Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE)

With Multiple Income Streams Comes Great Power!!

With Multiple Income Streams Comes Great Power!!

20 Comments / Motivation, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Investments, Real Estate, Saving, Self-Employment / /

I thought today we’d talk about little bit about how having multiple income streams can help to fortify your wealth as you continue your path toward financial independence. From the time I was six years old, my mom raised my brother and I as a single mom and did a pretty good job if I do say so myself! 🙂 One of the things I remember as a kid was that we each had our own savings account at an old savings and […]

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Downsize My House to Quit My Job Sooner?

Downsize My House to Quit My Job Sooner?

22 Comments / Debt, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Real Estate, Saving / /

My wife and I are very happy with our neighborhood – we like where we live, we like our neighbors, and the schools are good. But I recently had a thought… the only thing holding me back from reaching FI (financial independence) is the dollars owed on my mortgage.  Granted, I’ll reach FI before the mortgage is completely paid off, but for my plan to work, those extra payments for a couple of years will make things a little tight.  So, here

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Budgeting vs. Paying Yourself First

Budgeting vs. Paying Yourself First

20 Comments / Saving, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) / /

There are a lot of personal finance sites on the Internet.  Although there are really only a handful of real topics out there (i.e. spending, saving, investing, taxes, etc.), what helps attract readers is the author’s take on the various subjects. One thing I noticed on most of my cohort sites out there is the focus on budgeting.  So here’s a unique perspective… I’ve never budgeted. That’s right.  I’m probably in the minority, but I’ve never set a budget for

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Timing the Market

Timing the Market – A Smart Move?

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

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

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There's No Easy Money

There’s No Easy Money

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

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

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Why is Financial Independence Such an Uphill Battle?

Why is Financial Independence Such an Uphill Battle?

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

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

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The Quest to Trim the Fat and Simplify

The Quest to Trim the Fat and Simplify Life

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

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,

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My Experience with a Certified Financial Planner

My Experience with a Certified Financial Planner

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

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

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Protecting Yourself When Buying Rental Property

Protecting Yourself When Buying Rental Property

18 Comments / Real Estate, Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE), Self-Employment / /

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

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It’s Not How Much You Make, It’s How Much You Keep

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

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

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