Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. We are not experts. We are providing our personal opinions, and they should not be taken as legal, financial, or tax advice. Now that we are entering our fourth year of early retirement, I finally have a better handle on tackling healthcare in early retirement. I know it’s the biggest concern for retirees of all kinds, but especially those retiring early. We all fear the unknown, and fleeing the safety of employer healthcare plans can be daunting at first. I know I’ve wracked my brain trying to figure out what to do! Do you pay more for better insurance or take the gamble on a high deductible plan? Well, we’ve done both! Here are the results: Healthcare in Early Retirement Healthcare in early retirement is surely the most scary part and unknown. Thank goodness for Healthcare.gov and the healthcare marketplace! If not for the Health Insurance Marketplace I’m not entirely sure my early retirement would ever have been possible! Because my early retirement was entirely accidental, we spent much of 2020 and then 2021 utilizing COBRA. We could have switched over to the Healthcare Marketplace in 2021, but decided that we’d rather stay with the devil we knew. But then by 2022 our COBRA coverage was running dry and it was time to dive into the marketplace. And guess what? It wasn’t so bad! How Much Does Early Retirement Healthcare Cost a Family of 4? Here is a quick breakdown of our early retirement healthcare costs for the past 3 years with an estimate for 2024: YearTypePremium Tax CreditsPremiums (Yearly)Additional Medical Costs (Yearly)Total Yearly Cost (with Credits)2024HMO$8,472$9,184$2,597$11,7812023HSA/HDHP$7,800$6,847$5,686$12,5332022HSA/HDHP$3,579$12,006$2,708$14,7142021PPO/COBRA$0$22,837$2,486$25,323 As you can see, we’ve been able to steadily lower our healthcare costs every year. And even without the Premium Tax Credits, we still have been able to lower our healthcare costs by about $5-7K since switching over the the marketplace. Also note that I greatly overestimated our income for 2022, which is why our Premium Tax Credits were much less than in 2023 and 2024 (though don’t worry that gets adjusted when filing your taxes). Now that I can more stably predict our income, it is much easier to maximize the credits and improve our cash flow! Healthcare Premium Tax Credits The key factor in helping to make healthcare affordable to early retirees and any American without coverage is the Premium Tax Credit. This is done based off of a calculation of your Adjusted Gross Income, and in early retirement, you can typically keep that pretty low. For us, even though we do run a website affiliate business, the income for that website isn’t enough to push us up over the Premium Tax Credit limit (which is measured compared to the percentage above the over the poverty line). It’s all utterly confusing, but ultimately the less income you have, the higher your Premium Tax Credit – thus lowering your monthly payments. The

Is your closet full of clothes? Do you feel you have “nothing to wear?” Do you spend too much time choosing an outfit?  It’s time to declutter your closet.  Too many clothes creates noise making it difficult to choose an outfit. Not to mention, the confined space incites irritation. A cluttered closet is not functional!  Limit your closet to pieces you enjoy and wear regularly.  Follow these steps below to easily say goodbye to excess in your wardrobe.  1. Adopt the Right Attitude We hold on to clothing because we tell ourselves that we might wear it someday.  There is truth to this. You should keep a handful of pieces for certain occasions. But you must be careful not to let this idea manifest as a fear to let go of clothes.  Owning too many clothes causes clutter and irritation. Nobody wants a stuffed, dusty, dysfunctional closet.  When you limit your closet to pieces you actually wear, it feels good. Your closet becomes spacious, efficient, sorted, and functional. When your closet is decluttered, your clothes offer the pleasurable sensations of gratitude.  Also know that getting rid of clothes doesn’t mean they’re headed to the landfill. Donate your clothes. Sell them at a consignment store. Give your clothes new life through a new owner. Someone will find joy in wearing them! Isn’t that better than your clothes sitting in your closet, collecting dust? 2. Pass On Your Old Clothes What will you do with the clothes you no longer need? Will you take them to a consignment shop and get paid for your donations? Will you sell them on depop? If you choose to donate rather than sell, Dress for Success is a wonderful organization that accepts donations of women’s business clothing. These donations are then provided to women in need to wear for job interviews.  Knowing that your clothes will be worn again makes it easier to say goodbye to old clothes.