5 Things I’ve Learned From My 1st Month of Retirement
I officially retired in early November of 2021. However, since we moved from Silicon Valley, California to Dallas, Texas in December, most of my time in November and December was spent packing, coordinating with movers for our vehicles and belongings, and actually doing the move right before Christmas. We then unpacked, cleaned, and settled in just 3 days. On Christmas Eve, we finally had time to put up our Christmas tree in our apartment. The rest of the winter break was spent with family at home and doing a little exploring in the new area.
Although I technically retired 3 months ago, I didn’t experience true retirement until the 2nd week of January. In this post, I’ll share my thoughts on how my life has changed, both personally and financially, as an (early) retiree!
2022 Business and Personal Goals
Happy New Year! To kick off every new year, I like to set goals for all aspects of my life, both personal and professional. By publicizing my goals, it helps me stay accountable for the things I set out to accomplish for the year. I also hope that some of my goals inspire you to set some for yourselves, too! Let’s get started.
My 2021 Year-End Review
At the start of 2021, I set out to accomplish some business and personal finance goals for the year. By the middle of the year, I published a review of how those goals were progressing, as well as some of my personal goals (not money-related). Now that we’re at the end of 2021 (crazy how fast it went), I will do one final review of both my money & non-money goals and share how I did!
I Just FIRE’d Myself At 31
When I was studying computer science in college just over 10 years ago, I told my partner that I was going to retire early. They didn’t understand what this meant at the time, nor was I taken seriously. We hadn’t even started working yet, so how could we think about retirement already? Well, fast forward to today, and I have 2 major life updates to share with you all!
First, I have officially quit my corporate career at the age of 31, having worked for just a decade. Second, I’m relocating from Silicon Valley, California to Dallas, Texas, accelerating my FI/RE timeline by nearly a decade! These were some of the hardest decisions I’ve made in my life, but they are ultimately right for me and my family. I’m positive that at least 80% of you have thought of relocating (however fleeting) and are also wondering why I am quitting my corporate career at such a young age, so I will share my thought process and reasoning in this blog post.
How to Reduce Your Tax Bill with Tax-Loss Harvesting
Now that we’re in the final innings of 2021, it’s a good time to assess how your investments are performing and how they’ll impact your taxes. Your stock portfolio may no longer be allocated the way you intended it to be or you may have pent-up earnings and/or losses in specific holdings. In either case, you may want to consider tax-loss harvesting, a technique used to help rebalance stock portfolios and reduce tax bills. Today, we’ll talk about how best to apply tax-loss harvesting and when to not do it at all.
Doubling My $125K Investment to $250K in 1 Month
I thought that flipping one of my out-of-state properties for over $100,000 in profits in under 4 months was out of this world! While I wasn’t wrong about its success, I also never expected to beat that accomplishment in such a short period of time. The punch line? I doubled my $125K investment to $250K in just 1 month! In today’s post, I talk about my original plan for the investment, the numbers behind it, and why it was so profitable.
How I Flipped an Out-of-State Home for Over $100K Profit In Less Than 4 Months
Earning a lot of money doesn’t mean you have to have a high-paying 9-to-5 job; it can come from a side hustle like my out-of-state flipping business! In fact, because my flipping business can be so lucrative and take just a few hours a week, I often wonder why I should even keep my 9-to-5. Well, I’ll save the answer to that thought for another day. Today, I will share my experience buying an off-market property and how I ultimately sold it for a massive profit!
When It Makes Financial Sense To Relocate
The Great Resignation (AKA the “Big Quit”) of 2021 is the incredible phenomenon driven primarily by millions of Millennials and Gen Zers who have been quitting their jobs in droves. COVID-19 has forced many employers to offer work-from-home benefits. So, employees have increasingly enjoyed better work-life balance and flexibility to do things on their terms. With employers seeking to reverse that trend by requiring employees to return to the office, employees are opting out by seeking other opportunities that allow them to continue to enjoy their work-from-home privileges permanently. And with millions of workers seeking to stay or become fully remote, why continue to live in a HCOL (high cost of living) city? Maybe it makes financial sense to relocate to a cheaper area and get a bigger bang for your buck. Let’s dive in!
How I Turned My 2nd Flip Into My 1st Airbnb
At the start of 2021, I set out to start an out-of-state flipping business and flip an average of 1 home per quarter (4 for 2021). By May, I had already purchased all 4 of my flips for the year. The 2nd home I purchased, however, didn’t get remodeled on schedule, nor did it attract a sale price I was happy with. So instead of waiting around hoping for a magic sale to happen, I decided to convert my 2nd flip into an Airbnb! In this post, I’ll talk about what went wrong with my 2nd out-of-state flip and the steps I took to convert this property into an Airbnb.
Mega vs Regular Backdoor Roth: What's the Difference?
