Category Archives: Financial Independence

Al ULA- SAUDI ARABIA --Saudi Arabia has come a long way since the announcement of its Vision 2030 plan, showing commitment to reforms, such as ending gender segregation and creating new cultural activities, to further open up the country.

The Vision 2030 plan was launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to diversify the economy from the oil sector, including by expanding the services and tourism industries.

Women and youth have pinned a lot of hope on the plans inclusive potential.

Thousands of jobs have been created and Saudis have flocked to concerts, festivals and sporting events. However, the pace of reform may have slowed down due to the global coronavirus pandemic affecting the world.

The pandemic has hampered Saudi Arabias nascent non-religious tourism industry, newly introduced under Crown Prince Mohammeds drive.

It is very tough, but I keep telling myself things will get better after corona. One has to remain optimistic, said Abeer al-Howayan, a young Saudi woman whose online business has slowed due to the pandemic.

Howayan despaired of ever working after spending eight years trying to find a job that would put her chemistry degree to use in the Saudi town of Al Ula. Eventually, she abandoned her scientific ambitions and turned to selling homemade cakes. Last year, however, she was chosen for a government training programme to support a $20 billion flagship tourism project in the kingdoms northwestern region.

The 31-year-old learned how to make artisanal soap from French experts flown in by Saudi authorities, and in late December started selling her creations at a booth near the rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh, site of an ancient civilisation.

She also began offering her products online. Then the coronavirus struck, rendering Howayans future uncertain again.

Howayan is among nearly one million unemployed Saudis, 12% of the working-age population, who see hope in the crown princes vision to modernise the conservative kingdom with ambitious projects.

Women make up about 83% of the jobless, according to the Saudi statistics office. And its an educated group 70% of those women have high school diplomas or university degrees. Many count on new sectors such as tourism to help them enter into the workforce.

For Saudi women, the downturn is particularly damaging, striking just as their efforts to move up in the workforce and gain greater financial independence were gaining traction.

Tackling unemployment is a main pillar of Crown Prince Mohammeds plan. He promised in 2017 better unemployment numbers by 2020 and to cut the jobless rate to 7% over the next decade. But the rate has fallen by less than 1 percentage point.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told Reuters that the government remained committed to job creation targets and was still funding training and capacity building.

Coronavirus is with us this year and possibly for a part of next year, but then it will go away and when it goes away we need to make sure that we have seized this time to build more capacity and train more people to be ready when we start offering services again, said Jadaan.

Abeer Mohammed Jumuah has also greatly benefited from Crown Prince Mohammeds reform drive. After graduating from university with a degree in economics, she spent years looking for a job as a teacher until eventually joining a government training programme to learn culinary arts in Paris.

The 31-year-old has returned to a catering role in Saudi Arabia, helping Michelin-starred chefs, but it is only temporary and she will eventually need to find new work, which has become increasingly difficult during the pandemic.

I hope that one day I can open a cafe where I can offer a breakfast menu with lots of French pastries, she said. I want to be financially independent and I want my two daughters, aged four and seven, to have a better living standard.

Madiha al-Anazy, for her part, is hopeful about the future. The 29-year old woman joined a five-month tour guide training programme when she returned from Florida in May 2019 with a masters degree in biotechnology, and now has a permanent job as a tour guide.

Her husband, Mohamad, was temporarily taken on as a part-time ranger to protect heritage sites and the couple is betting on a revival of the tourism sector.

We hope he will find a permanent job one day, Anazy said.

Private-sector job creation is partly intended to wean citizens off of reliance on the state, which employs more than two-thirds of the Saudi workforce. Their salaries account for roughly half of 2020 budget spending.

Peoples expectation for income and lifestyle are going to be different to their parents, Anazy said.

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Saudi women frustrated by pandemic in quest for financial independence but hopeful about future - The Arab Weekly

In 2016, after accumulating close to $1 million in savings, I quit my six-figure job in software development and retired at 35. A few months later, my wife Courtney joined me in early retirement.

