I get a lot of questions about early retirement, investing, finances, planning, benefits, and more. So, I thought it would be a great help to publish a Q & A article.

Most of the questions below are edited, and I’m using fake names to protect privacy. There are far more questions than I could fit into a single article, so I’ll publish more periodically. Follow me and this publication so you won’t miss the next batch.

“I’m 52 and hate my job. Can I retire now?”

-Ronaldo

No, Ronaldo. That’s a bad idea regardless of how much money you have…

No matter your age, you can benefit from a few simple rules — laws, in fact — that will ensure a satisfying life and retirement.

But whose advice should you follow? Which approach is the best, and more importantly, which is the best for you? “Follow the experts” is a good approach, but even they don’t agree on everything. So, I’ve taken the time to comb through the best advice of the experts and distilled it down to four simple rules.

Building a successful future is like building a solid house. You’ll always want to rely on the experts for…

The cost of living in the United States continues to rise, and the average monthly expenditures for a couple exceed $3,500. From college students to retirees, people struggle to afford a fulfilling lifestyle, so many US citizens are flocking to other, less expensive countries to live better lives for less.

Younger workers fear they may never have a chance to retire. Wages are flat while the cost of living is skyrocketing. There needs to be a better way.

Perhaps working remotely or retiring in another country. But which one?

You could pore through data on 200 countries, but don’t bother…

Early retirement has tremendous lifestyle benefits, but sadly, some drawbacks too. To rise above the rest, you need to enter the world of early retirement with your eyes wide open because here, ignorance is not bliss; it’s catastrophic.

Social Security is a lifeline for most retirees, and early retirement is no exception. If you pay into the program, you deserve your benefits — they can be the difference between comfort and struggle.

Make sure you understand the rules, the pitfalls, and the loopholes. …

The early retirement movement is a powerful driving force for many. “FIRE,” Financial Independence, Retire Early, is the most popular discipline, but all early retirement methods rely on a foundation of highly aggressive savings rates, sometimes as much as 60%-80% of one’s income.

In a nutshell, the premise is to cut living expenses to the bone and save like a maniac for a decade or two until you have enough savings and investments to sustain that lifestyle, freeing you to pursue your passions.

The fine print hides the fact that a common outcome is a lifetime of austerity. It’s a…

What do we do every New Year? We make resolutions. Yay! Let’s do it again!

Why do we humans repeat this oddball ritual each year? Well, for self-improvement, of course. If you want to be well-read, you can read a book every month. If you want to be more worldly, you can travel more. You can save money, take classes, find a partner, lose weight, stop smoking, donate more time, organize your closet, or be a kinder and gentler spouse.

Sometimes our resolve stands firm for months, sometimes a few hours. On rare occasions, resolutions last forever. …

Retirement isn’t the end of work — it’s just different work. See why some choose that path, and what they’re doing. What will you do?

By Richard Haiduck (posted on his behalf by Brian Feutz)

The Life After Work publication seems like an ideal place to showcase the kind of work that retirees choose to do in this stage of their life. Brian and I thought it would be interesting to explore what work looks like for those retirees who continue to work, even when their full-time career is behind them.

Working in retirement sounds like a contradiction. Isn’t retirement…

Travel blogs proclaim the cost of living in Mexico is “shockingly” lower than in the US or Canada. But is it really? And exactly how shocking? Enough for me to move there and retire early?

Last winter, I decided to find out for myself. It was a Christmas present of sorts, from me to me. (I do that a lot; it’s a great way to get the best gifts.)

If you follow my blog, it’s no secret that I love Mexico and plan to spend a lot of time there in retirement. I’ve wondered if by living part-time in inexpensive…