Occasionally, friends/clients ask if they should refinance so they can lower their mortgage payment. If interest rates have fallen, if you are trying to drop mortgage insurance and your current lender is playing hardball, or if you are just trying to lower your payment by extending your loan out further, then refinancing may be the … Continue reading What is Mortgage Recasting?
FI
My quick plan for financial independence
My goal for FI is $1.2 mil net worth. I'll call $1.2 mil my "number". My primary residence is excluded from my number, since it doesn't produce cashflow while living in it. I'm also not including any stock we hold from old privately-held employers. I hope we can cash those out someday but have no … Continue reading My quick plan for financial independence
How much should I contribute to my 401k?
One of the more frequent questions I get from friends is "how much should I contribute to my 401k?" While there is not 1 right answer for everyone, there are a few things everyone should consider. Also consider that 401ks are still relatively new in the investment world. They've only been around since about 1980, … Continue reading How much should I contribute to my 401k?
Frugality or deprivation?
When I got married, my wife had just graduated with a degree in HR. I was completing an internship between my sophomore and junior years. We were broke. We had a little bit of debt and still needed to pay for school. On our honeymoon we packed a cooler full of soda, ham sandwiches, and … Continue reading Frugality or deprivation?
March Madness and Financial Independence
I'm a huge basketball fan. Prior to self-employment, March Madness usually involved me trying to discretely follow tournament games while at the office. In 2016, I told myself that next year I'd take two vacation days to watch the opening round of March Madness. I pursued self-employment in summer 2016, but I made sure to … Continue reading March Madness and Financial Independence
The 4% Rule
If you're ever thinking of retiring, you should familiarize with the 4% rule. The basics of the 4% rule: when you "retire", calculate what's 4% of your nest egg*¹, and withdraw no more than this amount annually (adjust/increase each year for inflation), and your nest egg will*² never be depleted throughout your retirement*³. Why 4%? … Continue reading The 4% Rule
Setting Goals
Throughout this blog, I will talk and focus on retirement and financial independence (FI). I will use these terms interchangeably, so I must define them. Retirement and FI are reached when a salary, wage, or work becomes optional to live the rest of your life. I fully intend to continue making money and working as … Continue reading Setting Goals
Why I’m Writing This
I've always been... let's call it... extremely careful with money. Even as a kid in an upper middle class family, I never felt comfortable asking my parents for a candy bar at the grocery store, unless I saw they were on a sale like 4 or 5 for $1. My mind always runs cost-benefit … Continue reading Why I’m Writing This
Salary Optional 