Hope for your financial life and beyond

Should I Retire Early? – 9 Questions to Help You Decide

What do the numbers 61, 65 and 73 have in common? You might guess they are the home run records set during various Major League Baseball seasons by Roger Maris (1961), Mark McGwire (1999) and Barry Bonds (2001) respectively. However, for our purposes here those numbers represent peoples ages. Specifically, the age they may be looking at to mark the beginning of their retirement. In fact, we could also put in numbers like 55, 50 or even younger as even people at those ages are asking could I or should I retire early.

couple in retirementLet’s just get this out of the way right at the beginning – clearly a person can retire at any age they choose. However, to receive full financial benefits from the Social Security Agency will require a person to work until a certain age (based on when they were born). For example, I was born after 1960, so full retirement age for me isn’t until age 67 according to the Social Security website.

I could begin to receive benefits as early as age 62. However, those benefits would come to me at a reduced rate. The calculation used by Social Security is based on the number of months once I retire until full retirement age is reached. In my case that would be 60 months if I retired at age 62.

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How to Find Rental Property Documents Online

If you are a landlord or someone looking to purchase a new home, you know that real estate moves fast. For landlords especially, investing in a rental property can involve a paper maze. It's hard to know exactly what you need and where to find … [Continue reading]

The Best and Worst Places to Save Money When Getting Out of Debt

scissors cutting a one dollar bill

Lets assume that you’ve finally decided getting out of debt is a priority. You know that saving money in the monthly budget by cutting expenses is a key component to the debt payoff process. But where do you start? What is the best place to start … [Continue reading]

How Can a Registered Agent Save My Business?

If your business is going through some struggles, you are not alone. The last couple of years have been filled with tremendous challenges for businesses to navigate. Covid altered the landscape and forced businesses to reinvent themselves on the fly … [Continue reading]

13 Encouraging Bible Verses for Men

encouraging bible verses for men

Let’s face it - men need encouragement. We try to act tough like we can handle everything on our own. But if we are honest, we need to be lifted up just like anyone else. So it’s a good thing there are many encouraging Bible verses for men from which … [Continue reading]

Is the Bible Really Clear About Paying Taxes?

tax time

“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” - Matthew 22:21 Like you, my tax paperwork is due to be filed by April 15th. There is no doubt that doing the tax return is no fun to fill out every … [Continue reading]

8 Questions to Ask When Setting Up A Family Inheritance

meter showing high level of confusion

It’s hard enough to deal with the topic of our own death let alone what will happen to our possessions once we pass away. Setting up a family inheritance can get complex and technical. That's why most people don't deal with it. The aftermath of … [Continue reading]

How to Get the Most Out of Christmas

Weeks ago, at the beginning of November, stores already had Christmas decorations on display. I know those stores are just trying to get the most out of Christmas season. But it's too early at that point for me to think about Christmas. For me, … [Continue reading]

Operation Christmas Child: Changing Lives One Shoebox at a Time

I believe the Bible when it says, "He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). Spiritual and emotional blessings come when we give to others, especially those in challenging life situations. And … [Continue reading]

My A – Z List of Blog Related Things I’m Thankful For

Yes, I know. What a strange thing to write about during the week of Thanksgiving. There are so many more important things to be thankful for. Certainly family, friends, freedom and prosperity, health and faith all rank near the top of thankfulness … [Continue reading]

Stay the Course: Success Happens One Step at a Time

stay the course

Are you unable to stay the course? Many people have difficulty with this when it comes to completing a task. Somewhere along the way, for whatever reason, they give up, never to reach their goal. It happens for big things and small things. For … [Continue reading]