Tag Archives: Findependence

Harnessing Findependence: The Power of Podcasts

Jon Chevreau and Canada Podcasts’ Philip Bliss:  https://canadaspodcast.com/findependencehub/

By Philip Bliss

Special to Financial Independence Hub

In an age where knowledge is easily accessible, podcasts have emerged as one of the most potent tools for personal development.

Findependence [aka Financial Independence] is a goal many aspire to, but achieving it often requires a solid understanding of money management, investments, and entrepreneurship. This is where podcasts shine, providing a wealth of knowledge and inspiration that can be instrumental in your journey towards financial freedom.

This new tool is particularly valuable in the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, where the quest for knowledge and inspiration is ceaseless. In this digital age, Canada’s Podcast has emerged as a game-changer, becoming a cornerstone for Canadian entrepreneurial development and a key to enabling Findependence. Let’s explore why these audio/video gems are so critical to the journey of every aspiring entrepreneur.

1.) Education at your Fingertips

Podcasts offer a wide array of financial knowledge, from personal finance basics to advanced investment strategies. By tuning into podcasts, you can learn about budgeting, saving, and investing while going about your daily routine. Whether you’re commuting, exercising, or doing household chores, these audio programs allow you to convert idle time into a valuable learning opportunity.

Some popular finance podcasts like “The Dave Ramsey Show” and “BiggerPockets Money” offer practical advice on budgeting, getting out of debt, and achieving financial freedom. These shows are like having a personal finance mentor guiding you through the intricacies of money management.

2.) Diverse Perspectives and Ideas

Findependence is not a one-size-fits-all goal. Everyone’s journey is unique, and podcasts reflect this diversity. Podcast hosts often bring their personal experiences and perspectives to the table, offering a rich tapestry of ideas and approaches to achieving financial success.

You can listen to real-life stories of people who have achieved findependence, learning from their triumphs and pitfalls. This diversity of experiences can help you tailor your approach to fit your own circumstances and goals.

3.) Investing Insights

For those looking to grow their wealth through investments, podcasts can be a treasure trove of valuable insights. Whether you’re interested in stocks, real estate, cryptocurrencies, or other investment avenues, there’s likely a podcast that caters to your interests.

Podcasts like “Invest Like the Best” and “The Motley Fool” provide deep dives into various investment strategies, market analysis, and expert interviews. By regularly listening to such shows, you can stay updated on market trends and make informed investment decisions.

4.) Motivation and Inspiration

Findependence can be a long and challenging journey. At times, you may find yourself discouraged or unsure about your financial decisions. Podcasts can serve as a source of motivation and inspiration, reminding you of the benefits of findependence and keeping your goals in focus.

Many findependence podcasts share stories of people who have achieved their financial goals against all odds. These tales of perseverance and success can fuel your determination and keep you on track, even when the path seems daunting.

5.) Building a Supportive Community

Podcasts often come with dedicated communities. These communities provide a space to discuss financial topics, share experiences, and seek advice from like-minded individuals. Engaging with these communities can be a valuable source of support as you work towards findependence. Continue Reading…

Starting a Business to attain Findependence

Unsplash: Chris Liverani

By Devin Partida

Special to Financial Independence Hub

Many people seek the life Findependence [aka Financial Independence] can bring. While there are many ways to achieve this status, one great way is to start a business.

Building a company can be daunting, but it’s vital to consider if it’s something you really want to do.

How does starting a Business help you reach Findependence?

Many business owners trying to obtain findependence implement an exit strategy. This is where the company still operates normally but doesn’t rely on the person who started it to do the work. In other words, the company is automated to function without intervention from the owner. Other people prefer to sell their organization and live on the profit they get from it.

Instead of selling the enterprise, another route is to invest the capital in different areas. Some entrepreneurs use the profit their business generates to create additional passive-income streams.

You can invest your money in many different areas to reach findependence. Here’s a summary of a few popular avenues:

● Roth IRA: This individual retirement account [in the U.S.; similar to Canada’s TFSA] offers the investor tax-free growth and withdrawals. To withdraw money from an IRA, the owner must own the account for at least five years and exceed the age of 59 and six months.

