Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE)

Is the 4% Rule Safe to Use in Retirement Planning?

Is the 4% Rule Safe to Use in Retirement Planning?

22 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Investments / /

The 4% rule is probably one of the most well-known ideas in the FIRE (financial independence/early retirement) community.  It provides a way to put some actual numbers to your future needs. But is it safe to rely on this rule for your own retirement planning? Let’s start with digging in a little further on what the 4% rule is first…   Some background on the 4% rule The biggest focus folks have in retirement planning is how much money they […]

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Personal and Financial Goals for 2018

40 Comments / General Thoughts, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

That’s right, folks – it’s time for me to set some goals for 2018.  Sure, it’s a little blasé, but it’s that time of year after all. So why do a blog post on goals I’m setting?  There’s one good reason – it keeps me accountable. I’ve always hated the idea of “writing down my goals.”  You’ve probably heard time and again that putting your goals on paper (or digital paper!) will help push you to make them happen… such a

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Don't Just Sit There... DO SOMETHING!

Don’t Just Sit There… DO SOMETHING!

8 Comments / Motivation, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Don’t Just Sit There… DO SOMETHING! I’m not personally big into the whole televangelism scene.  However, there’s a show on TV called the “Hour of Power” that had a moment long ago that’s still ingrained in my head. The program was hosted by Reverend Robert Schuller from 1970 until his grandson took over in 2013 (thanks, Wikipedia!). I never actually watched the show, but there was a clip from it that ran regularly advertising the show.  In it, Reverend Schuller takes a breath and

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Like Father, Like Daughter…

39 Comments / Kids, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

Like father, like daughter… Recently, my 7-year-old daughter started asking me some questions about my blog.  She wanted to know what I write about and why I do it. I’m very deliberate in making sure that I don’t treat her like a kid when she’s interested in answers to something.  I have a couple reasons for this: 1) I want to ensure she’s never afraid to ask questions.  And so far, that’s always been effective.  She never feels like she

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An Easier Way to Track Your Expenses

An Easier Way to Track Your Expenses

8 Comments / Spending, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Saving / /

You’ve heard it before – be sure that you track your expenses!  But why would you want to do that?  And is there an easy way to make it happen? When most of the mainstream media in the financial space talks, they want to push you toward using your income as a gauge on how prepared you are for retirement. You’ll hear various numbers thrown around such as that you’ll need 80% of your pre-retirement income to make it through retirement.

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The Power of FU Money

38 Comments / Saving, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Motivation / /

FU money… the dream of many a worker around the world. If you’re not familiar with the concept, FU money (aka F-you money) is the idea that you’ve accumulated enough bankroll that you can tell your boss “f*** you” if needed. Maybe you’ve just had enough and can’t take it anymore – you just want to quit and do something else. FU money gives that power… that flexibility. Perhaps you’re ready for a career change.  On the other hand, maybe

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Prioritizing Each Investment Account for FIRE

Prioritizing Each Investment Account for FIRE

16 Comments / Investments, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Taxes and Financial Planning / /

As I became a little more familiar with the idea of FIRE (financial independence / retire early), I needed to learn where I should be putting my money.  And I’m not talking about the specific investments – I’m referring to the type of investment account. Terms like taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free can make a huge difference in the outcome of your portfolio.  When I started out, I didn’t understand just how much of a difference each of these accounts could make in

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The Cost of Living in Panama… Geoarbitrage at Work!

32 Comments / Geoarbitrage, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Panama, Travel and Vacation / /

Ah, the cost of living in Panama… something I should have posted about months ago. As my long-time readers know, the Route to Retire family has decided to move to Panama in a couple of years as part of our FIRE plans.  I’ve also talked about how inexpensive it can be to retire to a place like this. It’s interesting that you can actually take advantage of the difference in living costs between two locations to help you financially.  And there’s actually

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Paula Pant Kicked Me Where It Hurts

36 Comments / Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), General Thoughts / /

Ok, she didn’t physically kick me, but Paula Pant found a way to get into my head.  She worked me up into a real tizzy (do people still use that word?). It crushed me and took me days to think through and re-evaluate some things. First off, if you don’t know Paula Pant, she’s the host of the Afford Anything brand, which includes her blog and podcasts. She’s also one smart cookie and has a great sense of humor.  Intelligence

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The Move to Vanguard

The Move to Vanguard… Bye, Bye TD Ameritrade!

35 Comments / Investments, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Product and Service Reviews / /

If you’ve delved into the FIRE community even slightly, you’re probably already familiar with the shrine that is Vanguard.  The Vanguard Group is an investment/brokerage firm out of Pennsylvania that manages over $4 trillion in assets. Eh, who cares?  All the big brokerages manage big dollar assets like that. True, but Vanguard’s different from the other firms out there in that Vanguard is structured as a mutual company. What that means is that it’s a private company where the owners are actually

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