Annual Planning

Spring Cleaning for Your Finances

February 28, 2019 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

It’s the late stages of winter and the tulips are starting to emerge and the days are growing longer. I am starting to feel the pull of yardwork that needs doing and noticing areas that need decluttering. That means it must be about time for some Spring Cleaning!

Past the holidays and before the craziness of summer activities kick in there is a window of relative calm (unless you are a tax accountant!). This is a perfect time to knock out some Spring Cleaning. But did you know that you can do Spring Cleaning for your finances too?

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5 Great Ways to Spend Your Tax Return

February 21, 2019 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

It’s that time of the year again… My wife and I just wrapped up filing our taxes for the year. Boy, let me tell you that is on the top of my list for fun weekend activities. Oh well, with another winter weather watch squashing other plans, it was as good a time as any to knock it out. As it turns out, we are going to get a refund this year. So what the hell should we do with it?

Here are 5 great ways to spend it.

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Dropping Our Financial Pants: 2018 Spending

January 17, 2019 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

With another year in the books, it’s good to look back and see where all the money went. This is my second year of tracking spending by detailed categories and my second year of posting our spending online. You can check out our 2017 Spending here.

I got to say, that putting all this information out there feels a bit like standing in front of a group of people in my underwear. I feel a bit exposed!

So without further ado… how did we, ehhh, do?

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Our 2018 Scorecard and 2019 Personal Finance Goals

January 10, 2019 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

It’s a new year and that means new resolutions, right? Last January I set some personal finance goals for our household. I wanted to take a moment and look back at the past year. Did we meet our goals for the year? Did we bomb in epic fashion? My grading system is simple PASS or FAIL. Read on for the results! [Read more…]

Company Christmas Club: Is It Worth It?

December 20, 2018 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

An email circulated through my office the other day. It read: “Christmas Club contributions will be included on the next pay period.” The email then reminded everyone that enrollment into next year’s Christmas Club had just opened up.

It got me to thinking… is the Christmas Club worth it?

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Decision Point: What to Do with the Rental Property?

September 27, 2018 by Mr. Heartland on FIRE

Rental property: It’s a popular path to develop passive cash flow for many in the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) community. When a property is purchased at the right location and for the right price it can certainly be a lucrative investment. But when that rental property is your former primary residence… and was not purchased with long-term rental in mind, the numbers can be a bit more dodgy. This is the predicament we here in the Heartland on FIRE household are in. We just renewed our tenant for 6 months and the clock is ticking on whether to keep renting or to try and sell the house. We can’t be the only folks who have faced this dilemma, so I figured posting our thought process and analysis may be a useful exercise for others.