Tag: Financial Independence
Don’t Gamble with Retirement 8
My, how time flies. I can’t believe I opened my website over two years ago. I began publishing books on Amazon in early January 2021. I released the book “Don’t Gamble with Retirement” on February 13, 2021. I say this because it is time to celebrate. My retirement plans (along with my lovely wife’s) are…
What is Quiet Quitting?
We all go through these fantastic journeys when we leave home at 18. We start as young, “green” workers who depend on everyone to help and assist them. Along the way, we gain knowledge and experience, eventually allowing us to become managers and supervisors. Perhaps some of us will become the CEO of the company.…
The Magic of High-Yield Bond Reinvestment
Do you want to be a high-yield dividend income investor but fear losing principle? Almost anything you invest in with high-yield faces interest rate risk. It’s understandable if you gravitate to safer products like Series “I” Bonds or Treasury Bonds. If you are near retirement, you must protect capital at all costs. But what if…
Investing for Interest 109: Series I vs 30-Year Bonds
Things are looking good for interest rates on a fixed income. The Federal Reserve is raising rates to combat inflation, which makes savers very happy. Don’t get too excited because increasing interest rates will indeed crash the economy. High mortgage rates will slow the housing market, which may cause a full-blown recession. Now, more than…
Happy Cash Flow Retirement 8
Today is a great day. I woke up understanding my purpose, my goal, and my mission. I also wake up every day richer than the day before. Welcome back to the Happy Cash Flow Retirement Series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 6, Part 7) My life consists of the magic of cash flow. I understand…
What is Generational Wealth?
Many people believe that generational wealth is a myth. However, we know that wealthy individuals and families have passed their assets from generation to generation for years. What secrets do the rich have that we are struggling to discover? The key lies in assets and information. You need both to successfully pass along your fortune. …
40-Year Interest-Only Mortgage: Affordability Assistance or Debt Trap?
The housing market is at a record low for affordability. Not only do we have sky-high prices, but also higher interest rates than usual. Yes, historically speaking, mortgage rates are in line with the average. We are currently sitting around 6% for a single-family 30-year fixed. However, housing prices are the highest they have ever…
Saving for a House Down Payment #2: Single Person, Big City
So you want to buy a home in a massive city like San Diego, Houston, or Seattle? Well, it will take a fantastic amount of hard work, dedication, and grinding on your part. Are you ready to do whatever it takes (legally) to get a small starter home or condo in your city? I hope…
You Can’t Get Rich By Acting Rich
Who doesn’t love a great movie? Movies make you laugh, cry, and get excited about your own life. For many, movies are their best hope of changing their mindsets. I love movies where a married couple has two kids, two nice cars, a home in upper suburbia, and can take vacations every year. This magical…
Bonds 4 Life: I’m Buying 30-Year Treasury Bonds at 4%
It’s been a while since 30-year Treasury Bonds have appealed to the investor inside me. When I started investing in 2019, I was getting 30-year bonds at around 3.3%. It turns out that those were the peak rates for the next three years. Rates slowly decreased and then jumped off the ledge during the pandemic. …
Turkey & Turnkey 2
How financially stable are you going into the holiday season? This time of year is the most expensive yet magical part of our lives. In what ways can we increase our income without spending our valuable time? To reach this challenging balance, we must create passive income streams. Rents to the win. One of the…
Roth IRAs vs. HSAs
As we grow older, lowering our tax burden becomes a more significant part of our lives. Our income should increase every year, and if we don’t take the necessary steps, so will our taxes. Roth Individual Retirement Accounts, or Roth IRAs, allow us to invest after-tax monies and keep all the principles and gains growing…
Pumpkin Spice & Royalties 2
We live in an amazing time where anyone can make supplemental income from royalties. We can use these royalties for anything we want in life, plus leave them to our children for 70 more years. The fall season is when we need additional royalties because it’s the time we spend the most money. Black Friday…
Love Calls: How to Thrive in a Long Distance Relationship
I’ve been married for 16 years; of those, I have been away for eight. It’s part of military life but part of everyday life for most people outside of America. Being with your family is a gift most people do not truly appreciate. In most third-world countries, men can’t earn enough in their local setting.…
5 Takeaways from “HSA Owner’s Manual”
“HSA Owner’s Manual” by Todd Berkley is a must-read for everyone. Although many people will never be eligible for a Health Savings Account (HSA), it is good to know their benefits. HSAs are triple tax-protected savings vehicles, where owners can use distributions on qualified medical expenses. Triple tax-protected means that contributions, growth, and distributions are…
Fruits of the DGI Tree
When you do it correctly, dividend growth investing is a boring hobby. You pick 15-20 blue-chip dividend-paying stocks and keep investing in them for over 30 years. You hardly need to review your portfolio, check the stock markets, or read the news—you only need to stay the course. However, what you are building is of…
The Magic of Compounding
Compounding is the most powerful force in the universe and one we all can use to our advantage. Of course, you have to understand it to achieve the best results. It’s been about a year and a half since my last article on the power of compounding. Since then, I have gone on to appreciate…
Is Budget a Bad Word?
Looking through social media, I always wonder how people budget. I make a decent amount of money (over $150,000/year), as does my wife (over $50,000), but we live on a budget. I see people going to Mexico, Hawaii, and the Dominican Republic and putting kids through private school. I see friends driving monster trucks and…
5 Takeaways from “Becoming a Money BOSS”
“Becoming a Money BOSS” by Kimberly Olson is an excellent money book that you can easily understand. I genuinely appreciate books that logically flow so I can follow along quickly. Inside the book, the author goes through the steps to understand, handle, and build money. If you are having difficulty getting a grip on your…
Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 4
The world as we know it is changing. We are transitioning from the industrial revolution 9-to-5 mindset to a creativity & production-based society. Soon, going to work and sitting in your cubicle will no longer net you a paycheck. You’ll have to produce an innovative product for your bosses to review—and it must add value…