For high income earners, the Backdoor Roth conversion is a popular way to get around the income limits that prevent high earners from contributing directly to a Roth IRA. The Mega Backdoor Roth, on the other hand, is not just for high earners. However, a high income is necessary in order to get close to contributing up to the maximum, which is probably why they put “Mega” in the name. In this article, I will talk about the differences between the two backdoor conversions so that you can decide which one is right for you.
The Opportunity Cost of Getting A Graduate Degree Instead of Working Full-Time
I’ve heard many people say that they’ve reached the top of their ladder and can’t get promoted without a graduate degree. And while that may be true, I wanted to highlight the opportunity cost of pursuing that degree if you were to quit your current job (or go straight from undergrad to grad) and attend university for 2 years full-time. When considering this move, you have to take into account lost earnings, the cost of attending school, and what your (potential) future earnings will be after you graduate. Let’s find out which choice makes the most financial sense!
Mid-Year Review of My 2021 Personal and Money Goals
At the start of 2021, I set out to accomplish some business and personal finance goals for the year. Since we’re right at the middle of the year (6/30/21), it’s a good time to review how I’m progressing towards each of my goals and think about whether or not I need to make any adjustments to them. Also, while I didn’t share any of my non-money-related goals at the beginning of the year, I’ll do that today!
5 Ways To Pass Down Generational Wealth Tax-Free
If you happen to be in a financial position where you’re planning to pass down generational wealth, congratulations! You’re in a great situation, compared to the bottom ⅔ of Americans who are living paycheck-to-paycheck (according to CNBC). But be sure your hard-earned nest egg is passed down in as tax-efficient manner as possible. That is to say, if you know your estate and gift taxes well, hopefully you can skirt around paying hefty estate taxes. Otherwise, your nest egg can be taxed as high as 40% at the federal level, plus any estate taxes you may have to pay at the state level! Luckily, today I will share some of my favorite ways to pass down that generational wealth without paying a single penny in taxes!
Why Turning A Primary Residence Into A Rental Is A Bad Idea
If you’re thinking about or already have turned a primary residence into a rental, you might want to rethink that. Even if your property is allegedly in a “high appreciation” market, it still may not make financial sense to hold on to it. To understand why, it all comes down to a numbers game, especially taxes. In this post, I will share why I decided to sell my very 1st primary residence instead of turning it into a rental, how I determined that was the best financial decision, and the numbers to back up my decision.
My 1st North Dallas Flip Sold For $130,000 Over Appraised Value
In my previous post, I talked about my house-flipping strategy and my takeaways from my 1st out-of-state flip. However, when I wrote that article, I hadn’t officially sold the home yet. But today, I’m happy to announce that I’ve officially sold the home! While it was a happy ending, when I first listed the home for sale, the listing really got off on the wrong foot. Today, I will share the full story with you.
8 Steps To Buying A Home Anywhere
The home-buying process can be overwhelming, especially for 1st-timers. Even experienced real estate investors have their work cut out for them since every real estate transaction can pose unique challenges. However, the majority of the process (and paperwork, ugh!) is largely the same every time. In this post, I will go over the broad strokes of the home-buying process to help you understand what it takes to become a homeowner. Let’s dive right in!
How To Save For Your Child’s College Education
To state the obvious, the cost of education is extremely high. According to Vanguard’s college cost calculator, the projected cost of a public 4-year college (in-state) 18 years from now will rise from today’s cost of $88,720 to $230,070! In today’s post, I will talk about the various ways you can save for your child’s education and what I’ve chosen to do for mine.
Investing in My 3rd Triple-Net Leaseback Rental Property
Investing in triple-net leaseback rental properties is a very niche area of real estate investing. I’ve done it 3 times in my real estate investing career, and each experience has been different than the other. The 1st one was immensely profitable, the 2nd went terribly bad, and the 3rd you’ll soon find out!
Takeaways From My 1st Out-of-State Flip
At the beginning of the year, I announced all my financial goals for 2021, one of which was to start an out-of-state flipping business. By the end of January, I had already closed on my very first flip in the Dallas metro area! If you follow me on Instagram, you would have learned that I’m already done with the rehab, roughly 2 months later. So now that my property is listed for sale and I’m starting to think about completing my very 1st out-of-state house flip, I thought I’d share my experience, from start to (almost) finish.
My Top 9 Tips For 1st-Time Home Buyers
Having bought my 1st home at age 22 and after taking part in dozens of purchases over the years, I’ve been asked by so many people for tips to buy their 1st home. Depending on where you live, the market can be red hot where multiple offers and bidding wars are normal, leaving many of you wondering how to even compete.
In this article, I will talk about common dangers of being a buyer, how to navigate through those pitfalls, and some of my top techniques that I employ when I’m shopping around for a home. Even if you are an experienced home-buyer, many of the tips and tricks I’ll talk about in this article are applicable to buying any home, not just a primary residence.