This year marks another increase in the contribution limit to the sometimes controversial, but "everyone's gotta have one" 401(k). In 2017, the pre-tax contribution ceiling was raised from $18,000 to $18,500. That figure gets bumped again to $19,000 on January 1st, 2019. Woo-hoo! We think... In the Cubert household, we contribute only 6% of the author's pre-tax income to the 401(k). The reasons are twofold: 1.) My company matches dollar for dollar up to 3%, and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 3%. So it's basically free money I'd be leaving on the table from zero to 6%! And 2.) … [Read more...] about How Much Money Should You Save in Your 401K?
How to Create Your Tribe … AT WORK
Never one to leave a stone unturned, this article explores the notion of work as a viable place to make good friends and lasting relationships. Sure, early retirement is a worthy goal and a perfectly sane course for many people. But not all of us have the option to pull-up stakes tomorrow and leave our cubicle situation behind. We already know that most all cubicle work kinda blows. There's a bevy of options to counteract the daily crap storm, but those options tend to be nothing more than bandaids. That's true especially on those summer days when your friends are playing hooky at the lake, … [Read more...] about How to Create Your Tribe … AT WORK
Why We Bought an Amazon Echo (Affiliate Links Not Included)
"Alexa, can you please take all my calls and alert me if anything important comes up? I've got some early retirement to do, and I don't want to be bothered..." That's right. We own an Amazon Echo now. Another device to plug in and make our lives wayyy easier, and of course, less complicated than EVER... This is the kind of thing that happens when a birthday rolls around. We're not the type of frugal family that lives a deprived existence, devoid of all things innovative and FUN. At one brief point, I fell onto that wagon, but it got boring pretty fast. "That's it? Just a CARD?!?" I have no … [Read more...] about Why We Bought an Amazon Echo (Affiliate Links Not Included)
How to Survive a Cold, Dark Winter
You must've seen this one coming. Not winter, but this post that's going to include crap about Denmark again. Apologies in advance, but I'm playing out the string on them fancy Danes once more. Let's see if we upper Midwestern and Canadian types can learn something useful, like how to survive winter. A few years back when this blog was still in its infancy and all I could muster was mundane "list posts", I ginned up a spot on winter survival hacks. Give it a read - it's a quick one - and then come back. You'll find yourself well-equipped with all the things you already knew … [Read more...] about How to Survive a Cold, Dark Winter
What Are the Alternatives to Early Retirement?
Supposedly, I'm within ten months of early retirement. Is that exciting? Sure it is! Do I have a clue what my "day-in-the-life" will be when I quit the cubicle? Sorta. But if nothing else at this stage of the journey, I'm fighting some cold feet. Keen to learn about the alternatives to early retirement. Let's face it. Work doesn't always suck. Work sure as heck is a lot harder if you're extremely incompetent, hard to get along with, or wilt faster than a daisy at high noon in pressure situations. And all that aside, we can agree that cubicle work sure as hell beats begging for food on the … [Read more...] about What Are the Alternatives to Early Retirement?
