Retire Before Dad

    • Start!
      • About
      • RBD Story
      • Featured on…
      • Archive
      • Portfolio
      • Guest Post Policy
      • Contact
      • Terms & Privacy Policy
      • Home
    • IPOs
    • Reviews
      • 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
      • 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
      • Net Worth Calculator
      • Tools
      • Blogroll
      • Dads Blog Money
    • Best Cards
      • Travel Rewards
      • Cash Back
      • Small Business
      • Airline Rewards
      • Hotel Rewards
    Career· Featured· Personal Finance

    Strive To Wake Up And Do Nothing (With Your Finances)

    By Craig Stephens

    This page may contain links to our partners. RBD may be compensated when a link is clicked. See the full disclosure here.

    If you really have done a great job as a leader, you should wake up in the morning and have nothing to do.
    – Steve Case, Co-founder of AOL, Chairman and CEO, Revolution

    This quote changed the way I think about my career. Soon after I read it, a coworker complained to me that his manager was dumping menial work on his underlings, to the point it appeared he was taking on very few tasks.

    Previously, I would have sided with my coworker thinking this manager was not pulling his weight, but now I realize this guy is working on becoming a good manager. While his team is writing his status reports, the manager is likely devising his next steps up the corporate ladder.

    The goal of actually having nothing to do as a manager or leader is impossible to achieve. But STRIVE to wake up and do nothing, and it will drastically change the way you approach your career.

    Mr. Case also states that putting in place a team of the right people is an important step toward achieving your goals. By streamlining workflow and empowering capable and trustworthy people, a manager can inch closer to quiet mornings with an empty email inbox.

    Click here to see a video interview with Steve Case about management. 

    Wake Up and do Nothing in Your Life?

    You may not be a manager at your job, but you are the CEO of your household and your finances. So how can you take this management philosophy and apply it to your life?

    Can you reduce, streamline, delegate, simplify and automate your life on the way to financial independence – getting your finances in order to the point where you have little to do except enjoy life in retirement? That would be true independence.

    The whole idea behind passive income is to make money with little effort and ultimately not need a job to pay the bills. The hard work is done upfront, whether buying a real estate property, a dividend stock, or some other form of investment income. Some maintenance work must be done, too, such as managing the rental property (or communicating with a property manager and making decisions) or keeping up on stock and investment performance.

    Passive income is the vehicle you need to achieve financial independence. But once you’re there, it’s time to slow down and enjoy yourself. Having too many things that need to be done all the time defeats the purpose of striving for free time in the first place.

    Those seeking financial independence want more free time to pursue passions that can’t be pursued while working a 40-hour per week job. Pursuits can include new business ventures, traveling, an athletic goal, spending more time with family, picking up a hobby, or just simply reading for pleasure. The last thing you want in early retirement is unwanted administrative tasks that take up your time.

    What are Some Things You Can Do to Reach This Goal?

    #1 – If you have income from real estate that you manage, hire a property manager to run it for you. Rental property problems can interfere with your life, like when my wife was due to have a baby and the condo association called me in for a hearing about my tenants putting their garbage out on the wrong night. Or go with a real estate crowdfunding site to get the benefits of real estate without the hassle. 

    #2 – If you buy individual stocks, you better buy good companies with long histories of paying and increasing dividends, companies with wide economic moats, strong balance sheets, and excellent management. Too much work? Go with total market index funds or ETFs like VTSAX or VTI. Or try dividend ETFs like the SDY, VIG, and NOBL. Or try a robo-advisor. 

    #3 – Use one financial institution to manage all of your investments. I’m guilty here. I have a taxable online brokerage account, a few DRIP accounts with Computershare, a crappy 401k account through work, and a few other brokerage accounts. I’m overdue for consolidation.

    #4 – Automate your net worth calculation. Personal Capital is BY FAR the best free tool I’ve seen for calculating net worth. All your accounts are imported automatically, and it spits out your net worth selfie — no more manual spreadsheets. Personal Capital saved me about two hours per month.

    #5 – Eliminate car payments and other bills. Don’t have bills, don’t have bills to pay. Pay off your consumer debts, crush student loans, and consider paying off your mortgage. Cancel unneeded insurance policies, cable TV, magazine subscriptions, jelly of the month club… whatever it is you don’t want or need, eliminate it, and you won’t have a financial action to take. My wife had a Banana Republic credit card for years and liked it because they sent her coupons. Since she no longer needs work clothes, she doesn’t shop there as frequently. When she did use it, it was another bill to pay.

