I’ve had a bank account for as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid, I had an account at a savings and loan bank (remember those?!!) In those days, I was too young to really grasp how good we had it. Interest rates on savings accounts hit as high as 10% at some points in time. 10%!!!! Granted, that was an account that my mom had opened for me and had just a small amount of money in it which she […]
Since I was a kid, I had it set in my mind that I was going to be rich. And for years, I thought that the only way to become rich was to accumulate as much money as possible. And while that is one way to get rich, it’s probably not the most efficient – especially because inflation loves to work against the money that you’ve saved. It took me a long time, but I’ve learned that the accumulation of
There are a couple of trains of thought on whether or not spouses should keep their finances separated out or whether they should be combined. Some people are very adamant that, once you’re married, you are as one and all your finances should be joined together as such. On the other side of the fence are those who feel that merging your money spells financial doom. That, of course, leads to the question… Shared Finances or Keep ‘Em Separated? My wife and I keep a lot
I love reading. I’ve always been a bookworm and, although I don’t have the time I used to, I still read quite a bit. I actually find myself reading more nonfiction than fiction, but I love a good fiction book as well. Recently though, I read a financial book that’s stuck in my head… and I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing, but it made me question my retirement funds. The book I finished reading is The 3 Simple Rules of
Hey everyone – I’ve been wanting to find someone to do a guest post for a while now and recently I’ve been talking with Caleb Malik from Active Renter. He’s put together an article that’s an excellent complement to my post Is a Property Manager Worth the Money? so I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring him in to share with you. So please enjoy!! — Jim About the Author: Caleb Malik is a digital marketing coordinator for a property
73 Questions to Use When Interviewing Property Managers Read More »
This past year was an exciting one for us, albeit a little bit of a roller coaster ride. However, we were able to pick up a new rental property, max out my 401(k) and contribute up to the match in my wife’s account. We also added to our Roth IRAs and a little bit in my HSA, and continued to save a good deal in our online savings account. No time to rest on our laurels though – last year’s financial goals are in the
I read… a lot. I’m usually a non-fiction kind of guy because I enjoy learning (I’m an odd-bird!). However, I do slip in some fiction every now and again just to change things up. With a five-year old daughter, I don’t get as much reading done as I would like, but I cram in the reading whenever I can. I also think that the Kindle E-reader is one of the greatest products on the planet. I have a ton of books on there,
When I first started this site, I went in with the intention of this being all about my journey toward quitting my job – hence the “Route to Retire” site name. I was all about having enough money to never having to work again… my quest for financial freedom. But is early retirement the same as financial freedom? Spoiler alert… it’s not. Financial freedom can definitely be the catalyst that gives you the power to retire early, but it doesn’t need to be the sit-on-the-beach
It seems to be inevitable… any time I’m in a discussion with someone and they hear me utter that I plan to quit working at an early age, they ask “Why? You don’t like your job?” That’s a tricky question and one I sometimes struggle to answer to make people understand. The gist of it is that… I Enjoy My Job… But Not Working. They’re actually two different things. My job right now is managing the engineers at an IT company. And
Most of us could probably say that if we knew then what we know now, we’d be in a much better place financially. So why is it that kids don’t learn the right things from their elders, generation after generation? I think that part of the answer is that a lot of parents never really had that drive to get out the rat race and just consider the day-to-day work-until-you-die part of the circle of life. Most of the children of these parents will probably
