Retirement Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

How I Retired At Age 30 with $500,000

Last Updated: July 12, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 19 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

My monthly Extraordinary Lives series is something that I really enjoy sharing with you all, and I’m back with another great interview. Today’s interview is with Purple, who retired at the end of 2020 at the age of 30, with $500,000 invested.

Are you interested in financial independence and/or early retirement?

If so, this interview is for you!

You probably know Purple from the popular blog APurpleLife.com. APurpleLife.com is one of my favorite blogs, so I’m excited to share this interview with you.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How an early retirement amount of $500,000 was chosen
Why she chose to retire early
The career she had before she retired early
Whether or not she still earns income in early retirement
The sacrifices that had to be made to reach early retirement
Her choice of health insurance as an early retiree and full-time nomad

And more!

This interview is packed full of valuable information on reaching early retirement. [Read more…]

9 Tips For Financial Success And Freedom – Take Control Of Your Money

Last Updated: July 5, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Achieving financial success is something that many people want to reach.

It makes sense as money can greatly determine how a person lives their life.

Money can even be a factor in your happiness. I’m not saying that money equals happiness, but if you’re stressed about money, you may feel depressed, inadequate, or have other negative feelings.

I completely understand that there are some situations where things are outside of your control, leading to a lot of financial stress and awful feelings.

It can be incredibly difficult to overcome situations like that.

Still, I truly believe that there are things you can do to become more financially secure and reach financial freedom. Everyone’s path will be different, but I believe it’s possible.

So, what is financial freedom and financial success? And, how do you become financially successful?

Financial success means something different to everyone.

It could mean that you no longer have debt, that you no longer have stress from money, money no longer controls you, you have paid off your house, you’ve reached retirement, or something else. [Read more…]

Do I Need A Trust?

Last Updated: June 14, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a partnership with Trust & Will.

Do I need a Trust?

Lately, I’ve been hearing that question and many other questions about having a Trust.

More people should probably have a Trust than you think, as there are many benefits.

According to Trust & Will, if you have at least $200,000 worth of assets, the best way to protect your family may be to create a Trust.

Creating a Trust is an area that you may not have thought about. After all, many do not take this step. But, this is changing lately. More and more people are starting to create Wills and Trusts, and for good reason.

Creating a Trust can protect your assets and help your family.

There are many reasons to have a Trust. Some reasons may include more control over distributing assets, such as if you have a family home, assisting dependents with disabilities for years and decades into the future, complex assets, reducing taxes, and more.

You can learn more about these reasons in Top 8 Reasons to Have a Trust. [Read more…]

Lendtable Review: Get free money to max out your 401(k) match and ESPP

Last Updated: May 17, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Welcome to my Lendtable review. The following is a partnership with Lendtable. All opinions are my own.

Don’t know where to start saving up for retirement? Or maybe you just feel like you don’t have enough money to make an impact on your retirement plan?

That’ll change today.

I want to tell you that it’s not only possible to save enough for retirement, but to get free money while you do so and grow a passive income while you sleep.

One easy way to get started saving for retirement is to take advantage of your company’s 401(k) plan or ESPP benefits.

And, if your employer offers a 401(k) match, that’s even better.

Why?

Because you have the potential to create money out of thin air: if you contribute $5k, you end up with $10k with a matching policy.

Lendtable basically pays you to grow your 401(k) through a cash advance. You can receive thousands of dollars extra from your boss by using Lendtable and receiving your company match. No really, it’s that simple.

Please click here to fill out a 2-minute evaluation to see how much you can earn with Lendtable. [Read more…]

What Is Financial Independence, Retire Early? Answers To FAQs About FIRE

Last Updated: April 12, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What is financial independence, retire early?

Have you heard of the FIRE movement and are wondering what it all means?

Early retirement has been extremely popular over the past few years, and I’m sure you’ve heard of it, especially if you follow many personal finance blogs.

I know there are a lot of people who are confused or even skeptical of what early retirement is and whether or not it is a real thing.

Before I started my personal finance blog, I had never really heard of the term financial independence or early retirement.

I assumed early retirement was only for the super rich.

Now, it’s really all I ever hear about. Because I travel full-time, I have met many, many people who have been able to reach financial independence and/or early retirement.

Plus, being a financial blogger means that I’ve, of course, heard and read about it many times.

It is an amazing thing to read about, and I always get excited when I read stories about the financial independence, retire early movement. It’s really inspiring and motivating to read about how people have taken control of their financial lives, are living outside of the norm, and more. [Read more…]

21 Best Early Retirement Tips To Help You Retire Early

Last Updated: April 15, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you interested in financial independence and/or early retirement? Today, I’ve asked some of the top personal finance experts to share their personal and best early retirement tips.

Early retirement may sound like a dream, but there are more and more people who are trying to retire early as part of the FIRE movement. FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early.

There is a lot of debate around financial independence and early retirement, especially about what it really means and how to achieve it.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you have millions of dollars in the bank and never work again. If that’s your goal, then great, go for it! But the idea is more about living your best possible life and no longer being controlled by money.

For some people that means completely getting rid of their debt — no credit card debt, mortgage, car loans, student loans, etc. Other people have an exact number in mind that they want to reach, like $1 to $2 million in savings. [Read more…]

A Beginner’s Guide to Micro-Investing in 2021

Last Updated: April 22, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What is micro-investing? Lately, I have been hearing a ton about micro-investing, so I thought an article on the topic would be great. My sister-in-law and editor, Ariel Gardner, has been using micro-investing apps for over a year, and today she is going to teach you all about this topic.

I heard about micro-investing for the first time a few years ago, and I was immediately intrigued.

The idea is that you’re investing on a small scale, and it’s meant to appeal to new investors who feel intimidated by traditional investing.

Maybe you feel like you don’t have enough money to start investing or investing just seems too difficult. There’s also the reality that the market goes up and down on a regular basis — also scary for anyone who’s new to investing.

Micro-investing aims to remove all of those barriers and teach you that investing is more accessible than you may have thought.

About a year after I learned about micro-investing, I decided to try it out and invest through a couple of different apps — Stash and Acorns.

Today, I’m going to tell you what I’ve learned through the process and about some of the best micro-investing apps available now. [Read more…]