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Thanks Similiar to Fidelity. FI Laboratory, FI spreadsheet. We are a two pension household, with a little over 800,000. I really enjoy them. I’m already subscribed. Hi Mad Fientist. Which I feel like is a “bad thing”, and I feel kinda burned. I was informed that based on the value of my roll over IRA ($500,000), that a back door Roth was not allowed. Could someone explain to me why, when I enter a larger value in the “Withdrawal Rate” field, my “Time to FI” actually goes down? According to the Mad Fientist, you need to know where you are in order to figure out where you’re going. Brandon runs The Mad Fientist and writes about financial independence, the benefits of geographic arbitrage, and how travel can actually help you retire earlier. So when you say you built travelerplastic, does that mean you own it and get the commissions for it? Send me an email if you’re still having issues. What financial steregies should I use to take advantage of a sabbatical. I think I should have had a lower-deductible plan. We have $13.5k remaining with 34 months left (originally 63 month term) at 3.49%. Any help and guidance appreciated. I am interested to see if anyone has a good model or predictor for using an HSA vs a low-deductible plan. Buy Official Mad Fientist T-Shirt! Just found this, I love your information. I’m not quite sure… It is really easy to set up a new account but if you run into problems, you can give them a call and they’ll help you through the process. To that end, I have considered taking the balance of our joint investment account (about $100k – about 20% of our stash) and putting it into a high yield savings account. Wouldn’t you prefer to receive cash rewards and use those for travel? Wouldn’t the cost of a locked in 2 year commitment be greater than the occasional taxi/towncar trip? Ideas? If you know anything about it, I would love to hear your take on this. No contract. Are there significant pros/cons to opening my own IRA through Vanguards website, for instance, and just opening another IRA through my financial advisor? I realize if I stay in the 12% bracket during conversion and then in 7-1/2 years when RMDs start, I could be in a higher bracket, either because of IRS tax law changes or income increases with SS, dividends and IRA withdrawals. I use Republic Wireless. Thanks. They both were life changing, spend changing for me. Any discusion to push me one way or the other would be helpful. Just curious about a rule of thumb to keep the FI as realistic as possible. I am envisioning leaving the other 80% to ride the market out — were still ~15 years from retirement. where my tax bill has been in the 100s of dollars, I expect 12% bracket in 2018, mostly likely Hey Jeff, sadly they don’t. Success! On my own I am planning on looking at all the claims I had, and trying to calculate what I would have spend and gotten paid by my insurance company if I was under the other plan. It is this compensation that enables CardRatings.com and MadFientist.com to provide you services like access to free tools and information for consumers. Welcome to CardRatings.com . Absolutely, Beth. FD. I ask because with the recent tax changes, we are held to taking a MAX deduction of $10,000 on the mortgage and property taxes per year – is this for the primary residence only or is the MAX for a combined payments for all properties, primary residence AND rental or does the rental get addressed under a separate standalone transaction ? FI Laboratory, Credit-Card Search Tool for Travel Hackers, FI Spreadsheet, etc.) © 2020 MadFientist.com and CardRatings.com. I wander how your hypothesis and analysis of retiring young would change with kids and especially if you had a child with special needs. For some reason, a lot of the links are not working today. Join over 100,000 others on the Mad Fientist email list to get access to exclusive content and software! I want to do it, just leery of having CC I don’t need. I have now come to the point of attempting to make use of one of the tools but am having trouble doing so. Hi Brandon, Success! For FI/Net Worth purposes, do you recommend using the gross value of that asset, or a net value, knowing that it’s going to be subject to a substantive tax when it is withdrawn? Thank you for a wealth of information! I imagine the costs would be higher going through a financial advisor so if it were me, I’d just go directly through Vanguard. We are not claiming any deduction for the IRA contribution as I have a 401K in my office and also my salary exceeds significantly the contribution limits for a deduction. We max out SEPs and an HSA. My situation is slightly different in that I don’t think a catastrophic plan will work. Good one! I’m actually planning my next round of applications so I’m interested to hear what you’re going for this time. Need advice! Total for loan is $42,000. Your email address will not be published. A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines. We have taken on a rental and are paying a mortgage on it as renters pay us monthly rent. If you instead decided to only withdraw 3% from your portfolio each year to fund those $30,000 worth of annual expenses, you’d have to wait until you had $1,000,000 before you could retire ($1,000,000 * 3% = $30,000). All of the calculators I have tried to use up to this point haven’t been helpful, they don’t account for the pensions. The only thing I’m unsure about is health insurance. “The rate at which you will withdraw from your accounts during early retirement”. Mia Steve, I love your podcasts, why don’t you talk about YNAB in the ressources section ? – If I do will I incur any additional charges (currency conversion etc.)? Success! Hey I love your site! Keep up the great blog. Yes, you can open a Traditional IRA at Vanguard (that’s where I have mine). The property taxes on the rental is over $15,000 per year. That is insane so yes, I’d suggest you go out on your own! It’s not terrible. But assuming you wont time it perfect, then maybe youd gain $10k? I had the same experience tonight and received several “Update your profile” emails that sent me nowhere, before I gave up. ), I knew I was going to love this blog when you mentioned you had read How to Live Free in an Unfree World, and ERE. this is a fantastic tool to track your budget but mainly to be intentionnal about your spending. There are 4 different planning tools, which one is the most basic? Don't forget expenses that don't come monthly, such as vacations or holidays. I don’t think MMM counts it, but my memory might be wrong on that. On the Averages page, it uses “supplemental income” to calculate the discretionary and total coverage. I have the option of contributing to my firm’s 401K with after tax dollars. Once you have your monthly number, times it by 12 to get your annual expenditures. Right now everyone is covered under my plan offered by my employer. Miles & Points Interview: Mad Fientist. Is this true? 33 votes, 25 comments. Essentially I just want to open a fund starting with $10,000, and keep adding 10,000 each year while getting some sort of return, or at the very least keeping up with inflation. That can make a big difference. When you click on the "Apply Now" button you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the credit card issuer's web site. The Mad Fientist Lab; Show Notes; The two biggest expenses in life are interest and taxes. Brandon, aka the Mad Fientist, a former software developer who achieved early retirement and financial independence at age 34, shares how he spends his money in Edinburgh, Scotland. Because credit card offers change frequently, please visit the card issuer site for current information. If I get a card in my wifes name can I use those points for me to fly? Found some CC’s that have 21 month 0% terms with a 5% transfer fee of the balance. Thanks and appreciate what you are doing. Thanks! We have paid off the mortgage on our primary residence but do have about $8000 in annual property taxes. If so, that email contains the links to both the spreadsheet and the FI lab. Trying to decide between the two. Rinse and repeat for both you and your wife. Thank you so much for this free software that includes the graph. I’m planning on getting a few new credit cards next month and figure I might as well give someone a commission for it, just trying to figure out who that someone should be. Does it expire at age 50 or does it now extend to 59 1/2? The word "Insider". Hi Johnny, you should be able to do that so just give Barclay a call when your annual fee is close to being due. Should I sell appreciated stock up to the no capital gains tax limit and reinvest it? I’m new and hooked… can you recommend any “current financial writers”? If not, just use taxis because it doesn’t sound like it would be worth the hassle and additional expense. Do you think it would be simple to open a mutual fund (or another fund) through the Vanguard website as well? How’s that compare if youd just left the $100k growing until the drop? CardRatings.com and MadFientist.com do not review or include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. It is very simple to open an ordinary taxable investment account through Vanguard so just give them a call, tell them what you’re hoping to accomplish, and I’m sure they’ll guide you through the process. My pleasure, Eric! We have 2 children and one of them needs a specialized school setting. P.S. I assume one doesn’t just wake on the first day of retirement and update their portfolio from 100% stocks to 60/40. Do you have an iPod Touch or something you could use on wifi? Thank you for your support! Download the spreadsheet I used on my own journey to financial independence! Now just check your email to get your spreadsheet download link! When I first stumbled on to your blog I must say I was very intrigued with your take on how to get around the 10 percent penalty that 401ks have . You seem genuine and down to earth and we really appreciate what you’re doing – thank you! Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. How long will you have to wait with cash until that scenario happens? Can you recommend any tax planning sites or apps? What is Travel Hacking? You are able to combine points within household so you and your wife will share the same points. I have a homeowners insurance payment due in a couple months and was hoping to use the card for that. 2. The Mad Fientist's powerful credit card search tool allows you to easily find the best credit cards for your specific travel needs! If you send me an email before you apply though, I can send you my creditcards.com link, which should kick me back something if you apply through their links. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. If you haven’t achieved FI (yet!) Like many, a good chuck of my retirement nest egg is in a pre-tax 401K. btw i just joined early retirement extreme forums and I places a post showing my financials. I think I can pay it off in 2 years. Have you seen a web-based or software tool that estimates future dividend income giving your current portfolio composition? Required fields are marked *. How would you go about starting a traditional Ira? Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. Also, I’ve read somewhere that not all purchases count towards the $3,000 you must spend in the first three months. Since I’ll be in Edinburgh until May, please let me know if I can take you up on you and Jill’s offer on going out for a beer when in town. Then forecast into next year the same thing, but this sounds like a very tedious and manual process. Whatever options you decide the most important thing is to make sure that whatever amounts you put on the credit card you can pay IN FULL when the balance is due. Join over 100,000 others on the Mad Fientist email list and start tracking your progress in the FI Laboratory! Hey PK, I don’t personally use anything that does what you described. But since so many FIRE evangelizers eschew the rhetoric of the typical formulas of (bonds = age) or (bonds = age-10) or whatever the latest version is, I don’t fully understand how this change occurs. Brandon, also known as the Mad Fientist, used credit card rewards to travel the world. A powerful (and free!) Just set up an account and plan on putting it to use this january. :). Is this just a crazy strategy in general? Credit Card Guides . A place to discuss credit cards to profit from sign-up offers. And I am hoping you can explain this conversion to me so that I might be able to actually do it! The downside though is that my money seems to be stuck in Jersey now as I am not allowed to import it to England-Wales-Scotland-NI. Has anyone else out there come across something like that? When I enter “100”, it says I am financially independent. I just joined, and tried the “Time to FI calculator”: https://lab.madfientist.com/calculators/time_to_fi. Hey Star*Bucks, just go to the About page and you’ll find my contact information there. Hi MF! on how to to put money on a card you would not normally spend? What if I am in the same situation (opening a fund with Financial Advisor vs. opening an account on my own), but with money that I want to be fairly liquid? Can i do a back door Roth for just the $7000 contribution for 2019 and not pay any taxes ? Nevermind, I just read the previous answer, sorry about that. If you’re looking for a solid base in personal finance with a focus on … Thanks for the recommendation to read “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.” Great book with some very practical insights. Brandon, also known as the Mad Fientist, used credit card rewards to travel the world. Thanks again for all of your information. Here, he explains how you can start, too. I listened to your podcast on millenials, and that inspired me a lot – do you also have any good places to seek out information on FI for students? We know how to avoid paying a lot of money in interest, achieve and maintain an excellent credit score, refinance debt to a lower interest rate, and avoid credit card debt. What I do to avoid the fee is rotate between me and my wife. Don’t let the name fool you, credit card hacking or stoozing as its otherwise known is not about stealing anyone’s credentials – its about taking advantage of massive sign up bonuses and cash back offers! and are still working, a historical view of portfolio dividend income earned is less important than understanding how much annual dividend (and interest) income my current portfolio would earn in the future, including the contributions I just made. Any thing you use to help in that decision? If I don’t, that raises