What the day I retired early was like...

These are the minutes from my last day of work when I gathered several hundred members of The Money Matters Club together for one last on-site lunch-and-learn session at the mothership, my former employer, the best company on Earth, (IMO). If you missed that session live on Aug 15, 2023, at Noon Pacific, you were missed. Know that I didn't post this particular Club Session invite on our Club's new 'lil second home out here on the www, readers, (sorry about that). That Aug. 15th invite was sent out only to those original Club members and worker bees still employed at the mothership, as a special farewell to them.

First, I thanked The Club Friends for coming together. Several dozen were with me in a large onsite conference room, waving to every one of the several hundred more Club Friends who joined remotely. I loved that.

Those who joined in the room, thank you! Meant the world to me to see you in person (it'd been many years in some cases), especially since the pandemic has kept so much space between us all. Seeing some of your faces fondly embedded on my mind from seeing you in the hallways of our company over the last two decades too was even more rewarding. I'm glad I set this 'lil reunion up. :)

If you brought me a present in the room. I was floored by your gifts. A couple gifts and flowers didn't have cards and I do not know who to thank personally. I'm sorry about that. The giver of the two little pewter elephants that are now sitting here near me as I type this are happy in their new home, and I wish I knew who to thank for them. The flowers too have a little life left in them yet. Your retirement and thank you cards, and a candle and anti-stress bath gel (not sure who from). Wow. All of it so appreciated. I was touched. I'm grateful and entirely humbled. I'm also needing to thank the Bee Keepers Club too for the special jar of honey you gifted me. That's liquid gold! And I'm honored to receive it. Here's to those hardworking honeybees on campus and to all you beekeepers keeping them happy all these years.

Cheers!

While this session's focus was on saying goodbye to my dear co-workers and bridging them over to this new second home with all of you, I spent the majority of the hour with them together on my last day at work just explaining how I readied myself for early retirement and how they might consider their own planning to the same end. That recap, I'm happy to share with all of you too, it follows below...

To kick start us, right at Noon on that Tuesday last week, I disclaimed again how I’m not even above average at math, not financially “expert” certified in any way, and not representing my employer (former employer, as of this blog post). I just love this stuff. More than anything I love helping you with this type of adulting and learning money matters. I enjoy helping if even just one person is helped.

I shared my story of how I set a goal for the year 2023 a very long time ago (about 16 years ago now) and then just chipped away at the checklists toward reaching retirement eligibility.

Those of you who’ve stuck by me, this Club, this topic, and have built the community up with me all of those years—be proud of this. You are helping so many to reach financial independence. You continue to teach me something new on the regular too. Thank you for being a part of this 'lil gem of a Club for all these years. I will forever be ah-mazed by you all who've come and will come through this community to learn, to give, to build something special.

So, we started the hour together talking about the cradle-to-grave money stuff first. You’re going to spend the first phase of your life learning, then the next earning, then eventually you’ll be burning down your savings enjoying a retirement of some making before you pass on from this world. I made a little infographic out of this phenomenon we all have in common. My son who I consulted on the graphic, told me “Urn” would rhyme better at the end, mom. He's right.

No joke, we’re all going to have to fill a spending bucket up if we ever want to stop working and enjoy our remaining time on our own dime and in our own design. What cute icons would you place under the 'Burn' phase of your life's timeline?

When considering the money you'll have to burn once you stop working, you’ll need to pre-fill up three buckets to be able to truly one day stop working. While you'll be able to influence the smaller two of the three, you only really control the size you can grow the middle, biggest, one (see the buckets in the figure below) and I hope you fill them all up amply for yourself, starting right now. The size you grow the big, middle bucket to does not impact how much you'll count on in the other two. A lot of folks will ask me, of my former employer's retirement program, something like this, "well if I grow my own 401(k) a ton, won't that mean I get less from my pension (if applicable/eligible) or my Social Security benefit?" No. You could grow your own personal savings bucket to $100M or even $500M and it would not reduce your pension (if applicable)/employer contributions, or your social security any. Those aren't need-based. Those are formulaic and while a complex set of variables determine their payout amounts, your own wealth factor isn't weighed in.

Know the Rules You're Up Against!

