Once upon I time, a young man we’ll randomly call “Jim” was in college and barely had a dollar to his name… Ok, fine – that young man was me – dang it, you ruin everything! Anyway, like a good number of college students, overdrawing my checking account wasn’t too uncommon. In fact, it actually wasn’t uncommon for me to blow out my balance on a periodic basis for a year or so after graduating college as well. Eventually, though, I started to […]
Most of us who are working to become financially free, spend a lot of our days daydreaming what it would actually be like to be financially free. I think the initial dream for a lot of us is to just sit on the beach all day sipping piña coladas – mmm, that does sound good! But, once the dream starts to become more real, it’s pretty likely that the piña coladas are only going to be a small part of the plan. In all actuality,
Let’s be honest, the idea of making money with real estate is intriguing. Even if you haven’t gotten into the real estate game, you likely know or have heard that rental properties can be a great investment. There are some great advantages to owning rental property, but is there really a secret ingredient to making money with real estate rentals? There’s definitely an essential secret sauce, but here’s the deal – it’s not really that much of a secret. In fact, you’ve probably heard it
The Secret Ingredient to Making Money With Real Estate Rentals Read More »
I started the Route to Retire site in May of 2015 and quickly learned that blogging is an interesting endeavor. Like most new bloggers, for the first few months, I would just write and publish and wonder “is anyone even out there?” The analytics showed a nibble here and there, but really… nothing. It took a number of months, but eventually, the traffic started to grow. The comments on my posts began to slowly trickle in – and that was the most exciting part. Now,
What I’ve Learned About Blogging Over the Last Two Years Read More »
In an effort to help in cutting expenses, I just changed our cell phone provider. Here in the part of Ohio where I live, Verizon is the logical choice for a phone provider as they are the most prominent and basically lack any dead spots. I’ve been with them since the beginning – from GTE Wireless, to the transition to Alltel, to the transition to Verizon. It just made sense. However, although the pricing is Ok, it’s not great. Last week, I just
Cutting Expenses is Great, But Here’s the Problem… Read More »
I’ve had friends that have asked what my strategy is for funding my investment accounts. In other words, what order do I recommend contributing to various retirement accounts? This topic’s definitely going to vary based on your own specific circumstances. Things like employer matches and tax-advantaged accounts make a difference in which accounts make the most sense for you to fund before others. Depending on what your game plan is and what options are available to you can make all the
If you’re not familiar with Paula Pant from Afford Anything, you should take the time to check out her site… especially her podcasts, which are fantastic. I’m usually a little behind on my podcast rotation, but I just listened to another good one recently that fascinated me. Clark Howard was her guest in #47: How to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy. I’ve always enjoyed Clark Howard – I’m not sure if it’s how down-to-earth he is for a guy who reached financial
Will You Be Part of the 1% to Be Financially Independent by 50? Read More »
Yup, you read that correctly… we now have a net worth of just over $1 million. I logged into Quicken today, updated all my accounts, and was excited to see this: Holy schnikes, a million dollar net worth! It seems so surreal to think that we’ve reached such a big milestone. I’m really proud of how far we’ve come in our journey to financial independence. By keeping our expenses low, saving and investing as much as we can, and creating additional
Jim Rohn, businessman and motivator, once said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” It’s something that actually makes a lot of sense since those are the people who influence you the most. It also might make you a little uncomfortable if your friends aren’t the most motivated people. Most likely, you enjoy your time with your friends (they are your friends after all!) and wouldn’t want to think that they might be holding you back in some way.
You’re the Average of the Five People You Spend Most of Your Time With Read More »
401(k) mistakes have the potential to easily ruin your retirement savings. If you have the opportunity to contribute to a 401(k) plan at work, hopefully, you’re taking advantage of it. But even if you do, most of us just hand over our money and don’t think any more of it. That’s a problem – potentially a big problem and one that can cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars if you’re not careful. The good news is that these 401(k) mistakes are
Four 401(k) Mistakes That Can Crush Your Retirement Savings Read More »
