You’re on your financial independence journey. You started making some changes and taking steps towards saving and investing. How long does it take to start seeing the return on your sacrifice? How do you know what you are doing is working? There are indicators to keep an eye on that will remind you that it’s working. There are milestones I set up which reminded me when I knew it was working. I did not purposefully seek financial independence. At my…
What type of credit cards do you have? Do you lean towards cash back credit cards, travel rewards credit cards, or merchant credit cards? Some cards offer no annual fees and there are others that have annual fees. Many credit cards offer promotions for new applicants and if they qualify. Some may offer a cash back bonus, hotel points, airlines miles, travel points, merchant credits, or other incentives. But did you know many credit card companies offer more than this?…
You may have heard that it’s not about how much you make rather it’s about how much you spend. If and when you ever consult with a financial planner, one of the questions you will be asked is how much are your expenses. No matter how much you make, if you spend more than you earn it is more difficult to reach financial independence. Make lowering your expenses a goal. If you have consistent income coming in then that is…
We all do this. Whether we voice it or just think it, we are constantly doing it. We compare ourselves to others all the time. Whether it is comparing clothes, shoes, cars, homes, hair styles, vacations, jobs, online followers, or lifestyles we constantly ask ourselves what do they have that I don’t or what are they doing that I’m not. This will lead you down a spiraling trap of never being good enough. Your life story is unique and should…
Establishing and working to achieve personal goals is great to have. It gives you a sense of mission, objective, and target to work towards to. If you share financial goals with another person such as spouse or significant other conversations about money is going to be an important topic to talk about regularly. Divorce rates and separation rates due to finances is increasing. To counter this trend get on the same page with your partner. The divorce and separation rate…
As I get older, and hopefully more wiser, I look back and reflect whether my financial grinding early on was worth it. From my early days when I started working, someone more wiser than me gave me the best advice. It was to maximize my 401K. From this moment and because my paycheck wasn’t that big I had to live minimally while not sacrificing experiences. I could have coasted along by spending on things that would temporarily satisfy my wants…
If you have a retirement account with your employer such as a 401K and they contribute towards by matching a percentage, have you ever thought to wonder what that equates to? My employer matches 5%. When I hear that, my thought is that 5% of my retirement account is from my employer and 95% is from my contributions. What I didn’t factor is the potential earnings the 5% would carry. Employer contributions and its earnings have high potential to increase…
Have you ever moved money to the wrong account? If so, it may cost you to fix it. I have several accounts that I manage because I also manage my kids custodial accounts. With cash brokerage accounts, IRA accounts, and Roth accounts, it can start to look the same. What happens if you accidentally funded the wrong account? Depending on which account it is, it could be nothing or it could be something. I made a mistake and it cost…
Sequence of returns…you may have heard of this term but what is it really and why is it important? Sequence of returns refers to the order of your investment returns which means keeping track of every investment from the time you fund it to the time you withdraw from it understanding the gains and the losses you will experience. Buy low sell high is what we strive for but what if you’re in a situation where you bought high and…
Recently, the talks of inflation in the economy news have been the main topic. The cost of goods and services are going up. From rising prices of eggs to cars, everyday consumers are experiencing the effects of Inflation. If you’ve been reading my articles, I’ve also been a proponent of points, miles, and cash back programs. I’ve been able to redeem for cash, gift cards, airline flights, hotels, and more. What I realized is that these, too, are susceptible to…