The intersection of personal finance, financial independence, and Disney.

Tag: choose your own adventure

Step 7: Employer 401k Match

Employer 401k Match: Step 7 on the Path to Financial Independence

get your employer 401k match step 7 path to fi

Does your employer offer a 401k match with contribution program and do you contribute enough to get the full match? I hope if you are reading this you understand the importance of saving for retirement so I’ll skip that. What is more important here is saving for retirement with someone else’s money. The 401k match is essentially your employer giving you free money for retirement as long as you save too.

A 401k match is basically free money

Continue reading

Step 6: Pay All Your Bills On Time

pay all bills on time step 6 path to FI

Well… that seems obvious.

I’ll agree that to pay bills on time isn’t the most revolutionary financial advice but it is very important. It is important beyond the obvious ‘stay out of debt and collections’ aspect of paying your bills. There are far-reaching effects of paying your bills late you will want to avoid where possible. I fully understand that sometimes people pay their bills late because they lack the funds to pay in full on time. This advice isn’t necessarily for that situation but rather for those forgetful among us who have trouble remembering to pay on time.

Continue reading

Personal Income Statement – Step 3 on the Path to FI

personal income statement step 3 path to FI

Do you already have a personal income statement you update each month or quarter? If you do that is perfect and you are on your way to understanding your finances. If you don’t have a personal income statement that is fine too since we’ll be working below to build one.

I honestly don’t expect many people outside of the finance or accounting profession to have a personal income statement they keep up with. Why would most people? Its a little odd. I’m a numbers nerd though, so odd is my game.

Continue reading

Personal Finance Step 1 – Transactions

personal financial transactions step 1 path to FI

The first step in any journey is getting a thorough understanding of where you are right now so that you can plot a course to your ultimate destination. Personal finance is no different in that we need to first assess our current financial situation, good or bad, and create a plan to get us from here to financial independence.  You need to get all of your financial transactions in one place.

Continue reading