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Money Diary: Achieving FIRE on £35K Salary

September 3, 2020 at 11:17 am EDT by Joshua Holt

“I’m a senior medical writer living in Berkshire and following the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement with my husband (A). We hope to be financially independent by the time we reach our mid 40s,” in today’s edition of the Money Diary.

“8.30pm: Home again. Snuggle on the sofa to watch a film, then head to bed where we listen to The Planets audiobook before falling asleep.

Total Spent Today: £0″

881,000 Americans Filed Initial Claims for Unemployment Last Week

September 3, 2020 at 9:16 am EDT by Joshua Holt

CNN: “881,000 Americans filed initial claims for benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis,” which is less than one million for the first time in a month.

“Continued jobless claims, which count people filing for benefits for at least two weeks in a row, also offered some good news: It stood at a seasonally adjusted 13.3 million, falling by more than 1 million from the prior week.”

Can TikTok Make You Better at Money?

September 3, 2020 at 9:14 am EDT by Joshua Holt

Time Magazine: “TikTok isn’t just about dance challenges and viral memes—you might pick up some financial advice, too.”

“Delyanne Barros, 37, who goes by @DelyanneTheMoneyCoach, began posting about debt payoff, investing and financial independence on TikTok in February 2020. Barros, an employment attorney by day, first began sharing her personal financial journey on Instagram, which evolved into a side business coaching others to do the same. She says her primary focus on TikTok is driving awareness.”

Is This the Best Time for a Gap Year?

September 3, 2020 at 7:10 am EDT by Joshua Holt

With the pandemic continuing to ravage the United States, does it make sense to pay for a freshman year of college which will be taught virtually?

“Taking a gap year between high school and university is fairly common in many parts of Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, the practice is less common, but attracted mainstream attention in 2016 when Barack Obama’s daughter Malia took a gap year before attending Harvard University,” writes the BBC.

“It’s a sentiment that Joshua Kim and Edward Maloney, authors of Learning Innovation and The Future Of Higher Education, understand.But Kim, the director of online programs and strategy at Dartmouth College, says, “I think you really have to distinguish between true gap year experiences and simply stopping for a year or waiting for a year.”

Dept of Ed Pushing Forward with New Student Loan Servicers

September 3, 2020 at 6:10 am EDT by Joshua Holt

“The Department announced it has now contracted with five new companies that will take responsibility for servicing many of the outstanding student loans borrowers owe,” reports Christy Bieber.

“The Education Department has also severed ties with some existing loan servicers, including Great Lakes and Nelnet.”

Q: Which student loan servicers have consistently ranked the highest in customer satisfaction? 

A: Great Lakes.

Renters Unsure if Eviction Moratorium is Legit

September 3, 2020 at 6:02 am EDT by Joshua Holt

“The Trump administration has announced an order to suspend the possibility of eviction for millions of renters who have suffered financially because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the order was an emergency action, which it is entitled to take under the law,” writes Ron Lieber.

Who is eligible?

“You must meet a five-pronged test.”

COVID-19 Can’t Cancel Everyone’s FIRE Plans

September 2, 2020 at 7:15 pm EDT by Joshua Holt

“And just like that, everything changed in an instant. That glimmer of hope is now sparkling so… we booked a flight to Panama!” reports Route to Retire.

“On Tuesday, 08/25/20, the Panamanian government finally announced a re-opening plan. This was what we’d been waiting to see for months – just something to give us an idea of what to anticipate instead of being left in the dark.”

Should You Invest at All-Time Market Highs?

September 2, 2020 at 6:12 pm EDT by Joshua Holt

Jim Dahle: “I have often said that beginning investors have trouble following their plan at market lows, intermediate investors have trouble following their plan at market highs, and experienced investors follow their plan all the time.”

“I am seeing a lot of posts out there with people nervous to put money into any asset class at market highs. I agree that it is not so fun to put money in at market highs. However, the only thing worse than investing at market highs is not investing at market highs.”

Total 401(k) Contribution Limit Jumps to $58,000 in 2021

September 2, 2020 at 4:08 pm EDT by Joshua Holt

Harry Sit gets the numbers published early.

“The total employer plus employee contributions to all defined contribution plans by the same employer will increase by $1,000 from $57,000 in 2020 to $58,000 in 2021. The age-50-or-over catch-up contribution is on top of this limit. If you work for multiple unrelated employers in the same year, you have separate limits at each employer.”

Also: “The HSA contribution limit for single coverage will go up by $50 from $3,550 in 2020 to $3,600 in 2021. The HSA contribution limit for family coverage will go up from $7,100 in 2020 to $7,200 in 2021.”

The World’s Biggest Pension Systems are Failing Women

September 2, 2020 at 2:17 pm EDT by Joshua Holt

“Even before Covid-19 shuttered economies across the world, many women faced retiring with less savings than men. Now, that gap is set to widen further in some of the world’s biggest pension systems,” reports The National.

“In an April survey, fielded after several states issued stay-at-home orders and large sections of the US economy were temporarily shut down, 25 per cent of women said their confidence in their ability to retire comfortably had dropped due to the pandemic, compared to 21 per cent for men. Some 39 per cent of women aren’t saving for retirement, compared to 22 per cent for men.”

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FIREwire

Personal finance, investing and financial independence.

About FIREwire

Joshua Holt is the founder of FIREwire, a site that aggregates personal finance, investing and financial independence stories. He is also the creator of Biglaw Investor.

Joshua spent more than a decade as a corporate lawyer in New York City representing sovereign nations and private equity clients in mergers & acquisitions.

He earned degrees from the University of Arkansas and Boston College, while also spending a year at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. He lives in Austin with his wife and son.

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– A man on the street

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– Joshua’s mother

“I intend to fill this with real testimonials in the future. Until then, I’ll write sentences about how I’ve always wanted a curated collection of the personal finance, investing and financial independence news of the day and I hope this site scratches that itch.”

– Joshua Holt

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