You can find high-interest savings accounts that easily pay over 1% (which is still low, but will eventually go up). Held in a Roth IRA, they'll grow tax-free (unliked your rental income, which is taxable). They'll also never call you at 3 in the morning because they plugged their toilet.

OP, you say the house has sentimental value to your parents, but you're not even living in it. It's rented. Surely they'd understand that you don't want to have so much of your net worth tied up in a single asset class, no? If you were to sell, is there an expectation that they'd be entitled to a share of the profits? If so, have you factored that into your net worth calculation?

indeed I did lowered it bunbury, but it's ok, I gained experience and I thought NY is the
place to be if you have big ambitions

but re work for myself, I teached italian part time and painted gates and kithcens
with my father back in ITA, other than that I ve been a 9-5 guy all my life,

but let me ask you, what particular occupation you mean by work for yourself?
like buying a business or work as a real estate agent for example?

Hi kombat,

re my parents, yes if i sell the house they'd understand that the capital can be used to make a higher return; they wuldn't want part of it; but in ITA it is a "parents dream" to build a house for their kids,

also, I am also not sure how much of a higher return we are talking about here and i have to deal with my fear and lack of investing experience:

what do you do with 350.000 euros in cash?
bring the cash in the us? to buy what?

you buy 3 apartments? will the tenants pay the rent?

this is why I posted here on the web, to see what other people do in my situation

Maybe we need a few more details. I'm not entirely clear on the situation with the house. Now it seems like the house is in Italy, is that true? And is it worth $400,000 USD or $350,000 Euros? Those are very different amounts.

You're currently in the US, in New York, correct? How long do you plan to stay there? Do you plan to return to Italy when you retire? Where are you currently living? In an apartment? Do you have roommates?

If the house is in Italy, and rented to someone else, and you live in New York, who's managing the property? Who's paying the utilities and taxes?

If I were you, I'd sell the house, move the cash to the US, max out any 401(k) and Roth IRA contribution room I had, invest the cash in low-fee index and bond mutual funds, keeping 3 month's expenses liquid in a high-interest savings account.

I also think more details about the house and yourself might be helpful.

I can understand that selling the house might not be an option for emotional/family reasons. So, you will keep it. Is the $950 per month you receive net or gross? How stable is it? Have you had the same tenant for 8 years with the expectation of a long term continuation or is this something that takes a lot of ongoing management?

In my thinking, whether it is worth 350 keuro or $400k is irrelevant if you won't sell it. To you it is a source of cash flow. What is the monthly net cash flow from the property?

What is your tax status? Are you subject to US tax laws or do you pay Italian taxes? That could make a huge difference if you plan to retire to another country.

You say you are an accountant. Are you a CPA or similarly skilled/licensed professional who could conceivably earn money consulting? Or are you a bookkeeper? Because improving your credentials so that you can earn money consulting might be an important part of achieving your early retirement dream.

Are you married/partnered?

There is another blog/forum called "extreme early retirement" that you might be interested in. I have no affiliation, I just think you might like it.

hi kombat,

where is tat blog?
my ita house is rented at 770 euro; in taxes i pay around 80 euro per montjh to ita government, but that income does not count for ita pension; managed by my father that lives nearby,

im single, ive a economic degree from ita, but currently im not receiving job offers even if i have almost 10 years experience in us as bookkeeper, A/R

by work for yourself, I mean...starting your own book-keeping business, or finding several contract basis work. That would afford more freedom instead of being tied to 9-5. I think retirement at 38 is too drastic.

You can come to China. It's enough to live in a small city in China with your rent. You also can do some English teaching jobs here.

I was thinking the same thing.

Check out the cost of living in other areas. If you are willing to move to another city with a much lower cost of living, you could drastically improve your quality of life. I live in the midwest, where $45k a year is considered a nice living. Try looking at cost of living in different areas like the south and the midwest, or even the Rocky Mountain states. I would assume with a degree and experience as an accountant you could get a job somewhere else if you wanted. The city I live in is in Nebraska and we currently have a unemployment rate under 4%, fairly low housing costs, and even have a small university in town giving us some options for eating out and entertainment. We even have a company in town that is owned by an Italian company! (Pramac)

If you could get your income stream from your house straightened out, or even just have it continue the way it is, it would be a nice adder to an accountant's salary for this area.

Hi cole

Nice answer, but coming toyour state and work 9 to 5
can be an improvement for suee bur id stil be stuck
in a rat race life

I guess ill focus more on achieving freedom through
passive income, owning a small business
The final goal is financial freedom

If you are looking for a more interesting lifestyle, there are many people in the Midwest (not just Nebraska) that can get by doing seasonal work in agriculture or construction. They can then manage to keep their costs low enough to travel (on a budget) or just do odd jobs in the off season. I'm not sure what kind of lifestyle change you are looking for, but that would definitely get you out of the corporate "rat race".

Probably not what you were looking for, but it would be quite a change.

Hey Cole,

that would work ). Its just a matter of adapting, after 10 years in nyc..

There are people in Hawaii that sleep on the beach and get by selling wild fruit they pick or making pandamus hats for tourists. Some of them do surprisingly well and make $100 or so a day.

Others buy an acre or so there for $10000, build a hut, and subsist.

It's not that hard. Not quite for me but it's hard to criticize someone who gets to spend all his time in paradise without a care in the world. Some of these guys have $1000 surf boards next to them.

Thr lifestyle i have in mind is to have a business/be a kind of professional
That gives me time off, a lot of time off,


say 3/4 mo a year so that i can
Travel and still be able co come back to the us and

Still be busy doing something: like a landlord or
Something, owning several properties and manage them

Or a professon

Or