We moved on to discussing the Rules of Retirement. Reader, you'll want to note that your company's own rules may vary from my experience. But, where I came from, the Retirement Rules were all based on basic math. When we matched the math, we could retire as official retirees of the company. Your own company Rules are probably searchable on your company Intranet site or in your Employer's Employee Benefits Handbook. I encourage you to locate 'em and see what your math looks like. Knowing first when you can officially retire, and what you'd get as a retiree, is step one. These were the Retirement Eligibility Rules I was held to at my former mothership (again your company's rules will likely be different):

• The Rule of 75, meant your age plus your length of service in completed whole years has to equal to 75. This is the Rule I met first and the one I used to retire under last week when I had clocked 23 years of service. Now you know how old I am.
  

• The Rule of 55 + 15, meant you just needed to be 55 years old and have 15 years of service. Some Rules yield better retiree benefits than others. This rule doesn't yield very much, or I should say as much. Wherever you are checking your own employer's rules, ensure you understand what you get. Some are more favorable than others.
  

• The Age 65 Rule, depending on the year you joined/eligibility criteria (some benefits were closed to new participants at my former employer long ago, so someone joining in their 60s and retiring in their later 60s or at 65, may miss enrollment in some retiree benefits, at least at my former employer, making this not so exciting, IMO).

There's one more Rule worth mentioning--but it is not actually a retirement eligibility related one. It's called The Rule of 60, and it says that when you reach Age 60, at my [former] employer, for every five years of service you got to enjoy adding more years of stock vesting to your last payout--but no other retirement benefits unless you also meet another of the Rules above. So, this one is typically the best of all the Rules [from a not forfeiting any stock vesting perspective] for someone age 60 with 20+ years of service, at my former employer, this math yields you the max stock benefits [but not the other retirement benefits that may be available with the other rules, unless you also met one of those].

What Rules does your employer measure you up to in order to be able to call yourself an official "retiree" of your company or to earn you the largest payout when you one day decide to part ways?

There are even more rules to know about, that aren't written by employers. They're written by the universe or the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) or the Social Security Administration (SSA). It's also important you know about these rules too. They help you navigate the ideal timing of the access you will need to act upon before touching your wealth without negative consequences. We went over these in our session on Aug. 15, and I encourage you to read about these additional Money Rules (not an exhaustive list) when you have the time to make one more click.

Fight Procrastination!

Another rule of thumb we discussed was to not procrastinate, because procrastination costs! We talked about how because of the power of compounding (explained by "The Rule of 72" mentioned at that Money Rules blog you're going to read later too), it really pays to start saving early. Let's say you want to be a millionaire. That will cost you. How much do you want to pay to be one? If you are 40 years old and want to be one by the time you're 65 years old, you'll need to pay (save/contribute/invest) approximately $300,000 (or ~$1,000/month for 25 years). However, if you are 20 years old and want to be a millionaire by the same age (65), you need only save $190/month for a total cost of $102,600 to carry the "millionaire" title. That is save for winning the money or inheriting it or inventing something that sells for that much instantly. You'll have to earn it, build it, save it up.

Imagine if you are saving as much as you possibly can and have a very long investment time horizon in front of you and you continue to increase your savings rate as you grow your income, you'll become a millionaire faster and maybe many times over. But if you procrastinate, it's like slashing your own tires. Don't do it.

The last topic we discussed in our hour together that afternoon was my own formula for success. I am now often greeted with, 'tell me how I can retire early too!" I can only share what worked for me (remember I'm no expert and am not even above average at math). So, this is not meant as individualized or personalized expert advice for you, reader, but I hope it is helpful as you consider what steps I took when you create your own action plan.

My Formula:

To break this not-at-all-rocket-science down for you... here's what I followed...

Spend Less means looking at all the ways you spend money on stuff and taxes right now and freeing up dollars to move to the build wealth gear. Freeing dollars can come from these actions you are directly in control of, to scratch the surface:

• Lowering the amount of your income that will be treated as taxable by the IRS each year (via before-tax or 'pre-tax' benefits/contributions/deductions, such as health savings accounts (HSAs lower your taxable income for the money you set aside to save up for your future health care costs), flexible spending accounts (are different than HSAs; FSAs are not so "flexible" as they're titled, because if you set money aside and it doesn't get spent in that year, you will forfeit much of it, so take care with carefully estimating what you'll spend ), traditional 401(k) (pre-tax way to lower the amount of income you have that gets taxed when you save for your future retirement), commuter benefits (pre-tax way to save on certain eligible costs you may have to commute to work, check the terms and eligibility carefully before participating), and dependent care assistance (DCAP is a pre-tax benefit to help you fund childcare costs to allow you to work, be careful to only fund what you'll spend up to the DCAP limit too), etc. The government wants to help you afford these basic human necessities by not taxing the income you're going to set aside to spend on them. So always participate in these if you're spending money anyway on these things.
  