Not everyone will be able to retire in their 30s, but achieving financial independence is within grasp for many. It may not be easy, but you don't have to be a money genius to get there. (In fact, I struggled all throughout school because of a learning disability. To get good grades, I always had to work harder andlonger than my classmates.)

No one wants to be broke for the rest of their lives, so even if the goal isn't to retire early, we should all live by these six basic principles to build wealth:

The first rule is the most important, and it has little to do with money. It's about wanting to achieve a goal enough to make it your top priority.

Back then, I had a great salary and was good at my job. But I dreaded going to work every day. I didn't enjoy having a boss or sitting through performance reviews. The meetings, office conflicts and long commutes were exhausting. I wanted to leave the 9-to-5 life and travel the world.So, in my late 20s, I decide to make early retirement my primary goal.

I focused on making dramatic changes to my financial habits. Instead of letting my money sit idle, I invested more of it. I also started saving 70% of my income. It was hard at first, but got easier as I kept reminding myself that everything I'd been spending on were things I either didn't use or need.

None of the changes I made felt like a sacrifice, because I knew they were all in support of my goal.It's like getting into shape: You'll only lose or gain weight if you change your diet and fitness habits. And you have to want it badly enough to keep at it.

Even though I was making six figures, I was always thinking about ways I could use my skills to actively boost my income when I wasn't in the office.

I started a financial site and wrote on it consistently. Eventually, I was earning a monthly average of $1,000 through the site. Courtney and I also started a YouTube channel documenting our travels, which brought in another $400 to $500 per month. And with the bit of free time I had left, I made an extra few hundred bucks through freelance writing.

But I still worked hard at my day job, because it was my primary source of income. I wanted to showmy boss why I deserved a 10% or 15% raise (which I asked for, and got twice). Midway into my career, I built up enough courage to ask for a big promotion. Four months later, I was moved up to a director role.

Courtney also earned several raises. With both of us saving 70% of our combined income, which ranged from $200,000 to $230,000 a year, we were getting closer to early retirement.

Saving money, getting raises and doing side hustles alone won't help you retire faster. Courtney and I built much of our wealth by investing in appreciating assets, such as the stock market, real estate, businesses and relics or historic objects.

The idea behind this is simple. You buy an asset for a certain price. Over time, the asset appreciates (orincreases) in value. And boom, now you have something that's worth more than what you paid for.

But, here's the magic: Through the power ofcompound interest, our assets don't just build linearly. Instead, appreciating assets build exponentially.

If you invest $1,000 and it appreciates 10% (or $100) in a year, then your new base starting point in the next year is $1,100. Another 10% gain is $110, not just $100.Add a couple of zeros to that and we begin talking about quite a bit of money enough on which to retire.

Over the subsequent years, thanks to investing in appreciating assets, we grew our savings to more than $1 million. When it comes to investing, late is always better than never. If you haven't started, there are plenty of resources online or you can talk to a trusted financial advisor.

I always like to take the hands-off approach whenever possible, especially when it comes to money.

Many employers offer retirement plans, and most companies will automatically make contributions straight from your paycheck into your investment accounts.Once it's set up, you never have to worry about it again.

Courtney and I used this to the fullest when we were working:

Automation will make your life so much easier, because you won't have to rely on discipline to pay bills, avoid late fees, interest charges or reductions in your credit score.

One of the most effective ways to eliminate debt is to know exactly where your money is going. Every penny matters. This is a basic principle, but so many people lack the discipline to sit down once a month and review their spending.

A few simple actions will can make a huge difference in your finances:

I used to be a super-spender. I had a supercharged Corvette Convertible and aCadillac CTS. I also rode a Yamaha R1 sport bike around town, paying $150 per month for insurance. But I sold all those things after I made early retirement a goal.

Courtney and I now live a very frugal life, and we couldn't be happier. We cut cable TV and use a streaming subscription for half the price. We only spend $50 per month eating outat restaurants. We buy new clothes less than twice a year. We only upgrade our phones if it's completely broken.

You don't have to cut back on everything; this principle is about reevaluating priorities. I believe in spending liberally on things that bring you lasting joy, and cutting out expenses for things that don't. The key is to admit what makes you happy and what doesn't.

