The holiday season is quickly approaching, a time when many are hoping for or expecting a hefty year-end bonus.
Without traditional employers, alas, nobody will be sending us a check to install a new swimming pool or even a membership to the jelly of the month club. (The gift that keeps on giving.)
So not wanting to go without, I decided to just go ahead and create my own bonus season. I ended up leaving $425 on the table and one bank is still holding some funds hostage, but this year we are getting another $2,575 worth of holiday cheer. (As an added bonus, only $825 of it is taxable.)
GCC: We first met Bob and family at an expensive import coffee shop (aka Starbucks) in Osaka, Japan, where we enjoyed some tasty treats as a globetrotting respite. So clearly this was after they had found balance and inner peace :) Check out this personal story from the trenches of hard saving, and the important reminder to enjoy the journey.
Lately, Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) is getting a lot of attention. The concept is literally spreading like a wild fire as more main stream medias are publishing FIRE related stories. This is certainly true for Jeremy and Winnie, as their story has appeared on many different media outlets.
The core concept of FIRE is simple – Increase your savings rate by decreasing expenses and increasing income. Invest the savings in appreciating assets. Once these assets produce sufficient passive income to cover your expenses, you are financially independent. You can retire early if you choose.
Although my dad retired from full time work when he was 43, my wife and I didn’t fully grasp the key benefits of financial independence (FI) until 2010. After reading many personal finance and investing books and blogs, we began to take charge of our own finances. We simplified our investments and learned to take advantage of the tax-free and tax-deferred accounts.
We are now 8 years into our own FIRE journey. Thanks to our passive income streams, various side hustles, and our house in the hot metro Vancouver housing market, we can be financially independent today if we choose to. We also feel blessed that we could retire today if we wished to. But we realized that we have more to do than just be ready financially.
This whole early retirement thing has been pretty easy so far, thanks to a solid plan and a bit of luck.
We have had a hefty economic tail wind, a strong US dollar, (mostly) good health, unexpected income, a low tax burden, and an abundance of enthusiasm and good cheer.
There is a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season.
(This post is the 2nd in a series. Subsequent posts forthcoming… soon. See the first post: Is Your 401k Too Big?)
A Traditional 401k / IRA allows us to invest for the future in a tax advantaged way. However, in some cases these accounts can become tax disadvantageous due to sheer size.
When the IRS forces withdrawals after our 70 1/2 birthday (the RMD), large accounts may get hit with higher tax bills. Those taxes could even be greater than what we saved on contribution.
We already saw this in the first post in this series. Even account values at age 70 1/2 of $350k or more (Married Filing Jointly) would most likely fail to Never Pay Taxes Again. But this isn’t necessarily tax disadvantageous.
Due to tax savings on contributions, are there higher account values that can be reached before our 401k becomes too big? And if so, how do we evaluate additional contributions?
For us, going back home (to the United States) means enrolling in an ACA health insurance policy and potentially stepping into the clutches of a State tax authority (e.g. California.)
