Retirement Archives - Page 4 of 10 - Making Sense Of Cents

How This 28 Year Old Retired With $2.25 Million

March 20, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 77 Comments

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This woman retired early at the age of 28 with $2.25 million and still lives an incredibly luxurious life. Here's how she reached early retirement.

I’ve recently decided to start a new series where I interview people who are doing extraordinary things with their lives. First up, I have JP Livingston, who retired at age 28 with a net worth of $2.25 million. And, her net worth is still increasing!

Of that total, 60% of her net worth came from saving, while 40% came from growing her money through investing. This is why investing your money is so important, and it’s how you really allow your money to grow for you!

JP grew up listening to stories about financial insecurity during her parents’ upbringing. The freedom that early retirement brought really appealed to her, and who doesn't want to retire early anyways?

She is now retired at the young age of 28 and says that she still lives “an incredibly luxurious life.” And, she managed to retire early while living in one of the most expensive places in the world – New York City. [Read more…]

Are You Better Than Average?

September 28, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 55 Comments

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Over one year ago, I published the blog post Money Statistics That May Scare You. In case you missed it, here is a refresher:

68% of people live paycheck to paycheck.
26% have no emergency savings.
The median amount saved for retirement is less than $60,000.
The average household has $7,283 in credit card debt.
The average student loan debt is $32,264.

Since then, I have come across other money statistics that have surprised me.

I do a lot of research as a personal finance writer. I come across money statistics that surprise me, make me sad, and some that make me worried.

The money statistics in this blog post might surprise you, but I want you to be aware of them so that you can be better than “normal.” [Read more…]

Do You Know Your Net Worth?

September 12, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 40 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Do you know your net worth?

If you don't, you should.

According to the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, only 5% of people know their net worth. That number just seems crazy to me!

However, I believe it.

There have been many times when someone has told me that they have no idea how much debt they have, how much money they have saved, what their assets are worth, and so on.

Even more shocking, some can’t even give me an estimate and have no clue whatsoever about what the amount would be. Or, when they do give me a number, their significant other chimes in about how they are extremely wrong. [Read more…]

Why You Should Spend Like A Millionaire- The Frugal and Smart Money Habits of Millionaires

August 29, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 60 Comments

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You may have shook your head when you first read this title. However, hear me out and continue reading to learn more about the habits of millionaires! The rich are rich for a reason- most of them know how to manage their money correctly.

Sure, there are stories about rich people who spend their money like crazy and end up in bankruptcy.

But, surprisingly, the average millionaire is frugal, and they know how to manage their money well.

Related posts:

Here are some examples of millionaires and billionaires who are frugal:

Warren Buffett lives in a house that he bought in 1958 for around $30,000.
Mark Zuckerberg drives an Acura.
John Caudwell (worth $2.7 billion) rides his bike 14 miles to work every day and even cuts his own hair.
Jim C. Walton (son of Walmart founder) drives an old truck with no air conditioning.

[Read more…]

FinMason Review – Do you understand your investment choices?

August 2, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I recently heard about a new company called FinMason. They understand that there is a retirement crisis going on, and that the majority of people do not save anywhere near the amount of money that they need to save.

Kendrick Wakeman, founder and CEO of FinMason, understands this. In his article on CNBC, Risk tolerance is a blind spot for ‘accidental’ investors, he says:

Whether investors are saving for retirement, a college education for their kids or their first home, it's never been more important for them to have a strategic understanding of risk tolerance in order to meet their goals.
This is magnified when you consider that many households have become investors by “accident” or are saving for retirement via their employer's 401(k) plan, with little or no financial training.
For those with retirement in mind and a far shorter runway from which to build wealth — or rebuild it, in the event of an unexpected downturn — it's only that much more critical to have a view into the different scenarios that could alter both their near- and intermediate-term plans.

[Read more…]

How To Come Up With A Financial Plan Without Visiting A Professional

July 1, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 33 Comments

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Today I have a great blog post about how to create a financial plan from my blogging friend Jim Wang. Enjoy!

Ever walk out of a restaurant and see a fishbowl at the entrance, filled with business cards? The sign next to it would say “Want a free dinner? Meet with a financial planner!”

When I was younger, I put my business card in one of those fishbowls because who doesn't want a free dinner?

It turns out that I would have to pay for my dinner with an hour+ meeting with a “financial planner,” who was more sales person than actual financial planner, and I didn't have a financial plan. I did have a better understanding of how those fishbowls worked though!

A financial plan is important, we all know this, but very few of us have one. It's because we think that we need to meet with a financial planner to get one and who has the time or the money to pay someone for a “plan?” [Read more…]

How I Became A Successful Dividend Growth Investor

May 20, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 31 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Dividend investing is a very interesting topic. Today, I have an expert who has appeared on Forbes, Motley Fool, MSN Money, TheStreet, and more, and he is going to share tons of great information on this subject. This is a post from Ben Reynolds at Sure Dividend, a dividend growth investor. Sure Dividend uses The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing to systematically build high quality dividend growth portfolios.

There are a seemingly endless amount of ways to invest. There are mutual funds, ETFs, growth stocks, value stocks, dividend stocks, preferred shares, options, bonds, currencies, commodities… This list goes on.

All of the options can be a bit overwhelming. Saving and investing is important, whether you are saving $100 a month, or pulling down $300,000+ a year and saving larger amounts.

As you might have guessed, I believe dividend growth investing is an excellent investment strategy for those looking to compound their wealth through time. [Read more…]

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