Chris Mamula, the "Dirtbag Millionaire," describes the mistakes he made on the way to FIRE, the challenges he facing in his early retirement, and the origin story of a book that will outline a Blueprint to financial independence based on the information shared by members of the ChooseFI community. For more... Read more »

Brad and Jonathan give us an update about the "Playing with FIRE" documentary, hail mary FI and how to build an escape route from the corporate hierarchy that doesn't make room for you. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/123R ... Read more »

Kiersten and Julien from Rich and Regular talk about the specific challenges that the black community faces on their journey to FI. Recognizing the fact that not everyone starts from the same spot is important, so we are diving deep into the differences today. For more information, visit the show... Read more »

Brad and Jonathan are joined by Brian Feroldi and Karsten from Early Retirement Now. With the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of dividend investing, Brad and Jonathan ask the hard questions. As the devil's advocate, they uncover more information about dividend stocks from passionate investors. If you are ready... Read more »

Dividend investing has been a hotly debated topic in the FI community. Brad and Jonathan dive into the details of dividend investing with Craig from Retire Before Dad. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/122 ... Read more »

Whenever I attend a conference I look for things the crowds miss. The mainstream information is still absorbed, but there always seems to be something most people pass that contains a lot of potential. Last year at FinCon such an opportunity screamed to me. Several companies were offering 5% on... Read more »

Jack Bogle gave us the index fund. Warren Buffett has said most people should put their money into index funds.Personal finance bloggers—especially in the FIRE* community—spout "index fund" like it's a nervous tick. And you might have noticed this blog has the same nervous tick.Some are worried about all this... Read more »

You might notice the bloggers spouting the same gibberish get picked up by mass media outlets while your favorite blog (that had better be this one!) gets nary a mention. The reason for this is people prefer the familiar to an honest answer that could make a real difference.... Read more »

Because a lot (most) of your gains are deferred anyway with an index fund and the tax rate is lower when you do sell (compared to traditional retirement accounts) and there are no RMDs or early withdrawal penalties, non-qualified accounts should play a central role in the portfolio of most... Read more »

The tax profession is aging. Attracting new people to the profession is difficult because it lacks the glamour of other professions. But sit in any public forum and mention you are a tax professional and you will be inundated with tax questions and offers to take them on as new... Read more »

Disclaimer: some links may be affiliate links. They help offset the cost of keeping this blog running! Why do I do a monthly status report? I find it best to do a monthly status report for a few reasons. It helps me evaluate how I did the previous month. Did I hit a target reduction in spending or did... Read more »

In my soon to be former job, I work closely with top leaders in the Air Force. I’ve come to realize I really miss being in the Air Force, so this seems as good a time as any to announce I’m headed back into the best branch of the United... Read more »

I am officially all moved to Washington DC! This time around, I did a kind of hybrid move and boy am I glad I did. I tried out a new company called HireAHelper and I’m pretty sure it’s the only reason my body isn’t 100% of the way dead. This... Read more »

Disclaimer: some links may be affiliate links. They help offset the cost of keeping this blog running! Why do I do a monthly status report? I find it best to do a monthly status report for a few reasons. It helps me evaluate how I did the previous month. Did I hit a target reduction in spending or did... Read more »

I’ve been watching events unfold in the last year or so in the FI Community with some alarm and I can no longer keep silent about what I’m seeing. I hesitated about writing this post, as I try to keep this blog about my experiences on the path to Financial... Read more »

I recently had an experience that offered a sharp reminder: despite years of saving (successfully!) and a year and a half of not blowing our early retirement budget, I'm still a spender at heart. But being a spender rather than naturally frugal doesn't doom you to fail financially. You can... Read more »

Today I’m sharing a deeply personal story about my early life that left a lasting impact on how I think about money, but even more importantly, how I think about financial advice. It’s not always fun, but it’s so worth it to dig into our financial past to consider how... Read more »

The choice of whether to buy on the basis of cost first, or on the basis of quality first, is a personal one, and in our case, we tend to go for quality as the first consider and price second. But that approach has taught us some hard lessons, both... Read more »

Part travel story, part advice, about the delightful benefits that come from slowing down and enjoying the present, even if you're still working and saving for early retirement -- maybe especially then! Don't just stop and smell the roses, stop and spot the space invaders.... Read more »

