The 4% rule and other magic numbers to never run out of money

By Trajan King

In Financial independence

7 Min read

One of the greatest fears of retired people is running out of money. No one wants to run out of money after they've stopped working, especially not in the elder years. There are few things as dreadful as retiring and then being forced to work at Walmart in your 80's....

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How much money is enough to be happy?

By Trajan King

In Financial independence, Goals & Challenges, Investing

8 Min read

Over the years as I've built companies and have seen my income fluctuate and saved and invested, one question comes up continually: How much money is enough to be happy? What are we working toward? Should we always be hustling at the expense of other parts of our lives so...

Over the years as I’ve built companies and have seen my income fluctuate and saved and invested, one question comes up continually: How much money is enough to be happy? What are we working toward? Should we always be hustling at the expense of other parts of our lives so we can collect more stuff to put in our storage sheds? It comes down to answering the question: how much money is enough...

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Death and Taxes: not so certain anymore

By Trajan King

In Financial independence

6 Min read

In 1789 Ben Franklin wrote in a letter that “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Now, over 200 years later, we're not sure so about the inevitability of death...

In 1789 Ben Franklin wrote in a letter that “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Now, over 200 years later, we’re not sure so about the inevitability of death and taxes can be reduced or illuminated with the right planning. We’ll leave the topic of life...

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The truth about working for yourself

By Trajan King

In Founding, Lifestyle

7 Min read

Since leaving Wall Street and Silicon Valley in the early 2000's, I've mostly worked for myself. The exceptions being during periods where I worked in a more organized startup. It's been an amazing period of trials and triumphs. There have been ups and downs. Working for yourself can be very...

Since leaving Wall Street and Silicon Valley in the early 2000’s, I’ve mostly worked for myself. The exceptions being during periods where I worked in a more organized startup. It’s been an amazing period of trials and triumphs. There have been ups and downs. Working for yourself can be very rewarding in terms of personal growth, income and freedom of time and creativity. Our...

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VTSAX conquers all: The case for investing in low-cost index funds

By Trajan King

In Financial independence

8 Min read

In previous articles I've covered why it's so difficult for people to beat the market. How Warren Buffett is an anomaly and how it's so hard to beat the market that only 5% of fund managers manage to do it. Far fewer individual investors can do it and why this is...

In previous articles I’ve covered why it’s so difficult for people to beat the market. How Warren Buffett is an anomaly and how it’s so hard to beat the market that only 5% of fund managers manage to do it. Far fewer individual investors can do it and why this is one reason I don’t use a financial planner. So why is it so tough to beat the market and what should we do to...

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