● Property: Many entrepreneurs decide to invest their capital into real estate to sell or rent it again. Buying property could be an excellent chance to obtain passive income, which can aid with the end goal of reaching findependence. However, real estate might have additional costs, such as hiring someone to manage the investment for you.

● The stock market: You can’t talk about investing and not mention stocks. Most people are already familiar with this option, where someone purchases a portion of a company and receives shared ownership. Stocks can also generate monthly passive income via dividends, but many consider them high-risk investments.

If investing company profits to reach financial goals is something you’re interested in, there are other opportunities to look out for. Consider researching bonds and index funds to determine if they’re something you want to invest in.

What kind of Business should you start?

The type of organization you should start comes down to personal preference. Consider looking at your interests and what excites you. Many entrepreneurs create a company around what they already know. For example, if they have coding experience, they could build a business offering customers web development services. Whichever idea you choose, ensure you conduct sufficient research to know what it will take to make it a success.

Here are a few popular business ideas: Continue Reading…

How to Invest your way to Findependence

 

By Devin Partida

Special to Financial Independence Hub

Today’s economic and job-growth landscape might have you turning to investing as a prominent option.

It takes patience and effort, but anyone can save up enough through intelligent investments.

How do you begin the Investment Process?

As of 2023, the average American makes around US$57,000 annually, which is lower for minority groups. Even if you’re careful with your spending, becoming financially independent with that salary can take a long time.

The average person from the United States only has about $5,000 in savings. Before beginning the process, you must consider how much money you can invest. The ultimate goal is financial independence [aka “Findependence” on this site], but getting there can take a while. Only put in what you’re willing to lose because things might not pan out as expected.

The formula for Findependence takes your yearly spending and divides it by your safe withdrawal rate to calculate your goal savings figure. Then, it subtracts the amount you’ve already saved and divides that amount by how much you can save each year. It’s only an estimation, but it can help you know how much your investments need to make.

What Investments should you Consider?

There are plenty of investment types. The stable ones often have lower returns and you usually need to take some risk to see a high reward quickly.

1.) Real Estate Investment Trust

A real estate investment trust (REIT) receives money from investors to purchase and manage property. Most generate revenue through rental income and pay dividends in return for the initial payment you made. It’s similar to owning by yourself, but you pool funds for the purchase and let someone else take care of the tenants. There are also other REIT types, so you have more options than rental properties.

2.) Stocks

The stock market usually requires more attention to detail because you must keep up with it. Anything from an upcoming brand deal to an overseas political event can affect this investment type. You should frequently check the stocks you hold and the businesses they belong to so you can quickly respond to changes.

The Canadian stock market differs from the United States version. Firstly, you need a brokerage account. Most brokerages charge about $5 to $10 per trade, with average commission fees of $6.95. It might seem minor, but paying to invest or shift your stocks around puts you at a loss before you begin. The flat rate cut you must pay can also make investing smaller amounts challenging because it takes a higher percentage the less you put in. Continue Reading…

Retirement Reflections during our 32nd year of Financial Independence

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli, Retireearlylifestyle.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

In January, 2022 we began our 32nd year of Financial Independence. Few people can say they have 30 years of self-funded retirement by the age of 68 and have a higher net worth after spending and inflation than when they started. This is something of which we are quite proud.

As we have aged, one thing we have learned is that long term is getting shorter every day. Life is to be enjoyed now, not someday:  the older we get the more we appreciate that view. Life is continuously full of opportunities and we want to take them.

Opportunities abound

For example, a couple of years ago we were approached by a startup company which sponsored us for several months in Saigon, Vietnam in exchange for sharing our past experience in the restaurant and service industry and for exposure to our readers through our popular website and blog. That was a fabulous trip, and it got us back over to Asia again.

Then we were approached for a partnership, offering tours to Europe and South America. Can you imagine? There are always opportunities!

These are just two examples of why we say that life is full of chances to grow and learn something new if you want to take them. And neither of these recent options could have been presented to us if we were still working.