my income $16k, If I do a Roth Conversion that raises my income even further. I have significant retirement and no retirement savings. So that’s $20k gain, right? How does one take this into account – both the uncertainty and the major expense on a frugal budget. Welcome to MMM Credit Card HQ! Since I spend just as much time figuring out how to best use my miles/points as I do figuring out how to get them, I currently get much more value out of my miles/points than I could get out of a 2% cash-back card but if that changes for some reason, I’ll just switch to the Barclaycard I mentioned above to get ~2% cash-back everywhere. A small note, Mint is fairly ineffective these days (personal experience). Courtesy of the Mad Fientist. Just me, probably, but I guess I take some comfort in knowing I am not the only one confused. I have a mutual fund that I opened through my financial advisor, and she does offer advice and try to educate me on my accounts. You should have received an email within an hour of signing up to the email list that includes links to all of the free tools. Then I came across an article that Brandon from the Mad Fientist wrote about how he traveled to 14 different countries for under $1,000. Then I find out what my yearly cost is for the HDHP – I’m biweekly, so I have to multiply the paycheck premium by 26. We can cover the payments easily but wanted your reco. Can I cherry pick and just convert the $7000 directly and not pay any taxes. No sign-up bonus can overcome the interest that must be paid on cc balances. When i click on it, i get the subscribe screen again. Now my husband is going to open his Roth IRA, but I am not sure if I want to go through the financial advisor for that or not, or whether I want to stick with Prudential for his IRA or not (I’m basically opening the fund for him). This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. [PoF: Doing the math, I … This book will teach you everything you need to know to become a successful investor! I can’t wait to put some of your tactics into practice! Once I am doing that, I feel like I should go to adding the HSA. Really interested in making a start on my own path but virtually all the sites for tracking and investing seem to be US based. When the market heads south, we could then buy into an indexed S&P 500 fund (probably Vanguard) and enjoy getting in at the rock bottom (hopefully!). Join the Mad Fientist, Mr. Money Mustache, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, and Doug Nordman from The Military Guide for a live Q&A from Camp Mustache! Or, does the IRA look at the whole IRA pool for me and then I have to pay taxes on the portion that is sitting in the regular IRA accounts ? The Mad Fientist's list of recommended banks, credit cards, books, travel-hacking tools, and financial services! Best! Love this resource! Some pharmacies will give you a quote with your insurance information, but they generally get cranky about doing it. The biggest hurdle I have is with all the deductions I have, this has put me in a position It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. I keep wondering the same. Share your success … The Mad Fientist's powerful credit card search tool allows you to easily find the best credit cards for your specific travel needs! I’m hesitant to set aside money in a college fund given the way education is transforming. Don’t have any specific question, but I just wanted you to know that my fiance and I actively listen to your podcast and it’s really changed that way we look at our finances and how we live our lives. What I haven’t been able to see a clear picture of is how you transition from the building wealth stage to wealth preservation/retirement stage. It is more based on “where your money WILL go” rather than ” where DID the money go”. Now just check your email and start tracking! The classic book on financial independence and early retirement! I’m clearly misunderstanding the purpose of this field. Hello MF, I just reread the Roth vs traditional article as I did my taxes to make sure I was doing it right. I counted my home equity in my net worth because I knew I’d be selling it before I quit my job but I also forecasted higher monthly expenses in retirement to account for future rent expenses. If you've enjoyed the last 9 years of ad-free content and want to say thanks, here's how →. @madflentist found you off a FI/RE movement article and I love what you listed here. Thank you very much for unique and eye-opening posts, resources, and podcasts! Does it mean money I will receive upon retirement? You can compare the out of pocket costs, including premium and get a ballpark of what the best path forward is for you. I prefer the freedom of pay-you-go but that just works for me and my mobile work situation, instead of paying a huge penalty breaking local phone contracts constantly. It depends on your plans after