by Michael
All month I’m constantly reading. Be it various FIRE and personal finance blogs that I subscribe to, random things that pop into my feed, or suggestions from these aforementioned blogs. I keep a list of all of these that I encounter throughout the month and present them here in this monthly roundup where I try to bring you the best or most interesting posts that I saw over the past month or so.
The focus of these roundups is mostly on FIRE but other personal finance or other content I think could be interesting to the readers of this blog. If I got it from another blog’s roundup I try to give credit when I can.
With all those caveats out of the way, let’s get into it.
Interested in what bonds look like after the beating they’ve received over the past year or so? A Wealth of Common Sense has a good read for you with A Closer Look at Risk & Reward in Bonds Right Now.
I’ve seen a few posts floating around saying that the stock/bond portfolio is dead after the beating it received in 2022. A Wealth of Common Sense examines that claim in The 60/40 Portfolio is Alive and Well.
Another look at the age old debate between whether one should rent or buy. A wealth of Common Sense gives their take in Renting Vs Buying: When you Shouldn’t Buy a House.
While I’m dubious on how “passive” a real estate portfolio really is. I thought this post from Can I Retire Yet looking at using real estate as an alternative to bonds was at least an interesting read. For those that might be interested in such despite the extra work, Bonds vs Real Estate – Can Real Estate Replace Bonds in Your Portfolio is worth a read.
When to draw Social Security is a perennial question among Americans. This post in the Safe Withdrawal Rate Series from Early Retirement now, takes a look at how timing of when to claim these benefits can help offset sequence risk.
As someone who does their own workouts in the living room with a set of adjustable weights or gets their steps at work (I usually average between 10,000-13,000 steps a day at work), I thought a different take on why paying for a gym membership could actually help motivate someone to work out, if that fits you reading Ms Frugal Joins a Gym might be a good move for you. This one is mostly for my mom who has been bugging me to join a gym for almost 10 months now.
As always I like to try and give voice to some of the counters to my very strong opinions, I thought this Financial Samurai post on the Downsides of Paying all Cash for a House would make for a good read. I think it had some good points, even if it still didn’t convince me to change my stance for my situation.
I thought this was a different way of looking at Financial Independence. Rather than stability, look at one’s own ability to be successful. While I prefer the have enough money to ensure stability even if I can earn more money after X number of years, it has some interesting ideas. I’d give A Different Kind of Financial Confidence and the Downside of Stability from Money with Katie a read.
Most, for lack of a better term, bad investments always seem to have a good narrative to go with them on the rise and a good chunk of the way down. This Money With Katie post A Good Narrative and a Bad Investment takes a look at that in regards to Bitcoin I think it’s worth a read.
While this Money with Katie post is more geared towards people aiming for regular retirement, I think it has some good lessons for those seeking FIRE too. I’d give Spreading Out the Misery a read.
Want some more thoughts on interest rates? Mr Money Mustache shares their opinion in What to Do About These High Interest Rates.
Anything can be dismissed as bad luck with enough mental gymnastics. Of course, the opposite can also be done with a similar process. Of Dollars and Data takes a look at this in the post Why Luck Isn’t Real.
A post after my own opinions, I liked this Physician on FIRE post discussing some of the reasons someone should pay off a low interest rate mortgage early. Namely looking at it from a cash flow perspective. I’d give Yes, You Should Pay Off That 3% Home Mortgage a read.
Planning for retirement is a pretty difficult task. There’s a lot of information to parse through to get it all, from the amount you need to have to how you’re going to transition from working to retirement. Without a lot of consideration and reading you might not consider something. Physician on FIRE takes a look at some of these things you might have missed in Shining the Light on Retirement Blind Spots.
Retirement Researcher takes a look at a few different ways you might be able to (or might not be able to) beat inflation in the post Occam’s – How to Generate Inflation Adjusted Income in Retirement.
Traditional retirement advice is that someone will need 70-80% of their pre-retirement income to get by once they leave the workforce. However, that isn’t necessarily true, some will need more and others less. Retirement Researcher shares some useful advice to help you determine Which Retirement You Are Buying with your nest egg.
I’m a nerd for demographics, I love taking a look at those charts that show how much any demographic has in their retirement accounts or as a net worth (I’ll admit I’m usually comparing myself to these same charts too). This Rich Frugal Life post takes a look at the latest BLS report for 2022 household spending. I’d take a look at The Average American Household Spent $72,967 In 2022: How Do Your Annual Expenses Compare?
