Will You Be Able to Retire Early Like Mr. Money Mustache

Will you be able to retire on your own terms?  Will you work until you are 70 or older?  Will you work because you want to or because you need to?

The choices you make in 2014 will determine the lifestyle you have in retirement.  It is common sense but habits are the key to your success in retirement planning and investing.  Here are some resources that can help you. Hit Your Retirement Goals Faster!

Will you be able to retire like Mr. Money Mustache?

I am a huge fan of Mr. Money Mustache (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/).  He lives in Colorado and “retired” in his 30’s.  If you like to make a game of saving and investing, you will enjoy his site.  He has his house paid off and in 2013 spent $25,142 for his family of 3 for the entire year!  Is this extreme?  Maybe.  However, many of us could do a much better job of managing money and having less stuff. Here are some additional resources and information I shared with the Mr. Money Mustache forum. I am a huge fan of MMM. I have invested with both DFA and Vanguard for many years and I am an approved DFA advisor.

1. Don’t be “penny wise and pound foolish” when managing your money. Expenses play a HUGE role but so does strategy. Even if you don’t use Dimensional Funds (DFA), you can learn a lot from their strategy and academic research of the markets. 97% of the return of your portfolio is determined by “factor investing”. The 4 components of factor investing for stocks are market factor (beta), value factor, small cap factor and profitability factor. You can find out more about factor investing and Why Dimensional (DFA) vs. Vanguard
2. Many investors need a coach/advisor. Look at the data. Typical retail investors make very poor decisions. Just because you have low fees, it doesn’t make up for poor decisions. A coach can help with goals, strategy, portfolio design, execution, the courage to define reality, education and help you avoid big mistakes. If you don’t love investing, have time to learn and have extreme discipline….. it may make sense to hire a low cost, fee only fiduciary DFA advisor. Here are some things you should look for – http://feeonlycolorado.com/
3. Active management typically doesn’t work and most investors need a fiduciary on their side. Shocking PBS video about the big banks: Why You Need a Fiduciary! http://ow.ly/sAyDf
4. Here are a couple more recent third party articles about Dimensional Funds (DFA).
   1. 2014 – CNN- Money — David Booth beats the market without picking stocks – Jan
   2. Barrons – Market Beaters – DFA a Different Dimension 2014 – no print January 2014
   3. Barrons – Where the smart money is headed – DFA

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Good luck to all. The science of investing will not only help you retire early but help you stay retired for 30 to 50 years. All the best, Todd Moerman Fee only Financial Planning Fort Collins, Colorado Follow us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/integrityia