This guest post is by Vaughn, a long-time Financial Samurai reader who retired at 44 and is now 55. Vaughn’s early retirement was driven by necessity rather than choice due to a congenital bone disease. Fortunately, his high income during his working years secured a solid SSDI benefit, and his mother’s foresight provided future rental […]
An 80/20 Stock-Heavy Portfolio In Retirement Might Be Ideal Read More »
There are two things most financially-conscience people aspire to: retiring rich or retiring early. But which is better? Many people who haven’t retired believe early retirement sounds fantastic, especially since so many are disengaged from work. On the other hand, who wouldn’t want to retire rich? However, to retire rich, you typically have to work
Why Retiring Early Is Obviously Better Than Retiring Rich Read More »
If you’re increasing your safe withdrawal rate for retirement now, you’re likely making a mistake. You might be inadvertently top-ticking the market as the Fed embarks on what is likely a multi-year rate cut cycle. One of the main reasons the Fed is cutting rates is due to growing weakness in the labor market. Inflation
Increasing The Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rate At The Wrong Time Read More »
In 2009, I helped kickstart the modern day FIRE movement by chronicling my FIRE journey on Financial Samurai. I made a proposal that in ordered to be financially independent and retire early, you must have enough passive income to cover your basic living expenses. Then I suggested everybody try and negotiate a severance if they
What Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) Haters Say Read More »
In 2023, I significantly impacted our passive income, causing our household to technically lose its financial independence. Prior to this, we had been financially independent since 2012, when I left my banking job. My goal now is to regain financial independence by December 31, 2027. To achieve this, I need to restore the ~$150,000 in
The Grind Back To Financial Independence: Early Stages Complete Read More »
One of my ongoing challenges as a writer is explaining financial concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. With ann MBA from Berkeley and 13 years in banking at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, financial concepts come naturally to me. Despite writing over 2,500 personal finance articles since 2009 on Financial Samurai, however, some concepts still get
Navigating Retirement: Dynamic Safe Withdrawal Rates In Action Read More »
If someone informed you that, as of January 2024, you could invest in a financial product offering a fixed, guaranteed return of nearly 6% for up to 10 years, would you consider it? If your answer is yes, continue reading about the Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, or MYG Annuity for short. Due to current financial conditions,
The Multi-Year Guaranteed (MYG) Annuity For Retirement Read More »
Want to save more for retirement? Good. People are not saving enough while working, which will hurt them when they are old. The key to saving more for retirement is properly forecasting your future. By the time you’re old, tired, and unmotivated, you want to have saved up enough passive income to cover your living
How To Save More For Retirement If You Don’t Make Much Money Read More »
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
Why It’s So Hard To Stay Retired Once You Retire Early Read More »
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
The 60-Day Rollover Rule To Borrow From Your Retirement Plans Read More »
