🔥 Is one of these FIRE lifestyles for you?
Steps to achieve Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) on your terms
Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
📝 Main topics: Variations of the FIRE movement and steps to achieve it
❓ Weekly Q&A: Marsha asks if buying an annuity for retirement is wise
✅ Things To Do: Take this week’s MONEY CHALLENGE!
👖 What I’m Enjoying: A couple of series and earning & saving on second-hand luxury
🗞 In the News: Stay up to date on personal finance news
📩 ICYMI: Recent newsletters you shouldn’t miss
🎙 Recent podcasts: Dig into loads of topics in the Money Girl archive (830+)
Hi, Friend - I hope you’re enjoying a long Memorial Day weekend!
If you're like me, you want to retire early with plenty of time and money to pursue a dream lifestyle on your terms. While accumulating enough wealth by 65 or 70 to last your lifetime can be challenging, early retirement is an ambitious goal.
On Money Girl episode 829, 5 Steps to Achieve FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early), I review five steps to make your preferred version of early retirement possible, plus these variations to consider:
Traditional FIRE
Lean FIRE
Fat FIRE
Barista FIRE
Coast FIRE
Or you might read: Can FIRE Help You Retire Early?
QUESTION from Marsha, who says:
"I'm 68 and plan to retire at 70. I work for a university, and our retirement is with TIAA. They've suggested that I buy an annuity when I retire. I know some experts don't like annuities–how do you feel about them?"
ANSWER:
Indeed, people have strong opinions about annuities! On Money Girl 830, When Should You Buy an Annuity for Retirement?, I review how annuities work, what I think about them, and whether you should consider buying one.
BTW, if you have a money question, please leave it on my voicemail: 302-364-0308. You can also hit reply to this email or use my contact page at LauraDAdams.com.
✅ MONEY CHALLENGE: List your debts from highest to lowest interest rate and plan to pay them off in that order. Consider consolidating your higher-rate debts, like credit cards and auto loans, with a low-rate personal loan to cut your interest and save significant money. Then, use the savings to pay off debt faster!
✅ If you haven’t completed this brief survey, I’d appreciate you giving me your anonymous feedback in less than 60 seconds! CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY
✅ Not sure if you’re in the “middle class?” Use the Pew Research Income Calculator to find out, based on your home state. 📲
🎬 Ripley is a terrific Netflix series inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s classic book, The Talented Mr. Ripley. He’s a grifter who leaves Manhattan after being hired to take a strange job in Italy and reinvents himself with a web of lies and crimes almost too perfect to unravel. It’s dark but pulls you in with gorgeous scenery and sets!
🎥 The Veil is a Hulu series starring Elisabeth Moss, who plays Imogen, an international spy who takes a dramatic mission into her own hands. I’m a Moss fan and will watch anything she’s in (don’t miss Mad Men if you haven’t seen it!).
👖 The Real Real is my go-to for selling or buying second-hand designer clothing, shoes, and accessories for women and men. Earn an extra $100 when you consign unused items!
🗞 Americans’ median retirement savings is $87,000, far less than they need to be comfortable, which is $1.46 million, according to Northwestern Mutual. This graphic shows what Americans have saved by age.
🗞 On Friday, the Nasdaq closed at a record high due to chipmaker Nvidia’s price climbing over $1,000 for the first time, despite worries that the Fed will delay interest rate cuts.
🗞 The SEC approved cryptocurrency Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to begin trading later this year, an exciting move for the industry after Bitcoin ETFs proved beneficial for investors.
🗞 56% of Americans mistakenly believe there’s a recession, and 55% falsely believe the economy is shrinking, even though GDP has increased for several years.
🎧 830: When should you buy an annuity for retirement?
🎧 829: 5 steps to achieve FIRE (financial independence retire early)
🎧 828: Should I be worried about Social Security?
🎧 827: 5 options to manage your 401(k) after leaving a job
🎧 826: What tax do I owe on my home sale?
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