As I'm preparing for the Educational Session on Tax Planning, Safe Withdrawal Rates, and Withdrawal Sessions on May 2nd, I'm reminded of some factors that act as tailwinds for folks who retire a bit earlier than average. Before we talk about those tailwinds, we need to define what "average" is. The latest data I've seen … Continue reading Five Tailwinds for Early(ier) Retirement
Category: retirement
Our Current Portfolio and Recent Returns as of January 2026
Each year I'm sharing what our current portfolio looks like. This is what it looks like as of January 1, 2026. (Here is April 2022, January 2024, January 2025). Asset Location Like many people, by necessity we have our investments in multiple places due to past employers, HSAs, and different types of taxable accounts. Taxable … Continue reading Our Current Portfolio and Recent Returns as of January 2026
The Extraordinary Opportunity of Starting Early (and Privilege)
Note: This post is going to assume a lot of privilege. It's not going to address the very real issues of income inequality and systemic disadvantage, as those are a bit beyond my wheelhouse (although I do have pretty strong opinions about policy changes we should make that could at least help address those issues). … Continue reading The Extraordinary Opportunity of Starting Early (and Privilege)
Roth Conversions and Filling Up Tax Brackets
The topic of Roth conversions and filling up your tax bracket came up at this month's meeting of the Southern Colorado Mustachian group. While I've previously written about the related topic of capital gains harvesting, this is a bit different and has some interesting nuances. What is a Roth Conversion? A Roth conversion is when … Continue reading Roth Conversions and Filling Up Tax Brackets
Spreadsheet: Gifting an Employer Match
Some of the episodes in my new podcast series Teaching You to Fisch (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube) include spreadsheets I've created to illustrate particular topics. Some of them are modifications of spreadsheets I've used before and some are newly created. Because not everyone is going to choose to watch/listen to the podcasts (they are really … Continue reading Spreadsheet: Gifting an Employer Match
Spreadsheet: Cash Flow in Retirement
Some of the episodes in my new podcast series Teaching You to Fisch (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube) include spreadsheets I've created to illustrate particular topics. Some of them are modifications of spreadsheets I've used before and some are newly created. Because not everyone is going to choose to watch/listen to the podcasts (they are really … Continue reading Spreadsheet: Cash Flow in Retirement





