Blazing a Trail Towards Financial Independence
I am all about picking up skills and hobbies that check multiple boxes. In my experience, nothing checks more boxes than learning to cook, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on exactly why I love it. Let me walk you through 10 of my favorite reasons why you should pick up cooking.
[Read more…] about 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn to Cook
I recently knocked out a much needed DIY yard project and installed yard drains around my kids’ playhouse and fixed a broken and clogged downspout. In reflecting on the project I realize the impact of tackling this DIY project may be much larger than at first glance. In fact, the monetary savings alone surprised me. So let’s take a closer look.
[Read more…] about Drain King for a Day
After 3 weeks our spare bathroom renovation is complete. There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears involved. How did it turn out? Did we blow our budget? Am I still married to Mrs. Heartland on FIRE? Read on for the details…
[Read more…] about Our DIY Spare Bathroom Renovation, Part II
I don’t know about you, but we are addicted to home renovation shows. One of the shows we particularly like is “Renovation Realities.” Basically, the show’s premise is to follow around people as they take on a renovation project. Usually, hilarity ensues as the couple struggles through the project. Wires are shorted, windows broken, spirits (and sometimes fingers) are crushed, and budgets are vaporized.
Well, it’s our turn in the spotlight now. We’ve just kicked off a renovation of our kiddo’s bathroom. We are self-performing all of the work. Keep reading to follow along on our trials, tribulations, victories and setbacks. [Read more…] about Our DIY Spare Bathroom Remodel, Part I
We all like to think glowingly about our future. Raising our families, fun vacations, memorable meals, and retirement, of course! We spend a great deal of time thinking and planning about what fun things we are going to do and how we will go about doing them. In the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) community, we use high savings rates to reach Financial Independence (FI) much quicker than our non-FIRE peers.
But unfortunately, S^&T happens, and our best-laid plans could go up in smoke. However, the same skills you use to propel yourself on the path to FI can serve you well when everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
Credit cards can be a polarizing topic in the personal finance community. On one end, you have Dave Ramsey and his cash envelope system which abhors the use of credit cards. At the opposite end you have the travel hackers, who churn credit cards for travel rewards. The Heartland on FIRE household has covered the full range of the credit card usage spectrum. In 2017 we essentially did not use our credit cards. However, over the past year, we have become big proponents of credit cards. As such, we have been paying closer attention to our credit score. Let’s explore whether a credit card is right for you, and if so, the importance of a high credit score. Also, I’ve thrown in a quick tip to raise your score.[Read more…] about How to Move Up the Credit Score Leaderboard