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Building an I Bond Ladder

If you have stepped out of your house lately to buy anything, you are probably aware of the crazy price increase in everything. From gas to groceries, nothing has been spared.  The current inflation rate is sitting at about 8%.  This means any cash that has been sitting in my checking/savings account has less purchasing power. So I have essentially lost 8% of value on the cash sitting in my bank account. This is a big mistake that I should have looked into fixing months ago. I believe I have found the solution to my situation.   I Bonds Series I Bonds ( I Bonds) are bonds that are issued by the U.S Department of the Treasury and are considered one of the safest investments that help protect your money from inflation.. Some keys things about I Bonds: Yield adjusted with inflation Can purchase $10,000/year electronically and $5000/year via tax refund. So an individual can purchase $15,000/year Must hold for 1 Year No state or local taxes I actually heard about I Bonds...

How to FIRE Efficiently

Retiring early is a relatively simple problem to solve in theory. Just save 25x your annual spending and you will have accomplished this goal. Easier said than done.  The same can be said about other challenges in life such as losing weight or trying to live a happier life. Here are some techniques I have utilized to accelerate my pace to be able to retire early. Minimize Debt Other than my mortgage, I don’t have any other type of debt. No credit card debit, student loans, personal loans, or car loans.  I really tried to simplify my life and plow all my savings into money generating assets. There is simply no way around this if I wanted to retire early.  I always tell my children: It takes money to make money! The only type of loans I see as acceptable is a mortgage and student loans (within reason). The mortgage will provide a place for me to live in without worry about rent inflation. I would only take on more student loans if it allowed me to get a better job. Otherwis...

Benefits of Poverty Fire

After another horrible day at work and the office politics in the background, it made me realize how work can have a huge impact on your life outlook. We spend about 1/3 or more of our life doing a job we probably do not like with coworkers that are just as miserable as us. All of this just to earn a paycheck to buy things we do not need to make up for the bad days we have in the office. It's a terrible viscous cycle. This made me really think about the various benefits of retiring early. Time Rich or poor, the only thing we all have equally is time. For me, I want to have more time to work on my hobbies. I want to have more time to work out. I want to have more time to spend with my family and friends.  Health Stress can cause numerous physical and emotional issues. Not only that, it's hard to improve your health when working a 9-5 job. It's hard to workout when you don't have time. It's hard to eat better when you don't have time to cook. It's hard to slee...

Poverty Fire in 11 Years

I finally made it! After 11 years of full time work, I am one step closer to being able to retire early. Currently, I am at the level of being able to Poverty Fire. Poverty Fire The poverty level is defined as " the minimum level of income  deemed adequate in a particular country". According to the Department of Health and Human Services, that number is $12,760 yearly for a single individual in 2020.  The following chart shows the amount with different family sizes.  2020 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PERSONS IN FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD POVERTY GUIDELINE For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,480 for each additional person. 1 $12,760 2 $17,240 3 $21,720 4 $26,200 5 $30,680 6 $35,160 7 $39,640 8 $44,120 https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines So essentially, if I am able to keep my spending below $12,760 and I can generate an income of more than $12,760 from my savings, I can retire.  Savings 401K - $221,162 Rot...