I am frequently asked how I prioritize my savings. And I frequently ask myself if I am taking the best course of action. Well, I think the
proof is in the pudding. Last year was my first introduction to the FIRE (Financial Independence and Early Retirement) movement. I’m not sure which blog or blog post I read that lit my own fire, but I know the result was to set some new goals. First on my list was to challenge myself to max out my 401k. That was a big undertaking – it isn’t like money was falling from the sky…
It would have been much easier if I had had this stroke of genius at the beginning of the year, however, it took my mind some time to wrap my brain around socking away 18,000 dollars!! That’s a lot of cabbage!! I was already contributing 10% but in the last quarter of 2015, I had to up that to 30% to make it work out. My new goal amounted to a few tough months but they were totally worth the sacrifice in the end.
With the new challenge, I also began saving more in general. I started unplugging things in the house, I stopped being wasteful of food and other resources, I stopped buying stuff, and in November I opened an investment account with the extra savings.
Here was my financial plan of attack. There are many ways to prioritize so by no means is the end all and be all, but here is what I suggest: Continue reading “7 Ways To Achieve Financial Independance” →