Traditional IRA and Roth IRA

Planning for an early retirement is different than planning for retirement at 65. Obviously the money will have to last much longer but what are the other important financial issues for early retirees?

Investment strategy – Your investments need to be more conservative than what is typical for your age group. While aggressive investing might make more money in the long run, you can’t afford those short term dips. Aggressive investors planning on retiring at 65 can wait a few years for the market to come back but if you want to retire in a few years you need your money accumulating a steady rate with little risk of losing a large percentage of your capital. Early retiree bloggers recommend going with conservative dividend-paying stocks using lower risk asset allocation strategies like the “permanent portfolio.”

Use of retirement savings – A good portion of your savings might be tied up until you’re 59 ½. Retirement plans weren’t designed for people retiring at 35. You should still contribute to your 401(k) though because they accumulate tax free and when you are eligible to tap into them you will be in a lower tax bracket. Early retirement experts do say that if you want to make withdrawals from your retirement accounts but want to minimize the cost, you can start converting your pre-tax accounts to Roth IRAs once you stop working. There is a tax on the conversion but by spacing the conversions out over time, you can keep the tax rates low. After 5 years, you can start withdrawing the converted amounts from your Roth IRA without tax or penalty.

Social Security Payment – Early retirees really can’t count much on Social Security. Because the length of time you work and contribute to Social Security is shorter than those who work until retirement age, your benefits will be less.

Health Insurance = It will be quite awhile until Medicare kicks in and until then you will have to provide your own health insurance. If you have pre=existing medical conditions you will still be able to get insurance because of the new health care laws. Also, with your lower post retirement income you may be eligible for a premium subsidy. To learn more about options for health insurance for early retirees see our post Health Insurance for Early Retirees

Managing Your Nest Egg - Your money will need to last much longer than normal retirees. The typical retirement calculations will not be appropriate for you since you will spend many more years in retirement. Annuities will be less attractive too because your young age and long life expectancy mean much lower payments. Your nest egg will have to grow more than you withdraw each year to minimize the need to touch your principal. Early retirement bloggers suggest investing in high-dividend paying stocks yielding 3-4% income and live off the dividend income. Dividends tend to be much more stable than stock prices and generally rise faster than inflation.

One thing that people often forget is that retirement income under some plans is fixed and inflation can eat away at a fixed income. If the past is any indication, inflation will be a factor you will have to face.

As you can see retiring at 30 requires a very different investment strategy than retiring at 65. Early retirees must also plan for their health insurance coverage. One thing all retirement advisers agree on is planning is the key. Do your research, be aware of all the factors and plan accordingly.

Frugal Simple Living

1. Stop thinking of frugal living as depriving yourself – People who live in a frugal way enjoy the things that are most important to them. A frugal person spends money on things because they enjoy them not because they need to “keep up the Jonses.” Frugal people think independently and don’t have to run out and buy the latest thing. Most importantly frugal people value their freedom. They choose how they live because they are not prisoners of their spending.

2. Find other frugal people and learn from them – There are tons of frugal living blogs with great ideas that you may not know about.

3. Avoid credit care debt – You cannot get by without a credit card in this world. You need them to secure hotel reservations, car rentals, and myriad of other situations. So I am not advocating get rid of all your credit cards. The problem is they can make it too easy to buy things – removing you from seeing how much money you are actually spending. So keep one or two for emergencies and for when the vendor won’t except any other form of payment otherwise pay cash.

4. Eat well – Good food is one of the cheapest ways to prevent health problems. Homemade food has fresher ingredients, less sodium and is way cheaper than pre-packaged food or fast food. Once you start making meals at home you will develop a repertoire of recipes you can rely on and it won’t seem to take so much time.

5. Exercise - A regular exercise program is another way to protect your health. There are countless studies which prove the benefit of daily exercise. If you want to know just how much you will save, take a look at the cost of long term care insurance. One look at those numbers and you won’t want to be a couch potato anymore.

6. Building up a $10,000 Emergency Fund – Having a hefty emergency fund is critical to your financial and mental health. Scary stuff happens but it is not so scary when you have a cushion to shield you. With an emergency fund in place, you don’t have to worry so much and you really can enjoy your life more.

7. Invest 20% of Income – Saving and investing your money wisely is a big part of being frugal. Having money automatically taken out of your paycheck is a great way to do it. You never see the money in the first place so you don’t miss it so much. If your employer has some kind of matching plan, try to contribute as much as you can. If you can’t do 20%, start somewhere even it is just 2% or 5%, start investing now because compound interest is powerful.

