In pursuit of financial independence and personal fulfillment

Category: Home improvement (Page 1 of 2)

This is why we CAN have nice things

You see that ding? That pea-sized dent in the pristine stainless steel facade? Notice the scratch below it? Those just got me a brand-new refrigerator that’s at least twice as nice as I would have gotten.

You’re looking at $2,300 of damage right there, believe it or not. Let me explain. Continue reading

What I learned from a home energy audit

I consider myself rather energy conscious around the house.

Nearly every lightbulb in the house is an LED. I close air vents in unused rooms. We keep doors and windows open early in the day to cool the house, then close them as the outside temperature climbs to reduce our air conditioning use.

There’s always more to consider, so I was thrilled when my gas company called to offer a free home energy audit, where an expert would go through my home and look for ways to reduce our energy consumption. Here’s what I learned. Continue reading

16 ways to lower fall energy bills

Here are 16 things you can do as fall approaches to save energy (and money) over the chilly season. Many of these are free or inexpensive, while others will more than pay for themselves over time. Continue reading

Coming to terms with all the debt I never thought we had

As I scan the personal finance blog sites and headlines, I can’t help but notice how many people paid off big chunks of debt.

“See how we paid off $56K of debt”
“I crushed $24,000 in student loans in one year!”
“Our journey out of $83K of consumer debt”
“I paid off $40,000 in debt, and you can, too”

I’ve largely ignored these stories, because I don’t really feel like they apply to me. I’ve never defined my financial situation around debt. But I’m just now coming around to think about the debt we’ve already paid and debt have today and realizing these stories are more relevant to me than I thought. Continue reading

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