Steve Adcockis a financial expert whoblogsabout how to achieve financial independence. A former software developer, Steve retired early at the age of 35. His work has been featured in U.S. News, MarketWatch, Forbes and Business Insider. Follow him on Twitter@SteveOnSpeed.

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Millionaire who saved 70% of his income and retired at 35: 'We should all live by these 6 basic principles' - CNBC

Financial Freedom

By Alexander Green

Originally posted June 5, 2020 on Liberty Through Wealth

This years pandemic has added stress to a lot of peoples lives.

Work stress. Family stress. Health stress. And, of course, money stress.

A recent CNBC poll found that 90% of Americans feel anxious about money due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financially stressed men and women face greater physical and mental health challenges.

During the last financial crisis, people who worried about their finances reported greater back and muscle tension, more ulcers and digestive problems, heart arrhythmia, higher blood pressure, insomnia, migraines, severe anxiety and even depression.

Click here to watch Alexander Greens latest video update.

To a great extent, the difference between handling money right and wrong determines our happiness, well-being and quality of life.

Thats why its a shame that less than half of our countrys high schools offer even a basic class in financial literacy.

Im all for liberal arts education. But if I had to choose between learning about the life of a cell, the history of Europe and how to handle money, Id choose the last.

Few of us will become biologists or historians. All of us have to earn, spend and save.

According to the Financial Health Network, people who handle money well have eight habits in common:

Consider that last factor: goals.

Goals are dreams with deadlines. They are specific and they have a date attached.

I want to be rich is just a wish.

I want to have a $1 million net worth by my 60th birthday is a goal.

How do you reach it or any other financial goal as quickly as possible?

The formula is straightforward.

Earn as much as you can. Save as much as you can. Invest as much as you can. And let it compound.

To know what you need to do to reach your goal, you need only spend a few minutes with a compound interest calculator, like the one here.

For example, invest $481 every month for 30 years and earn no more or less than the average 10% long-term return of the S&P 500 and you will have $1 million.

Of course, some readers cant wait or dont have 30 years. They will have to save more or earn a higher rate of return or both.

Knowing your number whatever that may be allows you to set monthly financial goals.

To reach those, you may need to make lifestyle adjustments as far as spending and saving.

My friend and colleague Mark Ford wrote an excellent column this week on living rich and building wealth. (You can find it here.)

As Mark points out, scrimping isnt necessary. You need only be smart about spending.

That begins with the realization that conspicuous consumption is not the route to wealth or happiness.

Last year, I had dinner in New York City with a good friend, a founder of a Fortune 500 company. Hes not a billionaire but hes closer than most.

It was just the two of us and, as the wine was flowing, I asked him a personal question.

Like most highly affluent people, you have more than youll ever spend. What is it you most want to do with the time you have left?

He didnt miss a beat.

Nothing, he said. If I died tomorrow, Id die a happy man, knowing Id lived a good life, enjoyed my family and friends, achieved most of my goals and gave most of my fortune away.

But isnt there anything left that you really want to do? I pressed, curious what that might be.

You know what I look forward to the most? he laughed. A good meal with close friends and stimulating conversation.

How many people cant afford that?

Many folks imagine that if they had great wealth, theyd spend their time flying around the country on a private plane, sailing the Caribbean on their yacht and dining in a Michelin five-star restaurant in some exotic locale.

(And, truth be told, the uber-wealthy do enjoy some of that.)

But more often than not, the ones I know are eager to tell me about some book they just read, some series they just watched on Netflix or some hike they recently took in the woods.

The cost of these things is somewhere between negligible and zero.

Too many Americans are not getting rich because theyre too busy trying to look and act rich, buying luxury cars, designer clothes, and expensive wines that most wealthy individuals could happily live without and often do.

Want to get rich sooner?

Give up the minor extravagances, save regularly, invest wisely and fight the temptation to spend down your net worth as it snowballs.

Thats the most effective route to financial independence. And a smart way to live generally.

