As a personal finance blogger, specifically an advocate of the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement, you might assume that the Heartland on FIRE family has a spotless past when it comes to money decisions. You might think we’ve rarely, if ever, paid interest on credit cards, purchased only used cars, and made flawless house purchasing decisions. I mean, if you look at our net worth progress, we are in better shape than many (most?) families in their early- to mid thirties.
You would be sorely mistaken
In this post, I am going to air out our dirty money laundry. To come clean, as it were. To demonstrate how, even after stacking poor decision on top of poor decision (FOR OVER A DECADE!!) you can still find yourself on the path to FIRE.
September is done. As far as I am concerned: Good riddance! It’s been an adventure to say the least and I am happy to welcome Fall! Grumpy commentary aside, how did we do last month?
We’ve all heard the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses”. That is the arms race of measuring one’s worth by comparing one’s possessions and status with one’s peers. It means acquiring the biggest, the best, the newest, and the most expensive things. You look down the street and see the family with the new car and you set your sights to figuring out how you can buy one yourself. A friend gets a new job or promotion and you feel the pressure to improve your own career standing. You have to be the first among your friends to buy the newest iPhone model. It is an insatiable pursuit of more and better. If you look around, it appears that we are surrounded by the Joneses. Do we have to keep up with the Joneses? Is there another way?
We’ve reached the halfway point of 2018 and I thought it would informative to check in on our monthly spending thus far.