So, I've made several updates to the Creator's Financial Independence Calculator including some improved aesthetics, an actual calculation of time and $ needed to reach Financial Independence, and some input / output guidance and explanations.  There's a ton more that I could do with it like warnings for improper input, allowance for pensions and social security, and allowance for company 401k matching, ..., etc.  But, I'm going to take a break for now and focus on some non-programming efforts for the blog.  Swing by and play with it.  Perhaps one of you out there would like to take up the gantlet and improve on this calculator.  There's nothing hidden in the JavaScript source on the page, so feel free to play with it and reach out if you have some improvements.... or steal it and improve on it on your own page.  I'm ok with that, too. I hope this efforts provides a tool to inspire people to create and invest instead of consume.  Add...

Today we are going to mix it up a bit and focus on a fellow blogger that is  lighting up  the financial independence world (how could I resist such a terrible pun?).  I hope to do more of these spotlights as I continue to stumble on inspirations out in the blog space.   I check in on a few blogs now and again and have really started digging on  AccidentalFire.com .  Accidental Fire (Financially Independent Retired Early) chronicals the daily passions of a super energetic dude who focuses his life on working hard and enjoying intense outdoor actives instead of adorning himself in the luxuries that his skills and career could easily afford.  The author of Accidental Fire decided to part ways with his peers early in life moving from the financial sink hole of Baltimore’s party district into the modest home of his late grandmother “Nonnie”.  At a starting salary of $20,000, he began setting a simplistic standard of living which did...

Today we'll continue our Creator's Path to Financial Independence  series by taking a look at transportation expenses.  One of the best places a creator can really separate themselves from a consumer is with their vehicle purchases.   The average new car / lease payment in America just broke $502 a month with an average payment term of 69 months (1) .   Knowing that many families carry two car payments continuously, we’re talking about over $1,000 dollars a month.   Gracious America, you’re doing it wrong ! In this article we’ll talk about how a lean , responsible , and disciplined creator can get reliable transportation without sinking in debt.   We’ll also see that your choices in this area can single-handedly be your ticket to financial independence .   So, let’s dive in: As usual, we’ll start with an example of the consumer family and the creator family.   Both families need two reliable cars.   Let’s take a look at the con...

Welcome to the second edition of "The Creator's Path to Financial Independence."  If you are new to C&C check out the Start Here section to learn about the hallmarks and traits of consumers and creators.  In this edition, we talk about what spending does to our happiness and how creators approach this problem.  So, let's start with an age old question... Does money make us happy?    People who have a lot of money will often say ‘No’ and people who don’t have a lot of money will say often say ‘Yes’.   So who’s right? Turns out, both are right, at least according to a study performed at Princeton University a few years ago (1) .   The study shows that things like “feeling stress free” and “emotional wellbeing” rise steadily as household income increase.   Yet, something interesting happens to the data around the $57,000 household income level (2) .   After about $57,000, more money did not make people significantly hap...

Welcome to the first financial post of the C&C blog.   If you remember back in the ‘What is a creator?’ post I left a teaser about the incredible financial benefits of adopting the creator’s approach to life.   Now that I’ve finally had time to get around to our first post in this area, the best way to start is with an example. Two people graduate from college at the age of 22.   Let’s call them “Creator” and “Consumer”.   Both have the exact same degrees and live in areas with similar costs of living.   Both get jobs and have a household starting income at $51,000 dollars a year ( Just below the nation’s average household income ).   Both work at companies with 401k plans that will match contributions up to 3% of their monthly wages.   In fact, there are only two differences between Creator and Consumer.   1) Creator’s creative, proactive, passionate, and grateful approach to life makes him a more valuable employee and he is rewar...