• Leveraging your purchasing power and good credit to spend less on stuff, including interest rates. Credit is tricky business. If you aren't savvy about how you use it, just don't use it. But if you can use it responsibly, it can really boost your purchasing power. The better your credit use/score/behaviors, the better risk you are to lenders and the better terms you'll get from them (like rates, incentives, miles, cash back, balance transfers, etc.) Leverage these perks and features terribly and you'll pay dearly in higher interest rates, penalties, and consequences, etc. So again, approach credit with caution. Have a very sound plan for using credit. Whenever you are in the market for something, determine if you will be able to pay in cash, set that cash aside, then use the credit card (that purchase will come with protections a cash purchase won't) and pay that credit card balance off at once before its due to avoid paying a cent more for that item. Also, don't skip on seeing if you can also leverage your employee discount program benefits and perks to improve on your price point. Whenever you are in the market for something new (stuff, experiences, services, etc.), always tap into your employee discounts, and any employee purchase programs, and perks first. This boosts your purchasing powers. Here's a flex: I'm typing this to you now on a new laptop I purchased through my employer's employee discount purchase program. I saved over $100! I also charged the purchase on my credit card. I'll pay it off immediately when that statement comes due later next month. This 1) keeps my cash for that laptop in my account working for me a month longer; 2) keeps my credit score high from diligent behavior in paying it off in full and on time; and 3) earns me miles/points/or cash back too. The laptop wasn't frivolous or compulsive. It was planned, researched, budgeted for, and a necessity (when you retire you need to supply your own laptop if you want to keep computing and connecting with your awesome 'lil Club, right?).
  

• Reducing/eliminating the high cost of your debt. If you have expensive, bad debt, getting rid of it is paramount to your success. Move this bullet to the top of the list. You just can't free dollars for putting the wealth building gear into play until you stop wasting dollars on dubious debt. To save or invest money in your 401(k) when you are maxed out on your expensive credit card debt is nonsensical. However, I do like to give you some hope and keep you moving forward in that direction to start saving for your future even though you are still suffering in a pile of bad debt. Find a good payroll calculator you like online if your employer's Payroll team doesn't offer one internally at work to use. Plug in what impact it would have on your take home pay if you were to save in your 401(k) on a pre-tax basis at about three precent. If at just three percent on a pre-tax basis, you can keep your take home pay essentially the same (remember your taxable income will be lowered down for doing the pre-tax contribution to your 401(k) so find the sweet spot where your contribution level doesn't impact your take-home pay rate), and then you can claim some or all of the employer match this way too, you can be doing your future self a big service. You'll be saving for your future self and not impacting your take home pay very much at all keeping it all earmarked for getting yourself out of debt. Plus, you don't leave the employer match (free money) on the table, forfeited, because you're afraid of participating while in debt. Of course, every other dollar you take home that you can put toward your debt reduction--do that. Then, don't just automatically accept the default investment fund your employer puts you into either, know where that money is going to be invested and choose for yourself with empowerment. Look at the cost of the default fund option, its investment objective, how much risk you'll be exposed to, and consider how much time you'll have to leave that investment to grow for you and make your choice. Maybe you'll like the default investment fund (typically some form of a target date fund) or maybe you'll find something you like for yourself a bit better that costs you less to be in and you'll choose that instead (either way, now you're putting the build wealth gear to work!).
  

• Manage all spending to a purpose-built budget watching for the opportunity costs that will hold you down. An opportunity cost is a descriptive way of saying you may be spending money on stuff that is costing you a lot more money than what the price tag says. Think about it this way. You know how when you were a kid and your meddling adults would tell you how hanging out with this or that kid is going to hold you back, limit your potential, or ruin your life? That kid was an opportunity cost. Avoid the kids like that when you spot them. The same is true of a lot of the random spending you'll maybe partake in. Examine all your spending and spot the opportunity costs that are holding you back from real wealth building potential. Take a $100 pair of new shoes you really really want to flex at your next chance. The opportunity cost--the way I see it--is near double. I like this little neat compound interest calculator tool I found for you on the www. Check it out. You can see that if you kept the $100 invested instead in some type of investment (like an index fund) generating about 7%, in ten years you'd have nearly $200. $200 is always in style, shoes go out of style every year. Buy the shoes if you're barefoot. But plan on buying them smartly, not on credit you can't afford to pay off, and not impulsively to impress someone holding you back from financial independence. Imagine if you were doubling $100,000 in ten years! Now imagine you amassed $1,000,000 and can let that sit and compound for 10 more. That's the power you have at your disposal when you identify your opportunity costs and kick them to the curb.
  

