Your credit score is one of those numbers that might not seem important until you actually need to use it. Want to finance a car? Your credit matters. Buying a house? It matters. Applying for another credit card? Yep, it matters there too. A good credit score doesn’t guarantee approval, but it can make…

Life insurance is essentially financial safety for your family, should you pass away unexpectedly. It’s not exactly a pleasant thing to think about, but you and your family will be much better off if you do it now, than if the worst happens and they have nothing to rely on financially after you’re gone. Why You Would Need Life Insurance If anyone depends on you financially, you need life insurance.  Because if you die before […]

Listen to the pod Sophia Jarvis, founder of Mia Wealth and a chartered financial analyst, reveals how her dad’s £120 a month into a junior pension became £70,000 by her 18th birthday, and why it’s on track to pass £1 million by retirement if left untouched. She breaks down junior ISAs, junior pensions and junior premium bonds, and how little it takes for parents to get started. Sophia spent over 15 years in financial services, […]

Don’t miss an episode of our podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors. Available on all podcast players. Here’s the latest episode: In Episode 152 of my podcast, I alluded to a “early retirement withdrawal checklist.” Here it is in written form. We’ll divide the list into two parts: The bare-bones, simple ideas that probably feel like common sense to most people. The more complex strategies that many of you might have probably heard of – or not. Or you’ve heard of them, but can’t explain them. You might not know the details of this second tier. Tier 1 – The Basics of Early Retirement Withdrawals This first tier is so basic that you could explain it to someone who knows nothing about personal finance, and they would understand everything on this list. Cash Accounts First things first, start spending extra cash. If you have one or two years’ expenses in cash, that’s a very common thing to live off of in early retirement. Taxable Brokerage Withdrawals Sell some shares, pay some long-term capital gains on the gains portion of it, live off the proceeds. Your taxable brokerage account is time-flexible. It’s not tied to any specific withdrawal ages. Dividends and Interest Your taxable accounts create an income stream through interest and dividends. Rather than reinvesting those dollars, you should live off them. These are likely the first dollars that come out of your brokerage account.  Side Income / Part-Time Work “That’s not retirement!! You’re still working!!” I get it. Some folks see a “part-time retirement job” as an oxymoron. But others think about “barista FIRE” or “coast FIRE” as reasonable retirement scenarios. These scenarios often involve an employment income stream and the simultaneous time-flexibility of retirement. A little bit of income can go a long way in early retirement. Rental Real Estate (and Other “Passive” Business Income) Do you own assets or business(es) that let you “step back” from day-to-day management while still collecting revenue? If so, that’s a great way of funding your early retirement years. Tier 2 – More Complex Ideas Tier 1 seems like common sense. Most people – whether they care about personal finance or not – understand how to live off cash, flexible investments, real estate assets, etc. But now we get to the “fun” part. The weird, nuanced, corner case, esoteric ideas that simply aren’t common sense. These are the types of strategies that even many financial advisors and accountants aren’t entirely familiar with. Roth IRA Contribution Withdrawals This applies to contributions. Not earnings. That distinction is vital. Your Roth IRA contributions (not earnings!) can be withdrawn at any time, tax-free and penalty-free. I could do it right now at age 36. I could empty my entire Roth IRA of the contributions (not the earnings!), tax-free and penalty-free. People often use this in early retirement.  Roth IRA Conversion Ladder In

Can you make $500 in a single weekend with a new side hustle? I decided to find out by signing up for Walmart Spark Delivery. If you listen to The Money Nerds Podcast, you know I love testing side hustles to see how realistic they are for people with 9-to-5 jobs, busy families, and limited […] The post Walmart Spark Driver Reviews: My $500 Weekend Side Hustle Challenge first appeared on Whitney Hansen | Money […]

You decide it might be time to get some help with your finances. Excellent. Then you start looking. Suddenly you’re swimming in financial advisors, financial planners, CFP® professionals, investment advisors, wealth managers, brokers, and enough acronyms to make you wonder whether choosing a financial professional requires its own financial professional. The confusing part is that these terms aren’t interchangeable. And they don’t necessarily tell you what you probably actually want to know: What does this […]

Are wagering markets becoming a new retirement strategy for some young people? There is disturbing evidence that that answer is yes, especially amongst GenZers. Global betting on the two largest prediction markets, Kalshi and Polymarket are a colossus. As of June 2026 over $45 billon was wagered on these platforms. Here’s where the dollars crossed the retirement Rubicon from gambling to investing. According to Bette…The post Never Attempt To Dollar Cost Average A Coin Flip appeared first on A Teachable Moment.

Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung left their lucrative software engineering careers to enjoy world travel and freedom. Both retired in their early 30’s with a 7-figure portfolio and have complied their secrets to success in their new book Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required. Kristy and Bryce are financially independent, self-made millionaires who hail from humble beginnings and learned along their journey how to follow the money so they could […]