Portfolio getting stronger

Since the 2008 financial meltdown the markets certainly have performed well, thereby increasing our portfolio. And for a longer term view the S&P 500 closed at 312.49 when we retired in 1991, producing a better than 8% annual ride plus dividends. So, our advice is to get invested now and in a couple of decades looking back you will have wished you had invested more. Probably a lot more.

We suggest people track their spending now, then multiply that number by 25 to get a rough estimate of the portfolio amount they need to retire. Once you know that amount, in simple terms, assuming the same 8% growth in the future and you withdraw 4% for living expenses, this leaves you 4% to cover inflation and growth so you are all set.

The 4% rule is a guide not set in stone and ours bounces around depending on the markets and our expenses, but on average we have been able to maintain it easily below 4%. Our data over 30 years gives us security knowing that if one year it is higher we can make adjustments the following year to correct it. Then again, the markets could move higher helping us out as well, which is usually the case. Plus, we now are receiving Social Security, so payments and dividends cover our expenses. You can read our reasoning behind this decision here.

Practical considerations

Another note is that because we have a good percentage of assets in retirement accounts, when we turned 56 years old we used IRS rule 72T to withdrawal an annual amount close to our estimated Social Security payments, thus creating a bridge until we actually qualified. Now that we are receiving benefits we have turned off that spigot and are letting the IRAs grow once again.

The age of 72 is now coming into our sight and RMD, required minimum distributions, are the next issue to deal with, but we still have time and no one knows what the tax laws will be then.

With that statedwe still maintain a core holding of buy and hold (DVY, SPY, VTI) which sends us a steady stream of dividends in our taxable accounts as well as tracking the market. But in our IRAs, where we have no tax issues regarding trading, we have been more active using market seasonality with the idea of side-stepping larger declines. Some years have been better than others but we have been taking about half of the market risk than being all in all the time and that is comforting.

Where to retire, cost of living and healthcare

We are not alone anymore, with Boomers retiring at 10,000 a day, we see more retirees everywhere! But in terms of the foreign locations that we visit, the retirement community of Chapala, Mexico is growing at a fast pace. The Colonial town of Antigua, Guatemala has also attracted its share of Expats, and there is a solid and active retirement community in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Panama.

We would recommend Mexico, Panama and Guatemala for their proximity to the US and Canada as well as being on similar time zones as family and financial markets in the States. We would say that Thailand is attractive for its excellent medical care, warmer weather and uniqueness. All of these locations offer excellent lifestyle for cost of living. Continue Reading…

How to enjoy your retirement while getting paid

By Carlos Blanco

Special to the Findependence Hub

Spending a week in Napa’s wine country, enjoying the good life during retirement, and meeting new friends. Sounds like a dream, right? Having the chance to do all this and be paid might sound too good to be true, but I assure you: it’s possible!

For more than a year, I’ve been using an app called Instawork to pick up shifts whenever and wherever I want. I found the platform through a friend and began using it to pick up shifts in order to build a work schedule that best suits my personal schedule. It’s been a wonderful experience where I’ve been able to meet new people and experience different facets of the world. As a friendly guy who likes socializing, it’s been a perfect fit for me.

Prior to using Instawork, I worked as a journalist. That ranks up there as one of the most stressful careers you can have. That kind of stress can take a toll on you after a while and with me it did. The hospitality shifts I’m working now are much more relaxed and I’m truly enjoying myself. From coordinating and assisting at events throughout the year to interacting with clients and guests at a variety of different locations, no two shifts are the same. As an added bonus, I can expand my budding coaching career and attract new clients from different walks of life.

Despite Great Resignation, many still want to work

There’s a lot of talk right now in the news about the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle and how people don’t want to work or how the economy is dying. The pandemic shook everything up and made a lot of people reevaluate how they were living their lives and what they wanted out of work. In my view, the economy is not dying and people absolutely do want to work. They just want to do things their way, on their terms, be treated fairly, and to get paid well while doing it. The country and its hourly workers are in a period post-pandemic, where people are just transitioning from one place to another and deciding what type of jobs works best for them. Continue Reading…