I Dream of FIRE

In pursuit of financial independence and personal fulfillment

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Talking financial coaching on the Silicon Slopes Life podcast

April 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

I recently sat down with Andrew Diaz, a fellow ChooseFI SLC member and a successful real estate agent, to talk about Live Your Way Financial Coaching.

We discuss how a coach differs from some of the other financial professionals out there, how coaching can help people in any situation, and why having a super-expensive car might be just fine.

Andrew’s Silicon Slopes Life podcast explores different aspects of the communities near where we live, but the topics — including this podcast — are not necessarily Utah-specific.

Check out the podcast here.

A lesson learned through credit card fraud

February 19, 2019 / / 2 Comments

I was halfway between home and our weekend getaway destination in Idaho when I got the email from Chase Fraud Alert.

“Action needed: Please confirm you made this purchase.”

The business description wasn’t obvious, but I knew I hadn’t actually used the card in question this month. I’m working on the minimum spend for a different card.

Crap. Continue reading

Our slightly less ridiculous 2018 spending recap

February 6, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Last year we spent nearly $100,000 in non-investment purchases. This year wasn’t quite that bad, but it wasn’t the $80,000 I was ballparking back in January 2017.

The plan for a mini-retirement wasn’t fully formed at that point, and I hadn’t considered how taking that break would affect the numbers when I came back around this year. Not that I didn’t plan for the year’s expenses before leaving my job — of course I ran the numbers several ways to make sure we would be OK. I mean I didn’t get too far into the categorical weeds of what would go up and what would go down. Continue reading

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

January 29, 2019 / / 7 Comments

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

January 15, 2019 / / 3 Comments

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

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