Tag: retirement
Full Throttle: How to Build a Fully Funded Emergency Fund
There is a big difference between financial security and financial freedom, mainly the amount of passive income your portfolio generates. Financial security means a major emergency or repair will not be a significant setback for your family. Financial freedom means your portfolio generates enough passive income for you to stop working and live on the…
If You Don’t Have Money: Don’t Buy Anything
“If you don’t have money, don’t buy anything.” Seems like a simple mantra, right? So, why is it so difficult for us to stop spending? The good news is that it’s not just you who cannot stop spending. The bad news is that you are 100% in control of your actions. Spending has become a…
Fundrise vs. Dividend ETFs: Corporate Profits vs. The Housing Market
Which would you rather depend on during retirement: corporate profits from blue-chip companies or the rental income and capital gains from the US housing market? That’s a tough call, so let’s dive into how we can best position ourselves to earn passive income from these major capital markets. Building passive income during retirement should be…
How to FALL into Investing 3
Every fall season brings a new set of change and intrigue. We go into the holiday season filled with love, joy, and excitement. We may as well also enter the season with a lot of money. To be the giving person we want to be, we need additional income outside our job—passive income. Building a…
Are You a Willing Contestant in the Rat Race?
Games are fun, especially when you understand the rules. Life is the ultimate game show because there is much at stake. Not only do we hold our lives in the balance, but also the future of our children. There is no better prize than financial freedom. However, we didn’t start the game of life with…
Happiness Isn’t Free 3: Happiness Comes from Measured Sacrifice
Everything has a cost. Your life will open up as soon as you live and breathe this mantra. You can have everything you want in this world if you pay the price. The question is, what do you want? If you attach your happiness to “things” and “stuff,” you will have a difficult time being…
Money & Marriage: How to Retire Early as a Couple
The road to financial independence is more a spiritual journey than a financial one. You must understand who you are precisely and your purpose on this Earth. As a couple, the path to living on passive income is even more arduous. Now, two people must share one vision. The journey is usually too challenging to…
The Dividend Debit Card 3: Dividends in Daily Life
Every day with dividends is a gift, and it’s even better when they arrive directly in your checking account. I have been dividend investing for over four years; it becomes more interesting and fun each year. The key to successful dividend investing is enjoying the fruits of your labor. Dividends are best when you can…
Income for Retirement: Understanding Closed-End Funds
Throughout our working lives, we depend on income to sustain our lifestyles. Why should things be different during retirement? No matter our age, we must pay bills, purchase food, and allocate resources for travel; these things will never fade away. Therefore, we need to create a consistent paycheck to match or exceed our monthly expenses—enter…
Pursue Your Creative Career with Dividends as a Backdrop
Our hearts crave creativity and expressing ourselves in the public eye. As kids, we loved to paint, color, and write; we loved to dream. As we grew older, the world became about earning money and finding a career we could use to support ourselves. I spent 24 years in the military, a great profession indeed.…
Income for Retirement: Understanding Preferred Shares
Retirement comes for all of us; whether we prepare appropriately for it is a different story. But we all have time to ensure our income is sufficient to last our entire lives. The first step to living a great retirement is determining how much income you need. Then, you can choose the instruments that best…
How to Determine Your Bare Bones Budget: The First Step to Living on Passive Income
The single most essential part of retiring early comfortably is determining your Bare Bones Budget (BBB). Without a BBB, you’ll always feel you must work to pay all of your bills. What is a Bare Bones Budget? A Bear Bones Budget is the minimum amount of money your household needs to thrive every month. Notice…
Who is a Better Steward of Your Time? You are Your Boss?
When did we become a society of followers? I understand that every community needs leaders and followers, but each household in America has a certain level of freedom. I have been fully retired for a month, and people cannot understand how I spend my time. Even worse, they say they need their job to keep…
Your Wealth is Your Choice: You Have More Control Than You Think
We are moving towards scary times. Student loan payments are returning, rents are increasing, home insurance is sky-high, and food costs are outrageous. The world is applying pressure to the average American household, and things may look bleak. What’s the typical American supposed to do to beat the odds? When all else fails, return to…
Writing: I Retired to Start My Dream Job
Now that I am fully retired, I have time to reflect on the journey that got me here. It’s been a long road (24 years in the Marine Corps), but well worth the wait. Besides my wife, perhaps the most essential part of my path has been writing. Writing forced me into uncomfortable situations and…
To Change Your Life: You Must Change Your Life
“It’s about the journey, not the destination.” Have you ever heard that quote before? What does it mean to you?’ I only understood what it meant once I began my passive income adventure. My wife and I have come so far over the last 4.5 years. How did we start our journey? In January 2019,…
How to Make $100 a Month in Passive Income
Passive income is very elusive in that it does not start very passively. You must contribute a certain amount of work to build a passive income stream. However, once you get the hang of it, you can create as many income streams as you can maintain. Passive income is a mindset more than an amount…
Every Day is Saturday: Living a Happy Cash Flow Retirement
I’ve been dreaming about my Happy Cash Flow Retirement (HCFR) for over four years. Now, I am three weeks into my new life as a retired Marine. Retirement is about doing the things you love with the people you adore. However, the foundation of your HCFR is your budget. If you can live comfortably and…
How to Become an Income Investor
Are you ready to make the leap into earning passive income? Do you want to live the life of your dreams without restraint? There are many ways to earn passive income; however, dividends require the least amount of physical work. On the flip side, dividends require the most cash to generate significant returns for you…
Life Begins at the Edge of Your Comfort Zone: Time to Take Control of Your Destiny
Every day in retirement is a gift—an amazing blessing from the heavens. However, these wonderful moments weren’t just given to my wife and I; we created them. You have to create the life of your dreams. At the intersection of knowledge and effort comes luck. To find your life, you must put yourself out there.…