you quit your job. If you sell your house and rent, your net worth will be higher but so will your expenses but if you stay in your house, the opposite. If this makes sense, WHEN should I do the rollover? I have an old Mint account but I need to re-link everything so I plan to switch to Personal Capital so I can track investments. Specifically, I’m looking for something that will allow me to submit multiple different cash flow needs for a period of time to calculate total assets required for the entire retirement. paying more tax, because of losing the kid deductions and college tuition credits. web application for monitoring and managing your accounts and investments. What is the value for this field actually supposed to represent? New to the Mad Fientist world and am working through some FI calculations. What pitfalls, like wash sales, must I watch out for? MadFientist.com has partnered with CardRatings.com to provide you with credit card offers, reviews, and ratings. Can I cancel the card after earning the $500 reward and before the first year ends without incurring any fees / penalties? I am just getting started w/ trying to figure out my years to FI. I am poking around looking for info on backdoor Roth contributions. Track your progress to financial independence in the Mad Fientist's FI Laboratory! Not arguing against – just thinking out loud. Love your blog. Was just curious, do you have recommendations of CPAs and/or law firms for those of us who’d like to get started in real estate? Some things, like prescriptions need to be estimated. Lowering your withdrawal rate means you’ll have to build up a bigger balance to pay your bills so that will increase your time to FI. For example, if you have $30,000 worth of annual expenses and you plan to withdraw 4% from you portfolio to fund those expenses, you’d need to save up $750,000 ($750,000 * 4% = $30,000). The FI takes use of your average spending over time. I’ve been reading MF, jlcolllinsnh, and some of the other FIRE blogs for many months now. Is there more of an advantage collecting miles/travel perks vs. cash back cards. During a typical month, he and his wife spend about $500 at restaurants, $317 on travel, and $266 on alcohol. I have a general question that’s, I’m sure, loaded in many ways… Nonetheless, here it is: Advertiser Disclosure: Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which CardRatings.com and MadFientist.com receives compensation. I have a question about the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card, that I haven’t been able to find an answer to online. Thanks for your advice. – a newbie Danish FI’er, UK reader new to site and new to all things FI! Has the FI Lab been useful to you so far? Hello, could you direct me to any posts on how to choose correct savings plan for your kids? This includes loans, mortgages, and credit card debt. Post navigation. Maybe try running your numbers against a previous scenario eg the drop at turn of the year, using VTSAX. I’m well on my way to FI and am looking for a tool that allows complex variables for FI planning. In retirement accounts. I intend to hit the 401K max ($19K) for 2019 and we’ll also max out our ROTH IRAs. You are allowed to pay as much as you want within the first 18 months and then you can refinance the loan. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program. I have read about them before but I am still not clear on how to do this. One that describes a typical execution of the 4 percent rule would be nice. There are a lot of smart phone companies out there now that have pretty cheap phones and plans. I can not even imagine what my son will need in the years ahead. We’re about 5 years from FIRE, but haven’t decided yet where to live. Thanks for your time. Please disregard my previous comment about how to obtain the FI spreadsheet. Just wanted to let you know that it is very much appreciated and looking forward to using it for many years to come. Huge fan of the blog; concise and so well written! The application that powers all of the Mad Fientist's signup forms, email automations, etc. : Shop top fashion brands T-Shirts at Amazon.com FREE DELIVERY and Returns possible on eligible purchases The airlines don’t care whose name is on the CC, but the points will have to come from the same account. I noticed that many of the resources and tips given to achieve FI are geared towards individuals in the United States which is totally understandable. Loan will probably begin in May 2016. https://lab.madfientist.com/calculators/time_to_fi. My combined household income exceeds the limit to allow a contribution to my Roth IRA and my wife’s Roth IRA. Changing how much data is used has a huge impact on the Years to FI value. Quick question. Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. The credit-card search tool I created to help travel hackers find the best card signup bonuses! I have enough cash to live off of for the next 8 years while waiting to turn 59 1/2 so my income will be 0. On Mad Fientist, Brandon offers a free, ... (B4 and C4) aren't the same as the ones noted on the balances tab — that's because the credit card balances have been subtracted. He has attended for 3 years now and the tuition has gone from a horrid $53,000 per year to $65,000 per year. Hi, I am really enjoying your spreadsheet. First time visitor to your website and it is absolutely amazing, You are truly living the dream! Would that count towards the $3k? How many years of data might be good to keep as part of the averaging? Credit Cards. Another book that's helped me pursue my goals, especially after leaving my job. I work in London but benefit from an “overseas workday relief” (OSWDR) scheme which is great cause I pay less income taxes. Here, he explains how you can start, too. I am a Danish university student, currently on exchange in Edinburgh. Thanks a lot for the comment. Will you sell your house and rent or will you keep living in that house? "He even shares updates from his own early retirement at … We both have advanced educations, giving us >$300,000 of debt and while we’re naturally frugal people, your podcast has helped in more advanced money saving/investing strategies and just general ways to live better lives. Still can’t get into the lab or download the spread sheet. Your net worth is made up of the value of all of your assets, including your home, car, investments and savings. Whereas if you’re lending to some guy who wants to get money to pay off his credit cards, that’s a non-collateralized loan. Unfortunately, I am Canadian so a lot of these great US plans are absent here. I also wonder about any related regulations/rules that I should consider. * I am getting approx $13,000 tax credit from federal and $1000 from state. How else can I take advantage of having very low taxable income? There are stocks and mutual funds, some will probably incur long term gains? I understand that once I rollover an amount to my ROTH I will have to wait 5 years to tap it. Every two years you will be eligible for the sign-up bonus. In addition to this, are there obvious pros/cons to doing after tax 401K contributions? Email series that shares the strategy I used to accumulate over one million frequent flyer points! Which planning tool works best w/ Personal Capital. The standard 4% rule just doesn’t cut it…or at least I can’t figure out how to make it. I was impressed and inspired to learn more. I love the site. I’ve been building custom software for the Mad Fientist since the beginning (e.g. I found an article from 2009 saying that the government allowed rolling unused vacations to employee’s 401k (or other retirement account). To buy the same coverage from the same provider directly is too expensive (I’d be better off just staying in the workforce). I found the link in the welcome email. 1 2 3 Next → Name* Email* Resources. There is the Vanguard Advantage account, which is similar to the Fidelity account but not as good (the Vanguard account has ATM fees for non-PNC Bank ATMS, checkbook fees, etc. If I get a card with a Fee ($95) and get my points, do I cancel it at the end of a year? Travel hacking is a strategy where you utilize credit card rewards, usually in the form of sign-up bonuses, to accumulate points or miles. Is there a comments page regarding CC for travel discusion? :). From what I’ve read most early retirees have been happy with a catastrophic plan. I had never heard of the technique you described about rolling over your 401k into an IRA and then rolling over to a ROTH before. Not for borrowing, of course, but as a means of channeling through your standard spending and collecting … I’ve got about 8 years before I turn 59 1/2 and I just want to get the five year rule on rollovers to a ROTH straight before I take the time to go to a CPA. Credit Cards (4) Investing (6) Uncategorized (1) Search for: Recent Posts. But what about after I’m 59 1/2. but I have an even bigger software project in mind that I’m hoping to start in 2019. It’s a little bit of work to figure out, but if you keep good records – like you should for an HSA, it’s not as big of an undertaking. Opinions? Ever since they switched from Yodalee to Intuit it’s just not as good since a lot of institutions end up blocked on their tracker. If you go to his tab at the top that says "credit cards" you can find a spreadsheet which shows which credit cards he thinks have the best bonuses at the moment and another that shows *all* current public offers along on with which the best offer on that card has been in recent history. Financial Independence Podcast by Mad Fientist "Brandon—aka the Mad Fientist—gets into the weeds of financial independence and early retirement with some fantastic guests," Loudenback said.

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