After taking a little time off from the blog to promote Work Optional, I'm back with a more detailed post on one of our biggest learnings thus far in early retirement: that you might spend more when you're not working than you think you will. Let's talk about why that... Read more »

I sometimes see complaints in the personal finance community that bloggers focus too much on frugality and saving money and not enough on making more money.  There’s an endless number of posts about side hustling out there, but admittedly there... The post How I Excelled At My Job And Moved... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that crippling student loan debt is hampering millions of people from experiencing the joy of wasting money at Whole Foods.  “The numbers keep getting bigger, and there’s... The post Crippling Student Loan Debt Hampering Millions From Wasting... Read more »

Tax season is now over and if you get a refund from the government you’ve either already received it or know how much you’re getting. I’ve written before about why getting a tax refund isn’t an optimal financial move.  When... The post Your Refund Is An Opportunity Cost appeared first... Read more »

One of my favorite professional cyclists retired at the end of 2016.  Had this blog existed then I would have written about it at the time since her story relates to career and finances.  Alas, I’m doing it now.  Evelyn,... The post Is It Best To Take The Safe Path?... Read more »

Growing up, I would never have imagined I’d own a business one day.  No one in my family ever had a business, and the mere concept seemed foreign to me.  I was a product of my environment, which was a... The post How To Avoid Filing Quarterly Estimated Taxes On... Read more »

A while ago I created a little toolkit to design my own bond and/or CD ladder. With a bond/CD ladder, by the way, I mean holding a portfolio of bonds and/or CDs so the cash flows comprised of maturing CDs/bonds plus interest income exactly matches a specified time series of... Read more »

Well, there you have it: The Yield Curve inverted last month. Finally! Starting on March 22 and throughout much of last week, short-term interest rates (e.g., the 3 months bills) yielded slightly more than the bond market bellwether, the 10-year Treasury bond. People in finance and economics view this with... Read more »

Back in 2016, I wrote a few posts on trading derivatives, especially options, to generate (mostly) passive income: Trading derivatives on the path to Financial Independence and Early Retirement Passive income through option writing: Part 1 Passive income through option writing: Part 2 I’m still running that same strategy but... Read more »

Welcome to the follow-up to the follow-up post on the “Yield Illusion.” Again, here’s the context: a few weeks ago, I wrote a post (SWR Series Part 29) on why I don’t believe that chasing higher yields is necessarily a good hedge against Sequence of Return Risk. A very well-received... Read more »

Welcome to a new installment of the Safe Withdrawal Series! The last post on the Yield Illusion (Part 29) was definitely a discussion starter! 140 comments and counting! Just as a quick recap, fellow bloggers at Millenial Revolution claim that the solution to Sequence Risk is to simply invest in... Read more »

Our children need the tools to be self-sufficient in this world. To get them started, this means clothing, feeding, and teaching them. It also means letting them go.  The post Cut the Cord, Drop the Albatross  appeared first on grumpusmaximus.com.... Read more »

Want to lock in a middle-class lifestyle by middle age? Then you need to get counter-cultural with your spending and saving. Forgo the stupid cars, forget the fancier house, stop paying for worthless colleges, and earn a real life. The post Golden Albatrosses Killed Your Golden Goose appeared first on... Read more »

Did You Catch What I Did There? I’ve invented a new term. Or maybe it’s a word. What do you call a word with parens in the middle of it? Do the grammar police allow such nonsense? Probably not. When I run this article through Grammarly, I bet it will... Read more »

New Year, Same Goal(s) Happy 2019 everyone! I read somewhere recently that we should make goals and not resolutions at New Year’s, which brings me to the inevitable question: What are your goals for 2019? Since we’ve officially entered the last calendar year that I’ll be a part of the... Read more »

Waffles and Chicken(shit) I’ve waffled in recent weeks on the need to write a post about Social Security for the Pension Series. On the one hand, since the American form of Social Security pays out in annuity form, it seems like a relevant topic for the Series. Plus, an overwhelming... Read more »

For the last year or so, the FIRE community has been eagerly awaiting the release of the Playing with FIRE movie. And last week it finally arrived!  The US premiere was aired at MMM HQ in Colorado to rave reviews from those who were there. Even better…the London premiere of the... Read more »

