Investing our Mortgage – 1-Year Update

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Finances | 44 comments

About a year ago we bought a house, paid in full with cash. Then I got a small mortgage as an inflation hedge and to invest for fun and profit (or loss.)

We used a chunk of the mortgage to fund moving expenses and to acquire all of the typical home accoutrements, put solar on our roof, and pay the medium-sized tax bill that comes with selling enough stock to pay cash for a house. The remainder I put back into the market as a lump sum.

It has now been one year out of thirty. Let’s check in on how this investment is doing.

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Mortgages, Home Equity, and Retirement Spending

by | Aug 29, 2022 | Finances | 35 comments

“Is home equity included in net worth when calculating a retirement budget?”

“Is having a mortgage in retirement risky?”

“Was it a good idea for you (Go Curry Cracker) to get a mortgage?”

These questions (and others of a similar genre) are amongst the more popular we have received over the years. (Even more so now that we bought a house.)

Today I want to review mortgages, home equity, and related questions as they pertain to retirement budgeting and spending.

Let’s go.

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How I Borrowed Over $250,000 at 0% Interest

by | Jul 19, 2022 | Credit Cards | 49 comments

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GCC: Every once in awhile, somebody does something incredibly amazing. And when they do, I always ask myself, “How did they do that?!” and “Could I also do this amazing thing?”

In this case, that amazing thing is borrowing $250,000 at 0% interest while saving $30k in taxes, $6k+ in interest, and earning $2k+ in bonuses.

Read on to see how one Go Curry Cracker reader did just that.

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Legal Money Laundering

by | Jun 27, 2022 | Finances | 46 comments

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.

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Our California Dreamin’ Budget

by | Jun 21, 2022 | Finances | 78 comments

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:

  • how much do we spend?
  • where does the money go?
  • where does the money come from?

Let’s go.

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