There’s been something that’s been eating at me for a couple of months now. The stock market seems too bloated right now and I’m thinking about moving my money out of it. No, no – I’m not trying to be the guy timing the market. I just think I should move the money in my 401(k) to cash for a little bit and when the market crashes, I’ll be able to buy again at much lower prices. My 401(k) would […]
Timing the Market – A Smart Move? Read More »
We’ve all seen ’em… the infomercials telling you that YOU can be rich by just following a few simple steps to buying real estate with no money down. Think of it – none of your money is involved and soon enough you’ll be retired, sitting on the beach with an endless supply of piña coladas being served to you day and night. Easy money… it’s that simple!! Wait – what?! Who buys this crap anyway?? I do. Well ok, I
There’s No Easy Money Read More »
I spend a lot of my time every day focusing on my path to financial independence. I have a game plan that I feel even more confident about now that I got a second opinion. But that doesn’t stop me from looking for ways to expedite the process. I’m constantly educating myself by listening to podcasts relating to personal finance and real estate. And I’m reading every book I can get my hands on related to those topics as well as closely
Why is Financial Independence Such an Uphill Battle? Read More »
For most of us in a first-world country, it’s almost natural in an unsettling way for us to accumulate crap. Not only do we have junk we don’t need (although we think we do when we buy it), we also spend money needlessly on things we think will simplify our lives. The problem is that most of the time we buy something – be it a product or a service – with the intent of it making life easier or better,
The Quest to Trim the Fat and Simplify Life Read More »
Recently, I decided that I wanted a second opinion on my game plan. Although I’m pretty confident on how to make things work, I decided that this is important enough to warrant bringing in someone else to look everything over and give some unbiased input. So I recently hired a certified financial planner. I thought this would be a great opportunity to take you through the process from start to finish to give you a better idea if this is something that you
My Experience with a Certified Financial Planner Read More »
When I bought my first house back in 2003, I had plans to live there for a couple of years, fix it up, and then turn it into a rental property. The idea sounded simple enough, but I ran into a lot of headaches along the way. I knew location was important, but I didn’t know where I should be looking. I also didn’t know how to properly determine cash flow and ROI (return on investment). And I didn’t take into consideration
Protecting Yourself When Buying Rental Property Read More »
As I was going through college, I had my mind set on getting rich. I envisioned a good job that paid a ton of dough. After all, the more money you make, the richer you are, right? Fresh out of college though, I wasn’t building savings, I was chasing the money to have and to spend in the present day. And I did alright. While I was still in school, I was working at Walmart. I started out with it being
It’s Not How Much You Make, It’s How Much You Keep Read More »
When I set out on this journey toward financial independence, I knew I had some work to do. I started out with around $30k of credit card debt and didn’t know anything worthwhile on how to make it happen. I even bought into one of those late night real estate scams on how to get rich. I wasted some of my hard-earned money late in my college years thinking that was the way to go… it wasn’t. Eventually, I got on track. I read as many books as I
Is It Possible to Reach Financial Independence with Kids? Read More »
As some of you know, I’ve been a little bummed lately with my countdown to financial independence (FI) and early retirement being a ways out. Although I have a plan to retire before my 50th birthday, I just feel like this is too far out. Every day that I spend at work is one less day that I get to spend with my daughter. Granted, this is the summer when she’s not in school, but it’s tough regardless (which I’m sure it
Do I Cut Back on My Roth to Reach FI Sooner? Read More »
I’m a big fan of satellite radio. I’m also a big Howard Stern fan. Years ago, when Howard went to satellite radio, I bought the lifetime package for Sirius satellite radio for about $400. I definitely got a number of good years out that deal. Eventually though, Sirius made my life difficult. Back in 2009, I bought a new Chevy Malibu which had XM radio. As some of you may know, there was a Sirius XM merger years ago so that should be all good, right?
If You Need Money, You’ll Always Work for Less… Read More »