Back in 2015, I published a reader guest post called 10 Years Out of The Camp in which “Billy Bow” shared his story and what it had been like to have been financially independent for 10 years. Billy Bow (aka Ian) is a friend and amateur photographer. I follow him... Read more »

Regular readers will be familiar with Chloë, my favourite lesbian friend, stand up comedienne, free thinker and occasional guest contributor to The Escape Artist. The Escape Artist was so impressed with Chloë’s previous guest posts that I decided to offer her a job. What with this being The Patriarchy and... Read more »

As I may have mentioned before, you shouldn’t be wasting your money on “stuff”. But does that mean that all spending is bad? Of course not. I spend money where it has a high return on investment. There is no better investment than your health.  Its strange how much people... Read more »

TEA: You may remember The Dragon Queen from her guest post Get Rich…being British?  Well, I got her back to talk about Impostor Syndrome… In my first guest post for TEA, I touched on the chronic stress I felt from my Impostor Syndrome. To re-cap, I referred to it as... Read more »

Last September at FinCon 2018 in Orlando I was talking with the coolest cat in the cave, my FIRE brother J. Money of Budgets Are $exy, about how to shine some light on the abuses in the K-12 403b marketplace.  After about five seconds of reflection, he said, “Oh, that’s... Read more »

Welcome back millionaires.  Let me apologize for that insane April Fool’s post extolling the benefits of 403b plans.  Here are my real thoughts on those “benefits.”   Incredible Oversight?  Ha! If you have a 403b plan, brace yourself:  your retirement savings are adrift in the Wild West of the financial services... Read more »

Beautiful South Georgia spring greetings to all my millionaire readers!  Even though we had a mild winter, the change of season is more than welcome.  It’s so pretty here this time of year. So far, our move to Statenville, Georgia has been a resounding success.  We love our new home,... Read more »

Greetings to all my Free Money! tax-planning brothers and sisters.  With 2018 almost over, it’s now time to take a look at our 2019 Free Money! amounts.  (This is by far my most anticipated post every year; it amazes me how many inquiries I get about the status of this... Read more »

If you live long enough, you’ll see many unimaginable and “impossible” things.  Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve seen:  the Patty film, the discovery of the giant squid, the Braves, Cubs, and Red Sox win the World Series, the Saints and Buccaneers win Super Bowls, and even my Davidson... Read more »

Episode #33 - How do you retire, live off your investments, and never run out of money? Big challenge, right? I have a plan to do that with rental properties, and I share that rental retirement strategy, in detail, in this episode. For a companion article & show links visit: https://www.coachcarson.com/rental-retirement-strategy/ --------------------------... Read more »

Episode #32 - Replacing your job salary with passive income from investments like rental properties is usually the goal of financial independence. But it's also scary to actually take the leap and leave your job! In this episode of Ask Coach, Chad shares three key steps he's taken to feel more... Read more »

Episode #31 - Money isn't the only way to measure wealth. A more balanced approach is to accumulate all three of the currencies of life - time, money, & mobility. This episode explains what the three currencies are and how it's changed the direction of my business, investing, and life. For... Read more »

Episode #30 - Education and learning is great. But when you get stuck as a perpetual learner and never get started it can become frustrating and even lead you to quit. In this episode of Ask Coach, Chad gives some advice to those stuck in analysis paralysis or perpetual learning... Read more »

Episode #29 - Slowing down and living more deliberately have many personal and professional benefits. In this episode, learn practical strategies to slow down and get more out of life. For a companion article & show links visit: https://www.coachcarson.com/slowing-down/ -------------------------- 🙂 If you want to support the show, here are some easy... Read more »

Since I know I'll eventually spend the money on Amazon, an Amazon gift card is pretty much as good as cash these days. But why would you buy Amazon gift cards when you can get them for free?... Read more »

A few years ago, a side hustler named Brock McGoff reached out to me with a guest post pitch. The post detailed how he was making, at that time, $4,000 a month, from his blog about men’s fashion, on the side from his day job. Since then, Brock has turned... Read more »

In this post, I'll walk through my complete podcast production process for The Side Hustle Show. If you're not familiar with the show, it's a top-rated and award winning business podcast with more than 8 million lifetime downloads. I've been producing the podcast weekly since 2013, and though I know... Read more »

