Tag: Financial Independence
Take The Difficult Path: The Only Way to Reach Happiness is through Tough Decisions
I once heard the quote, “You can measure your success by the number of tough conversations you have.” How many times have you had to have a tough conversation with yourself, your spouse, your kids, your parents, or your co-workers? Most people avoid tough conversations and don’t have much success or happiness. The path to…
Bond Investing in Your 50s
Hopefully, we will figure out our financial path during our 20s, 30s, and 40s to focus on our family in our 50s. That’s right; time to build passive income for our children through bond investing. Can you imagine if you had $20,000, $30,000, or even $50,000 of Series “I” bonds waiting for you by age…
Starting a Business with One Hour a Day Available
Time is the most valuable resource on this planet. We spend our lives trying to buy freedom from the workforce; for most people, we call this retirement. One of the cruel ironies of life is that we can buy our freedom much sooner by spending more time earlier. Sounds confusing, right? You need assets to…
Why Are You NOT in the Work Force?
Everywhere I look, it seems people are quitting their jobs. Whether it is quitting in place, also known as quiet quitting, or walking away completely (the Great Resignation), the world is turning upside down. However, this is a social media ploy to slow down the average American. Many reasons contribute to this mass exodus from…
The Perfect Life: Homesteading & Dividends
Do you ever dream of getting as far away from the city as possible? I think about this every day on my commute to work. Society is becoming more dangerous and less intelligent, so it is wise to devise an escape plan. But how can you escape while living within 20 miles of a Walmart?…
How to Become Financially Independent in Your 20s
Being young grants you the gift of youth. Youth allows you to work as hard as possible and recover easily by the next morning—you are almost invincible. However, with youth comes hormones and pride. Indeed, fighting through your own mindset will be the biggest challenge of all. If you can get it together, you can…
The Magic of Having (Budgeted) Fun: Be Creative Within a Daily Budget
Yesterday was a great day. My mom is in town, and all five of us (wife, mom, and two boys) went to Ruby Tuesdays. We ate whatever we wanted and walked out the door, spending $150. That’s not bad for a family of five, especially during an inflationary and recessionary timeframe. But the best part…
High-Yield Bond Reinvestment in Action
I recently discussed high-yield bond reinvestment as a safe way to assume more risk in your portfolio. It’s a great way to dabble in the waters of income investing. My 30-year bonds just paid me their semi-annual payments, so it’s time to reinvest. Today, I will walk through how to convert a reasonably low-yield coupon…
What is Your Creative Ability?
I love talking about one’s ability to be creative. The reason behind my passion is that I never believed I was creative. I joined the military directly out of high school in 1999 and spent the next 21 years grinding to the top. The world meant for me to be a rigid military-type person, or…
Life as an Income Investor
Becoming an income investor changed my life. I used to believe that working hard at my job would eventually set me free. Sadly, this was not the case. My day job pays me a lot of money; however, learning to invest for income relieved me of my stress. Today, I want to give you a…
Inflation Ate My Paycheck 110: Get Past the Middle Class
Life is interesting because there is no such thing as slowing down. Things start to fall apart when you take your eye off the prize. To have long-term success, whether financial, career, or relationships, you must constantly learn, grow, and build. Nowhere is this more evident than with the class system in America. Inflation will…
Down-sized? Time to Start an Online Business
As the recession approaches, mass layoffs will become more common. We are already seeing major corporations making significant cutbacks to personnel. Are you at risk of losing your job? Whether you believe your job is safe is not the point. Relying solely on your job for income is risky. Luckily, there are many ways to…
The American Dream is Passive Income
Can you begin life in the poor or working class and finish in the wealthy elite? You absolutely can achieve incredible wealth in one lifetime in America. Are you going to get there working hard at a job? Will you get there by directing your blood, sweat, and tears toward someone else’s ventures? The answer…
Individual Preferred Shares vs. Preferred Funds
So you want to start investing in preferred shares, huh? I am a massive fan of preferred shares because of the high yields and fixed income. My journey with preferred shares started with the book “The Billionaires’ Secret” and continues with articles by Rida Morwa on SeekingAlpha. I am utterly obsessed with preferred shares after…
Homeschooling + Online Business: The Stay-At-Home Parent’s Ultimate Dream
Do you dream of being a stay-at-home parent? Are you disappointed with the public (and private) school system? My dream is to homeschool my grandkids. I failed my two boys (ages 16 and 12) by putting them through the public school system—I believed I would get good results. However, the school system is much different…
Wiping the Debt of Christmas Past
Christmas is when we overindulge, over-travel, and, worst of all, overspend. However, racking up credit card debt during the holidays can leave us in a challenging situation for years. We live in a consumer-focused nation that thrives on spending in the economy. I love the holidays as much as everyone else, but we have to…
I’m Obsessed with Money: And You Should be Too
I love money. I love having money, making money, and growing money. Society attempts to tell me I am terrible for caring about my money. The only way to stop caring about money is to become obsessed with it. Once you figure out how to live below your means, save money, and grow your income,…
Welcome to Writing: Start Here If You Love The Grind
So you want to be a writer, huh? Writing is one of the most amazing things you can do in your life. You are expressing your values using words as a medium. According to “The Independent Homeschool,” writing is the toughest of the 3 R’s (reading, writing, and arithmetic). You must make countless decisions just…
The Bonds of Thanksgiving: Tis’ The Season to Invest in Bonds
It’s been a long time since bonds were attractive during the holiday season. You would have to travel back before 2008 to find such a time. This year, the Federal Reserve is trying to fight inflation—raising their interest rates hard and fast. Raising rates could cause a recession and higher employment. This could be a…
5 Takeaways from “His Needs, Her Needs”
“His Needs, Her Needs” by Dr. Willard F. Harley Jr. is the best book on marriage ever written. I can say that without a doubt because I read it ten years ago, and it made my marriage that much better. The book gives the top ten basic needs within a standard couple—five for women and…
