August 2015 - Route to Retire

Dividend Stocks on Sale!!

My grandfather used to always say “When everyone’s running in one direction, you should be running in the other.” Well, this past week was a great opportunity to follow that advice and pick up some new dividend stocks. When the stock market started to drop, people started to panic… everyone and their brother was hurrying to sell what they could before “they lost it all.” The media hyped it up even more and got people even more worried. The good news is that I was waiting for this chance… and I was elated. Everything’s on sale – get it while you can!! On Monday morning (8/24/15), I bought a new stock with the little bit of cash I had on hand in my

You Don’t Need to be Rich to be Financially Independent!!

When I was in my twenties, I had this vision that I would be very rich. Rich, rich, rich!! I thought I needed to have all the money in the world if I was ever going to be done working. I mean, how else can you retire if you aren’t rich and sipping champagne on a yacht near your own private island in the Caribbean somewhere??!! Now, although that vision coming to fruition would be great, it took me until the past handful of years to realize that I don’t need to be lighting cigars with hundred-dollar bills to be able to quit working. I started to understand something very important… You don’t need to be rich to become financially independent. Here’s

How to Access Your 401(k) Money Penalty-Free

The majority of my net worth is tied up in my 401(k). The reason, if you remember, is that my employer gives me an unlimited 35% match on my plan. This makes it hard to pass up the free money. However, it makes it a lot harder to get to that money when retiring early. When I was younger, I really just planned on having millions… being rich would just carry me into retirement. However, after digging more into things and looking at guys like Mr. Money Mustache, I realized I don’t need millions to achieve financial independence. I just need enough to have more money coming in than going out. And that money needs to last pretty much until

Save It All… or Spend It All?

As my brother and I got older, we both gained a good understanding of how important money really is in our society. We both made sure that we worked our way up into solid-paying jobs and we continue to pull in more income where possible. He went after and gained his real estate license on top of his regular career to help bring in additional money. I went the landlord route to chase after long-term cash flow. However, we like to laugh at how the money similarities stop there for the most part. I’ve always been very careful with my money – I watch where every penny goes, cut back every chance I can, and save as much as possible. It’s just always been my