• Don’t grow your lifestyle too much. Don’t try to keep your lifestyle at pace with your income / promotions / bonuses / salary… or your neighbors, “The Joneses.” For me? Every time I'd get a promotion or a raise I'd move more contributions into my retirement accounts, more toward my mortgage, and more toward my kids' futures (Coverdells and 529s). I still sit on the same couch I sat on in my first college apartment and it was a free hand-me-down then! Yes, I've traveled more, updated my home in other ways to maintain the investment, and entertained my family well here and there with a few extravagant excursions. But by in large, not ever in a debt-inducing way, an unplanned, or impulsive way. Always with forethought about what affordability and opportunity costs were at play.

Build Wealth

The next gear you want to put to good use for yourself is the Build Wealth gear. All the extra dollars you identified in your disposable or discretionary income (the extra surplus (if any) you have after your basic monthly spending on necessities is all done) do need a purpose. These will allow you to save more than you thought possible. You'll want to consider these tactics that worked well for me:

• Save more than you thought possible in your 401(k), IRA, or Roth IRA. If you can do it, set your contribution rate to auto increase just after your regular annual or semi-regular raise may occur so you don't grow into your new paycheck size and spend it elsewhere, get it into your compounding retirement account for your future self's sake.
  

• Also fund up your Health Savings Account (HSAs grow with you for life). We'll be talking a lot about the merits of these accounts at this Club. Especially this fall before you enter Annual Enrollment season! These are amazingly powerful, and I like HSAs even more than 401(k)s for the first approximately $7k a household is going to save each year. Leverage your LUFSA (a limited use flexible spending account) to preserve your HSA for growth too. A LUFSA can be used to set aside money on a pre-tax basis for limited uses (specifically dental and vision). When you use a LUFSA alongside your HSA, you don't have to touch your HSA at the dentist or optometrist. Leaving your HSA to grow for your life is the goal. You never need to use your HSA. An HSA's rules let you reimburse yourself whenever you like, doesn't have to be in the same year you spent the money on health care. A LUFSA is a use it or lose it designed pre-tax benefit. You must use any money you fund into your LUFSA in the same year you spent the money (on dental and vision). Not so flexible in that way, but strategic if your goal (like mine) has been to grow that HSA big to use in your retirement years. Did you know that at age 65, you can spend your HSA on anything you want, and you won't be penalized, you'll just owe regular tax on any distributions (withdrawals/spending you do with it) that wasn't for eligible health care expenses. Pretty cool.

• Consider funding your 529s and Coverdell accounts too! Maybe you are saving for kids, grandkids, any kids you just think are pretty deserving or cute, or yourself and your own inner kid or growth mindset. These accounts are great ways to flex your benefactor muscles. I like Coverdell best for the first $2k per year per kid if the saver's income isn't too too high. But I love my kiddos' 529s too. We'll talk a lot more about saving for education at this Club. We recently covered it in May, and you'll see some of that recapped in this You Matter blog. It can come up more often, but for sure I bring college savings strategies up every year on May 29th - ish - because 5/29 each year is as perfect a day as any to learn about 529s and other ESAs and savings methods for folks trying to finance college.
  

• Diversify your tax strategy (consider mix of pre-tax and after-tax) but be sure to capture the match. So, I know I sang the praises of lowering your taxable income by saving on a pre-tax basis. But some of you will want to consider the merits of paying the tax up front and then saving after-tax dollars on a Roth basis. I mean that idea of having a big bucket of money you owe no more taxes on in retirement sounds super savvy. And it's what I am enjoying now. I can even touch the principle (I'm not but I could) early as I like after those dollars first sit in a five-year-old/opened account. So, I love the power and flexibility of a Roth savings vehicle and the tax strategy it enables for me. We recently celebrated Roth at The Club. He's an actual guy we all have to thank for these IRS-approved super saver styled retirement accounts. Check out our celebration of Senator Roth. I really loved that 'lil lunch-n-learn session we held back near what would have been his 103rd birthday in July.
  

