Now that April 15th is a distant memory, we can take a look at our 4 plex cash flow without cringing about tax. Here is a brief recap. We purchased a 4-plex through a short sale process in October 2011. The previous owner put a stop to all repair and maintenance at one point because the 4 plex was underwater and it wasn’t generating positive cash flow. We ma
[…] Read more:  How Our 4 Plex Did In 2013

We’re still relaxing on the Big Island. It’s very laid back here and that’s just what we needed. Here are just a couple of pictures for everyone on the mainland. Woohoo! We found the sea turtles along the Kiholo Bay north of the Kona airport. The great thing about Hawaii is that the beaches are all public. Even if a big resort hotel is built up
[…] Read more:  Big Island Chilling

As many of you know, I used to be an engineer (computer hardware) before I quit my corporate job to become a stay at home dad/blogger. Many readers come to this blog, Retire By 40, through the Why I gave up my engineering career post. It seems like there are quite a few engineers out there who are thinking about leaving their careers to do something else. I think
[…] Read more:  Why Engineers Should Plan For Early Retirement

Let’s continue with the TED talk today. For a while now, I have been meaning to sit down and listen to this talk from social psychologist Paul Piff – Does money make you mean? Their research team conducted various experiments to see how wealthy people behave. I’m interested in the topic because I’m very curious about the role of luck in life. Let’s see
[…] Read more:  Is Your Success Due To Hard Work Or Luck?

Last week, I asked Is Your Success Due To Hard Work Or Luck? The comments have been very interesting and thank you if you left your thoughts. Most people agree that it takes determination, hard work, and some luck to become successful. Personally, I feel that I am really lucky. Family and circumstances gave me a good start, but I was also determined to meet my go
[…] Read more:  8 Essential Things To Do To Retire Early

The following article is from Mike, our staff writer.  One of the biggest and most pervasive myths on the internet is that making money online is easy.  There is certainly no shortage of “experts” who are only too happy to share their secret formula for unlimited riches at the push of a button. Unfortunately, no such button exists. Sure, the barriers to en
[…] Read more:  Misadventures in Niche Site Building

Sorry to write about the rentals again today. It’s just consuming all my attention and I’m having a hard time thinking about anything else. We decided to put our rental home and 4-plex up for sale to take advantage of the HOT real estate market. I know we’d have to pay tax on the gain, but I didn’t realize just how much tax we’d have to pay. A Big T
[…] Read more:  Selling a rental can have big impact on your tax liability

I just read an article from Fidelity – Lessons from the financial crisis, and it made some interest points. It’s been five years since the Global Financial Crisis and the stock market has come a long way since then. The average 401(k) balance for pre-retirees at Fidelity nearly doubled from $93,000 to $165,200. Most of us have learned valuable lessons from th
[…] Read more:  Financial Setbacks Can Strengthen Your Finances

Oh man, can you believe it’s April? 2014 is already a quarter over! March was really busy for me again and April will be even more crazy. We decided to sell our rental home and 4 plex so I have been busy dealing with that. Our tenant just finished moving out of the rental home so I need to get it ready to sell. That will be a lot of work and I’m a bit stresse
[…] Read more:  March 2014 Goals and Financial Update

The following article is from Mike, our staff writer.  We all have things we want to accomplish but sometimes the daily grind of life gets in the way and we find ourselves going through the motions rather than deliberately working towards our goals.  Even more frustrating is when you and your spouse aren’t focused on the same goals.  Rather than working tog
[…] Read more:  3 Steps to Getting Your Spouse on Board with Your Goals