Category: <span>Money</span>

Finally, We Found Our Forever Homestead

Just one month ago, we were making adjustments and accepting that it may take a bit longer than expected to move to our forever homestead.  My most recent blog post was even about this acquiescence.  But, it wasn’t time to give up yet.  Exciting news: We found a wonderful property …

Plan Adjustments & Preparing For A Recession

We have been ready to move to our forever homestead for some time now, but the right property has yet to hit the market.  At the same time, it’s impossible not to notice the rising prices of well, everything.  We realize that flexibility continues to be a huge key to …

The New Spectrum of FIRE Categories

Learning about the FIRE movement was one of the driving factors behind our family’s decision to pursue new goals and take drastic measures to improve our finances.   It’s also one of the foundations of this blog.  If you’re not familiar, FIRE is Financial Independence, Retire Early.  And there is now …

Things To Do While Waiting For Your Dream Home

After years of hard work, and surviving pandemic quarantine with five kids in a 1,300 square foot home . . . We are finally ready to move into our forever homestead!  There is a down payment in the bank and we have our mortgage preapproval letters.  The next step is …

Death, Money, and God: Reflections and Lessons From A Difficult Time

My father passed away last month. He had been in the hospital since the beginning of December, after suffering a head injury, due to a fall. The rollercoaster ride of the past few months have challenged me beyond anything that I’ve faced before in my life.  In my continuing attempts …

Our Somewhat Frugal Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from our family to yours!  This “season of giving” always seems to highlight the struggle between being true to your finances versus indulging and spreading joy to others.  A generous Christmas could easily negate significant financial progress made through the year.  Our …

Black Friday and The Tragic Death of Heirlooms

Now that we’ve survived the shopping frenzy associated with Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the younger sibling), I have a question for anyone that attempted to find some good deals this year.  Did you see anything for sale that could last long enough to be an heirloom for your children, …

Fun Facets of My Kaleidoscope: Time for New Hobbies

We have been laser-focused on repairing our finances throughout the life of this blog, so it makes sense that there would be many, many posts about frugality and side hustles.  However, one of the reasons we work so hard is to have more time for family, travel, and hobbies.  As …

2021 Update & A Reintroduction

How it started?  Frustration.  It was over six years ago when I started this blog as an outlet, a way to brainstorm, and for some accountability.  My days were mostly spent commuting and sitting in an office; unmotivated, depressed, and missing my family.  We were in so much debt that …

What I Learned From Four Years Of NO Shopping For New Clothes

In February of 2016, I posted about my journey of not buying any new clothes for three years. The post really appears to intrigue readers, who still comment about being impressed by this seemingly-impossible task. To the readers who want to know how long I was able to keep it …