Investments Archives - Route to Retire

My Gamble with $691k in Retirement Money

Retirement money is definitely something you shouldn’t be gambling with. But hey, it’s only your future on the line… what could go wrong? I admit it – I love gambling. That’s not something you’d expect to hear from a blogger in the personal finance community, but it’s true. I’m not an avid gambler – I just enjoy some table games or video poker at a casino every now and again. Sometimes I’ll even throw a little bit at a periodic game of Keno at the bar (worst odds ever!). Of course, I like it more when I’m winning, but I only play with money I’m prepared to lose. And please don’t take this as me being a casino regular with

The Drawdown on Investments – Our Game Plan

After last week’s post on the breakdown of our net worth, I thought it might be a good follow-up to provide more detail on our drawdown plans… a part II, if you will. “Why?”, you might ask.* I realized that there aren’t a lot of folks in the trenches talking about this subject. Many FIRE sites talk about the strategies of getting to the point of early retirement. However, it seems like there aren’t too many that talk about actually drawing down on your investments. So, why not share more of our own plans to help spur some discussion? Maybe this will help you come up with some ideas for your own strategy on drawing down your accounts. Or perhaps you’ll

The Breakdown of Our Net Worth Savings & Investments

I’ve been considering providing a breakdown of our net worth for a while now. I’ve held off for a couple reasons though: For some reason, this isn’t very common for many bloggers to do. We seem to consider this to be sacred territory and almost taboo. I’ve been making a lot of changes and wanted to let the dust settle a little before talking about this. Well, I love breaking taboo – if you’d ask my friends, they’d tell you how I tend to say things that seem inappropriate, but are usually what everyone is thinking. It might be some stirring the pot but it gets some good conversation going! When our net worth hit the $1 million mark back

Is One Million Dollars Enough to Retire On?

One million dollars. It’s the coveted goal for many. Maybe it’s something you think is way out of reach. Or maybe you’re on the other side of the spectrum and close to it or even long surpassed that number. Regardless, one million dollars just seems to be a good round number in our heads to strive for reaching. In fact, it’s a number that many folks have had as their target number for financial independence or retirement for decades. You suddenly gain the status of “millionaire” and you become part of the “7-digit club.” What could be more exciting than that? However, we all know that the dollar ain’t worth what it used to be. Inflation loves to strip away

For Those Who Hate Budgeting, Try Reverse Budgeting

Last week, I talked about money throughout my life. I’ve had my ups and downs with it just like most folks. What I didn’t talk about though is my hate for budgeting. I’m probably one of the most organized people with a good old case of OCD you’d love to know. I need structure in order to operate. For me, everything has its place and making a plan is always the smartest way to do something. It’s actually soothing for me to do little things like putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. I think that’s because I feel like order is being restored and everything’s going back in the cupboard or drawer it belongs in. I sound like a

Why I Want a Stock Market Crash This Close to FIRE

What kind of person actually wants a stock market crash just two months before retirement? This guy, that’s who! That might sound like a weird sentiment especially considering I’ve been worried about this exact thing over the past couple of years. After all, a down market would kill my net worth at the same time I plan to start withdrawing my money. This discussion is specific to the mindset of getting closer to retirement. If you’re in the accumulation phase of your life, you shouldn’t be questioning whether or not a down market is good. If that’s the case, a stock market crash is exactly what you want. You should already be saving and investing so a crash would just help

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