Good investing,

Alex

An expert on momentum investing, value investing and investing based on insider activity, Alex worked as an investment advisor, research analyst and portfolio manager on Wall Street for 16 years. He now runs the wildly successful Oxford Communiqu, ranked as one of the top investment newsletters by Hulbert Digest for more than a decade. He is also the author of four national best-sellers: The Gone Fishin Portfolio, The Secret of Shelter Island, Beyond Wealth and An Embarrassment of Riches. He shares his wisdom in his free daily e-letter, Liberty Through Wealth.

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The Secret of Great Wealth and of Life - Investment U

Building sufficient financial resources to retire early may sound like a dream, but making that dream come true is not as hard as it may sound. The main thing is simply to save more money each month. No big deal, right? Well ...

The typical rule of thumb given by financial planners is to have a goal of saving up to 20% of total earnings. But if you want to retire when you're younger, that percentage will probably need to be more like 40% to 50% of your income. Of course, that's not so simple since a big part of your paycheck goes to day-to-day, necessary expenses. So if you want to save that much, you need to make some serious lifestyle adjustments. It requires making changes, but it's doable.

A generally new development called Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) has been created around this "sacrifice and over-save now to retire early" idea. FIRE supporters create exacting savings plans (up to 75% of income) and make related compromises like living in small homes, walking to work every day, prohibitive weight control plans, etc. This way might be unreasonably prohibitive for many, yet the mentality offers a few takeaways that may merit consideration.

The first point is to adhere to the key principles of long-term investing, including developing a diversified portfolio that includes stocks with various styles, sizes, sectors and regions.

To speed up the retirement investment cycle, you can build a portfolio structured with more risk - and the potential for higher returns. It should in any case be adequately diversified to safeguard against sharper than normal market downturns that can be hard to recuperate from and that can ruin any opportunity to achieve your early retirement goal. There are various strategies to diversify a portfolio, and how you do so should be guided by your age, your risk appetite, your growth and income needs, and your long-term objectives.

Once you've begun saving at a higher rate and you have an investment plan, put that money to work in your plan as quickly as you can. Don't worry about finding the "perfect time" to invest - simply put the money in and keep it in. Let compounding work to help you grow your retirement savings at an exponential rate.

Growth stocks with low beta, strong earnings estimates, positive sales growth, and expected future growth are an excellent way to determine investable growth stocks for your retirement.

Zacks offers investors useful rankings for lower risk growth stocks for retirement portfolios. The following are a few selections that merit a closer look: Global Medical REIT (GMRE), Clearway Energy (CWEN) and Farmers National Banc (FMNB). Earnings and revenue has seen growth of at least 5% or higher over the last five years, with a beta of 1 or lower.

Do You Know the Top 9 Retirement Investing Mistakes?

Whether you're planning to retire early or not, don't let investing mistakes derail your plans.

If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click the link to download our free report, 9 Retirement Mistakes that will Ruin Your Retirement.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportFarmers National Banc Corp. (FMNB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGlobal Medical REIT Inc. (GMRE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportClearway Energy, Inc. (CWEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

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Powerful Proof Anyone Can Invest for an Early Retirement - June 04, 2020 - Yahoo Finance

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New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate several countries across the world the latest count is 67,04,014 cases and more than 3,93,233 deaths.

Regardless of lockdowns across the world, carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reached a new high in the month of May. Wash your hands advice highlights Asias acute water crisis. Meanwhile, coronavirus is now spreading to previously unaffected areas. The pandemic has also affected Saudi womens quest for financial independence.

ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.

Regardless of several key global economies enforcing lockdowns to deal with the pandemic, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a record high in the month of May, reports the Financial Times.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide reached more than 417 parts per million on average during May at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, suggesting that even though lockdowns around the world have caused emissions to drop temporarily, warming trends are set to continue. The new record, based on separate measurements taken by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is the highest level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for millions of years, notes the report.

The crisis has slowed emissions, but not enough to show up perceptibly at Mauna Loa. What will matter much more is the trajectory we take coming out of this situation, professor Ralph Keeling of Scripps Institution told FT.

