Since having a kid of our own I have often found myself in the company of other parents. And let me tell you, there is nothing in this world parents want to talk about more than the latest exploits of Little Johnny or Young Suzie.
“Oh man, you do NOT want to know what I found in Johnny’s diaper!” (you’re right)
“Oh my gawd, Suzie said the cutest thing today! Let me tell you all about it.” (that’s, uh… really cute)
And my personal favorite:
“Yeah this kid is wicked smart… probably gets it from his old man, hehe. So anyway, I opened up a 529 plan for him last week. We even did that thing where you contribute 5 years’ worth all at once. You knew you could do that, right?”
Me: “Yeah, uh.. Jr doesn’t have a 529.. And we have no plans to start one.”
2017 was our 5th full year of early retirement, world travel, and blogging. Most of the content I’ve written comes from trying to figure things out for myself and our family, and then sharing the outcome. It’s helped create an exciting community of early retirees, tax geeks, expats, world travelers, nomadic families, and adventurers.
Although the blog became a profitable side business back in 2014, any financial benefit was mostly accidental. I typed some words, talked to some reporters, added some links, and (occasionally) cashed some checks.
In 2017 I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should actually try to do some businessy stuff with this thing.”
A great number of world travelers utilize the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to keep up to $102,100 in income out of the paws of the IRS (2017 tax year.)
For those who aren’t bonafide residents of another (non-US) country, this requires passing the Physical Presence Test (PPT) by being in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 days.
2017 is the first year we tried to pass the PPT, and getting it wrong by even one day could cost $20k or more in tax. Needless to say I wanted to get it right.