• Never forfeit a match/leave free money on table. If your company is going to give you a match, grab it. Grab all the free money! We'll talk soon in this Club again about how to hack your employee handbook for your life stage and max all you get in exchange for your time and talent at your employer. At work you'll be so focused on your company's bottom line, of course. But never leave money on the table that can boost your own bottom line.
  

• Own assets that appreciate (e.g., real property) and build equity. It's hard right now in this economy with rates where they are and inventory too. I know. Especially since we're on the heels of mortgages at 2-ish percent. But home equity, and equity in real property, can be a fabulous step towards financial independence, security, and wealth. Just renting is like the shoes example I explained earlier, or the kid you shouldn't have been hanging out with example several scrolls up above this bullet; renting too can be a real opportunity cost. Unless renting is a purposeful choice you're making because you do not want the anchoring and responsibility that comes with home ownership (and I do get that), renting against your better judgement and best interests if you plan to put down permanent roots somewhere, can really be a huge opportunity cost to consider avoiding at your earliest chance. Remember, you can always consider a re-fi if rates come back down.
  

• Diversify your investments; the more risk you take on, typically the more potential for upside reward/growth and for beating inflation. What do I mean by beating inflation? Well in Hawaii today, and not since Maui's horrific tragedy, even before that, the price of a jar of mayonnaise was running nearly $13. Even higher in Australia adjusted for the USD. Want your money to be able to afford a jar of mayonnaise when you travel to these places, then you can't just keep it in a low-earning, super slow compounding investment or savings account. Even if you put $13 away today, if it's not well invested, by the time you get to Hawaii, the mayonnaise could be $15! So, your investments have got to be growing at a faster pace than inflation. If you're not well invested, but 'saving' in a savings account, well I equate that approach to putting your money in a "digital mattress." Search "digital mattress" with a Ctrl + F on the page when you're on this blog and you will see more of my meaning.
  

• Consider ESPP (employee stock purchase program)—up to the IRS Max Share limit. Maybe you're not at this stage yet or maybe your employer isn't publicly traded with a stock purchase program you're invited to participate in. But if you do have this afforded to you, consider it. It was always one of the most popular benefits at my last employer for a reason--it's worth your consideration too. With most of these ESPP designs in America anyway, the employee gets to purchase company stock at a discount. Typically, there's a lookback period too where you have the potential to get an even higher effective discount on the shares if the stock is on the rise during the subscription period. We talk a lot about the merits of ESPP and how the taxation works every year in this Club. Make sure you're subscribed!

• Think about passive income’s role in your financial independence. Are you creating passive income? What would it take? There are a lot of ways to do this... we put a pin in it here and can you believe it, the hour was nearly up. So, this topic will be for another day.

As you can see, we scratched the surface on how to plan for your retirement. Why it's important to know what rules you'll have to meet to be a retiree, what rules you'll have to follow to access your retirement savings freely, and what rules of thumb or formula I followed myself to be able to reach a retirement readiness state earlier than most Americans.

Someone smart in the room asked me, 'but how much do we need to amass? A million dollars surely isn't what it used to be.' True. I'm a gal who still feels excited and nervous to have a $20 in my wallet not wanting to break it or spend it. I've lived a very modest lifestyle (which is always relative) to my peers in town. So, to me, a million dollars still feels like a worthy goal. Meet that and then set a new one! Right now, I'm enjoying that stealth wealth kind of lifestyle because I amassed more and have such a low-cost lifestyle to fund for the rest of my days, including travel and occasional giving splurges. However, if your mortgage alone is $2M+ then you're going to need your goal set much higher. Much, much higher. Decide what is important to you (what age you want to stop working, what time you have left to earn, what your idea of a dream lifestyle will cost you and just save up accordingly and conservatively baking in the price of inflation. For many people on earth, a million dollars will be quite unimaginably enough for many lifetimes. For others, it's a drop in the big middle bucket against the amount they'll ultimately need (need may be subjective, again, all relative).

My goals for pulling the trigger on my early retirement from my employer were simply these:

• Reach my employer's retirement eligibility rule, "Rule of 75."

• Compound up to at least a million-dollar balance or more in just my workplace retirement savings account (I met that goal in my late forties).

• Ensure my partner has equal or more for his retirement too.

• Have ample college savings account balances to hand to my sons when/if they start college.

