A reader wrote in asking for a quick refresher on the concept of ERE. Thought it’d be a mighty good idea to write on this topic at the start of the new year — so, you now have the entire year to work on it. I create this quick PowerPoint to illustrate the key points […]
So, here’s an interesting comparison that I did between using IIFCL’s Tax Free Bonds and one of my Regular Bank Fixed Deposits for my ERE strategy (I know it’s very very tax inefficient and I’ve been meaning to move away from these — this broad “let my investments become more tax efficient” theme in general […]
These days, a sum of Rs 1 lac looks like this — Fixed Deposit for Rs 1 lac @ 9% per annum with monthly interest payout = Rs 9,000 per annum in interest earned before tax = Rs 750 per month in interest earned before tax = Rs 672.75 per month in interest @ 10.3% […]
About three months back, I first wrote about the possibility of including high dividend yield stocks as one component of my early retirement portfolio. That combined with the little known fact that D has a keen interest in equity trading (seriously, she just started trading one day out of the blue and has become quite […]
Since I’m now on the lookout for ways and means for generating a steady investment income each month, my eyes and ears perk up at the slightest sight and sound of any financial instrument that would let me achieve that. That’s how I got interested in the LIC Jeevan Akshay VI Immediate Annuity Plan. Thought […]
Thought I’d post a quick progress report 21-months into my ERE-journey. The first chart shows how volatile my monthly ERE-savings have been over the past couple of years. It’s been super difficult to maintain a steady savings rate. But, on an average, my monthly ERE-savings stands at 44%. (Total ERE-savings ÷ Total Income = 44%.) […]
In my most recent early retirement update, I’d published the below chart — This chart illustrates potential monthly income earned and actual expenses incurred as a function of time over the past four-quarters. I’d explained these terms further by saying — When I say potential income, I am referring to any passive income plus the […]
[Sorry if this topic seems a bit advanced and haywire in its presentation but I felt it’d be good to share with you.] I was reading-up on and strategizing the other day about the possibility of including high dividend yield stocks as one component of my early retirement portfolio. The general line of thought in […]
Perhaps the most often asked question/comment that I get is — “Why don’t you switch over to a more frugal car?” Here’s their case. I’ve driven the Swift 60,000+ kilometers. The fuel efficiency that I’ve always got is 10 kilometers per liter (the rev line was breached on day one but because of that the […]
One of the questions from The 4-Hour Work Week (note: there’s still some time left to participate and win a copy of the book) that really struck out was — What is the pot of gold that justifies spending the best years of your life hoping for happiness in the last? Déjà vu, because, a […]
I am totally hooked to this book. I’ll say that again. I am totally hooked to this book. I’ve only read through about a hundred pages or so, but each page has made me stop and think quite a bit about life, work, and personal finances. I’m so hooked that I wanted to giveaway a […]
While early retirement is my primary goal, a common feedback that I hear from readers of the blog is that I am quite vague when it comes to specifying absolute amounts and absolute figures with respect to my own situation. I’d really love to share these figures with you but the very nature of the […]
I asked D to create a sketch as a follow-up to my post on The Fallacy of Traditional Retirement Calculations. She created magic! Sketch © D. And here’s the complete set of responses that I received for the December book giveaway contest. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow. Meanwhile, can you guess the winner?
Around this time last year, I’d said that one my seven money resolutions for 2011 was: To grow my Financial Independence Portfolio by at least 3% month-on-month and by at least 50% year-on-year. I’ll hit 41%. And I think that’s a pretty pretty good achievement. So, I went out and splurged. I bought a Samsung […]
As I wrote in last month’s update, I have indeed started a “stupid mistakes” savings goal. The intent of these savings is to have some real cash saved up so that my cash flow doesn’t turn negative whenever I make one of those “I shouldn’t really have purchased this but I did” mistakes. I’m also […]
The more I read about retirement calculations in leading personal finance publications, the greater is my conviction that there is something fundamentally wrong with their methodology. Depending upon the particular case in hand (i.e. family being studied), I’ve seen figures of 4.5 crore, 6 crore, 7.2 crore, … , and recently even 14 crore thrown […]
Ouch! A pretty bad September. Expenses crossing ERE Savings in the wrong direction. Exactly what an ERE Savings Chart shouldn’t look like. Maybe I ought to have a “stupid mistakes” savings goal as well? Do you have one?
My apologies for the prolonged delay in announcing the winner of the ERE-book giveaway. Finally managed to draw lots and the winner is Ashutosh Tewari. Congratulations! There will be another book giveaway next month. Next up on the giveaway list is I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
Update on 24-Sep-2011: My apologies for the prolonged delay in announcing the winner of the book giveaway. Finally managed to draw lots and the winner is Ashutosh Tewari. Congratulations! There will be another book giveaway next month. Next up on the giveaway list is I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Here’s the August, 2011 […]
Here’s the July, 2011 update: Predictably, my ERE Savings Ratio is 43% (43.70% if you count two decimal points).