Tag: free-pdf-book
Change Your Money Cycle: Your Spending Habits Determine Your Wealth
We hit the jackpot by being born in America. We have the chance to go from broke to rich in one lifetime. Heck, we can achieve incredible wealth in 20 years if we truly try. Unfortunately, most people will never seize this fantastic opportunity. Not because they didn’t work hard but because their money cycle…
Dividend ETFs vs. Index Funds
A few improvements to investing have changed the game for the average middle-class investor. These are fractional shares, zero commission fees, and automated investing. Today, we can invest $5/week into our favorite index funds and dividend ETFs to slowly grow our portfolio. Plus, we can still go all in with $5,000 when we get our…
My High-Yield Savings Account: Year in Review 2022
Today we celebrate. 2022 was an incredible financial year; therefore, we can ring in 2023 with a bang. My high-yield savings account is one of my favorite investment vehicles of 2022, so I want to explore it more in-depth. Discover did me a solid by sending me an email summary of my HYSA. This also…
The Great Family Reset: The Independent Person Experiment Failed
It was an experiment for the ages. The idea was to send a person out of the home at age 18 and see if they could make it in the world. They used words like “be independent,” “go build,” and “become a man” to entice us into the world alone and without resources. A few…
Diversify Your Home Equity: Protect Yourself with Multiple Investment Strategies
The run-up in housing prices has slowed down, at least for now. However, many of us are still sitting on tons of home equity. Is it a good idea to let your house value determine your net worth? What if the housing market drops again, like in 2008? I don’t believe housing prices will drop…
Increase Your Savings Rate: It Determines When You Can Retire
How fast do you want to retire? Do you genuinely want to work until the full retirement age of 66? I know I don’t want to work for another 25 years. But what is the best way to retire early? We all hear terms like Financial Independence Retire Early (or F.I.R.E.), but what does that…
Your Daily Routine is Your Success
I always tell my wife that life is supposed to be tough. Every day you should be challenging yourself in many aspects of your day. Life isn’t about getting to a magical point where you become comfortable. We can call this the “fat and happy” stage. In fact, life is about the exact opposite of…
Compound Interest: You Can Pay It or You Can Earn It
If you ever seek motivation in life, look no further than the power of compounding—everything we do in life compounds, either positively or negatively. “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy explores how we can exploit compounding to improve anything we want in our lives. The more things we put into motion, the more chances we…
Home Buying for the Average Person 2
“You will own nothing and be happy.” This thought process comes from the higher beings inside our governments, businesses, and military. Why is this quote so important to the middle-class family? Because we must be wary of how things slowly play out to fulfill this new reality. We used to buy physical products such as…
Two People, One Budget: Create a Budget and Start Income Investing
They say finances cause most marriages to fail, but what specifically is the disconnect between couples? More importantly, how can we prevent these issues from causing a division between the lovebirds? My wife, Kristina, and I have been married for 17 years, and we are on the same page financially. When we didn’t have “the…
30-Year Bonds vs. Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks
Today is a great moment in time to be an investor. It’s been over 13 years since stocks and bonds had to compete for your investment dollars. If you are searching for a 4% yield, you can now choose between a 30-Year Bond or a blue-chip dividend-paying stock. However, the answer doesn’t lay in numbers;…
Social Security vs. Income Investing
We should not depend on the government. That’s not to say that the government is terrible or plans to ruin our lives. However, the government is not our best source of reliable income; we are. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to create our own happy cash flow retirement system. I wrote an article titled…
The True Power Couple: How to Build a Passive Income Marriage
Let’s start 2023 by dissecting what made marriages stronger 60-80 years ago. These topics are sensitive, but let’s focus on the financial side of the house. Somewhere along the lines, someone convinced the middle class that having two working parents was the path to financial success. But will having two working parents lead to marital…
The Creative Blogger: Write What You Want
Why do you want to start a blog? For most of us, the reason is to make money. We don’t just want regular income but passive income. However, blogging is tough, and trying to stay abreast to search trends can be a full-time job. You can also fall into the trap of affiliating marketing and…
Bonds for Mom: A Low-Risk Retirement Plan for Mom
As our mothers increase in age, chances are they will receive some kind of windfall. This can be from an inheritance, a life insurance policy, downsizing a home, or cashing in a 401K. As the son or daughter, you will want to ensure this money lasts until the end. Most people will turn over the…
What is Your Net Worth? How Long Can You Survive Without a Job?
Net worth has become a status symbol; apparently, if you are a net-worth millionaire, that is supposed to mean something. However, having a high net worth doesn’t necessarily mean you are wealthy. There is a massive difference between static and functional wealth. Today, let’s determine your net worth (and mine’s) and see how this money…
Feel Special with Special Dividends
Every day as an income investor, makes my life more enjoyable. It’s incredible to receive money from thin air. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money and worked hard to provide for my family. I have worked for the US Government (as a Marine) for over 23 years. I fully appreciate the hard…
Preferred Shares vs. Common Stocks
There are tons of securities you can buy on a given day. So knowing what you are buying and why you are buying it is vital to long-term success. Most investors will purchase common stocks inside their various portfolios. However, many other options exist, including treasury bonds, Series “I” Bonds, closed-end funds, and mortgage REITs.…
College vs. Property: Which is the Better Investment for Your Children?
As parents, our children need us more than ever. This goes beyond the ages of zero to eighteen; they will need us until the day we leave this Earth. Why do our kids need us so much compared to yesteryear? The world has changed a lot over the past two decades. Everything is more expensive,…
Income to the Moon: Income Investing Your Way To Retirement
Saving for retirement is boring. Somehow, at age 25, you are supposed to prioritize your retirement planning over buying a flashy car. This rarely works in reality because it’s a tough pill to swallow. However, there is a different way, but it will take a complete shift in mindset. What if I told you that…