Also read:Covid has shown US is underprepared for major health threats, says national health agency

As the coronavirus curve begins to flatten in Europe and the US, the virus is now spreading to previously unaffected regions in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, reports the New York Times.

For months, one enduring mystery of the coronavirus was why some of the worlds most populous countries, with rickety health systems and crowded slums, had managed to avoid the brunt of an outbreak that was burning through relatively affluent societies in Europe and the United States, says the report.

Now this trend has begun to be reversed.

Globally, known cases of the virus are growing faster than ever with more than 100,000 new ones a day. The surge is concentrated in densely populated, low- and middle-income countries across the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and South Asia, notes the report.

Not only has it filled hospitals and cemeteries there, it has frustrated the hopes of leaders who thought they were doing everything right, or who believed they might somehow escape the pandemics worst ravages, it adds.

Wash your hands has been the most common health advice across the world since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. But this rather simple advice is impractical for nearly 2.4 billion people who reside in water scarce areas, argues an opinion piece in the Nikkei Asian Review.

This problem becomes all the more acute in Asia, where 29 out of 49 countries are water insecure, meaning they do not have access to safe, reliable, available water to meet their health and economic needs.

In South Asia alone, the majority of water sources are contaminated and 558 million people practice open defecation due to insufficient water and sanitation solutions, notes the piece.

Also read:Hows it going: Goldman Sachs executives email calling for racial equality goes viral

On Thursday, Brazil exceeded the number of coronavirus deaths in Italy, and Mexico recorded its highest number of daily deaths, reports Reuters. Meanwhile, other Latin American regional leaders are pushing to end lockdowns and restart economic activity.

Brazil posted a record number of daily deaths for third consecutive day on Thursday, with 1,437 deaths over the last 24 hours and 30,925 additional coronavirus cases, according to data released by the health ministry. Total deaths in South Americas largest nation now stand at 34,021, trailing only the United States and the United Kingdom, notes the report.

Meanwhile, Mexico reported 816 deaths on Thursday, the second consecutive daily record there, while total deaths surpassed 12,000, it adds.

Saudi Arabia facilitated some minor freedoms for the countrys women over the past few years. Now as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on the economy, some of these women are struggling to retain their new found financial independence, notes a special report in the Reuters.

Women in the United States and Europe have taken an outsized hit from the wave of unemployment caused by the coronavirus, but for women in Saudi Arabia the downturn is particularly damaging because it struck just as their efforts to enter the workforce and gain greater financial independence were gaining traction, says the report.

Most of these women had found employment in non-religious tourism and entertainment sectors, but these have been badly hit by the pandemic.

Women make up about 83% of the jobless, according to the Saudi statistics office. And its an educated group; 70% of those women have high school diplomas or university degrees. And many were counting on the new sectors such as tourism to provide their entry to the workforce, adds the report.

Also read: Hong Kongs protest movement is running out of cash

For a while, the South African government patted its back for successfully evading the pandemic, but that changed Thursday, when the country recorded 3,267 new cases an 80 per cent jump from its previous daily record, reports The Guardian.

Nearly two thirds of the countrys cases are in the Western Cape province, where Cape Town is the biggest city, and health services are under pressure. The region is also a major tourist destination, and local authorities have implemented one of the most rigorous testing regimes in the country, says the report.

Africas three biggest economies Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa have similar doubling rates the number of days in which their infection numbers double according to Our World In Data, it added.

A new long read by The Guardian looks at the northern Spanish region of La Rioja, where a medieval town suffered one of the worst outbreaks across Europe, and how that has poisoned peoples relations with each other in a tightly knit community.

If Covid-19 increases tensions among neighbours in big cities, it can produce poisonous outbreaks of mistrust in small, more insular places like Santo Domingo, says the report.

NBA: Disney World Resort set to host rest of 2020 season: BBC

Two girls lockdown learning underlines South Africas educational divide: Reuters

Hysteresis means we will have scars after Covid-19: The Financial Times

Is coronavirus changing the world of cleaning?: BBC

Also read:Sydneys open for business again. So where is everybody?

