Financial Freedom Thread

[tunafish01]

Any of you brah looking for financial independence? What routes do you take? There is nothing Id want more in life than to travel the world, and coach soccer on the side.

Steps Im taking to get there:
-I am 27 and live a frugal lifestyle. A very want vs need type of way.
-Any excess money goes in a Vanguard account with the Total US Stock (VTSAX) and Total International Stock Market (VTIAX). I have around 40k in those. My goal is to let it ride until im 40, then start withdrawing.
-I also have a Roth IRA through Vanguard with about 20k in there. I maxed it out the last 3 years and will probably max out for another 5 before putting less in.
-Through work I have a Simple IRA which is matched. Although the fees are high so I just put the minimum match in it.
-My next venture is Real Estate. Ive spent countless hours on podcasts and videos. I have an external Goldman Sachs account that yields 1.5% interest (not bad for a savings). Have around 30k in it. My goal is to buy my frist rental by the end of the year.
-Side businesses. Have one producing a measley $200 per month. Not bad hoping to scale it.

I dont even make much, which sucks. Im only bringing in 3k a month.

Were all gonna make it brahs.

Here are some books and podcasts ive enjoyed reading/listening to

Books:
Rich Dad Poor Dad. Such simple yet amazing advice
ABCs of Real Estate Investing.
The Millionaire Booklet. 45 pages or straightforward information on the thought process you need to have

Podcasts:
Gary Vee Show
Grant Cardone
Bigger Pockets
Pillars of Wealth Creation
The Side Hustle Show

Brahs, start listening to podcasts instead of music. Life Changing.

[Frank Drebin]

We had one from a few years ago that sadly got abandoned. The quickest way to financial freedom is to limit your spending and eliminate all debt. Passive income is great and all, and we all dream of a life where we don't have to work ever again, but the truth is even if we don't need the money, we'll probably still work/make some sort of an income just to keep busy.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=117135861

[tunafish01]

We had one from a few years ago that sadly got abandoned. The quickest way to financial freedom is to limit your spending and eliminate all debt. Passive income is great and all, and we all dream of a life where we don't have to work ever again, but the truth is even if we don't need the money, we'll probably still work/make some sort of an income just to keep busy.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=117135861

Ill bump that. Lets get it moved to this section. Financial independence is a great feeling.

[Aesthetical]

Wife and I are slowly working on it, but we dont have a lot of assets and have yest to figure out second income steams aside from our day jobs. I started doing lawns in my spare time last year, but for it to be worth my time Id need my own truck and a real mower. Cant do it now because we are saving for a down payment to buy a home.

However we do have our budget on point, I just need to nip the day to day spending.

[bsmit107]

I feel like every day I am constantly thinking of how to achieve this and not have to come to work every day...or at least for someone else. I've got multiple ideas and even have a legit business plan but just get freaked out at the thought of the unknown and losing the safety net. I'm currency working on paying off debt (truck & student loans) and if all goes according to plan will be done with those in less than 2 years....building savings and trying to live life to the fullest at the same time. I feel like every day I learn a little more and get a little closer to the day when I will finally be able to call my own shots, but until then will constantly be trying to figure it out.

[tunafish01]

I feel like every day I am constantly thinking of how to achieve this and not have to come to work every day...or at least for someone else. I've got multiple ideas and even have a legit business plan but just get freaked out at the thought of the unknown and losing the safety net. I'm currency working on paying off debt (truck & student loans) and if all goes according to plan will be done with those in less than 2 years....building savings and trying to live life to the fullest at the same time. I feel like every day I learn a little more and get a little closer to the day when I will finally be able to call my own shots, but until then will constantly be trying to figure it out.

Das it man. We only get one shot at this life. Take risks.

[ashin1]

Yep, been working on achieving FI since I was 22.

