Jim @ Route To Retire, Author at Route to Retire

We Moved Our Health Savings Account to Fidelity!

I recently completed a transfer of our health savings account (HSA) from Health Equity to Fidelity. Today, I want to tell you why I made this move and explain the process. First off, if you aren’t familiar with health savings accounts, they’re one of the most valuable accounts you can have in your arsenal. I’ve talked about how an HSA is the best bang for your buck in that the account belongs to you and not your employer. Unlike a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), the money you have in it doesn’t expire after the plan year is over either. It’s yours for the long haul! Your money also goes in as pre-tax dollars, grows tax-free, AND is tax-free on withdrawal

6 Months of Early Retirement… We’re Now Homeless

I left my management job in IT at the end of 2018 at the age of 43. The goal was to reach early retirement with my family so we could live a life of freedom and adventure… and now we’re homeless. This might sound unexpected, but here’s the thing – that was exactly the plan. Being homeless is something we’ve been working toward for a long time now. For those of you familiar with our path, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But for my new readers, you might be a cringing a little bit. No need to fear though, we’re not homeless in the sense of sleeping on the streets. We’ve just decided to spend about a month and

Guest Appearance on the ChooseFI Podcast

I’ve been wanting to be a part of the ChooseFI podcast shortly after it began. Jonathan and Brad launched the show at the end of 2016 and quickly took the FIRE community by storm! It’s a fantastic podcast helping to discuss the path to financial independence. They bring on various guests to examine different aspects and strategies of reaching FI. What’s really great though is that they also focus quite a bit on enjoying the journey along the way. I fell trap to missing that important piece for a little while during our route to retirement. The discussion tends to be very insightful and honest. Brad and Jonathan are open and talk not just about the positives but also the

Global Entry – Why You Need It and How to Get It for Free

Global Entry was something pretty foreign to me at this time a year ago. We love to travel, but most of it has been domestic here in the U.S. The biggest exception to that are the cruises that we love to take. But here’s the thing – all the cruises we’ve been on are considered closed loop sailings. That means that we departed and returned to the same U.S. port when the trip was over. It also means going that through customs is a little simpler. You generally zip through those lines like nothing. However, with us planning to bounce in and out of Panama over the next few years, customs will become a little more of a burden. Sure,

How to Get a Million Dollars for Your Nest Egg

By early 2017, we had finally built our net worth up to over a million dollars. It was a great feeling to reach that milestone, but it didn’t really change things for us – we just continued to follow our plan. When I left my job at the end of 2018, we had a net worth of about $1.1 million and, thanks to the bull market still pushing ahead, it’s roughly $1.2 million right now. I’ve written a few posts talking about the relevance of the infamous $1 million number: $1 Million Net Worth… Now What? Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On? Being a FIRE Millionaire Doesn’t Mean You’re Rich Some folks look at that as an amazing

The Downsides of Moving to Another Country

Although we’re ecstatic about this new adventure we’re embarking on, it’s worth noting that there are some downsides of moving to another country. That’s right – in just a couple of months in August of 2019, we’ll finally be making our move to Panama. It’s exhilarating and just a little scary at the same time. We’ve been preparing for this for several years now, but wanted to reach FIRE before we made it happen. It’s crazy to think that this big leap is right around the corner. This is the last month on our short-term apartment lease before we’re “homeless.” Then, about a month and a half later, we’ll be on a flight to Panama! We’ll stay at a place