Millionaire Librarian
A Middle Class Path to Early Retirement
Category: Uncategorized
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We funded our 529 early—even before our daughter was born. My father-in-law vowed to contribute half of her college costs through his own 529, which left us with about $10,000 to contribute. Our portion should grow to around $55,000 by the time she starts college. We were living in Oklahoma at the time, which had…
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I often discuss the benefits of moving to Cuenca—of which there are many—but it’s not for everyone. Here are a few reasons why you might think twice about making the move. The first is a reluctance to learn Spanish. Unlike some expat hubs in Southeast Asia, Cuencanos generally expect you to speak the local language.…
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I read about an interesting spending rule the other day that helps limit how much you spend on spontaneous purchases. You could call it the “$10 a day rule.” It is fairly simple but quite powerful. The rule states that when making a purchase, you must wait $10 worth of days toward that purchase until…
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When moving to Ecuador, you have a decision to make. You can either keep a storage unit in the States, ship all your household goods to Ecuador, or sell, donate, and eventually throw them away to buy everything again once you arrive. Should you store your belongings? I am almost entirely against storage units. They…
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There are several mental models of money that help us understand concepts that might not be immediately apparent. One popular and particularly insightful model is the “money snowball.” When you first build a snowball, you pack the snow with your hands. It is cold, uncomfortable, and you are doing the majority of the work. However,…
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Personal finance is simple: it is income minus expenses, then investing the difference. You can either grow your income or minimize your expenses; honestly, it is best to do a little of both. The librarian profession isn’t the highest-paying career. We generally earn a similar amount to, or a little less than, teachers—despite requiring a…
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I recently came across a scenario on social media that shocked me because of the sheer amount of bad information being shared regarding retirement and children. The individual in question had $1.5 million in invested assets and annual expenses between $50,000 and $60,000. They owned a $350,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage, but they were…
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I invested roughly 50% of my income for about 15 years, and during that time, I actually welcomed recessions. Working a stable government job provided a sense of security; when the stock market fell, I saw it as an opportunity to buy stocks “on sale.” I vividly remember the sharp COVID-19 downturn, during which I…
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We just returned from 10 days in the Galapagos and a full 20 days with my in-laws, who first visited us in Cuenca and then went with us to the islands. Traveling was fun but exhausting. We had to spend two days traveling to and from the Galapagos; we had to fly from Guayaquil, and…
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Family makeup: Two near 40 year olds with a three year old toddler. We moved to Ecuador around 6 months ago. We recently moved into a new house. This covers our day to day living. Larger one time expenses have been removed like purchasing beds and other large household goods. Expenses: Food and Many Household…
Millionaire Librarian 