Blazing a Trail Towards Financial Independence
We just refinanced our house into a 15-year mortgage. We will be paying off our car loan early. The mortgage was 4% (now 3%) and the car is 2% interest. The math says that it’s usually better to invest your money than to pay off low interest loans. So what the hell are we doing?
[Read more…] about Pay Off Low Interest Debt? Why We Defy Common Wisdom
At the beginning of the year, I laid out our savings goals for 2019. Well now that we are halfway through the year… how are we doing?
[Read more…] about 2019 Heartland on FIRE Mid-Year Savings Update
We’ve reached the halfway point of 2019 and it’s that time again to check how our spending has been going so far.
[Read more…] about 2019 Mid-Year Spending Checkup
Fresh off our beach vacation, I am back at it and wanted to provide an update on our finances. Over the past several weeks, heavy rains have conspired to produce near historic river flooding on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers near us. (Even though the river is only a few blocks away we are, thankfully, high and dry). In fact it’s pouring rain as I type this. Yikes!
It seems like every other year we have been dealing with near record floods. I know flooding levels are statistically based, but it’s incredible that we’ve had multiple “once in a lifetime” events in only a few years. Anyways, back on topic… did our net worth rise as much as the river in May?
[Read more…] about Net Worth Update 18: Rising River Edition
To many, the pursuit of Financial Independence (FI) can seem like a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Scrimping and saving, cutting back on dining out, cable, and other retail expenses, buying used or not buying at all sounds like deprivation. If I am being totally honest, there are days when I sometimes question my motivation myself.
Today is not one of those days.
Today is a reminder of why I choose FI.
[Read more…] about Why We FI
The big news around the Heartland on FIRE household recently is that we bought another new car. You heard me right. We pulled the trigger on a new car for my wife just a year after replacing my truck with a new car. That sure sounds like it goes against our quest for Financial Independence (FI). So have we lost our minds? Why did we commit another FI Faux Paux?
[Read more…] about We Just Bought Another Car. Are We Nuts?!