curious question about real estate investments in an online forum this week. They wondered if anyone had ever reached a financially comfortable early retirement “without investing in real estate”? They held the hypothesis that real estate is one of the primary routes to FIRE (financial independence & retired early). I thought the question was a bit odd. While I always surmised that … Continue reading Added Real Estate Investment Risk?
No long post today! Just a remembrance that today – April Fool’s Day – is the fifth anniversary of my FIRE escape from MegaCorp. Five years – has that gone fast! Related: Last Day EVER At Work There will be no ‘service anniversary’ gift to pick out of the MegaCorp premium catalog today. I have a few clocks, a watch, and telescope from anniversaries past. … Continue reading Anniversary Gift is Time
Right on schedule – an amazing 32 years after starting at MegaCorp – pension and retiree health insurance information have arrived just before my 55th birthday. It’s like a golden piggy bank that was hidden away years ago has made a triumphant return. Related: Ringing Up MegaCorp I still have to dig into the health insurance information a bit, but the immediate surprise was that … Continue reading MegaCorp Pension Arrives
It’s been a busy week since returning from Florida. The “administrivia” of life doesn’t stop because you go on vacation for 6 weeks. For the first 3 days of the week, I ran around town, made a lot of stops, and completed numerous errands that had been waiting. I’m glad that I could do them all on a weekday when other folks are working … … Continue reading ‘Administrivia’ of Life
We got home for our 6+ week Winter Summerland trip yesterday and quickly unpacked from the flight. It’s amazing how you can be away for that long with just a few bags (although we brought home 1 more bag than we left with). Some friends were surprised that we flew to Florida instead of making the drive in our own vehicle. We were a bit … Continue reading Drive or Fly?
Americans have been cash-poor for decades leading into the pandemic last year. It seems that using credit – mortgages, student loans, car loans, and consumer credit – have just become an unfortunate part of American life. Related: Debt Has Spread Like Virus With the pandemic, people are spending less on discretionary things like travel and eating out and the government has sent out several rounds … Continue reading A Tale Of Two Charts
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