Category: Retirement Planning
My First Day of Retirement: It’s Time to Live
Can life truly be this good? I finally retired from the Marine Corps after 24 years, and yesterday was my first complete day away. It was a fantastic day. I accomplished so many things that I’ll just list them instead of discussing them. I did all this at my own pace without any rushing or…
Financial Freedom Road Trip #4: Creative Writing
I drove for almost 10 hours today by combining two days of travel into one. What can I say? I am ready to get back to my wife and kids, who are two days away. I drove from Fort Stockton, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana, roughly 652 miles. I decided to drive the extra distance…
Financial Freedom Road Trip #3: Rental Income
It’s always amazing to see the lights at night in El Paso, Texas. I can see an ocean of lights from my hotel as I overlook Juarez, Mexico. El Paso is a unique city that has its own sense of identity. I usually stay in Las Cruces, Mexico, because it is much smaller and quieter,…
Financial Freedom Road Trip #2: Options Trading
This is my sixth time driving between San Diego, California, and Pensacola, Florida. And this will be my last time doing it as a US Marine. Arriving in Tucson, Arizona, is always a welcome feeling. Again, I love the desert more than any other environment, and Tucson has that old-school Western vibe. Welcome back to…
Financial Freedom Road Trip #1: Dividend Investing
After one year of living in San Diego, I am back on the road again. I came to San Diego to continue my Marine Corps career, dreaming of doing 30 years. But after three years away from my family (2 in Japan, 1 in SD), it was time to hang up my green uniform—24 years…
Love, Passion, & Freedom: Welcome to Passive Income
How do some people get to live the life of their dreams while they are stuck working a 9-5 job? Is it because they were born into wealth? Are they risk-takers, entrepreneurs, or gamblers? They may be lucky. Sure, some of these things may be true, but the truth is they discovered that money is…
Happy Cash Flow Retirement 10
Another day, another dollar; better yet, another passive income dollar. In two weeks, I am retiring from the Marine Corps after 24 years of service. I have never been more excited in my life because this is the result of hard work and planning. I have wanted this outcome since I began writing about passive…
Can the Military Elevate You to the Middle Class?
The middle class is under attack, and soon no remnants will be left. There are a few reasons why this is happening, mainly increased college costs, the price of housing, out-of-control healthcare expenses, and lack of financial education. America had a good run for its middle class—when workers had pensions for staying with a company…
5 Takeaways from “Gen F’d”
“Gen F’d: How Young Australians Can Reclaim Their Futures” by Alison Pennington looks at how Generation Z and younger Millennials can regain control of their lives. I’ll admit that the author and I share different economic views; I consider myself a capitalist. However, I did work for the government for 24 years and had a…
Saving & Investing 103: What is Your Investment Philosophy?
Once you get past all the mindset quirks of saving and investing, you will need to formulate an investing philosophy. Your philosophy will lead to your strategy, which will be your rock during tough times. Everyone’s philosophy is different, so understanding yours is paramount. Welcome back to the Saving & Investing 101 series (101, 102),…
Saving & Investing 102: What is Your Relationship with Money?
The most essential ingredient to building your wealth is your relationship with money. I hear you thinking, “But money isn’t alive.” Money isn’t what you think it is—it reflects value. The more value you give, the more money you will receive. Welcome back to the Saving & Investing 101 series (101), where we start the…
Saving & Investing 101: What is Your Risk Tolerance?
I talk to many people who cannot even fathom moving a portion of their money into a high-yield savings account. They fear the thought of not walking into a brick-and-mortar bank to handle their transactions. Other people I know put everything they had into cryptocurrencies back in 2021. They lost nearly all of their money…
Saving and Investing with $1,000 per Month
Welcome to the big leagues! If you can save and invest $1,000 per month, you will eventually become quite wealthy. I remember four years ago (2019) when I didn’t even have $1,000 in my savings account. Even worse, I had $77,000 in debt; those were not fun times. I remember thinking that having $10,000 in…
How to Use a Daily Budget: The Best Way to Curb Personal Spending
Do you have your personal spending under control? If so, how do you measure whether you successfully keep your urges to consume at bay? Having financial control is tricky because we all work hard. We feel we deserve certain luxuries when we put so much into work. Some of us may love to spend on…
Personal Loans vs. Credit Cards: Which is the Best Lifeline?
I hate credit cards with a passion, although I’ll admit they are a necessary evil. There are just too many random events that can occur, especially when you have a family. Personal loans are a much better option than credit cards, but they require you to keep a tight handle on your spending. Most of…
Become Middle-Class PLUS: Insert Growth Multipliers into Your Life
Most people fear becoming rich. Somewhere along the lines, they adopted a belief that rich people are bad; therefore, they avoid the path to wealth. However, it’s still not wrong to make a little more money. The problem is that most people cannot fathom earning income outside of a 9-5 job. Most times, people’s jobs…
Inflation Ate My Paycheck 112: Inflation for Longer
Now is a great time to be alive, although it may not seem this way. America and most countries are experiencing high inflationary pressures from all sources. However, you have all the tools at your disposal to combat inflation and continue to grow your net worth. Welcome back to the Inflation Ate My Paycheck Series…
Leaving the Workforce in 10 Years: For Families
How can you possibly exit the workforce with an entire family in tow? Well, it’s more than possible if you put your mind to it and commit as a family. I should know because my family is leaving the workforce this year. My wife (39) has already stopped working, and I will retire (42) in…
Start Your Season of Saving: Let’s Save $100,000
Do you believe that $100,000 is a lot of money? Can you envision you would ever have this amount of money in your high-yield savings account? If you think this is a lot of money, that is your first limiting belief. If you do not believe you can save $100,000, that is your second limiting…
Leaving the Workforce in 10 Years: For Couples
In a fantasy world, two people working together should quickly free themselves from the workforce. In reality, we all have major money issues and traumas that prevent us from seeing clearly. Thus, freeing ourselves is extremely challenging, and doing it as a couple is almost impossible. There is hope. However, there is hope. As long…
