Retirement Rant Repost!

I am regurgitating this one as it is very important to me and a new reader has found some solace in it.
It also helps that I just had a few Divdays that came due, and I love free money, thank you Ford and Johnson and Johnson.


Everyone should know by now that I have devoted a great deal of study time to the notion of Early Retirement or Extreme Retirement. My overall plans are to be retired in ten years or less. It sounds crazy, but it can be done. I have read tons of blogs, books, articles, etc., each with their own systems in place to achieve such a goal. I have boiled them all down to three basic categories or pillars if you will. No matter how debt laden you are these pillars need to be a focal point in all of life's transactions.

The 3 Pillars of Early retirement (Financial Freedom, Financial Independence)

I. Passive Income / Making money without working (e.g. Dividends, stocks, CD's)

II. Parsimony / Not spending money (e.g. Frugality, Stoicism, being a cheap-o)

III. Sustainability / Not needing money to begin with (e.g. Making things, Ebay, Growing)


All three of these categories will put you in the scope of some form of financial independence. It is up to you to choose how quickly you want it. So far I have been working on all three in no particular order. From dividend investing to bread making it all adds up in the end.

I will probably dedicate future blog postings to our committment to the 3 Pillars and our ultimate goal of not needing a job for income.

DIVDAY!

As part of our "Retire Early or Keep Working" mantra we have changed our overall investment philosophy.  Buy low and never plan on selling.  It is more of a Buffett approach.  Search out quality companies that pay out reliably increasing dividends (Dividend Aristocrats).  So far all of this years picks have earned an average of 16% and that is not counting the 5% - 16% dividend payout.  As part of this new investment strategy we get to celebrate a "Dividend Day" every other week or so.  Hasbro was this months DivDay! 

This strategy will be filed under Pillar I.  The ultimate goal is to one day have the dividend income equal or surpass the working income.