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.
Below I answer some frequently asked questions:
Let’s go.
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?”
Let’s explore.
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.)
Awhile back I read a pretty savvy blog post about how to travel to Hawaii for free or nearly free.
I decided to give it a go myself, and what do you know… it worked!
Thanks to some travel hacking, we paid next to nothing for our flights and hotel, and even got an upgrade to a sweet suite.
After a decade of zero and near zero tax bills, our 2021 tax return looks a bit different – We paid a LOT of tax.
No surprises though – I sold a ton of stock to pay cash for a house. In the grande scheme of things it is no big deal.
I’ll break it all down below (with links) and highlight some things I did to minimize taxes this year and going forward.
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