Cash flow is kind of important, in (early) retirement as in life. No cash flow, no nuthin’ – can’t pay the bills, can’t buy the things, can’t do the stuff.
A couple common cash flow challenges in early retirement involve:
wanting to spend retirement account income before age 59.5 (you have the funds, it’s just locked in tax-deferred accounts)
contributing to tax-deferred accounts when you have little to no cash on hand (but have earned income)
I like to get around these challenges with a little legal money laundering.
We are coming up on a year of living in California and are now largely accustomed to this new lifestyle. We have our routines and most things are on autopilot, including our spending.
With our big move I had framed out a rough budget and recently reviewed our expenses to make sure it was at least in the right ballpark.
We live in interesting times – prices are up, the market is down, life’s necessities are often not available at any price, and even gasoline is at “all-time highs” (if you ignore inflation)…
So it is no wonder that people are concerned. I’ve been asked the question numerous times, “Is early retirement doomed? Is this the start of another worst retirement ever?”
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If you’ve followed the advice of this blog for any amount of time, you’ve probably opened at least a few credit cards to take advantage of the benefits of miles and points for (nearly) free travel. But as you add more and more cards to the wallet, annual fees begin to add up and eventually there is a point of diminishing returns. You might consider closing credit cards to reduce the financial burden, but before doing so there are several important things to consider.
We have been living off our portfolio since late 2012 (9+ years.)
Our lifestyle (and budget) has undergone some pretty drastic changes in that time, but for the most part the portfolio resembles its younger (much smaller) self.
Let’s explore what is different, and why. (Cuz there are some BIG changes.)