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CO2 levels rise despite lockdown, Asias water crisis and other global Covid news - ThePrint

Nonprofit Dedicated to Breaking the Cycles of Homelessness, Poverty and Domestic Violence Witnesses Outpouring of Support from Individuals, Churches, Civic Groups, Companies and Other Nonprofits During Coronavirus Pandemic

Duluth, Ga., June 4, 2020 When Rainbow Village made the difficult decision to close its Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) and Afterschool Youth Programs in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic in March, the nonprofit organization knew the impact would be felt keenly by its residents. With the purpose of providing the tools, programs and transitional housing needed to lead homeless families back to a place of self-sustainability, Rainbow Village understands that many of its residents rely on the ECDC and Afterschool Program for a safe and engaging place for their kids to go while the parent works, attends college or seeks employment. Following the lead of Gwinnett County Public Schools as it does during inclement weather and other emergency situations, Rainbow Village did not take lightly the effect the closure might have on the families it serves and launched the COVID-19 Family Relief Fund as a precautionary measure. Over the weeks that followed, the North Metro Atlanta community came out to show its overwhelming support for Rainbow Village families, donating food, supplies and an incredible $118,514 for the COVID-19 Family Relief Fund.

We are completely blown away by the way the community came together in support of the families Rainbow Village serves, said Melanie Conner, CEO for Rainbow Village. Girl Scout Troops, churches, neighborhoods, companies and civic groups collected and delivered food and supplies for our families. Im so proud of the way our staff stepped up and rolled with the changes during the last few months, as well as the way our Board of Directors showed their true investment in this campus and the people who call Rainbow Village home. Our residents watched out for one another as friends and neighbors, really putting the village in Rainbow Village. And during it all, we moved in three new families. Its been nothing short of incredible.

Conner also pointed to the donation of computers and Wi-Fi adapters from X-Cel and CentricsIT, which connect to campus-wide Wi-Fi made possible from a grant from the Waffle House Foundation. Those gifts allowed Rainbow Village students to take part in online schooling and adults to work remotely. Fully Furnished Ministries donated furniture for the three new incoming families. And, although the original goal for the Rainbow Village COVID-19 Family Relief Fund was set at $10,000, a number of families came forward with generous matching gifts that inspired others to give. The funds raised will help provide summer programming for Rainbow Village kids, assist with increased summer utility costs in the provision of a safe and comfortable home for families, repair or replace aging appliances, and so much more.

For more information about Rainbow Village and its programs, please visit http://www.rainbowvillage.org.

About Rainbow Village: Established in 1991 and based in Duluth, Georgia, Rainbow Village is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization devoted to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence. Committed to serving as a community of transformation, Rainbow Village applies a holistic, two-generational approach to serving homeless families with children. With the goal of helping families achieve emotional stability and financial independence, Rainbow Village provides housing, early childhood education and after-school care, child and youth programming, financial planning, career counseling, workforce readiness, mental health counseling, community events and more. Rainbow Village accepts applications from homeless families with minor children throughout Georgia. To learn more about Rainbow Village, register as a volunteer or make a donation, visit http://www.rainbowvillage.org.

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Community Comes Together for the Families of Rainbow Village - Atlanta, GA - Patch.com

Ali and Alison Walker have found freedom from building aggressive savings as a financial cushion. Photo: Facebook

The coronavirus crisis and the lack of a reliable job market may lead more people to investigate the FIRE philosophy. That is, Financial Independence, Retire Early.

Two forty-somethings sold their Seattle home, said goodbye to their jobs, and set off on an around-the-world journey in 2018 as part of the FIRE movement. They could not have known the true significance of that decision.

At the time, U.S. markets were still on the upswing and all was well for Ali and Alison Walker.

Then came the coronavirus pandemic. The Walkers investments took a huge hit and they found themselves confined to an Airbnb in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, because of travel restrictions. They eventually got a flight out, leaving in May instead of March, and documented their adventure online.

The FIRE adherents had solid nest eggs, allowing them financial flexibility at a critical moment, because they had pursued their goals by saving aggressively, according to a profile recently published in Barrons.