• Have several other big pots of cash stockpiled and tappable in other-purposed accounts (savings, HSA, IRAs, stock brokerage, emergency fund, etc.) --the biggest middle bucket type of fillers!

• Have the forever home paid off.

• Have insurances readied that don’t ride on continuous employment at the mothership.

• Have an estate plan in place reflecting my wishes for my financial legacy.

• Be covered by a health plan for the foreseeable decade ish (my husband is taking a turn in the corporate world now and we’re well covered til we reach medicare or a point in time we decide to self-insure the gap). The average couple in their retirement years needs to have $315,000 earmarked just for healthcare expenses.

• Be 100% debt-free.

• Leave the company happy, feeling on top of the world, able to drive past its campus, where I grew up, for the rest of my life feeling major gratitude, and little regret.

• Ideally, leave with a plan to retire to something great (the 'third act' so to speak) and a very sweet cherry-on-top severance package in hand (if one serendipitously came about, and omg one did).

I swore to myself about 16 years ago that I'd meet all the above goals by 2023 and do so just by spending less; saving and investing even more of my hard-earned dollars to build up a big nest egg of wealth, and by protecting my wealth along the way (those three gears I showed you way up above). With all those goals met, when an early retirement voluntary separation package offer came out and was circulated to all employees across my larger business unit, I was ready to pull the trigger and go do something even more wonderful.

Protect Wealth

The "Protect Wealth" gear is a critical topic we didn't get to spend much time on at the Aug 15th lunch and learn, so we will also save it for a deeper dive on another day. (I'm sure many of you are already saying, wow this is a lot to read! Grateful you're still here reading this far!) For now, think about getting that wealth protection gear moving too when you consider all the ways you can protect yourself, your income, your net worth, your identity, your financial life, your estate, how to mitigate your liabilities and any unforeseen and avoidable risks. If you're not doing that kind of good hygiene too, no matter how much wealth you build, you won't have achieved financial security. So, we'll definitely discuss wealth protection strategies in a future lunch-n-learn session of The Money Matters Club too soon. Promise!

I want to say one more giant thank you to those of you who showed up for me, supported me all these years or just on my last workday (I was in awe that brand-new Club Friends and brand-new employees showed up for me on my very last day, what an honor for me). If I've not been in touch with you personally or owe you a response to an email or note, a thank you for the gifts you bestowed on or since my last day (if I didn't find a card), etc., please do send me a new note to my new laptop so it's at the top of my awaiting inbox. I'd hate to have missed a chance to connect or thank you personally. This new laptop is promising a speedy reply this time. Hope to hear from you! Finally, I'll leave you with this visual... I spent my final hours at the mothership meeting with new and old Club Friends, enjoying my last salad from the salad bar in the cafe, and enjoying my last free fruit and beverage perks from my beloved employer of twenty-three years. One of the cool kids even passed me a free coconut donut. Splurging in moderation can be okay when there's cause for celebration. ;-) And at 5:30 pm, after finishing my last bits up, handing in my badge and laptop, on the way out the front lobby doors? Yep, I smiled, clicked my heels, and drove away feeling victorious, like all the this-gal-is-on-FIRE kind of feels I always imagined.

I wish that eventual moment for each of you too. I don't write all this to ever brag, I write it to empower you to do what you imagine you can do too! I believe in you. I'm glad you're here in our 'lil Club where it's never tabooed to talk about money. How else shall we all learn if not as a community helping each other?

Because money matters,

el

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E.M.Powers ("el") is a regular person with no particular financial credentials or expertise who happens to be a money enthusiast and the founder of The Money Matters Club, a virtual watercooler for like-minded individuals with a thirst for building their own financial health. Since 2006, she's helped thousands of co-workers build their financial literacy and wealth by participating in The Money Matters Club, a community she built on her employer's internal network. Since 2023, she's been attempting to scale The Club's reach through its second home on the World Wide Web. Her opinions--as well as the opinions of all participants--are just that: opinions, which are subject to flawed logic, math, typos and correction. She keeps a growth mindset and is also always learning something new or bolstering her own understanding after discussions at The Club. All information shared is done so with the best intent to inspire and empower others to learn more about money considerations toward building their own financial muscles. Nothing shared is meant as individualized advice that anyone should act on without doing their own curious research and personal decision making. There are no dumb questions at The Money Matters Club. Your financial health and literacy are what this Club cares about. All investing involves risk. All results can and will vary.

Copyright: ©The Money Matters Club, all rights reserved (2023).