In pursuit of financial independence and personal fulfillment

Month: January 2019

I’m ending my mini-retirement; what’s next?

I stepped away from my job last April hungry for a change. I was burned out at work, felt less than present at home, and wanted to build a stronger connection in my community.

I said I would be taking a mini-retirement of up to one year. I wasn’t sure how much of that time I would need to work through the things I wanted to dissect and experience the things I wanted to take on.

Today, I can happily say that after nine months, I have clarity of purpose and direction. Continue reading

Gratitude in a car crash

My wife’s car has been declared a total loss over a relatively minor crash.

Our car insurance will assuredly go up — maybe a lot.

I’m not bringing in a steady income right now, so this is not a good time to buy another car.

The crash happened the day before we boarded a flight to Florida for Christmas, meaning everything was done over the phone during vacation.

We were in limbo for three weeks while the repair shop and insurance went through their process.

All told, this will probably cost us at least $5,000.

And yet, I am gratefully annoyed at the situation. Continue reading

The huge difference between being in debt and having debt

Who do you picture in your mind when you think of “people in debt”?

Is it someone struggling to pay the bills, not sure where next month’s housing payment is going to come from or how to put gas in the car because the credit card is topped off?

Do you think of people with lots of expensive clothes, pricey cars, and lavish furnishings throughout their picturesque home, knowing full well they’re leveraged up to their kids’ eyeballs when she’s riding on daddy’s shoulders?

Or maybe you think of a new college graduate just finding out what all those years of schooling are really going to cost over the next decade as they begin to make their way in the world.

But how often do you think of someone who has their financial house in order, plenty of money to cover expenses, and a good balance between enjoying life now and delaying gratification for the future? Because maybe you should. Continue reading

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