We planned for some type of a black-swan event, said Ali, who worked in marketing and business development. We couldnt have planned for the coronavirus, but we assumed there would be a tough bear market or a prolonged down market for one reason or another.

Just as people flocked to the movement in the wake of the 2008 recession, the current crisis may lead yet more people to FIRE strategies.

What part of biggest unemployment spike in history makes you want to be more reliant on your job? says Tanja Hester, author of the book Work Optional and the FIRE blog Our Next Life. Its a huge reminder that workers are expendable, and there isnt a great safety net out there for us.

The Walkers set aside five years of cash to cover their expenses in the case of a sustained downturn and decided on a conservative annual withdrawal rate of 3% of their savings. They also gave themselves plenty of wiggle room in their budget to pare back expenses if needed.

One of the great things about the FIRE movement is that it talks a lot about the different scenarios you should prepare for before deciding to retire, says the 56-year-old Alison, who had worked retouching images for catalogs and corporate clients.

Marcus Miller, a financial planner who specializes in working with FIRE clients, says the philosophy attracts disciplined investors of a cautious mindset. If you take a look at the people who comprise the FIRE movement, its people who often live below their means and have built this war chest to live off of. They may be better equipped to weather a storm like this than the majority of Americans.

Timing is everything, says Matt Ryan, a financial planner at San Diegobased Creative Capital Management Investments. Two months ago, the people who are close to financial independence and retiring may have been pretty close to their goals, he says. But now they may have to adjust their timing.

Grant Sabatier, a personal-finance blogger and author of Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need, said now may be a difficult time to pursue a FIRE lifestyle. But he said that this is a good moment to take the time to understand their values and plan how they want to save, spend and invest in the future.

Use this moment while were all stuck inside to figure out your relationship with money and how to be more intentional about it when this is all over.

Source: Barrons

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Digital nomads stranded in Mexico demonstrate the appeal of the retire-early movement - Yucatn Expat Life

NAPLES Neapolitans Janet and Jerry Belle were recognized for their volunteer and philanthropic work on behalf of The Immokalee Foundation during the Naples Sailing & Yacht Clubs Community Acts of Kindness: Members with a Cause They Love.

The Belles served as co-chairs of the successful Charity Classic Celebration Gala & Golf Tournament in last November, which raised more than $2.5 million to support The Immokalee Foundations career-based programs for the youth of Immokalee.

The Charity Classic events raise the essential funds needed for The Immokalee Foundation to continue serving more than 1,400 Immokalee youth each year with career-based educational opportunities, curriculum and experiences.

Jerry Belle is a member of the board of directors for the foundation and, importantly, has served as a mentor for an Immokalee student the past three years, providing support, encouragement and guidance through weekly 45-minute discussions. Mentoring begins in sixth grade, and students are paired with mentors through high school graduation; 100% of students in The Immokalee Foundations programs graduate from high school and continue to post-secondary educational opportunities, where 91% graduate.

We enjoy supporting the educational programs of The Immokalee Foundation because their programs are impactful and successful, said Jerry Belle. The foundations long history shows that students gain professional careers that lead to financial independence. Its a model that works, and were proud to be involved.

The Immokalee Foundation provides a range of education programs that focus on building pathways to professional careers through support, mentoring and tutoring, and life skills development leading to economic independence. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, becoming a mentor, its signature events, volunteering as a career panel speaker or host, making a donation, including the foundation in your estate plans, or for additional information, call 239-430-9122 or visit https://immokaleefoundation.org.

The Immokalee Bulletin is published every Thursday.

You are encouraged to leave relevant comments but engaging in personal attacks, threats, online bullying or commercial spam will not be allowed. All comments should remain within the bounds of fair play and civility. (You can disagree with others courteously, without being disagreeable.) Feel free to express yourself but keep an open mind toward finding value in what others say. To report abuse or spam, click the X in the upper right corner of the comment box.

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Janet and Jerry Belle recognized for their work on behalf of TIF - Immokalee Bulletin

The choice of Tim Davie as the new director general of the BBC is an interesting one: he was once involved in Conservative politics and he comes from the commercial rather than the editorial wing of the corporation.

