Search Results for: early retirement

How Much Should I Pay For Healthcare? Introducing The Health Affordability Ratio

129 Comments / Insurance / By

Healthcare affordability continues to be a concern for millions of Americans. When the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was enacted in 2010 I was happy. A universal healthcare system would insure the ~47 million Americans who were previously not insured. After all, disease doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor. Also, being rejected for healthcare coverage due […]

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States With The Highest And Lowest Unemployment Benefits

48 Comments / Career & Employment, Insurance / By

Here’s a look at the sates with the highest and lowest unemployment benefits. Unemployments vary more than you think by state. Therefore, some unemployed people are faring better than others. During the pandemic, the federal government significantly boosted unemployment benefits. The CARES Act provided an additional $600/week through the week of July 31, 2020. And

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Social Security Survivor Benefits: Life Insurance For All (Taxpayers)

52 Comments / Insurance / By

After writing my post on life insurance needs when having a baby, a reader mentioned he was disappointed I didn’t mention Social Security survivor benefits. What’s funny is that I never think about Social Security when planning for my financial future. We all know Social Security is underfunded and the government will likely raise the minimum

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Staying Unemployed: Why I’m Giving Up On Going Back To Work

56 Comments / Career & Employment, Retirement / By

At the beginning of 2020, I was excited to start applying for jobs after my six-month paternity leave was over in June. After eight years of unemployment, I had done everything I wanted to do. Now with two kids, rising living expenses, and the possibility of a downturn, finding work would be the responsible thing

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FIRE Confessionals: How A Bear Market Has Impacted The Financial Independence Movement

138 Comments / Retirement / By

FIRE is a popular topic. But what about the dark side of FIRE? This post shares some poignant FIRE confessionals to help keep things real. When I started writing about achieving financial independence in 2009, there wasn’t a lot of hoopla. We had people mainly discussing how they were building large enough investment portfolios to

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How Our Family Is Negatively Impacted By The Coronavirus Crisis

141 Comments / Family Finances / By

Instead of telling you how my family is doing OK during the coronavirus crisis, I wanted to share with you how our family is being negatively impacted by the coronavirus. I’ll then provide another update one year into the pandemic. From going through a logical exercise on how to predict a stock market bottom to

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Abolish Welfare Mentality: Janitor Makes $235,812 Plus $36,652 In Benefits

161 Comments / Career & Employment / By

If you want to get rich, you must abolish welfare mentality. Having a welfare mentality will keep you from taking calculated risks and giving your best effort. Instead of focusing on making as much money as possible, welfare mentality will keep you thinking about cutting your budget. Welfare mentality makes you depend on others to

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The Work From Home Survival Guide: Because Your Sanity Is Important

27 Comments / Career & Employment / By

Now that millions more people are working from home due to the coronavirus, I thought I’d share some tips on how to keep your sanity. This is my work from home survival guide. I have actually been working from home since 2012, when I negotiated a severance and left corporate America for good. Losing the

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Move Over FIRE, Welcome DIRE: Delay, Inherit, Retire, Expire

151 Comments / Retirement / By

Instead of embracing the FIRE movement for those seeking financial independence, it may be better to embrace the DIRE movement after such a massive bull run since 2009. For the millions of unemployed Americans thanks to the pandemic, the DIRE movement is real. When I first started writing about achieving  financial independence early in 2009,

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Average vs. Recommended Expenditure On Housing, Food, Transportation

84 Comments / Budgeting & Savings, Retirement / By

From a previous post, we know that the average expenditure by U.S. consumers is huge. This post will look at the recommended expenditure on housing, food, transportation and more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the latest data for 2019 shows the average U.S. household spends $63,036 a year and earns $82,852 a

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