Retirement

When it comes to retirement accounts, there's one debate that almost everyone must consider: A Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA - Which one is better?  What are the differences, and how do I know which one is the right one for me? As someone who has both a Roth and a Traditional account, let me tell you: Each one has traits that can be very valuable to you in their own way! In general, no matter which one you choose, you’re doing a great thing by taking advantage of a unique opportunity from the IRS to save and grow your money without having to pay taxes right away (or in some cases, … [Read more...] about Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA – Which One Is Better for You?

Are you wondering how to maximize your 401(k) contribution without feeling like you won't have any money leftover to spend? Hey, I get it! When I was just starting out as a young professional, I started off by contributing what I thought was a decent amount to my 401(k) retirement plan (10 percent or so) ... But as we started really defining how much money we'd eventually need to retire, especially as our goal timeline transitioned from our 60's down to our 40's, it quickly became apparent that our savings rate wasn't enough. If we were going to retire early successfully, then we … [Read more...] about How To Maximize Your 401(k) Contribution

After reading enough personal finance blogs, this whole financial independence thing starts to sound pretty good!  But what exactly are the steps to retire early? How does someone acquire enough money to never have to work again (if they choose)? What was the path that got them there? And more importantly, what are the habits and routines in our daily lives that we can adopt that will help make early retirement an option? You might be surprised to learn that much of achieving financial independence has less to do with earning a lot of money and more to do with how you go about getting … [Read more...] about 10 Steps to Retire Early – What You Should Be Doing Right Now!

Admit it ... You’ve probably asked yourself “How do I become a millionaire?” more than once in your life. Don’t be shy! I can certainly tell you that I have. With all the images of happiness and security we see associated with wealth, how could you (or most anyone) not wonder about such a thing. Regardless of what your actual financial goals are, the act of having a net worth of one million dollars or more is still heavily regarded as quite an accomplishment! In fact, in a survey conducted by investment service Charles Schwab, less than 10% of Americans had accumulated a net worth of … [Read more...] about How to Become a Millionaire – The Simple Way to Save $1,000,000

Can you “buy” passive income? Of course you can!  Essentially this is the whole point of saving your money and stashing it away for financial freedom (or retirement). "A dollar saved is a dollar earned" ... or so the old saying goes. But is this really true? How much is a dollar saved really worth in 10, 20, or even 30 years? Or to be even more practical, how much financial freedom can this dollar actually produce for me every year in retirement? In this post, we’re going to go through an analysis of the savings process and see just exactly how much each dollar translates … [Read more...] about How Much Passive Income Will a Dollar Saved Today Buy Me in the Future?

Whenever I first get talking to someone about personal finances, one of the first questions they have is: How much do I need to save for retirement? It's a heavy question, I know! Save too little and you might end up having to go back to work when you don't want to. But set your target too high, and you might end up working harder and saving longer than you really need to. Believe it or not, the math behind figuring out how much you need to save to retire is actually amazing simple! ... As in just one calculation ... That's right.  You can go online and find some complex … [Read more...] about How Much Do I Need to Save for Retirement? The Incredibly Simple Answer