8. Create Multiple Streams of Income – With salaries freezing, skyrocketing inflation, and our economy poking along we all could use some extra income.

Many people have a hobby they turn into a second income. The internet also has many opportunities for people to earn a second income. Most bloggers out there including yours truly, blog because they enjoy it but also because there is money to be made.

If you are planning to retire early, getting a second income stream in place is a good way to ensure early retirement is a reality.

9. Scrutinize non essential fixed expenses – Premium Cable TV is a big expense many people have but may not really use. Think about all the things you subscribe to and see if you are really making use of them.

10. Change the way you think about shopping – Evaluate each purchase before you make it. Why are you buying it? Do you need it? Just taking this little pause before you purchase can save you a great deal of money. Often when you really think about it you probably don’t really need the item. You may have something already at home you can use or can maybe even borrow it from a neighbor.

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Retire Early and Frugally

Here is an interesting perspective on frugal living that goes along with our mission to live frugally but still enjoy life and live well.

One author of a frugal living blog describes frugal living as “to look at optimizing efficiency and utility – one will become frugal, rather than just do frugal things.”

This blogger claims he spend about 75% less than the average person, and yet gains an equivalent level of satisfaction.

One of things he mentions that helps you cut expenses during retirement is to live in a smaller dwelling and be within walking (or cycling) distance from work, libraries, and shopping areas.

If you don’t have children living with you, you will not have to worry about what school district you are in.

Large homes have high maintenance costs. You have to pay higher taxes, heating, cooling, lighting and water bills. Plus you have a large outside area to maintain. A smaller home will scale down many of your monthly expenses.

If live close to where you shop, play and work you will probably not need a car or be able to get away with one if you previously had two. You decrease your bills tremendously if you are only insuring and maintaining one car instead of two. Plus you get more exercise if walk to do some of your errands.

The frugal blogger I checked out said “If you take the money you’ll spend on your car and invest it in your retirement, you will add one million dollars extra to your early retirement account.”

Another tip is to stay healthy and exercise regularly. Health insurance is expensive and you probably will be paying for a portion of it yourself. So preventing future health problems is one of the best things you can do to prepare for early retirement.

Eat a good healthy diet and take care of your teeth. Dental procedures are really expensive so make sure you floss and get regular dental checkups.

Reducing clutter can also help you on your way to early retirement. Anything that you own has to be maintained. Furniture has to be cleaned, electronics need to be repaired, knick knacks take up space etc.

Before you make a purchase of a non-consumable item, think about if you really need it. If for instance it is a tool to make a repair, ask a neighbor if you could borrow theirs.

The less stuff you have, the more financial freedom you will have.

Try to avoid fixed costs for things you do not use all the time. For many people this could be cable tv or magazine subscriptions. You might want to consider Netflix instead of cable and going to the library occasionally to read your favorite magazine. You get the idea how your mind needs to orient itself to live frugally but comfortably.

Notice I have not mentioned anything about eating macaroni and cheese three times a week or keeping hens to save on buying eggs. Actually macaroni cheese is not very healthy and the hens might be fun but you see the point.

There are plenty of ways to cut expenses so that you can retire early without feeling like you are living a sub-standard lifestyle.

So keep riding with me on our journey into frugal living made easy. Knowledge is power so if you want to learn more ways to cut expenses see our post Understand Credit Card Grace Period Due Dates

Are Refurbished Electronics Worth Buying

One of the best kept secrets of the high end electronics market is how much you can save by buying a refurbished product. Because of the dip in the economy more people are discover refurbished electronics have reliability and better company warranties.

You can usually save between 50% and 70% on refurbished product. There are several different kinds of refurbished and the pricing is reflective of the differences. For example there is: ‘factory refurbished’ or factory-sealed refurbished products, and ‘third-party refurbished’ products. Factory refurbished products sell at a higher price over third-party refurbished items but still represent big savings.

You have an added “green” bonus buying refurbished as refurbishment is a form of recycling.

It helps to understand what the different the terms means when you see ads for refurbished products. Refurbished means the product has been repaired but it doesn’t the product has actually been purchased and used.

Products suffer cosmetic damage and are returned for that reason. The company fixes the damaged product but sends the buyer a brand new one. Sometimes it is the packaging on the product that is damaged and the product is perfectly good. You can buy the original product whose cosmetic damage has been repaired for a great price. A warranty is usually included.

Reconditioned means the product was sold to someone and they used it. The product has now been fixed up and is being sold again. Depending on how long the product was used it might still have a manufacturer warranty but if not usually the company that did the repair work will usually offer a limited warranty.

