Executive Summary

• Best practices in cost-accounting from the FIRE movement
• The appeal of the 4% annual expense strategy
• Life hacks in extreme frugality
• The Peak Prosperity community shares its collective wisdom

If you have not yet read Part 1: Extreme Frugality, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

What if it were possible to uncouple from the ‘rat race’ and thereby regain a big portion of your time to use as you please?

I assume everyone would find that desirable.  Time would open up for one to volunteer, travel, get in shape, meditate, sleep or do whatever you desire.

There’s a well-established movement underway the goes by the acronym FIRE, which stands for Financial Independence Retire Early.  It’s not for everybody, and has a ton of pros and cons, and I’m not advocating that anybody blindly adopt FIRE as their framework, although some of you may already pursue it and that’s fine.

I am saying that the movement has put a lot of thoughtful time into managing the income and expense parts of life and it has a lot of very practical advice to follow if one wishes.

My role is to set the stage. I’ve spent a huge amount of time reading blogs, finding resources, and condensing the learnings to save you time.

And what I’ve learned is…

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The concept of ‘retirement’, of enjoying decades of work-free leisure in your golden years, is a relatively new construct. It’s only been around for a few generations.

In fact, the current version of the relaxed, golfing/RV-touring/country club retirement lifestyle only came into being in the post-WW2 boom era — as Social Security, corporate & government pensions, cheap and plentiful energy, and extended lifespans made it possible for the masses.

But increasingly, it looks like the dream of retiring is fast falling out of reach for many of today’s Baby Boomers. Most will outlive their savings (if they have any at all).

Will you?

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Executive Summary

• The Importance of Adding New Income Streams
• Income-Producing Assets
• Taking Advantage of Subsidies
• Hedges, Cost-Controls & Other Strategies
• The 14 Steps to Prosperity

If you have not yet read Part 1: The Great Retirement Con, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

In Part 1, we revealed the woefully insufficient level of retirement savings — across IRAs, 401ks, and public pensions — America faces as it's largest demographic cohort, the Baby Boomers, now reaches retirement age. And eating quickly away at the scant savings that exist is the soaring cost of big-ticket essentials such as rent, higher education and healthcare that retirees can't avoid paying.

So what can we do about it?

There are only a few strategies that can make a real difference:  own assets and income streams that keep up with real-world inflation, radically reduce the cost structure of big-ticket household expenses, qualify for subsidies (i.e. lower household income), and/or adopt a healthier view of what prosperity in retirement means.

Owning Income-Producing Enterprises and Assets

This chart says volumes about the difference between wealthy households and middle-class households: the middle-class households’ primary asset is the family home, while the wealthy households’ primary asset is business equity: ownership of an enterprise or shares in enterprises.

Developing a profitable enterprise is easier said than done (it helps to inherit a family business), and there is no guarantee a business that’s successful today will still be successful next year.

Nonetheless, it’s striking that the middle class is…

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In this week's Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Dan Amerman discuss:

• Over-Complacency
  • The market has basically ignored the Brussels attacks
• The Great Retirement Con
  • Why long-term investment returns will be elusive from here
• Good-bye Future Gains
  • Future profits have already been pulled into today's stock prices
• Disappearing Dividends
  • The largest source of wealth creation is nowhere to be found

Click to listen to a sample of this Off the Cuff Podcast or Enroll today to access the full audio and other premium content today.

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