Mark Trautman, Author at Mark's Money Mind

Market Volatility – Friend or Foe?

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Mark Trautman

You may have noticed some scary headlines recently… Dow Plummets 700+ Points – Stocks Post Largest One-Day Loss in 2019 U.S. Trade War with China Intensifies Inverted Yield Curve Predicts a Recession …and you may also have noticed the resulting increase in stock market volatility. Does this make you nervous? Should you alter your investment portfolio? What is an investor to do? I am here to tell you to take a deep breath. It is important to understand that market Continue Reading →

Paying It Forward – An Early Retiree Case Study

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Mark Trautman

I was recently asked to write a guest post for the Can I Retire Yet? blog about my journey to financial independence and what I have done since my early retirement at the end of 2015. This post required a lot of personal self-reflection where I discuss my early Money Mindset, some major inflection points in my financial journey, enlightenment from an unlikely source, and ultimately finding my path to financial independence. Post retirement, I did not have any specific Continue Reading →

CampFI and Encouragement for the Reluctant Financial Participant

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Mark Trautman

I am pleased to introduce the first guest post on MarksMoneyMind. After attending CampFI with my wife, Marge, last weekend, I asked her if she would be interested in sharing her experience. At first she was hesitant, however, shortly after we returned home I found a surprise email with a full blog post attached. So without further adieu, here is Marge’s takeaway on CampFI and her perspective on financial independence… My Experience at CampFI This past weekend I attended Camp Continue Reading →

Portfolio Drawdown Anxiety – Discussions at CampFI

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Mark Trautman

This past weekend, I had the fortunate experience of attending CampFI for my first time. CampFI is a weekend long retreat where people curious about, in their pursuit of, or those who have already attained financial independence (“FI”), participate in discussions and presentations (and impromptu pop-up podcasts!) about any and all subject matter revolving around this concept. First and foremost, for me at least, it is an event where I was able to meet community members “IRL” (in real life Continue Reading →

A Readers’ Guide to Financial Independence

Posted on December 15, 2018 by Mark Trautman

Many people who know me are aware that I am a voracious reader! I am often asked for book recommendations on the topics I am most passionate about: personal finance, investing and financial independence. In an attempt to answer that question, and to offer a response that I can easily direct anyone toward, I have compiled a list of some of the top books that I feel may offer the biggest impact on one’s own journey toward financial independence. The Continue Reading →