Roberto Chavez started his raw land flipping side hustle a little over a year ago, and with persistence, has already built it into 5-figures of monthly revenue. This is a business model that was first introduced to me by Mark Podolsky, from TheLandGeek.com, in episode 108 of The Side Hustle... Read more »

Whether you’re a full-time designer at your day job or just like to tinker around in Photoshop late into the night, finding the best remote graphic design jobs can be a quick and effective way to build a side-hustle. Why are remote graphic design jobs perfect for side-hustlers? Because they... Read more »

Where do you stash your cash? All of us should have an emergency fund in cash that we can easily access. I’ve used savings accounts like Capital One 360 for years and recently switched some to Ally Bank for an excellent $1,000 bonus they offered last year. Capital One’s money... Read more »

Six months ago my family moved from Oakland, in the Bay Area, to Salt Lake City, Utah. We did it for a variety of reasons: Financial. By selling a house that had greatly appreciated in the six years we owned it, we knew we could lower our monthly expenses significantly.... Read more »

Things have been quiet in the Satisfied Ghost online world lately, because things in IRL have been crazy! Over the last few months we decided to employ domestic arbitrage and moved from our home in the HCOL Bay Area to another state. I’ll detail the decision, process and details later.... Read more »

Those in the Financial Independence Retirement Early community work hard. That statement on its own is not much of a surprise for those familiar with the community. Yet it’s counter-intuitive—why do insanely productive and industrious people want to retire young? I think it has something to do with two things:... Read more »

We’re officially in a stock market correction, with  major indices down 10% from their all-time high. This isn’t surprising. I’ve been waiting for a stock market correction for a few years. We’ve been climbing since the financial crisis, and an inevitability of markets is movement. What comes up, must eventually... Read more »

[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA189.mp3" title="Ask Paula - How Does My Net Worth Compare to Others My Age?" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ] Julie, age 27, calculated her expected net worth based on the formula taught in the classic personal finance book The Millionaire Next Door. She’s... Read more »

[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA188.mp3" title="The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, with Daniel Pink" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ] In May 1915, a renowned 58-year-old sea captain, Captain William Thomas Turner, made a series of questionable decisions. He was the captain of the Lusitania, a ship with... Read more »

How real estate investing is like traveling .... #1: People assume it's expensive. When most people hear that you either traveled to another country, or purchased a rental property, they have the same response: "How could you afford it?" That's a natural reply from someone who's never dug deeply into... Read more »

Today’s article is extra-nerdy. Pull on your Coke-bottle reading glasses and let’s run through a little bit of math. Ready? Let’s go. If you’re retiring on index funds, you might plan your retirement on the 4 percent withdrawal rule. But if you’re retiring on rental properties, you could use the... Read more »

[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/paulaandjaymoney/AA187.mp3" title="The Final Ask Paula: Real Estate Episode!" artist="Paula Pant" social="true" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_gplus="true" social_linkedin="true" social_stumble="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ] Sarah needs $36,000 per year in living expenses in order to reach FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). She owns several rental properties, and she’s aggressively paying off the mortgages through... Read more »

A few days ago, I realized my two year FIRE anniversary was coming up. We were renting a parking spot near Seattle for the RV from a couple we met through the FIRE community. I had just come back from another trip to Germany, where I went to help my... Read more »

This is not a political blog, it never was intended as one. Humanism, however, is one of the core subjects of this blog and there comes a time when humanist values cannot be discussed without touching on political subjects. The time for me to write about humanist values, even though... Read more »

When we started out full time RVing, we did ask ourselves if we REALLY needed RV roadside assistance, as many full timers probably do. I had carried car roadside assistance for several years without ever needing it, but in my mind driving around in an RV all over the country,... Read more »

After all the fun we had at last year’s Rubber Tramp Rendevous (RTR) in Quartzsite, it was an easy decision for us to attend the 2018 RTR as well. This year’s event was another huge success, despite the many challenges for the organizers that go along with the growing popularity... Read more »

After a busy year of travelling (most of which remains undocumented on this blog, as my friends have aptly pointed out on numerous occasions) we rolled back into my beloved Phoenix right in time for the 2017 holiday season. Spending November and December in Phoenix gives me the opportunity to... Read more »

