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My wife and I have been pursuing Financial Independence for about three years. We still have a long way to go, but our large savings rate has us ahead of most of America. While at FINCON 2019, I attended many sessions that constantly made me think and gave me many ideas for the blog, but two sessions in particular asked two profound questions. One of these questions is the title of the article.
I don’t know if any of you have ran into this situation, but medical companies are asking for you to prepay for upcoming surgeries. According to my research, this trend has been happening more and more, because of the increase in deductibles with insurance plans. Prior to this new trend, someone would have a surgery scheduled. They would go in for the surgery. The hospital would then file a claim with the insurance company. Once the insurance company processed the claim, then you would get a bill. This still happens today, but the hospital and medical providers are trying to jump the gun by having you prepay.
Americans have grown accustomed to car loans. It just seems normal to buy cars that are brand new and finance them for $300, $400, or even $500 a month. This is a culture with a mindset that $300 or $500 a month is affordable. However, I just want to say: “Paying a car payment every month is just insanity.” Just invest that car payment every month and you will completely your financial position. Instead of just using the money to pay for a car, you would be investing for your future.
Just eight days ago, I returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. I spent 4 days in Washington, D.C. at a financial conference called FINCON. I have wanted to go for the last three years, but never pulled the trigger. The event occurs over the school year and I just couldn’t pull myself away from my students.
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The key behind financial independence is finding tax advantaged ways to build wealth, while also finding strategies to use that will allow you to bridge the gap between early retirement and the government’s definition of retirement age (59.5).
Some people call this the gap fund. Before last October, I thought the only way to develop a gap fund was through regular after tax investing and savings accounts. However, my mind was blown after discovering the ChooseFI podcast and listening to two major podcasts that shifted my thinking and got me even more excited about financial independence.
You might ask, what were the two podcasts?
These two strategies allow you to control your taxes by controlling the amount of money that you bring in as taxable income. Give these two podcasts a listen.
