Picture yourself on your deathbed looking back on your life… A few fun vacations, some great nights out with friends, or maybe some great memories with a loved one or kids. Whatever comes to mind, I’m sure there will be some great memories that’ll make you smile. But now dig a little and try to think about what you’ve regretted not trying or doing more of in life. Maybe it’s the simpler things like sitting back and watching a couple …
Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) have been around in the U.S. since the end of 2003. However, using your HSA for retirement has only been gaining popularity over the last handful of years. There’s no doubt that this is one very special account. Although designed as a medical savings account to be paired with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), there’s a crafty way to make it even more valuable. In doing so, your money goes in with pre-tax dollars, grows tax-free, …
Using Your HSA for Retirement – How to Track It Easily and Efficiently Read More »
For those of you who are regular followers of this site, you know that I’ve continued to improve my Spanish-speaking skills since moving to Panama in 2019. That said, some Spanish phrases are more useful than others. Sure, it’s great to know common expressions such as: Buenos días (Good morning) ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) ¿Hablas inglés? (Do you speak English?) Disculpe/Permiso (Excuse me – disculpe to ask a question and permiso to pass by someone) Terminology like these examples …
Yeah, you read that right… a 7.12% return with Series I Savings Bonds. Sounds pretty good, right? Right now, it’s a real struggle to figure out what to do with the cash you’re just sitting on. I talked about that in a post earlier this year, “We Have a Lot of Cash in Hand Now… Too Much!“ The problem is that interest rates are so low. While that’s great if you’re buying a house, it’s not so good on the …
Getting a 7.12% Return With Series I Savings Bonds Read More »
Bored in retirement. For some reason, that seems to be a concern many folks have with retirement, particularly early retirement. The “easy” part’s done. You’ve saved up enough money that you’re able to leave work on your terms. You’ve hopefully used a free retirement planner like the one in Personal Capital to give you the confidence you need on that front. With the money equation out of the way and retirement here, you’ve gained the freedom of choice. You can …
Aren’t You Bored in Retirement? The Truth Comes Out! Read More »
The Southwest Companion Pass is considered by many to be the holy grail of travel rewards. By letting you bring along a second person for free on all Southwest flights (except for a few dollars in tax), it can be a huge money-saver! Not only that, but the airline makes the Southwest Companion Pass extremely easy to use. It’s simply a matter of booking a reservation and once confirmed, tacking on your companion to it after. We’ve had the Companion …
The #1 Easy Way We’re Getting the Southwest Companion Pass Read More »
I just finished one of the best money books I’ve ever read. It’s vastly different than other books I’ve read over the years… and that’s a good thing. Alternating between reading fiction, non-fiction money-related books, and non-fiction books unrelated to finance works well for me. I love learning new takes on money but I don’t want to become completely absorbed in it. I also want some time for fiction to take me away periodically and allow my imagination to take …
The thought of hiking up an active volcano might seem out of sorts for me, but it’s now something that’s going to happen in a few months. First off, I skipped another week of writing (I’m getting pretty good at this!). But I do have a good excuse – we had guests for 8 days. Our friends Steve and Courtney Adcock visited us for about a week in Boquete, Panama and we had a rocking good time! As I write …
Every family is different. And every family’s financial situation is different. Growing up in my family was unique as well. “I’m not taking a paycheck this month” were confusing words we’d hear periodically from my mom. We never fully understood what that meant or why at the time but we knew we’d be tighter on money for a little while. We weren’t poor but we were far from rich as well. Looking back, I would have thought we were lower-middle …
Money Growing Up – I’m Not Taking a Paycheck This Month Read More »
The subject of health insurance in the U.S. tends to make people cringe immediately when thinking about it. And rightfully so! I don’t think anyone can argue that the system in the U.S. is broken. It’s overly complex, the costs are out of control, and something needs to change. Now, we might all have different thoughts on what should be done, but we all know that something needs to be done. Unfortunately, though, the choices are pretty limited. If you …
Health Insurance in the U.S. – How We’ll Keep Costs Low Read More »