    #6 – Embrace the ACH (Automated Clearing House) and set up online bill pay. Most young people are already doing this. But you can get extreme and not sign up for anything that can’t be automated. Use one bank to pay all of your bills, or better yet, use the same financial institution where your investments reside. Never write another check.

    Finance as a Hobby

    People like me, and probably a lot of you, think finance is fun. When I implement automation for my bills and simplify my finances, it opens up more opportunities to analyze investments and make crazy spreadsheets… hobbies I enjoy.

    And it makes more time to spend with my wife and kids.

    Writing for this blog is something I enjoy, and it’s a side business. When I can automate a financial aspect of my life or eliminate an action I need to take, it gives me more time to create helpful content.

    For example, I used to pay my car insurance four times a year. But I switched to the one payment a year plan. Paying once a year instead of quarterly saves me three checks I don’t have to write and account for. Maybe I need to find an insurance company that does bill pay with my bank.

    The more small steps like this I can take, the more time I’ll have for everything else.

    Final Thoughts

    When I’m retired and traveling in some remote part of the world, I’ll always have some financial responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Concerns like filing taxes, following investments, and home bills and maintenance while I’m gone will need to be addressed. The less I have, the better.

    Technologies like the smartphone will allow me to handle my finances on the fly, further permitting extended traveling and fun activities. But even though I’ll always have some financial tasks, I can still STRIVE to get my financial life to the point that I have little or nothing to do with my finances each morning.

    Just as the quote by Mr. Case has influenced my career, it’s a reminder of the need to simplify my financial life, so I have more time for things I enjoy. 

    Please Share!

    • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
    • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

    Favorite tools and investment services right now:

    Fundrise - The easiest way to invest in high-quality real estate with as little as $10 (review)

    Personal Capital - A free tool to track your net worth and analyze investments.

    M1 Finance - A top online broker for long-term investors and dividend reinvestment (review)

    Craig Stephens

    Craig is a former IT professional who left his 20-year career to be a full-time finance blogger. He started Retire Before Dad in 2013 as a creative outlet which became a side hustle to complement his dividend and real estate income portfolios. Diversified income streams built over the past two decades now support a more gratifying post-professional lifestyle. Read more about Craig HERE. Or read the longer story HERE. Craig lives in northern Virginia with his wife and three children.

    Filed Under: Career, Featured, Personal Finance Tagged With: dividends, passive income

    Comments

    1. Please note: Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
    2. Dividend Growth Investor says

      April 20, 2017 at 10:05 am

      That’s pretty awesome RBD. When you are successful in building systems to reach your financial goals, they are pretty low maintenance once the infrastructure is in place ( and you have decades under your belt working with them)

      I am trying to get myself into a set-it-and forget it mode, but the problem is I like to do different things all the time (and experiment along the way). I think that a diversified portfolio of stocks, etfs, bonds can pretty much take care of itself. A rental property can require minimum input from you, if a reliable manager is being hired. A side business can possibly operate with minimal input from you, if you have good delegation and consistent processes in place.

      Reply
    3. Chad Burkholder says

      April 20, 2017 at 11:56 pm

      That’s a good thought. I was told something similar when I was learning construction. “The more you teach others, the less work you’ll have to do.” I never thought about applying that to my finances. I’ll have to try it out.

      Reply
    4. Impersonal Finances says

      March 9, 2021 at 9:11 pm

      Yeah I gotta stick to the index funds haha. Too much stress about a miniscule portion of my portfolio when I try to play around outside of trusty old VTSAX. I found out I prefer to be a casual observer of the market (invested heavily in the index, of course).

      Reply
    5. LadyFIRE says

      August 2, 2021 at 3:20 pm

      Jelly of the month club? Where do I sign? It really made me think about all the kinds of things that people probably are subscribed to right now 😀 Does anyone want to share something funny that they are/have been subscribed to?

      On a more serious note, I really enjoyed the article! I always like to say that at work, my job is to get rid of my job (i.e. automate // handover everything I do), so that I can move on to bigger / better things and eventually ride off into the sunset 😉

      Reply

    Comments Welcome! Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    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: Personal Capital

    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