MAJOR UPDATE: This week (October 1, 2024) I withdrew enough money from my inherited IRA to pay off all my consumer debt, leaving only a few payments on my student loan, my car loan, and mortgage debt! But if you would like to read about how I had “planned” to pay off this debt in the next 8-12 months, read […]
My Debt Payoff Plan: The First Step to Financial Independence… Read Post »
I wish I was writing this post ten or even twenty years ago. Unfortunately, since I started working, I never sat down to think about my retirement plan. It pains me to think at how different my life would have been had I started thinking about frugal living and retirement back when I was in my late 20’s or early
My Master Plan to Retire in 5 Years Read Post »
Today I learned that I became a millionaire. Since 2019 I have been calculating our families net worth at the end of each month. I highly recommend you engage in this quick and easy exercise. And this month we hit a milestone. When I ran the numbers at the end of May, I discovered that we had joined the 2
I Became a Millionaire… sort of Read Post »
Today my daughter and I went to Target for some home supplies. As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife and I have not done a great job of really teaching our kids what money is, how it works, and how understanding money can benefit them now. But today I took a different approach. During the car ride, I
Why Understanding Money is So Important for Kids Read Post »
I’m 48 years old and plan to retire in 5-7 years. Ideally closer to 5 years… Sounds crazy, right? Well, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. And by the way, this is a blog about money. I recognize that there are plenty of blogs about money on the internet, which begs the question… How will this blog be
My Story… Financially Speaking Read Post »
As expats living in Portugal who are in their mid-40’s with three kids, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that an early retirement was on our minds when we made the decision to leave America. And any discussion of early retirement has to include an answer to the question, “how much is enough money”? UPDATE: After 15
How to Calculate Your Fire Number Read Post »
What is FIRE? FIRE is a term that financial bloggers and the FI community have used to refer to the idea that you can retire early once you have amassed a sufficient amount of financial assets. It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. I originally wrote this post while living in Portugal in 2023. A lot has changed for me
What is FIRE? Is it even possible in 2024? Read Post »
This blog has been a long time coming, as has been my journey to chasing financial independence, or Chasing FI as I have decided to title this blog. I’m writing this with the hopes that my children will read this someday and maybe some of what I have to say will stick in their head. To date, I have tried
My Winding Road to Chasing Financial Independence Read Post »