Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

How Home Ownership Made Us Poorer

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Billy and Akaisha in Cefalu, Italy

Owning a home cost us money.

"What?" you say, “Everybody makes money owning real-estate”.

We owned a new home in a central California for 10 years and yes, we made a profit. But nothing like what we would have made had we held the Exxon stock we used to buy it. 

Plus, while holding the stock, there were no property taxes, weekend projects that take twice as long as expected with a couple of trips to the hardware store and weekly mowing and cleaning. No painting, plumbing and other repairs.

Home ownership is like a financial vehicle that keeps you trapped into society's expectations of you.

Your boss wants you to purchase a home or buy a new vehicle because it keeps you tied to your job. He won't have to worry about replacing you or the investment he has made in you over the years. You need that job to continue your monthly payments. He knows that.

While we loved our careers and enjoy being productive - even now in our Financial Independent Lifestyle - we see home ownership as a type of enslavement. You are stuck in your job or stuck in your neighborhood without the facility of making a change with ease.

And if you think you own your home or the property on which it sits, try not paying your insurance or property taxes for a while. We don't see any real home "ownership" but rather only a home lease agreement with the government, insurance companies and the bank.

Stock ownership = Freedom!

Owning stocks instead of a home gives us the freedom to travel for weeks, months or years, without the worries of a home left empty. We have the freedom of more control over our taxes and the freedom to move to a different country if we decide we want to do that.

Unlike owning a home, which would tie us to a specific location and come with various responsibilities, our portfolio has provided us a level of flexibility and mobility that we find very appealing.

First and foremost, stock ownership grants us the flexibility to travel for extended periods without the worries associated with leaving a home unattended. Homeowners need to ensure that their property is secure and maintained during periods of their absence. However, we can easily manage our investments from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. This allows us to embark on long-term travel adventures - which we've done for years - and to relocate temporarily (we call those our bases) or even become digital nomads, all without the constraints of homeownership.

Stock ownership also offers the ability to have more control over our taxes. Unlike homeowners who may have limited opportunities for tax optimization, we can leverage various tax strategies to minimize our tax liabilities. We have the flexibility to strategically time the buying and selling of stocks to manage capital gains and losses, and take advantage of our tax-efficient IRAs to offset gains with losses. This level of control over taxes is highly advantageous to us and helps to maximize returns on our investments, while keeping our tax liability low.

Moving elsewhere

Also, stock ownership has provided us with the freedom to move to a different country more easily.

If you desire a change in your living environment or wish to explore new opportunities abroad, the ability to liquidate stock holdings and transfer funds internationally offers a seamless transition. Unlike the complexities associated with selling a property, such as finding buyers, dealing with real estate agents, and navigating the local housing market, we can easily adapt to our new location without the burden of homeownership and all the paperwork, insurances, maintenance and tax issues.

Moreover, the ease of stock ownership has allowed us to adjust our investment strategy as we have aged, to reallocate our portfolio based on our ever-evolving financial goals and risk tolerance.

Stocks provide liquidity, meaning they can be readily bought or sold on stock exchanges. This liquidity allows us to react swiftly to changing market conditions and take advantage of investment opportunities that we may find outside the US, Unlike the relative illiquidity of real estate - where it can take months or even years to sell a property - which it did in our case in California - stocks offer a level of agility that enables us to adapt to market dynamics and make timely decisions.

Diversification of investments

Lastly, stock ownership allowed us to diversify our investments across different sectors, industries, and geographical regions.

This diversification provides a level of financial freedom by reducing risk. By spreading investments across various stocks, like owning the Exchange Traded Fund, Vanguard Total Market Index, VTI, we mitigate the impact of single stock ownership risk. This approach has given us greater resilience to economic uncertainties and provides the freedom to explore different investment opportunities without being overly reliant on one single asset class, such as real estate.

We can add to or reduce holdings in other sectors such as technology when we feel the time is right.

Stock ownership has granted us a sense of freedom that would never be possible when owning a home.

The ability to manage investments from afar, optimize taxes, relocate more easily, adjust investment strategies, and diversify holdings across different sectors and regions all while sitting on a beach in St. Somewhere is very appealing for us and our adventurous lifestyle.

Freedom Rocks!

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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