Been investing mainly in dividend growth stocks, and using a DRIP to get some passive income coming my way as well kick start that compound interest exponential growth cycle.
Other avenues of investments to reach FI is owning my Home and not having any debt, as well as being a private investor for ventures in Nicaragua. Hopefully by the time I pay off my debts I’ll have enough passive income I can work on a casual basis and not depend on full time hours

[bartosh]

Age 25:

- Paid off my college loans ~2 months ago.
- Paid off my lasik loan last month
- Paid off my auto loan today (got it july 2017)

Complete financial freedom now. Gonna moderately buckle down for the next decade for a hefty house down payment but other than that, I don't see myself getting into any other debt anytime soon

edit: also adding:
- stupidly expensive engagementring paid off.

- Need to save for wedding in 1.5 years

Will ideally be having a kid in ~3-4 years and that's going to turn my financial freedom upside down

[DolphinPenis]

Age 25:

Paid off my college loans ~2 months ago.
Paid off my lasik loan last month
Paid off my auto loan today (got it july 2017)

Complete financial freedom now. Gonna moderately buckle down for the next decade for a hefty house down payment but other than that, I don't see myself getting into any other debt anytime soon

Das it mane - impressive.

[tunafish01]

Goal is to retire by 40. 13 years left. Will not waste my money on useless chit.

Every dollar i get is an employee and its job is to make me more money

[Gayford]

Fawk been derailed on the path a couple of times bros. I have a company that keeps showing a little promise year after year. My savings is increasing and I am starting to see the compounding effect. Only debt is about 50% of my homes value on a 3% mortgage. I am beyond ready to exit the daily grind.

We are all going to make it brahs

[Aesthetical]

I decided to leave my debit and credit cards at home during the week.

I have no willpower to eat my home packed lunch when there is my favorite pizza shop just around the corner from my office.

Only carry my license, triple A card, and my wife and I's shared CC we use for bills and monthly expenses..
This way if I decide to go get pizza and a coffee for lunch, she will know I spending money on stupid chit instead of eating my almond butter and jelly lol.

[Discipline27]

Read The Millionaire Fastlane and Unscripted.

They will blow your mind.

Both cover the psychology of most sheeple's 9-5 consumerism mentality and teach you to have a producer (aka business) mentality. Having the right mentality and financial discipline will lead you to taking the right actions towards financial freedom. And not thru BS minimalism or "save and pray".

[NinjaBoots]

I'm some where in the middle. I want to retire by 55 at the latest, but would love to accelerate that down to 45-50. Real estate is the way I imagine I will do this. Not buying and flipping, but buying a two family, fixing up, renting. Rinse and repeat. I really need to buckle down and start some research on this though. Does anyone have any good books/podcasts/youtube videos to get me started?

[mp83]

I have been on the FI train for a few years now. I've always been frugal which helps. About 50% of the way there

[Sillst]

Das it manes!

Wife and I are currently paying down a crap load of debt from our younger dumber days ~120k student loans, 10k auto loan, 15kcc. Will have the CCs paid off in a few months and the auto done in less than a year.

We're doing a 50/50 split between throwing more money on the debt and saving for a down payment for a house.

Question for you brahs, we work for the government in various capacities but neither of us like it. I have quite a bit of experience in sales, manufacturing and transportation but want to transition into a trade (electrician or food service delivery) while the wife wants to get an accounting degree and have a part time job while she stays at home with the future kids. Does anyone know about the federal service loan forgiveness? Is it actually worth it, mind you we are two years down out of the ten and don't make chit with the .gov.

Much appreciated and we're going to join dat der CEO 10k/day crowd..... or just having compound interest work for us.

[DavidL913]

I'm about to put in 2.7k for my traditional IRA. I wanted to set up /w vanguard but got a registration problem /w the social security verification. so I created an IRA /w TD waterhouse. I plan to transfer it to vanguard once tax season is done with. What fund do you recommend?

[tunafish01]

I'm about to put in 2.7k for my traditional IRA. I wanted to set up /w vanguard but got a registration problem /w the social security verification. so I created an IRA /w TD waterhouse. I plan to transfer it to vanguard once tax season is done with. What fund do you recommend?

Id keep it simple and go with a "Target Retirement 2060" account TNXIX. I have similar through Vanguard VTTSX. Its a good set it and forget it fund thatll automatically adjust as you get older. You could also make your own 2 or 3 fund portfolio such as "Total Stock Market" and "Total Bond Market" in whatever allocation you want.

