Financial Independence Archives - Page 13 of 18

Don’t Fall Off The Affordable Care Act Subsidy Cliffs

May 11, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Mailbag, Personal Finance

This week I’m dipping into the mailbag to answer some questions from a reader named Don about the Affordable Care Act subsidies and the income limits to watch out for if you don’t want to lose your subsidy or face an unexpected increase in health care costs.

In the past, I talked about the ACA (or “Obamacare”) making early retirement a lot easier where I went over two case studies. One case study was for an older couple approaching traditional retirement age. The second case study was my own situation of a family of five including three children.

April 2015 Financial Update

May 4, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

In April, we spent quite a bit of money. We are ramping up for our seven week summer trip to Mexico which led to many expenses in excess of our routine monthly spending. As a result, our income of $2,125 didn’t quite keep up with our $4,549 of expenditures in April. In spite of that shortfall, our net worth climbed another $30,000 primarily due to investment returns.

Climbing The Roth IRA Conversion Ladder To Fund Early Retirement

April 20, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Moneyhacks, Personal Finance

I want to tell you a story about accessing tax-deferred funds in an IRA or 401k before age 59.5 without paying a penalty. But first I’m going full out White Fang on you.

A trapped animal will do just about anything to get free. When you get caught, normal rules of comportment and demeanor are sloughed off to make room for the demands of the primordial will to live. It’s all about survival. Adrenaline rushing, pumping through arteries and veins, clouding the judgment and dulling the pain, the wild animal will chew it’s own leg off to disengage itself from a trap. It’s all about survival.

You’ll have to keep reading to figure out what this has to do with accessing tax deferred accounts without paying a 10% penalty.

March 2015 Financial Update

April 6, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

March has come and gone and left our net worth largely unchanged from it’s lofty heights of a month ago. We brought in a bunch of income yet spent a relatively modest amount in spite of focusing a lot of time and effort on spending more money.

Summer In Mexico: The Next Big Adventure

March 25, 2015 JustinRoG Awesome!, Financial Independence, Travel

The plane tickets are booked. In early June the Root of Good family packs up and hits the road for a summer in Mexico. Just another crazy thing you can do when early retired.

We’ll be chasing the kids up and down pyramids and mountains, into the crystal clear water, and then relaxing in the shade until the smell of grilling meats lures us to the explosive colors of the local markets.

My Version Of Financial Independence As A 17 Year Old

March 9, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Parenting, Personal Finance

Half a lifetime ago I developed a financial independence plan before I knew anything about financial independence and early retirement. My 17 year old self scribbled out a poorly refined plan to never work again and live off of savings from a minimum wage job. The bottom line: I thought I needed $120,000 to fund a perfectly adequate lifestyle forever by living on $600 per month in interest.

The year was 1997, the place was North Carolina in the wonderful United States of America. The federal poverty level back in 1997 was $657 per month, which meant that I was planning on living below the poverty line (before I even knew what a poverty line was).

From Paper Boy to Engineering Manager to Early Retiree

February 20, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Personal Finance

Imagine early retirement as a well cooked meal. The recipe calls for healthy doses of earned income and a liberal application of spending less than you make. Place those savings into a good asset allocation. Mix ingredients well and let simmer for a decade or two. Voila! Early retirement on a platter. If only you could find that dish in the frozen section of the grocery store or at a drive thru window near you!

You can’t retire early without a decent working history. Throughout the last two decades, I’ve had almost twenty different jobs. The earliest ones didn’t pay particularly well, but my compensation generally increased as I gained more experience. Join me on this autobiographical odyssey through my working years.

Should We Conceal Our Wealth?

January 16, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Parenting

“Today my teacher asked me how we are able to go on another cruise so soon after the last one. I told my teacher that my daddy is retired and my mommy is about to retire, too. Then a kid in my class asked to borrow a few thousand dollars from me.”

That’s what my nine year old told me at dinner a few days ago. Some parents might freak out about how honest their kid was with their teachers and fellow classmates. Not me. But should I be more concerned?

December 2014 Financial Update

January 5, 2015 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Lifestyle, Personal Finance

We closed out the year with a financially busy month. With income exceeding $17,000 in December, we way more than covered our abnormally large expenses of about $10,000. We finished the year on a strong financial note and wrapped up a major home renovation project during the month. And booked another Caribbean cruise.

Starve The Army Of Hungry Money Managers

December 9, 2014 JustinRoG Financial Independence, Investing

Hide your cash! The money managers are coming. There’s a huge lusty hungry army of financial advisers marauding about looking to latch on to your early retirement war chest and clandestinely drain it’s lifeblood while