So refurbished electronics or reconditioned electronic products really do you give you significant saving. What is the down side? Experts say that when you are talking about high end electronic products such as flat panel tvs and home theater projectors, you the consumer can’t really know what the effect of usage is on the internal components.

So what they recommend is buy only ‘factory-certified’ refurbished products. You still get significant saves but minimize your risk as the products come with a manufacturer’s warranty.

Phishing is the Method of Online Identity Theft

As you may already know, online shopping while incredibly inconvenient can leave your vulnerable to credit card fraud. Here are some easy steps you can take to protect your bank account during the holiday season and all year round.

1. First Line of Defense

It is a pain to come with strong unique passwords but they are your first line of defense against hackers. Most people don’t bother to do this. The cybersecurity firm Imperva examined 32 million passwords exposed in a breach last year and found that the most commonly used password was “123456,” followed by “12345.”

A strong password should include at least five letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. Don’t use passwords that relate to information that is easily available to others such as your address, your telephone number, pet’s name etc.

A unique password means you use different passwords for different site. Again, this makes life difficult but ultimately safer.

One place to test the strength of a password is Microsoft’s password checker, http://bit.ly/fvaesw .

2. Symbol of Safety

Before placing an online order, look for a padlock symbol or “https” in the address line on your browser. Those sign are your assurance that your data will be encrypted.

3. Phishing

Any email you get from stores you have shopped at, or your bank or credit card company should be regarded with suspicion. Don’t click on any of the links because it could be that they are just trying to get you to input personal information. More details on this scam, known as “phishing,” can be found at www.antiphishing.org and http://onguardonline.gov .

It may also be helpful to call your bank or card company using the phone number on your statement or the back of your card, and confirm your accounts are secure.

4. Online Customer Service Rep

You know the pop-up window that let’s you chat with a customer service rep? Hard to believe but it is possible that it is a hacker looking to steal your financial information. Don’t place your order or reveal any personal information during the chat. If you do reveal something you should not have contact your bank or credit card company ASAP.

5. Prepaid cards

One of the best ways to shield your credit cards and bank account from exposure is to use a prepaid card to use online instead of a credit or debit card. These reloadable cards may be used just like credit and debit cards, but spending is limited to the amount loaded onto them. They are easy to purchase and will give you so much more peace of mind. Additionally, it will help you know which purchases were made online and which at conventional stores.

Why Be A Cheapskate?

Cheapskate Living Baby Steps!

We not expect you to start raising your own chickens (unless you want to) or give up your home for a shack in the mountains in order to pursue a more frugal life.  What we are realizing is that the old consumerist mindset has not served us very well. After the past economic downturn, millions of Americans are struggling because their savings accounts and homes have lost value. We can get back on the road to prosperity, but we may have to realize that we need to pursue a different prosperity!

Different people have different reasons for following a more frugal retirement. You may want to enjoy a frugal retirement that is also more secure and comes about a lot faster. You might just want to be able to manage your monthly expenses better with a family budget and a plan!

Step ! – How Do You Spend Money Now?

You cannot hope to start becoming a better money manager if you do not understand your current budget. It is surprising to find that many families have no clear idea how their budget keeps moving out of control. Your first step should be to gather documents that can tell you how your money has been spent during the last few pay periods. If you cannot find these documents, you need to keep track for a month or so in the future.

Step 2 – Can You Devise A Budget?

Now that you have some idea where your money goes, try to allocate money for the essentials, and also for luxuries. This may mean you will have to do some shopping, in order to find cheaper prices for fixed expenses. And it may mean you will need to make some choices about the kind of extras you purchase each month.

Step 3 – Pay Yourself!

Make sure that your budget includes some sort of emergency fund. An emergency cash fund can leave you more secure, help you avoid charging things, and form the basis for long term savings. The more money you can contribute the better, but even if you can only spare $25 a month, you will be better off than you were before!

Step 4 – Don’t Kick Yourself – Move On!

This is no time to waste your energy by worrying about the past. You only need the past to understand your mistakes so you can start to correct them. You can get started towards a life of extreme frugality by taking fairly small steps at the beginning.

Get Ready – Go!

Hopefully these frugal living quick start ideas will get you started on the path to a more comfortable and secure life! Most of the people who enjoy success today have some horror stories about the past to share. This makes them really appreciate the new way of managing their money!

How to Haggle

To get the best price you often have to negotiate with the seller. Some people are born to haggle but others feel uncomfortable trying to get a lower price by haggling. If you are buying a car it is expected that you will negotiate the price but nowadays you may need to negotiate for other things such as home repair.