But get to Vanguard asap. Low fees cannot be beat!

Also read this next time you poop or something. 16 pages packed with simple yet beneficial info. www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf Its a PDF for a short excerpt about investing called "If You Can".

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=245226 you can find it here on the second post.

[tunafish01]

bump for my FF miscers

[Freddenmr]

bump for lyfe improvements

Just turned 23 guy here

This is probably my biggest dream as well. Being rich, having the biggest house etc is not my thing (yet), but I have a few goals:

- Having a nice car that I enjoy driving and get fun out of (bad investment, but huge passion of mine)
- Being able to travel when and as I want
- Being able to support myself no matter what comes at me, and the ability to scale income so I can pursue bigger goals
- Being able to _always_ help out my family back home, be it with travels, helping money, gifts, bills.

Currently working a 35k/yr job, very physical and demanding (airport related) in Norway, where I live with girlfriend. Originally danish, so pay is way better and tax lower, but everything is so expensive.

I have money at the end of every month, but my biggest goal right now is to launch my athleisure brand which I have been sampling for a very long time now. Some things are finally starting to take real form, but its a super slow process (manufacturing in China), and lots of things have gone wrong. Though communication is insanely good and super nice quality (number 13 sampler so I have been through a few).
This is were I want to dump at least 10k into (partly from savings, partly from loan from GF (no brainer on this one, but making contract), and eventually partly bank-loan.

Hoping to make a decent amount for company only the first few years, while maintaining a frugal + living lifestyle, working for money and working for growth on the side. Eventually scaling down on airport work so I can invest more into my business. This is something we need in Scandinavia and have a lot of good contacts already within stores and webshops as well as influencers.

Eventually I want to be able to live off this as my main "hustle", something I genuinely enjoy within a genre I have passion for.

Fast forward some years, I want to invest and/or start up the following things:
- Invest in properties, apartments (go 0 with rentals, eventually sell)
- Open up a proper no-chain gym, in an amazing location, with lot of people who enjoy being there (host events, combine with stock & offices for brand). This is just a dream, I know that it'd be super difficult making money on.
- Possibly start up something else I enjoy - maybe a danish/norwegian casual brand specializing in fields I enjoy
- Possibly invest in fully new properties. I have a few friends who have done this (one is very interested in investing in my company as he has same interests and sees potential, and is crazy about the idea on paper), one has invested in a 600 apartment building as well as shops + offices, 5 year project. Amazing to just listen and hear about the process and how he made it there.


Maybe optimistic, maybe not, but this is what I hope will happen.

I want to be able to buy a house in say southern France or similar, big enough to house my entire family (around 12 persons with my girlfriends too), for get-togethers and free vacations. I want to be able to pay back for everything my mom and dad has done for me, since we've never had much (but are not poverty). This is ultimately my biggest goal.

I read a lot - some have been mentioned here already:
Rich dad poor dad
The Sell (!!)
Elon Musk, Petter Stordahlen, Arnold Schwarznegger, Carnegie, Think & Grow Rich etc.

Also watch a ****load of YouTube, way more than normal TV - entertaining, enriching and motivating, like:
Christian Guzman
Randall Pich
Maxx Chewning

I am open to all ideas and critique (lol), but this is the rough outline of my goals. I have around 14.000NOK (1400$) in set budget every month; car, house, transport etc, which leaves me with around 1000$ free every month, and this has to go to travels back home, subscriptions to diverse things (80$ max in total), but I still find myself taking money from the savings account every month, reducing it more and more. I almost never buy things for myself, but theres always something that needs to be paid - insurrance, dinner with friends, trip back home, unforseen doctor bills etc.
Would it be a good idea to take a set % every month and set into a funds account in the bank? Or is this totally fuked unless bigger numbers? Talking medical funds etc for example. I have no knowledge of this myself, so paying a slight amount to see it grow would probably be wise. MI have around 150$ in BitCoin - I have the belief that it will someday be something. These have grown to around 300$, so I've made a bit. Not gonna do anything about it though, as its just there.y girlfriend has went from 110.000NOK to around 210.000 within these 2 years, which is ****ing crazy.

