This article is the fifth in a series of seven that will discuss our approach to reaching financial independence, and determining key criteria for success. If you have not already read the fourth step regarding test-driving with one less income, please take a minute to visit that post. This article will discuss reasons for becoming […]
Debt
Welcome new readers and subscribers
Welcome new readers and subscribers! My recent guest post on the 7 Phases of Retirement over at Retire by 40 last week piqued interest in our personal journey to financial independence. Many of Joe’s readers visited this site and subscribed to receive future posts. Thank you. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new […]
On priorities: Our friend “Buck” stops here
A beautiful array of wildlife passes through our backyard. We’ve seen foxes, coyotes, skunks, quail and other birds, lynx, javelina and, of course, plenty of deer. A while back we had a lone deer visit us several times over a couple of days. He settled in for a few hours during each visit. I named […]
A Tale of Two Employees’ Finances – “Billy”
In another post I compared the difference between my situation and that of a co-worker. If you have not already read that post, check it out here. Over 30 years ago, I met a great friend of mine when we worked for a large wholesale bakery operation. Let’s call him “Mr. Billy” or “Billy” for short. […]
Are we there yet?
Today we have a treat with a post from my wife. I thought it might be interesting for people to see life in the household from my better half’s perspective. I hope you enjoy it, and please do leave feedback and ask questions. Do you find yourself focusing more on the future than living in […]
Celebrating Independence and Personal Freedom July 4th
Every summer, we have the opportunity to celebrate our country’s independence. For me, I am grateful that I was born in the United States, and for the independence we have obtained as a nation. We live in a wonderful time of innovation, technology, and new personal freedoms.Our forefathers spoke for us as a nation when […]
We have lived as a one car family for years
I have enjoyed riding a bike from the very first day I learned how to ride one, somewhere around the age of five. It is such a marvelous invention to use human-powered effort to propel a machine down the road, at greater speeds than you could possibly achieve by running. This is almost as exciting […]
How Does it Feel to Pay Off a Mortgage?
My goal—and one that my wife and I share—has always been to be mortgage-free. Although this has felt like a huge obstacle, it has been an important milestone in planning for our retirement. These days, the trend seems to be that more people are retiring with mortgage balances. To me, it appears fiscally irresponsible and […]
Part 2: Is Debt good, bad, or just something we can’t live without? (Like oxygen and water)
About a month ago I discussed “Bad debt” in part #1 of this two part series. If you missed that post, please take a moment to read that first. In Part #1 we defined what debt is and determined that several things could be detrimental to your finances. The basic ideas of incurring debt to […]
How Liquid is your Real Estate?
One of my longtime passions and investment strategies has been residential real estate. Many of the blogs and books that I follow talk about real estate, and I will definitely get into more detail regarding real estate in future blog posts. However, for now I think it is important to talk about liquidity (the ability to […]