No one wants to be told no. Of course that’s true. But parents forget it. Little kids spend the first few decades constantly told no. Why? It’s easy for parents to say no. We have a rule in our house. If you can not justify the no, then you should say no. This started when…
Real estate is a vast field with countless niches, making it challenging to determine where to start. When I was a teenager, I used to go to the library and read books on real estate. I also stalked the for sale ads and for rent ads in the newspaper. One piece of advice I remember…
When my wife was pregnant with our first child, I put a lot of thought into what life lessons to teach our kid. I was in my late 30s and stewing over how old I would be as they grew up. I kept thinking, if I die while they are young what do I want…
Mortgage rates are always a hot topic in the news. Whether they are up or down they are newsworthy. There is a way to save on your mortgage and get a better great rate, regardless of whether rates are rising or falling. Mortgage points have always been a source of confusion, and fear for many…
Let me tell you a secret, my friends. I’ve been in the real estate game for quite some time now, and I’ve seen it all. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. And one thing I can assure you is that having the right real estate agent by your side can spell the difference…
Every business, no matter how large or small, can be compared to a lemonade stand. This simple concept has been the foundation for teaching my son, who is now 8 years old, about money. Ever since he was 4, he has been setting up his lemonade stand, and over the years, it has grown more…
When is the best time to buy a house? As a real estate investor for over 20 years, I have bought houses through many cycles. I bought houses when interest rates were in the 7s in the early 2000s. I bought a house with a 2.3% interest rate. I bought houses before the 2008 housing…
I want to be a good dad and I try hard to be one. It’s not easy but I try to be present. I love my kids and my wife very much. Nearly my entire motivation for wanting to retire early is to have time to spend with them, and to just be present. That’s…
When people hear that I retired a few years ago at the age of 42, their reactions are often the same. They look at me with wide eyes and exclaim, “You’re living the dream!” They talk to me like I hit the jackpot as if my early retirement was a stroke of luck. They treat…
Would you believe me if I told you that most millionaires don’t earn six-figure incomes? It’s true, and it’s exactly why income isn’t the biggest hurdle to retiring young. Recently, I ran a survey on our YouTube channel asking, “What’s the biggest hurdle you face in retiring young?” The results were striking: 71% of people…
It’s hard to know how much house you can afford. Actually it’s easy to know how much house you can afford. It’s hard to know how much house you should afford. The McDonald’s Principle When I bought my first house, I developed The McDonald’s Principle. It was simple, clever, and powerful. It was my way…
Imagine a financial strategy that can lower your monthly mortgage payments, save you thousands in interest, and bring you closer to the dream of early retirement. Mortgage recasting is a powerful tool that can help you achieve financial independence faster. In this article, I’ll explain mortgage recasting, explaining what it is, when and why you…
I’ll never forget when I was in the final two weeks of my career, making the rounds to say goodbye to colleagues and thank those who had been part of my journey. During one of those conversations, I sat down with an investment research analyst who specialized in writing about retiring early. Ironically, he hadn’t…
In my teens I developed a plan to try to buy myself an early retirement so I could spend that time with my children and wife that I didn’t yet have. The phrase Financial Independence Retire Early didn’t exist, but the path to it did. Unlike other FIRE experts online, Finance Experts in real life,…
When I retired at 42 in 2021, I discovered the concept of Financial Independence Retire Early, also known as FIRE. Even though I had already reached financial freedom, understanding the mindset behind FIRE helped me reflect on the steps I took and how others can do the same. The FIRE movement is more than just…
At the ripe age of 42, I left my professional career and stepped into a life of Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE). Interestingly, when I started crafting my own financial independence plan as a teenager in the mid-1990s, the term “FIRE” wasn’t even on the radar. However, the dream of buying one’s way out of…