I have around 150$ thatve grown to a bit over 300$ in btc, but nothing major.

[tunafish01]

Mirin man^^ Plus youre young. Time is on your side.

In the process of purchasing a house now to both live in/rent out the other rooms. Hoping to net $200 a month to start after PITI.

Goal is to retire early and coach soccer on the side.

Plan on investing in VTSAX nonstop for thenext few years, then just live off dividends.

Also most importantly, living below your means.

[spencerheadrick]

Follow Grant Cardone, best decision you will ever make!

[harmsxwhey]

Kind of difficult in the military, but we’re working on it. Wife and a son, with another son due in September. We have money to save every month, but just lost $800 of our monthly income because my wife stopped working. She was a stay at home (our home) nanny for a kid whose mom was a teacher, so now that she’s off for the summer, my wife isn’t needed. Like I said, we still have a couple hundred to put in savings while maintaining our current spending habits, but we’re looking to make cuts where we can. I’ll likely be moving stations this winter (November to December timeframe), so we’re going to consider some cheaper housing options while still maintaining the space we need and are used to. We sort of balled out on our rental house this time around, so I know there will be more money in the budget when we move and adjust our living quarters accordingly. Lastly, I’m hoping to receive a promotion in rank by next year, so that will add another $400+ a month to our income. I’ve signed up to drive for Uber just to have a little more play money. I enjoy driving, and if I can make $50-80 two or three nights a month working downtown, I’m cool with that.

[Gizzyhardcore]

Am 41 now, 42 soon, life goes so fast

heres my story in cliffs

- brought up relatively frugally, always kinda understood working, saving, delayed gratification
- went to uni had no idea what i wanted to do, did maths (stats) changed to finance
- first job out of uni (2001) was happy with living a slightly upgraded university lifestyle, didn't want for big things was saving money
- read rich dad poor dad, suddenly had focus for that money
- kept being frugal, saving, brought first rental property.
- brought more, added in my brother as partner cause banks wouldnt lend to me anymore
- went to work in london (2004), massive exchange rate difference meant it was like getting a 4x payrise on any money I sent home
- returned to NZ in 2007, had some good work experience now, managed to get a near 6 figure job, brought a nice car - nice to me, a WRX
- took focus off investing, got lazy. GFC hit - interest rates on my mortgages went up to 10%, 2 of my apartments needed major repairs cause leaky, and got laid off from job
- by bye london savings, had to do ****ty contracting work
- (2014) economy recovered, properties had gone up in value a lot
- 2015, sold some of them off, paid back mortgages, started investing in shares, index funds, private equity and peer to peer lending
- kept finger on the pulse of whats going on, read a lot more now, keep a spreadsheet that I update month that tracks everything (makes you think about it more)
- have nice 2 bedroom apartment I live in no mortgage, nice car and and near $1m investments with about $300k low interest debt. Passive income is usually $5-$10k per month (economy has been real strong)
- 2018, got a new job, 48% payrise over old one, everythings going good, still single though haha

[M0hi]

I'm 23, about to graduate with an MS in engineering this winter with a lot of debt because of the grad school I chose, but I am confident it has already proven to be worth it.
I grew up on/below the poverty line so living frugal is incredibly easy for me lol.

I won't share the full plan because it's a lot of "I plan to do this this and this" so I'll post back when it's reality.

My advice to miscers for credit cards:
Partner 1 (whoever makes the most money): Chase Freedom (apply online only) and activate 5% cash back/points use this card for about 6 months assuming you have a solid income and then get something like the SPG Amex card (this may be turned into a new Marriott card from a merger) and use that card for everything that doesn't give you 5% on the Freedom. Finally, when/if you make enough money or travel enough to warrant it, get the Amex Platinum and again compare which card gives you the best percent cash back/points. Do not use your Chase Freedom points.

Partner 2: Also get's the Chase Freedom, 2nd card can be a hotel card based on preferred hotel chains/locations such as Hyatt or Hilton, 3rd card should be the Chase Sapphire Reserve again when the income/travel warrants it. Again, use whichever card would get the most percentage in points for every transaction you do.

