Route to Retire ...the path to financial independence

You’re Doing It Wrong! Your Personal Savings Rate

Here’s the problem with calculating your personal savings rate… you’re doing it wrong! Ok, maybe you’re not, but I sure was! First off, let’s talk about what your personal savings rate is. In essence, it’s a metric to be able to determine what percentage you’re putting away in relation to your income. In other words, it provides a good way to tell at a glance how well you’re saving. Someone might make a ton of money at his or her job, but if that person’s spending it all, it’s really all for nothing in the long run. However, someone else might not be bringing home a large salary, but if she’s stashing away a good percentage of it, she’s going

The 10 Best Financial Podcasts

The 10 Best Financial Podcasts??? Aren’t podcasts for nerds? Who in the heck would listen to people droning on and on for an hour talk show?! A couple years ago, that’s what I was thinking. Then about a year ago, I canceled my Sirius XM radio subscription and learned something… local radio sucks. Maybe that’s not the case for all areas, but where I live in Ohio, it’s horrendous. So I was stuck. Fine, I decided, I’ll give these “podcasts” a try. And guess what – I’m glad I did. Now that’s all I listen to during my commute to and from work every day. But I don’t just listen to any podcasts – I listen, almost exclusively to personal

Business Opportunities are Everywhere!

When I was younger, I used to think that a lot of the business opportunities out there weren’t for me. Maybe they weren’t worth the effort or they would take too much money to start. As I’ve gotten older (and a little smarter), I’ve realized that’s not the case. It’s simply a matter of just opening your eyes and then plucking out those opportunities. A number of years ago, I started playing FreeCell on my phone when I get a few minutes of time here and there. Since most games take me under 5 minutes, it’s a perfect filler for me. I found an awesome solitaire suite years ago and have carried my stats with me from phone to phone.

If Tomorrow Never Comes…

I’ve been thinking a lot about tomorrow lately and any regrets I would have if that day never arrived. There was a touchy-feely show on back in the 80’s called Highway to Heaven. I was only a kid back then, but I used to watch it all the time and I loved it. I’ll wait while you laugh at me. Yeah, well, it gets worse. I was pretty excited to see that it showed up on Netflix at some point so now I’ve been watching the series all over again. Um, yeah, I have problems. For some reason, I decided to look up Michael Landon and find out some of his background. If you aren’t familiar with him, he, unfortunately,

My Wife Trusts Me Too Much – Finances and Marriage

My wife trusts me… too much. Specifically, with regard to our finances, that is. When you mix finances and marriage, it’s important that you and your spouse flow together in perfect harmony. It seems that most of the time when I bring up a financial decision that needs to be made, I hear those special words: Whatever you think… Look, I feel good that she trusts my judgment, but it’s important that she understands and is a part of the decision-making. Every couple’s handling of finances is slightly different. In some relationships, it’s the husband’s “job.” In others, the wife handles it. And in some instances, it’s a joint effort. Regardless of who handles the finances though, both parties should

I Just Spent $35 on a Sleeping Pad and Feel Guilty as Shit

Well, Amazon Prime Day happened. I told my wife to stay away from Amazon for the day and not to get sucked in. I warned her about it. Unfortunately, nobody warned me and somehow I ended up in the vortex and bought a $35 sleeping pad before the day was over. I debated it while it sat in my cart and the 15-minute countdown clock was ticking away. I even deleted it out of my cart and re-added it just to restart the clock. I contemplated this for 29 minutes and 56 seconds before I pulled the trigger and made the purchase. Then I just stared at my screen and felt guilty. In fact, I felt guilty about it for