retire early Archives - Page 3 of 3

May 31, 2021May 29, 2023

Six Important Reasons Not to Retire Early

When I first discovered financial independence, the thought to retire in my 30s warmed my soul like a batch of hot stew on a late February night. If I could rely on the wondrous and fantastic powers of compound growth to build a bitchin’ snowball of money, I’d never need to work again.

And it was never about the money. It was about the life. I yearned for a life spent in pursuit of passion, surrounded by a vibrant and meaningful community, with copious time to immerse in nature, climb, travel, and most importantly…sleep. The rigid and mechanical pipeline of school to work was cracked and beginning to leak.

So, what’s not to love?

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021

The Frugal Professor: Let’s Get Deep in the Weeds

Alrighty, folks. This week I’m pleased to bring you a low-down-and-dirty financial deep dive with climber, writer, father of five, and lover of personal finance: The Frugal Professor. In this interview, we hold our breath and plunge into complex issues surrounding actually spending all this money we save for periods of no traditional income, meanwhile navigating the treacherous, shark-infested waters of the US healthcare system.

I’ve always said that saving and generating wealth is shockingly simple once some key concepts are understood, implemented, and doggedly followed, through thick and thin. And I’m sticking to my story.

What is not so straight-forward, however, is threading a very fine needle on living off the money we’ve saved. In a period of no traditional income⏤call it “retirement” if you want⏤we shouldn’t be just selling shares and calling it a day. We have to optimize healthcare spending, minimize taxes, and avoid early withdrawal fees and penalties meant for a much more traditional retirement.

But with a little planning, it ain’t no thang.

Let’s roll up our sleeves with the Frugal Professor and get a little dirty, shall we?

February 8, 2021August 9, 2021

Your Questions Answered: Volume One

This week I decided to dig through my emails and finish answering some questions.

In this post we take another look at investing now vs later, the dynamics of financial independence without retiring early, housing and home ownership, more on day trading and investing apps, what the hell I do with my time, and much more.

Here is what is keeping you guys up at night, or at least spurring mild curiosity.

October 26, 2020October 25, 2020

Contentment: The Greenest Grass of the Them All

I’ll admit. I thought that quitting my job would lead to hours of newfound productivity. I will write for hours. Now I’ll double down on web design skills. I’ll climb more, and I’ll rest more. I’ll dust off my 15-year-old gear and start writing and recording music again. Once I don’t have a job I’ll truly find contentment.

The truth is, I’m largely the same guy I was in January, weeks before I walked away from my job.

Is that a bad thing?

May 25, 2020May 24, 2020

What It’s Really Like to Not Have to Work on Monday

We started working intently towards financial independence in 2015. Less than five years later, we crossed the finish line. I pinned the merit badge on my flair vest and decided to call it quits on the corporate world, just as COVID-19 was quietly putting the world in a strangle hold. A few weeks later, the stock market crashed, and along with it, our net worth. Is waking up each Monday without needing a job as great as it seems? Am I just running from something?

Well…maybe.

February 10, 2020October 12, 2020

BREAKING: I (Sort Of) Quit My Job

WHOOAA!! Yes, it’s true. By the time you are reading this, I have finished my last day in Corporate America, facing an uncertain future. We have achieved financial independence, perhaps reaching a new pinnacle of unrelatability. I have no job, and I have no plans for a job. The story of how this came to be is both planned and not, but either way, I’m incredibly excited for what is to come. So, how did we get to this point?

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

Charles Sheldon: FIRE Before It Was Cool

Charles Sheldon lived over a century ago. There was no Twitter, no hashtags, no websites, and no “financial independence movement.” After a brief but lucrative career in the railroad and mining industries, Sheldon became a self-made millionaire in his 30s and retired at age 35. He used his newfound freedom to track down bighorn sheep and then, you know, became the “Father of Denali National Park.”

So, it begs the question: what would we do if we were given the gift of time?

April 8, 2019May 8, 2020

Net Worth: It’s Really Going to Matter…Someday

I promised at the end of our post on spending tracking that we’d also be addressing and tracking one’s net worth. I’m a man of my word, so here we are.

Net worth is defined as total assets minus total liabilities (debt). Simple enough right, so why the post?

First, there’s some nuance involved in the categorization of assets and debt.

Second, and most importantly, despite the relative ease in calculating net worth, I speculate that very few have taken the time to calculate their own. Guys, forget early retirement. Failure to take note of the reality of your finances can leave you very much hosed by the fatty knot of life. Deliberate attention and a hard look at “normal,” however, can flip the script. There’s no better time than today, and we’re here to help.

September 28, 2018March 17, 2019

Having Your Cake and Eating it Too: The Millionaire Dirtbag, Part 3:

When Am I Financially Independent?

This is Part 3 in the series. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 first!

Does this all sound intriguing but overwhelming? Perhaps you feel you haven’t set up your life to now embark on this journey. Let’s take a quick look at defining financial independence and a few first steps to get you on your way. Most important of all, let’s highlight the shockingly abbreviated timeframe for putting away serious amounts of money.

September 8, 2018December 22, 2018

The Goal of Clipping Chains: Linking Up Personal Finance and the Climbing World

Two facets of my life that keep me fully engaged are rock climbing and personal finance. I’m guessing you’ve come to this site because you are more interested in one of these seemingly unrelated subjects than the other, but I’ll slowly, hopefully, make the case that there are valuable lessons to learn from my experiences in wading deep into either respective…pool?