Retire Before Dad

    • Start!
      • About
      • RBD Story
      • Featured on…
      • Archive
      • Portfolio
      • Guest Post Policy
      • Contact
      • Terms & Privacy Policy
      • Home
    • IPOs
    • Reviews
      • NewRetirement Review
      • Sure Dividend Review
      • Yieldstreet Review
      • Fundrise Review
      • M1 Finance Review
      • Motley Fool Stock Advisor
        • Motley Fool Rule Breakers
      • AcreTrader Review
      • Masterworks Review
      • Roofstock Review
      • PeerStreet Review
      • EquityMultiple Review
      • Virginia 529 Review
    • Resources
      • Yield Curve Chart
      • Start Saving for Retirement
      • Passive Income Ideas
      • Best Brokers for Dividends
      • Dividend Aristocrats
      • Debt-Free S&P 500 Stocks
      • Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms
      • Affiliate Programs And Blogging
      • How To Start An Online Business
    • Recommended
      • Retirement Calculator
      • Net Worth Calculator
      • Tools
      • Blogroll
      • Dads Blog Money
    • Best Cards
      • Travel Rewards
      • Cash Back
      • Small Business
      • Airline Rewards
      • Hotel Rewards

    When to Sell Stocks and Buy Bonds

    By Craig Stephens

    Risk-free government Treasury yields have risen dramatically over the past year. The increase is a direct result of the Federal Reserve rate increases that started in 2022.  Higher short-term yields are good for retirees and give us multiple options to earn risk-free returns on idle cash while maintaining liquidity.  But the fast pace of the…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Stocks

    The Fortysomething Guide to Creative Self-Employment

    By Craig Stephens

    I spent the summer of 1996 tending the 13th street beach stand just off the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD.  Beachgoers came to me for rentable beach chairs, umbrellas, and bodyboards. On a good day, I’d sell about $500 and receive 20% as pay. It was an excellent summer gig compared to the $7.77 that…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Real Estate, Unusual

    Autobiography is not Financial Advice

    By Craig Stephens

    The Atlantic writer Derek Thompson wrote an article about the best career advice he’s come across that “might be marginally useful.” Your Career Is Just One-Eighth of Your Life was applicable to my situation back in September 2022 when I was approaching my career departure date, and it’s still relevant today as a self-employed blogger….

    Read more

    Filed Under: Career, Investing, Personal Finance

    NewRetirement Review: The Complete DIY Retirement Calculator

    By Craig Stephens

    NewRetirement is an online retirement calculator and planning tool. It’s the most comprehensive financial tool I’ve ever used — miles better than any elaborate spreadsheet.  I’ve been tinkering with NewRetirement since 2017, when I met the Founder, Stephen Chen, and explored the tool for some articles I was writing at the time.  I used the…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Personal Finance, Reviews

    Living Off Dividends: It Works, We’re Doing it Right Now

    By Craig Stephens

    My Uncle gifted me one share of Chevron stock in 1995, seeding my lifelong dividend stock investment portfolio. But I didn’t start living off dividends until I left my IT career in 2022.  There were no online brokers or index ETFs making it easy to start investing in 1995. Trades cost $30+. IRAs and mutual…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Personal Finance, Stocks

    6 Takeaways from a Rather Unremarkable IT Career

    By Craig Stephens

    I recently left my 20-year information technology (IT) career to be a full-time blogger.  Most of my career involved partnering with a large government customer to modernize its massively-complex and outdated IT systems. My teammates trusted me. Managers gave me challenging assignments, and I exceeded expectations.  The client was always happy with my work. But…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Career

    More Powerful than Financial Advice

    By Craig Stephens

    Financial advice can be free (google it) or expensive (hire an advisor). But financial advice tends to be tactical — buy this investment, optimize that tax advantage — instead of behavioral — think this way, stick to the plan, and be patient Success in building wealth is less about how much you know (or can…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Personal Finance, Unusual

    12 Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2023

    By Craig Stephens

    Happy New Year! The turning of the new year brings two things to mind for a lot of us: Whoa, I spent too much money last month/year How can I improve my finances this year? I’m not a big fan of new years resolutions (most don’t stick). But I believe in habitual change — deciding…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Personal Finance, Stocks, Tax Advantaged

