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    Viewing category: Family

    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…

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    Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Family, Personal Finance

    The Perpetual Test of Self-Control

    By Craig Stephens

    An organization that my son joined needed a parent volunteer for one of the leadership positions. This organization is extraordinarily demanding of its adult volunteers — training, local meetings, regional meetings, continuing education — all on top of activities with the kids. But I didn’t know that yet. I said yes, which led to a…

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    Filed Under: Debt, Family, Personal Finance

    Can I Still Retire Early with a Diabetic Child?

    By Craig Stephens

    On September 13th, 2021, my nine-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes.   A diabetes diagnosis has immediate impacts. Here are a few for starters: Insulin injections at least four times a day for the rest of his life Dozens of doctor, nurse educator, and specialist appointments Finger pricks and…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance, Stocks, Unusual

    Single-Income Lifestyle, Multiple-Income Life

    By Craig Stephens

    I spent 2008 getting to know my future spouse.  In the late summer, we had a pragmatic discussion about how each of us wanted our futures to look. There was a lot of overlap, which was a relief at that point in our relationship.   The future Mrs. RBD earned a Master’s degree and had a…

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    Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Family, Investing, Personal Finance, Real Estate, Stocks

    Perfect Grass

    By Craig Stephens

    Perfect grass seemed like the ultimate suburban pursuit.  I’ve always envied lush green lawns and sharply trimmed edges — the kind you fear stepping on at wealthy over-55 communities. But after ten years of living on a quarter-acre lot, my lawn is mediocre.  A diverse patchwork of weeds and crabgrass decorate our front yard. Each…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance, Unusual

    Craft a Better Life Than Your Parents

    By Craig Stephens

    In a recent article published at CNN.com, author Tami Luhby writes that only half of Millennials earn more than their parents did at age 30 — an all-time low (see chart in the article).  That means the other half may be worse off than the previous generation. This reminded me of an article I wrote…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance

    Gratitude, Optimism, and Investment Opportunities

    By Craig Stephens

    The negative news is overwhelming if you spend the day consuming it on your phone or TV.  My wife worried a lot about the virus and all that’s happening until she deleted Twitter.  I’m very comfortable with our new lifestyle. On the first day I worked from home, I came up with a list of…

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    Filed Under: Family, Investing, Personal Finance, Unusual

    Estate Plan or Vasectomy — What’s Worse?

    By Craig Stephens

    One of my biggest failures as a parent and personal finance aficionado was waiting seven years after our first child was born to finish our estate plan.  It seems that doing an estate plan is more prone to procrastination than most other grown-up checklist items, even vasectomies. (Be sure to answer the two survey questions…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance, Unusual

    Is Retirement Age the Wrong Goal?

    By Craig Stephens

    I named this blog based on a goal I set back in 2002, to retire at age 55, one year before the age my Dad retired. The objective drives many of my financial decisions. It has all the markings of a SMART goal – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. But now that I’m older…

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    Filed Under: College Savings, Family, Investing, Personal Finance, Travel

    Two Early Retirement Concerns that Should Scare You

    By Craig Stephens

    The concept of early retirement has gained in popularity and legitimacy over the past decade fueled by knowledge sharing over the internet and healthy market returns. Though I’m 12 years away from my retirement goal and have plenty of time to prepare, I still harbor early retirement concerns for the future retired me. Most people…

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    Filed Under: Career, College Savings, Family, Personal Finance

    Eliminate Car Payments from Your Life (and Never Go Back)

    By Craig Stephens

    If you want to get serious about taking control of your financial life so you can build wealth, it’s time to eliminate car payments. Car payments are a persistent nag on the lives of U.S. consumers. But they don’t have to be, and shouldn’t be even with low interest rates. Because they crush your monthly cash…

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    Filed Under: Debt, Family, Personal Finance Tagged With: debt-free

    It’s Only Money

    By Craig Stephens

    Every week I write about money. Sometimes in a roundabout way. But ultimately, this website is about growing wealth by making better financial decisions. Life is not about money, but money can help us live a better life. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, unexpected expenses can be extremely stressful. The news of a major home…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance

    Life Without the Constraints of Time and Money

    By Craig Stephens

    It’s summer break for our kids. They don’t have much to compare this summer to, but life is good. No school. No homework. No job. No workday calendar. No bills to pay. They had Lucky Charms cereal for dinner Saturday night. Parenting fail. This is the best dinner ever. – My 4-year-old daughter The marshmallows are way…

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    Filed Under: Family, Personal Finance, Travel Tagged With: Favorites, music

    A Three-Pronged Approach To Funding Your Child’s College Education

    By Craig Stephens

    About twelve years ago before starting a family, I met up with an old college friend for happy hour at a bar in Washington D.C. called The Big Hunt. I remember the booth, nachos, and the conversation like it was not so long ago. My friend was a new Dad. He told me about the college…

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    Filed Under: College Savings, Debt, Family, Personal Finance, Tax Advantaged

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