The single most essential part of retiring early comfortably is determining your Bare Bones Budget (BBB). Without a BBB, you’ll always feel you must work to pay all of your bills. What is a Bare Bones Budget? …

Well said. The more passive income I bring in, the more confident and generous I feel. I'm jsut starting retirement, and life has never been more exciting!

I am with you! I hope to reach $2,000/month in dividends by December 2023. Exciting times indeed.

We are moving towards scary times. Student loan payments are returning, rents are increasing, home insurance is sky-high, and food costs are outrageous. The world is applying pressure to the average American household, and things may look bleak. What’s the typical American supposed to do to beat the odds?

We are moving into hard times and must all find ways to make extra cash. However, we need to be very intentional with how we spend our time. The term “side hustle” can mean many things when it comes to making money outside of your regular job. …

I retired at age 42 with a military pension and dividends. But you are right; it takes a lot of hard work and financial education.

My wife and I went from renting for $1,000 to a $1,800/month mortgage in 2008. It was a tough time. We ended up in $70,000 of debt because of this expensive house. Now, the mortgage is $1,750, and we rent for $2,200. It was a pain in the ass. However, it was worth it, so my kids already have their own houses. It's not homeownership, but more lack of financial education that is the major problem.

My homeowners' insurance jumped up $100 per month (Florida). You make solid points, and if I owned my house outright, I would consider forgoing the insurance.

Passive income is very elusive in that it does not start very passively. You must contribute a certain amount of work to build a passive income stream. However, once you get the hang of it, you can create as many income streams as you can maintain.