Summary Sunday is a weekly post where I put out a short list of the personal finance blog posts and articles I liked the most throughout the previous week. Links to each post are in the headers. I hope you enjoy them too!
10 Best Places to Retire on Social Security Alone
U.S. News and World Report – May 11, 2017
I look forward to the “Places to retire on Social Security” articles every year. There are a few major publications that do them. Why do I enjoy them so much? Well….between loving travel and wanting to retire early, I love learning about places where I can potentially live for a far lower cost of living than my current location. It’s nice to daydream once in awhile, ya know?
These articles usually feature mostly non-US locations, since the US is fairly pricey, but this one is all CONUS. It’s good to know that there are places in the US where you can live a reasonably comfortable life on a small amount. A lot of people don’t want to become expats when they retire. NOTE: they assumed that two people – a couple – would be receiving average Social Security checks in this article. The results are based on a 2-check reasonable lifestyle if you are staying in the States. The overseas versions often feature locations where you can live on a single check!
I’ve lived in one of the locations on this list (Colorado Springs) and can vouch for it being a fantastic place to live!
The History of F.I.R.E
Rockstar Finance – May 8, 2017
I love FIRE. I love history. So clearly, I was going to enjoy this post. Warning: it’s loooooong. And kind of nerdy. And most of it will do absolutely nothing to help you understand how to FIRE. So why am I sharing it? Because I’m tired of people telling me early retirement is a pipe dream that nobody can ever hope to achieve. I was especially excited by the Time article showing early retirement in the 1950s. Finally, proof that this isn’t a new concept!
5 Ways to Stop Lifestyle Inflation Before it Starts
Atypical Finance – May 12, 2017
I’m going to tell you something that basically nobody knows. If you count my normal spending and taxes, but don’t count my savings and debt payment (currently one mortgage), I live off a 2nd Lieutenant’s salary. But I am most assuredly not a 2nd Lieutenant anymore. I’ve been doing this for years. I lived off an Airman 1st Class’ salary when I was an Lt. Why? Because doing so has allowed me to live a comfortable, enjoyable life while putting huge chunks of my paycheck into savings.
While I do all of the things described in this article, the three most important to my success are Be Intentional With Your Money, Spend On What You Value, and Ignore Your Raises. Doing those things has kept my lifestyle inflation at a pretty minimal level. I’ll write about my strategy for raises sometime soon – it’s an extremely effective way to quickly increase your savings.
Fighting lifestyle inflation is also a key part of my FIRE plan. Not only does it help me save, it means I will be able to retire on far less. A typical recommendation is to be able to replace 80% of your income in retirement. Some say 70%, some say 90%, but the recommendations are usually based on income. The thinking there is that if you are no longer working, your expenses will be lower and you won’t need to save anymore. That will enable you to get by on less. But since my expenses are considerably less than 80% of my income, I can retire even earlier! In fact, if I end up earning a military retirement my lifestyle will be entirely covered by the pension. Anything I pull from savings will be the whipped cream and cherries on top of my retirement sundae.
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