He will have a lot on his plate. The BBC might think that it has had a good pandemic, and it is true that people do turn to their national institutions at a time of crisis, but its coverage has been accused of hyperbole and political bias, and even if ratings are up they are nowhere near what they once were.

There is a technological challenge: the licence fee was designed for radio and television in an age of limited choice, but now people have dozens of options over several devices. Lord Hall bequeaths one important innovation. BBC iPlayer is probably the wave of the future, eventually financed not by a fee but by a subscription, although many BBC programmes are made out of house and the BBC cannot exercise exclusive rights over them. Hence some of its hits have been made available on Netflix.

On top of that is the costly dilemma the BBC faces over free television licences for the over-75s. A proposed change to the eligibility rules was postponed because of the pandemic.

Appointing a more commercially minded director general suggests a step towards greater financial independence from the licence-fee payer. However, one of the biggest long-term problems the BBC faces is that management does not seem to understand who is watching or listening and what they like, a source of particular frustration to the BBCs older users and those outside London.

Most of us want what the BBC was created to provide: high quality programming, and a service that reflects the entire nation, not just Islington.

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The BBC's new Director General will have a fight on his hands - Telegraph.co.uk

It has been a long journey for Meghan Markle to return to her roots in Los Angeles. She and husband Prince Harry have kept a low profile in the city after stepping back from royal duties. They had drawn up certain plans to continue with various charity work but never expected the coronavirus pandemic to become a bottleneck. It has forced them to go on the backfoot.

However, the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement. That prompted Meghan Markle to voice her opinion on the subject. She chose the electronic medium and gave a virtual commencement speech.

The target audience was the graduates of the Los Angeles high school, Immaculate Heart.

It was her school and she urged the students to vote so that they could become a part of the movement. Incidentally, this is a turning point in her life because it was the first time the British royal family has mentioned about the death of George Floyd. It also brings into focus the global protests to end police brutality and racial injustice.

The Elle quotes Meghan saying - "I wasn't sure what I could say to you.

I wanted to say the right thing. And I was really nervous that I wouldnt, or that it would get picked apart, and I realizedthe only wrong thing to say is to say nothing.

She made a mention of others like Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and Stephon Clark and said their lives also mattered.

All of them were African Americans in various age groups and while Breonna Taylor was a woman, Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old kid.

The Black Lives Matter movement was an issue personal to Meghan, given the experiences she had gone through. She was outraged over the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of the police and other similar instances of the past.

In fact, it was important to both her and Harry. Therefore, she decided to give vent to her feelings through a speech. She took the help of Harry and both of them discussed the issue with knowledgeable persons to prepare the groundwork. She wanted to draw attention to police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Elle explains that in order to understand the situations, Meghan and Harry interacted with community leaders apart from anybody else who could throw light on the recent events.

They were keen to get a total picture of the happenings that have apparently tarnished the image of the law enforcement agencies.

According to Express UK, the British royal couple is in Los Angeles and continues to be Celebrities. The couple Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had plans to work on their non-profit charity organizations like the Archewell charity but the ongoing coronavirus has played spoilsport.

The two of them are now concentrating on the death of an African American man at the hands of the police. He is George Floyd and the incident has led to protests that have spread to not only cities in America but have gone international. It is against police brutality and racism, it seems Harry and Meghan have held meetings with other like-minded people.

They could get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement. While speaking to students of her school in the city, she recounted her first experience with widespread violence of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. On the issue of George Floyd, people in London gathered for a peaceful protest in Hyde Park while others marched to Downing Street.

Last week, US President Donald Trump had condemned the behavior of protesters. He directed the military to shoot any looters and his comments have added fuel to fire.

When they decided to leave the British royal family and look around for financial independence, Megan and Harry had several ideas in mind. Meghan, the Suits actor, had high expectations from her influential friends with links in Hollywood.

Harry and Meghan Markle expected to explore the options available after becoming non-royals. However, coronavirus has forced them to hit the pause button.

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Meghan and Harry quietly getting involved with the Black Lives Matter movement - Blasting News United States