    4 High-Yield Alternatives to Savings Accounts

    By Craig Stephens

    Inflation is eating away at our wealth quarter-by-quarter. It appears to have peaked in May 2022, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate increases. But the chart below shows how the products we consume have recently become more expensive. Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi The Federal Reserve is mandated to target 2% annual inflation as measured by the…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Personal Finance, Real Estate

    12 Ways to Build Confidence to Change Careers

    By Craig Stephens

    After 20 years in information technology (IT), I decided to change careers to be a full-time blogger in early December. It’s an exciting milestone I’ve been planning for about five years.  Monday morning, after my last day at work, I sat down at a different computer without the looming threat of Microsoft Teams meetings.  I…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Career, Entrepreneurship

    It’s Not About Retirement Anymore

    By Craig Stephens

    Traditional retirement is a suboptimal goal. Building a career you genuinely do not want to retire from is better. Writing those words here or in a 240-character tweet takes little effort. But it’s an enormously complex concept for most middle-aged workers. To say: Hey, all you people aged 30-55, with kids, a mortgage, not-enough retirement…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Family, Personal Finance

    12 Diabetes Stocks Improving Lives and Investor Returns

    By Craig Stephens

    November is American Diabetes Awareness Month. To raise awareness, I’m highlighting 12 diabetes stocks helping to make the lives of people with diabetes more normal.  Parents of kids with Type 1 Diabetes laugh that it starts the day after Halloween.  My 10-year-old son was diagnosed in September 2021.  Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disorder…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Investing, Stocks

    Outside the Parameters of a Normal, Safe Life

    By Craig Stephens

    The 2022 HBO documentary Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off is a fascinating biography of the skateboarding icon. As told through interviews with his Bones Brigade peers — all trailblazers themselves — Tony’s life is a story of risk-taking, failure, persistence, and entrepreneurship. Excelling to the top levels in any sport takes a natural…

    Read more

    Filed Under: Career, Unusual

    How Our Perceptions of Time and Money Change as We Age

    By Craig Stephens

    Our perceptions of the value of time and money shift as we age.  In early adulthood, time is abundant, while money is scarcer. We want more money and are willing to sacrifice our time to get it. By middle age, a thriving career helps us earn more, but job and family obligations consume our time….

    Read more

    Filed Under: Career, Personal Finance

    Next Page »

    Services I Use Every Day

    Personal Banking: Wells Fargo
    Travel Credit: Chase Sapphire Preferred
    Primary Savings: Marcus
    Primary Broker: Fidelity
    DRIP Broker: M1 Finance
    Biz Banking: Wells Fargo
    Biz Credit: Chase Ink Business Preferred
    Net Worth Calculator: Empower

    Home
    About
    Featured on
    Resources
    Website Terms/Privacy Policy/Full Disclaimer

    ADVERTISING DISCLOSURE: This website engages in affiliate marketing. This means that if you use an affiliate link to make a purchase, the website will receive a commission on that purchase. All efforts are made to ensure that affiliate links are disclosed in accordance with the FTC. Retire Before Dad has partnered with Cardratings for our coverage of credit card products. Retire Before Dad and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. The Website uses Mediavine to manage all third-party advertising on the Website. This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com.

    Disclaimer

    Read the full Disclaimer policy here.

    Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. We have made every effort to ensure that all information on this website is accurate. We make no guarantees regarding the results that you will see from using the information provided on the website. We are individual investors, not financial advisors, tax professionals or investment professionals. All information on the site is provided for entertainment and informational purposes only and should not be considered advice. Do not make investment decisions based on the information provided on this website. This website may discuss topics related to finance and investing. The information provided on this websites is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied. The website makes no representations or warranties in relation to the financial and investing information on the website. You must not rely on the information on the website as an alternative to advice from a certified public accountant or licensed financial planner. We assume no responsibility for errors or omissions that may appear in the website. You should never delay seeking financial advice, disregard financial advice, or discontinue professional financial services as a result of any information provided on the website.

    Copyright © 2023 Retire Before Dad · Custom site by Moonsteam Design