Partner 1 and 2 transfer all Chase Freedom points to Partner 2's Chase Sapphire reserve where they become more valuable and versatile.
Partner 1's SPG Starwood points can be converted to Amex points on the Platinum.

Now you and your partner have the Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve and hotel cards to utilize for booking airplanes and hotels. This is probably the best way to go about "saving" for your annual vacation because these points should very well cover some very nice airplane tickets and hotel stays. Not to mention one of the cards has no foreign transaction fees.
None of this works if you don't pay your balance off every month and it is strongly encouraged to get the sign-up bonus points. Also, you should definitely treat the cards like cash and not just spend more money than your normally would have just for points.
For more information you can look up TheCreditShifu's youtube channel and learn more about each of these cards.

[Schons]

Wife and I purchased our house for 595k. I have about 450 left to pay off. House is valued at over 800k now. We have less than 5k in combined cc debt. No other debt. Wife and I both work and both recently started technology based ventures in which we are both 50% equity partners in. Hoping either her venture or mine takes off. Once you create a tech solution that solves a need for many it will sell itself. Of course, doing this while still working full time is a bit challenging.

To add...the tech company I started has to do with the industry that I work in (education tech). My partner is a developer and I am the idea guy/sales/marketing. My wife is doing something similar with her industry. She works in the special needs space. After you work for a company a while or any job for a while it becomes easy to think of new innovative ideas that can enhance your work. The thing is most people would bring their idea to their company and let them reap the rewards. I decided it's time to just do it on my own.

[tunafish01]

Wife and I purchased our house for 595k. I have about 450 left to pay off. House is valued at over 800k now. We have less than 5k in combined cc debt. No other debt. Wife and I both work and both recently started technology based ventures in which we are both 50% equity partners in. Hoping either her venture or mine takes off. Once you create a tech solution that solves a need for many it will sell itself. Of course, doing this while still working full time is a bit challenging.

To add...the tech company I started has to do with the industry that I work in (education tech). My partner is a developer and I am the idea guy/sales/marketing. My wife is doing something similar with her industry. She works in the special needs space. After you work for a company a while or any job for a while it becomes easy to think of new innovative ideas that can enhance your work. The thing is most people would bring their idea to their company and let them reap the rewards. I decided it's time to just do it on my own.

Nice! Tech is always lucrative

I put an offer on a house yesterday, I think I got it. 191k 3 bed 2 bath, 1450 Sq ft, new roof and hvac. Would ideally love to live at home and rent it out. Should cash flow 1500 a month if properly rented, PITI would be about 1300 a month id assume.

[Schons]

Nice! Tech is always lucrative

I put an offer on a house yesterday, I think I got it. 191k 3 bed 2 bath, 1450 Sq ft, new roof and hvac. Would ideally love to live at home and rent it out. Should cash flow 1500 a month if properly rented, PITI would be about 1300 a month id assume.

Yup. It grinds my gears to think people can create apps that bring in enormous amounts of passive income. I think creating a tech solution that you can charge an annual licensing fee for is a great way to make loads of passive income.

[friesbruh]

Have been an entrepreneurial mind since the cows came home but I need to clear this debt & then focus on that. Should be debt-free within 3.5 years & then plan is to save & invest until or if I can retire at some point.

[yeshli2nuts]

I'm trying to retire in my mid-50s. I'm easily on pace now but probably gonna have kids soon.

- I'm 30, wife is 27, no kids....yet
- Wife and I make $137,000 combined.
- Just purchased a house for $440,000, put 20% down so we owe just under $350,000 now.
- Own two cars in full, no loans.
- No other debt, we pay off our credit cards in full every month, no student loans
- Put $1,000 a month into index funds, currently have $22,000 in, for long term investments (new car, children education, home renovations, etc)
- Both put 15% salary into 401k, we have combined about $50,000 in.
- Keep about $20,000 cash in Amex savings account (1% interest gain) as rainy day/short term purchases/vacations etc.