One of the reasons you may feel so reluctant to haggle is you have never done it before. So here is a step by step guide on how to haggle for services such as lawn mowing, plumbing and any other service.

1. Pick your battles - The best negotiations happen when you’re dealing with the actual service provider – the contractor who’ll remodel your bathroom, say, not his paid employee.

2. Know your bottom line – Decide what price you’re willing to pay.

3. Justify your offer - Give the person a reason to drop his price. If you are having the house painted, say, perhaps you can purchase supplies and save him the trouble or if it is a slow time of year for that person’s business offer to have the work done then.

4. Show respect - Never suggest that someone’s services or product aren’t worth what he’s asking. If you can’t justify your offer, blame your finances. For example, say you really can’t afford more than $25 a week for lawn mowing.

5. Sweeten the pot - Offer to pay for the service in cash as an incentive to lower a price.

Lower High Speed Internet Cost

Though you might not think it possible you can bargain down your cable, phone and utility bills. With more people cutting spending, companies are more likely to work a deal with you to keep your business. What you can do is call your service provider, explain that you have been a loyal customer for a set period of time, and state that you would like to get a better monthly rate or take advantage of any special promotions that are available.

If the company doesn’t want to offer you anything you still have another option. Call back and ask to talk to the representative who handles new accounts or new customers. This time, tell the rep that you are considering switching to a less-expensive package or provider, but before doing so you would like to know if you can get any of the same deals being offered to new clients. (Cable companies, for instance, routinely offer deals like one month of free service, cash-back rewards, rebates, or goodies like prepaid phone cards- to new customers.)

If you don’t have any luck with either of these consider doing your own bundling of services. For example many phone companies offer local and long distance phone service, plus internet access and cable-or satellite-television service for less than $100 a month. That is far less than what you would pay for each service separately.

If you travel and don’t have a mobile hot spot or a phone that acts as mobile hot spot consider asking the hotel you are at who their wireless -service provider is and then go directly to that company to buy a day pass. The day pass will costs less than what the hotel charges for internet access.

Ways to Recycle

Got some great tips from Woman’s Day Magazine plus some of my own on recycling common household items. When you recycle household items you save money and the earth at the same time. A great thing to do and make you feel good about being an upstanding citizen of the planet Earth.

Old sheets and pillow cases - Fold them almost in half, leaving a top flap. Stitch up sides and use them to store blankets, comforters and pillows  dust-free. I use old sheets to protect my car seats and trunk when I am transporting plants from the nursery and also put them over plants in my yard to protect them from freezes.

Luggage - You can use these to store extra sheets and pillow cases or out of season clothes. I use them to store other luggage such as duffel bags. We also once used an old suitcase lined with a blanket for a dog bed.

Wastebasket – Use tall ones for storing rolls of gift wrap or use them to store extra paint rollers or outdoor toys in the garage.

Plastic grocery bags – Use them as padding in packages with fragile items or use them as trash can liners in small trash cans.

Trifle bowls – I seldom make Trifles ( a layered dessert) so I use my Trifle bowls to hold hair scrunchies and hair rollers.

Laundry baskets – I use these in the garage to store basketballs, soccer balls and some sports equipment.

Laundry hampers – I use these in the garage to store the old sheets I cover the plants with during a freeze.

Three Ring Binders – You can fill these with plastic page protectors and store recipes, kid’s artwork, school schedules, magazine articles you are saving or even important receipts.

Plastic Bins from ice makers – I use the plastic bin from the previous refrigerator to store lids to plastic containers. You can put them in size order for easy access.

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Shoe Repair

Here is some handy advice I found in our paper from a local shoe repair shop:

Save yourself pain and money by choosing shoes with leather rather than vinyl lining and soles. “If you buy cheap you’ll get cheap” says the owner of the shop. Vinyl shoes do not allow your feet to breathe like leather and it doesn’t last as long.

If you can only buy one pair of shoes this season go with a classic black style you can wear for years. And then take of your shoes. To keep your shoes in good shape, take them to a repair shop to get a good polish and shine. Also, add sole protectors, thin rubbber additions for cushion and traction, and toes plates, which help reduce wear around the toe area.

Replace plastic heel caps with better-quality urethane or leather caps which are softer, longer-wearing and don’t slip.

Don’t overwear your shoes, and don’t wait until they’re worn down to take them in for servicing.

Expect complete service to start at about $50.00 a pair. I have to say my husband has done this for about 10 years with his dress shoes and they still look pretty good. You really can save a good amount of money if you take care of your nice shoes. Shoe repair shops can do some amazing things.

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