Ok, so the title is a bit over-the-top. :)But "Suze Orman is Not a FIRE Expert" just didn't have the same ring to it. Ha!Anyway, today's post is about a clueless financial "expert", the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) community, some good points about planning for retirement, and an admission of a mistake (for which I give a TON of credit.)But before we … [Read more...]
10 Crucial Qualities You Need to Reach Financial Independence
Sometimes when bloggers want to guest post at ESI Money they send me suggested topics.In other cases, I give them some ideas I've been wanting to cover and just haven't had the time. If they think they can write a post on one of my suggestions then we go with that one.Today's topic is one I've been wanting to cover for a while now, but just haven't gotten around to it … [Read more...]
The One Thing FI Can’t Give You is the Only Thing You Really Want
The following is a guest post from Half Life Theory, a site focused on building wealth through personal development.I wanted to run this article because it brings up some interesting points about striving for financial independence and its relation to happiness, two things that are closely related IMO.I don't agree with all the conclusions below and I think for some … [Read more...]
How I Lost Millions by Retiring Early
I've been thinking about this issue for some time now. And since I had fun digging into my financial independence numbers I thought I'd do a few more math gymnastics to see how much I had "lost" by retiring early.I had considered this idea a while ago, but what prompted me to finally write about it was a conversation with my mom.She and my dad have been working on … [Read more...]
ESI Scale Financial Independence Calculator
Well, here we are again -- I have yet another financial calculator to share with you.And this one is the granddaddy of them all!Just so everyone is on the same page, I've recently introduced two new calculators.One deals with the impact growing your career can have on your finances while the other answers the question, "When can I retire?"I love these … [Read more...]
When Can I Retire? When Will I Be Financially Independent? A Retirement Calculator Guide
I get a lot of questions about retirement.This might not come as a surprise to you since I write so much about the topic.Most of the questions are one of these two: 1) When can I retire? (Yes, literally that simple.) and 2) I don't think I have enough to retire. What do you think? (This is really just another form of the question above.)I have penned several posts … [Read more...]
My Financial Independence Numbers
One of the things (maybe the only thing) I dislike about Mr. Money Mustache and the swarm of like-minded individuals he spawned with his philosophy is that he didn't come around 20 years earlier.If he had, I would have been retired much earlier.But in my generation, retiring early was at 60. Now it's somewhere around 40.If I had known that there was a different way … [Read more...]
Maxing Out a 401k and Early Retirement
In my post titled Three Sentences that Lead to Wealth, I made the following comment: The 401k up to the full match is a no-brainer. After that, it depends what you are trying to accomplish and by when. I maxed out all my tax-advantaged accounts and wish I had put a bit of that money into taxable accounts for easier access. One reader responded to that with the following: In … [Read more...]
Money Resolutions Everyone Should Consider
As regular readers know, I'm a New Year's resolutions guy.I set tons of resolutions each year, then develop steps to achieve them by the assigned timelines.Then I track them all on a spreadsheet I review daily.It's a bit over-the-top, I know, but it keeps me accountable and on track. I want to be sure I'm regularly making progress on what matters most to me.I … [Read more...]
If You’ve Won the Game, Stop Playing
Here's an interesting quote I just recently ran into: If you've won the game, stop playing. It actually has a couple of iterations/similar quotes floating around the web but the idea is the same: if you've already reached financial independence (FI), you don't need to keep doing what you did to get there.In fact, if you do keep at it then your financial independence could … [Read more...]
