Retirement

401(k), 403(b), And IRA Contribution Limits For 2024

The Internal Revenue Service announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2024 has increased to $23,000, up from $22,500 for 2023. In addition, the limit on annual contributions to an IRA increased to $7,000, up from $6,500 in 2023. Not bad! Given the new three legs of the retirement stool …

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The Average American Household Is A Millionaire, Go USA!

Well folks, after writing over 2,300 personal finance articles since 2009, my job here at Financial Samurai is done! According to the 2022 Federal Reserve Consumer Finance Survey, the average American household’s net worth, adjusted for inflation, was $1.06 million. That’s right. The average American household, some of which consists of individuals, is a millionaire! …

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Why It’s So Hard To Stay Retired Once You Retire Early

It’s hard enough to retire early, say before age 45. However, I’ve discovered it may be even harder to stay retired once you retire early! As I was going through my archives, I realized I had a master plan to re-retire by September 1, 2022, several months after my 45th birthday. Given the birth of …

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Spending More Money On Food: An Experiment In Decumulation

Once I hit 45 in mid-2022, I decided to enter a decumulation phase. Instead of continuing to save and invest aggressively, I decided to spend more aggressively. One way to decumulate is to spend more money on food. Dying with an excess of money is suboptimal. If we do, it will have meant that we …

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The 60-Day Rollover Rule To Borrow From Your Retirement Plans

The 60-day rollover rule enables you to borrow money from your retirement plans tax- and penalty-free. You can utilize the rule once a year. However, in general, I don’t think it’s wise to borrow from your retirement plans. If you do, you may get into the habit of robbing your retirement future. You may also …

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How Much People Want In Retirement Vs. How Much They Actually Have

I wrote about the various paradoxes of wealth based on a Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey. In this article, I want to highlight another wealth paradox based on the amount people expect they need in retirement versus how much they actually have. According to this new data, I’m convinced Americans really don’t know how much …

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Ranking The Best Passive Income Investments

If you’re looking to achieve financial freedom before a traditional retirement age (60+), you must build passive income. This post will highlight the best passive income investments in our current economic environment. Passive income is the holy grail of personal finance. If you have enough passive income to cover your desired lifestyle, then you are …

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Reasons To Strive For Financial Independence: That FI Feeling

I first wrote this post about financial independence in 2012, soon after I had left my day job in the finance industry. It was a 13-year slog, but I was thrilled to leave but also a little worried about the unknown. The idea of this post is to capture the feeling of financial independence and …

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