I listened to my first audiobook last year. I didn’t know how I would feel about not turning the pages myself or having someone read to me. This isn’t elementary school. I thought I’d start with an easier “read,” something more enjoyable and less technical. The risk of falling asleep was already high, I didn’t […]
Savings Rate Calculations Simplified
Once you have embraced saving for financial independence, you can track your progress using a few simple savings calculations. When working through the following equations, the savings amount will be a combination of any money you add to savings, as well as any debt principal reduction. To be clear, this does not include total debt […]
How Early Retirement Changes Your Investment Options
It is easy to get excited about the path to early retirement, but sometimes when people get caught up in the excitement, they forget some basic investing principles. Misunderstandings of risk and timelines run rampant throughout the internet. Comments like, “I’m young and going to retire early so I am going to invest 100 percent […]
Guide to Paying Back Student Loan Debt
There is no question the expense of college is more than most students can handle. With the average senior graduating college with $30,000 in student debt, it is impossible to ignore the importance of understanding the ins and outs of student loan debt. An Introduction to Student Loans Students are all faced with the decision […]
Hiking is a Great Hobby for the Financially Independent
The loosely defined term of “hobby” ranges from activities both expensive and inexpensive, time consuming and not, and homebound or travel-based. The great thing is there is no right answer, not even a good definition of what makes a good hobby. At the end of the day, it’s what you enjoy spending your time on. […]
Strategically Switching to LED Bulbs
I recently found myself comparing replacement lightbulbs at my local Home Depot store. Each box touted the details of energy savings, lumens, wattage, and of course, the price. After doing some rough calculations, I found that, at the same cost as traditional incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs offered huge energy cost savings. Later that evening, I […]