A feeling of dread suddenly came over me. The numbers just didn’t add up, yet I could not figure out where I went wrong. Maybe I typed something in wrong or missed a section, but everything looked more or less complete. Maybe I’m just getting too old for this and... Read more »

There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at... Read more »

The purpose of doing an experiment is to learn something about yourself, and to see if there is an opportunity for growth or positive change. I started the Buy Nothing 2018 experiment with this in mind. It started with a no clothes challenge, but since I had plenty of clothes... Read more »

I was sitting on a bench just enjoying the beautiful fall day. It was sunny and warm, or perhaps I was warm due to the semi-vigorous bike ride. Every now and then a cloud would briefly cover the sun or a gentle breeze would throw a slight chill in the... Read more »

  Today’s guest post is written by EJ, a physician blogger who writes at Dads Dollars Debts. I reached out to him shortly after I read this post, and asked him to share his story with all of you. Enjoy! THP   So how does one lose all of their... Read more »

“Is he dead?” The small child looks fearfully at the figure of a man that lays lifeless on the side of the trail. Her eyes [...] The post I’m 33 Years Old, and My Net Worth Is… appeared first on Retire29.... Read more »

The 1994 family comedy Blank Check teaches us a valuable lesson about money and the tendency to underestimate what a modern lifestyle really costs. Acclaimed actor [...] The post Trust Me, $1 Million is Enough Money to Retire appeared first on Retire29.... Read more »

Gather ‘round my friends, I’ve a story to tell. I need your full attention, I’d rather not yell.   This story’s about money, It don’t [...] The post Seuss Says: Spend Less Than You Make appeared first on Retire29.... Read more »

I am about to do some depraved, awful things to the extended warranty industry. I’m sure you can handle it, but in the event Retire29 [...] The post Screw You, and Your Extended Warranty appeared first on Retire29.... Read more »

Thanks to it getting picked up by Lifehacker, one of my previous articles titled “Before You Step, First Look Where You’re Standing” has been one [...] The post How to Make a Half-Million Dollar Sausage appeared first on Retire29.... Read more »

https://www.aarp.org/retirement/planning-for-retirement/info-2019/do-and-dont.html?cmp=EMC-DSO-NLC-RSS-SAPLA--CTRL-042419-P1-3718765&ET_CID=3718765&ET...... Read more »

On the Firecalc results screen, there is this paragraph: ---Quote--- Here is how your portfolio would have fared in each of the 113 cycles....... Read more »

My 401K is through Principal, and I have it all in an S&P 500 ETF with an expense ratio of 0.05%. Perfect for me at this point in my life. My...... Read more »

Check out the USA Today article talking about FIRE. They are on to us! We had a nice happy forum and now things in the FIRE world are going to get...... Read more »

Hi All, DH’s pension is being sold by megacorp to an retirement services/annuity company. We have a month to decide if we want to take a lump sum...... Read more »

How to Make Money Fast Today! One of the most common questions I hear is, how to make money fast? Maybe you’re faced with an unexpected home repair, or your car decided to call it quits and now you’re in the need for some extra cash quick, fast and in... Read more »

How to Hire a Plumber That Won’t Rip You Off Finding a qulity plumber in a pinch can be difficult. No one wants to pay a plumber their hard-earned money, to find the plumber is a con artist or never finishes the job. Everyone wants satisfied service and to avoid... Read more »

All About The Solar Energy Investment Tax Credit The solar energy investment tax credit (ITC) has been a major driver of renewable energy uptake across the U.S. since its origination in 2006.  Extended two times and reshaped in 2015, the 30% federal ITC is one of the most important federal... Read more »

Renewable Energy: Green Investment and Passive Income When I started my career as an advisor, I was fresh out of college, full of idealism, and on a mission to change the world. I hoped to create a niche out of socially responsible and green investing; little did I realize the... Read more »

Why You Should Be Watching Black Summer on Netflix MY BLACK SUMMER REVIEW 99% SPOILER FREE Are you a Zombie fan? Do you enjoy watching shows and movies about Zombies? If your answer is “yes”, “maybe”, “sometimes” or “I am more into horror than Zombies” then Black Summer is a... Read more »