I’ve been trying to figure out a good place to retire that’s not, well… Ohio!! I’ve lived in Ohio for most of my life and it’s done well for me, but why live in a place that ever snows?!! The answer is simply that I have roots here… friends, family, stable job, and so on. Pulling the trigger to move out of your comfort zone is a tough thing for most of us to do. And the problem is that once you have kids, they start …
As I continue to build up some passive income to help carry me once I retire, I’m taking a second look at dividend stocks. If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know that I think rental property can be an important part of your portfolio, but I don’t want to solely count on that for passive income. I’m not completely new to dividend stocks, but I’m definitely not the expert. I look at Jason at Dividend Mantra and …
Well, I’m about to hit the big FOUR-OH this month. Happy birthday to me! 🙂 So with that, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my goals and plans I have for the next ten years. If you’ve read my “about” page (Time to Make the Donuts), you know that my goal is to retire at (or hopefully before) the age of 50. To some of you that might seem like a pretty good feat, and to others, it might seem like …
I think about money and retirement a lot. I believe it’s important that we communicate with one another to share our thoughts on money with friends. This can help you determine if you’re on the same track as your peers or to learn ideas that can help you save or generate more money. Discussing money can help you to brainstorm financial problems that you might otherwise not have figured out on your own. So why is it that my friends …
I thought it might be time to take a little break from the serious stuff and discuss something a little more fun. In all reality, this articles relates to the entire point of this site and what I’m trying to accomplish in life. Early retirement is extremely important, but if you don’t know why you want it, you might not enjoy the free time when it happens. So without further ado, here are the… Things I Should Be Doing Instead of Working… Playtime with my …
I’ve learned the importance of having a mentor over the years. We all make mistakes and hopefully we are able to learn from them. However, when you have a mentor to help guide you, you can take out some of the mistakes before you make them because you are aware of what the mistakes might be. Many of us have mentors that we don’t get to actually talk to – these are usually famous people who have the same ideals …
If you’ve read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, you might already be maxing out your company’s match on your 401(k) plan and putting the rest in a Roth IRA. Well, now it’s time we look at something even better… the holy grail of retirement plans – the Roth 401(k)!! Ah, the Roth 401(k) – that elusive unicorn… I know you’re out there somewhere! I’m still waiting to see the Roth 401(k) become available at my company, but that …
401(k)s, Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Oh My!!! [Part 3] Read More »
In Part 1 of this series, we talked about the benefits of 401(k) plans (and some of the cons as well). These plans are probably the easiest programs to get started with since your employer should be familiar with the process of getting you signed up. If you’re already taking advantage of that plan and any employer matching offered, good for you! Now it’s time to get familiar with another option you have for your retirement investments… Roth IRA plans A Roth IRA is …
401(k)s, Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Oh My!!! [Part 2] Read More »
Should you put money into your retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans or invest your money elsewhere? The ideal scenario is for you to have enough passive income coming in that retirements accounts aren’t really as critical. However, most of us aren’t that fortunate. That said, a good balance is going to be the best bet toward a smooth retirement. So, what’s the difference between some of the different retirement vehicles and where should you be putting your money? 401(k) Most …
401(k)s, Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Oh My!!! [Part 1] Read More »
I liked money when I was a kid and was a better saver than most kids. I figured I would save enough so I wouldn’t have to work for the rest of my life (this was before I learned that savers use Other People’s Money the best way that they could.) Regardless, I’ve always been interested in figuring out money… and more importantly, figuring out how to become financially free and retire early. I always thought that was the dream, because …
