After a disastrous 2023 tax year in which I ended up owing $15,000, I am happy to report that I’ve now reduced that tax bill down to $5000. At least that’s where I stand at the time of this post and I’ll wait till April to officially file my return. What Worked To Reduce My…
Retirement: Qualified Dividends vs Non-Qualified Dividends
Do you know the difference between qualified dividends and non-qualified dividends in your investment portfolio? Knowing the difference could mean a smaller tax bill or a much larger one in retirement. I’ve come across a great YouTube video on the subject so rather than write a wordy explanation, it’s just easier to watch this video…
Is My Secret Source For Eye Glasses In Danger?
As I’ve gotten older, I seem to be in need for more frequent changes of glasses. First it was “readers” then my eyes went out of whack so now I wear bi-focals. But lately, my eyes seem to change every six months instead of annually. Because I go through glasses like tissues I had to…
Happy Valentine’s Day
Best wishes on time with the one you love.
New Administration, More Inflation
The premise of the new administration in office was that it would make inflation go away right away but inflation seems to be heading in the wrong direction. Inflation is my primary concern when I retire and with good reason, once someone begins to live off investments, they need to make sure they have enough…
Closed All IWM Positions 70% Return
I wanted to close out my series of covered calls on IWM. With the CPI report coming in red hot, it caused the market to fall and it was a great time to buy back all the calls I sold. I wanted to make $2000 for the month so I sold 40 call contracts on…
No Mortgages In 10 to 15 Years?
Back in October, I wrote a post questioning the viability of property rentals moving forward into the future. I wrote that post based on the soaring costs of insurance. The truth about property ownership is that operational costs are now exceeding capital costs in many areas of the country. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Chairman Powell…
The Rule of 55 – Cashing Out A 401k
After approaching another round of burnout, I am very keen to “retire” so I have been exploring all my options. One of those options is the ‘Rule of 55’ and I’ve been doing research into this option. I spoke to my current 401k provider and they confirmed that I can pull my money out when…
Paying Your Mortgage With Your Credit Card
The holy grail of credit card reward points has always been to pay your mortgage with a credit card. This is usually the largest recurring expense most people have on their bill pile. There are now potentially two credit cards that will allow you to do this with minimal fees. Rather than type of a…
I Dream of Minimalism But Society Impedes Me
Almost a year ago I wrote, Financial Regrets: Accumulating Junk, where I discuss the piles of stuff I have and since I wrote that post, we have been working hard to donate or trash salvageable items and purge the rest however for every step forward we seem to take a step back and I’ve been…